Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant

The following budget items listed below are ineligible and will not be supported by this program’s funding:

• Direct financial assistance to a client such as cash.
• Supplanting existing positions or offsetting existing expenses of the recipient.
• Lobbying.
• Fundraising (including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions) and time spent procuring funding including completing federal and state funding applications.
• Purchase of real estate.
• Construction and physical modification to buildings, including minor renovations (such as painting or carpeting).
• Purchase of vehicles.
• Indirect cost rate and/or de minimis rate.

The U.S. Office of Justice Programs (OJP) strongly emphasizes the use of data and evidence in policy making and program development in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services. OJP is committed to:

• Improving the quantity and quality of data and evidence OJP generates.


• Integrating evidence into program, practice, and policy decisions within OJP and the field.


• Improving the translation of evidence into practice.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) encourages the use of evidence-based programs and practices. Evidence-based programs and practices generally have one or more rigorous outcome evaluations that demonstrate effectiveness by measuring the relationship between the program and its intended outcome(s). This includes measuring the direction and size of a change in outcome and the extent to which a change may be attributed to the activity or intervention. The methodology of the evaluation should rule out, to the extent possible, alternative explanations for the documented change. Please refer to the CrimeSolutions.gov website and the OJJDP Model Programs Guide for more information about evidence-based programs in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.

For purposes of this solicitation, please be cognizant of the following definitions:

• “Juvenile justice” refers to activities concerning: (1) the prevention or reduction of juvenile delinquency; (2) the apprehension and adjudication of juvenile offenders; (3) the disposition of juvenile offenders including protective techniques and practices; (4) the prevention of child abuse and neglect; and (5) the discovery, protection, and disposition of children in need of services (Indiana Code § 5-2-6-1).


• “Youth” means any individual who is under juvenile court jurisdiction or is an age at which he or she could be subject to original juvenile court jurisdiction within the state of Indiana.

Grant recipients shall use a validated mental health screening tool, and a full mental health assessment tool, if necessary, and may use funds to conduct the following activities:

1. Partnering with law enforcement to implement a program to divert youth from formal court proceedings;
2. Creating stabilization case management for a child or family in crisis;
3. Providing comprehensive case management for a child or family in crisis;
4. Identifying and strengthening community based intensive treatment and management services, including multisystemic therapy (MST), for youth, regardless of payor source;
5. Establishing telehealth services (IC § 25-1-9.5-6) and programs to allow youth involved in services to take advantage of remote mental health services.   Any providers used must comply with all requirements of IC § 12-23-1-6 and Indiana Administrative Code 440 IAC 4.4-2-1.  All addiction treatment services rendered, on a more than incidental basis, must be done by a provider certified by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration; Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
6. Supporting mental health evaluations, which include the use of telehealth services (IC § 25-1-9.5-6).

Allowable activities and costs are those that support the operations and services delivered to youth involved in or youth to be diverted from the juvenile justice system. These activities include but are not limited to:

• Planning sessions and costs to develop juvenile behavioral health pilot programs, including meetings with a local collaborative body that includes juvenile justice stakeholders that will oversee the grant and engage in collaborative planning for the county.
• Activities that support operations and service delivery of juvenile behavioral health pilot programs with a preference for regional models.
• Evidence based juvenile behavioral health pilot projects.

ICJI strongly recommends programs that are evidence based or considered to be promising practices.  The selected program may be altered to meet the requirements of the applicant, but fidelity should be maintained as closely as possible.  Examples of model programs may be found here in the Grants Process Workgroup Report and the Behavioral Health Report.

Administrative Costs

Administrative costs are an allowable expense but are limited to 10% of the total grant-funded budget. Administrative costs include time to complete program required time and attendance sheets and programmatic documentation, reports, and required statistics; administrative time to collect and maintain satisfaction surveys and needs assessments used to improve services delivery within the funded project.

Travel Costs

Expenses and reimbursements for in-state and out-of-state travel must follow the most current Indiana Department of Administration State Travel Policy or the subrecipient’s travel policy, whichever is more restrictive.  Learn More.

Contractors and Consultants

When a subrecipient contracts for work or services, the following is required:

1. All contractual services must be obtained through a procurement method. Verification of this method must be supplied upon completion of the contract.
2. All consultant and contractual services shall be supported by written contracts signed by all parties stating the services to be performed, rate of compensation, and length of time over which the services will be provided.
3. A copy of all written contracts for contractual or consultant services shall be attached in IntelliGrants to the grant file upon their ratification.
4. Payments shall be supported by statements outlining the services rendered, date of service, and cost of service.
5. Any consultant costs exceeding the allowable rate (maximum of $81.25 per hour or $650 per day) will not be allowed.

Program Costs

Program costs must meet the following criteria:

1. Costs must be necessary and reasonable for the stated purpose of the grant.
2. Costs must be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Learn more.
3. Costs must be consistent with policies and procedures of the grant program and applied uniformly.
4. Costs must be adequately documented with supporting materials including receipts, invoices, timesheets, paystubs, etc. The ICJI supporting documentation policy can be found here.