Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant Pilot Program
Grant Status Closed
The Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant Pilot Program Fund was established in Indiana Code § 31-40-6-5 to support jurisdictions, particularly in rural areas, to evaluate a child's behavioral health needs and divert the child from formal court involvement and out-of-home placement into community or school-based mental health treatment.
Eligibility
Public entities, state and local government, nonprofit organizations, and nongovernmental organizations who provide services to youth involved in or at risk of being involved in the juvenile justice system may apply for funding. An entity may apply, but will not be eligible for a grant until the entity has prequalified through a series of threshold requirements including:
- A review of the entity’s good standing with Indiana Department of Revenue (DOR), Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD), and Secretary of State (SOS).
- Any non-governmental entities must have an operating agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the referring entity prior to receiving funding.
- Each grant awarded must be overseen by the local regional Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC) or another local collaborative body that includes juvenile justice stakeholders and engages in collaborative service planning for the county. For more Information about local Justice Reinvestment Advisory Councils and member requirements, please visit the Indiana Office of Court Services JRAC page. Contact information for existing local JRACs can be located in the JRAC Directory.
- All grant recipients must agree to report performance measures on a monthly or quarterly basis and are required to provide an aggregate report at the end of the grant cycle. Recipients will be required to maintain case-level data for the purposes of research and evaluation. The required performance measures are outlined in the Youth Justice Oversight Committee’s Grant Programs Report.
An entity is eligible to receive funding if it furnishes, agrees to furnish, or arranges with a third party to furnish all the following services:
- Partnering with law enforcement to implement a program to divert a child from formal court proceedings.
- Creating crisis stabilization services and a mobile crisis unit.
- Providing comprehensive case management for a child or family in crisis.
- Identifying and strengthening community based intensive treatment and management services.
- Establishing telehealth services.
- Supporting mental health evaluations, which include the use of telehealth services.
Program Guidance
The Youth Justice Oversight Committee developed guidelines for program development that achieve the best outcomes for youth development.
The 2023 final report includes recommendations on best practices and next steps for enhancing Indiana's youth justice system.
- Award Period
- Unallowable Activities
- Evidence-Based
- Definitions
- Allowable Activities
- Other Costs
- Allowable Costs
The award period for this grant shall be April 1, 2025 – March 31, 2027. Projects should begin on April 1, 2025, and must be in operation no later than sixty (60) days after this date. Failure to have the funded project operational within sixty (60) days from April 1, 2025, may result in termination of the grant and the de-obligation of all awarded funds.
All projects must conclude, and all funding obligations must be made no later than March 31, 2027. All outstanding expenses must be paid, and the final fiscal report must be submitted via IntelliGrants within thirty (30) days of March 31, 2027. Proof of payment for all expenses must be provided with the final fiscal report. Late fiscal and programmatic reports will not be accepted.
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.
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. 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:
- Partnering with law enforcement to implement a program to divert youth from formal court proceedings.
- Creating stabilization case management for a child or family in crisis.
- Providing comprehensive case management for a child or family in crisis.
- Identifying and strengthening community based intensive treatment and management services, including multisystemic therapy (MST), for youth, regardless of payor source.
- 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.
- Supporting mental health evaluations, which include the use of telehealth services (IC § 25-1-9.5-6).
- Planning sessions and costs to develop juvenile behavioral health pilot programs, including meetings with a local collaborative body that includes juvenile justice stakeholders.
- 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; and administrative time to collect and maintain satisfaction surveys and needs assessments used to improve services delivery within the funded project.
Administrative costs should not be a separate line item in the budget. During the application process, there will be a section to state the anticipated percentage of time each position will spend on administrative duties for this program. This percentage is included with the percentage of time worked on the funded project and cannot exceed 10% of the total grant funded budget.
Travel Costs
Expenses for in state and out of state travel must follow the most current Indiana Department of Administration State Travel Policy or the recipient’s travel policy, whichever is more restrictive. Learn More.
Contractors and Consultants
When a subrecipient contracts for work or services, the following is required:
- All contractual services must be obtained through a procurement method. Verification of this method must be supplied upon completion of the contract.
- 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.
- A copy of all written contracts for contractual or consultant services shall be attached in IntelliGrants to the grant file upon their ratification.
- Payments shall be supported by statements outlining the services rendered, date of service, and cost of service.
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:
- Costs must be necessary and reasonable for the stated purpose of the grant.
- Costs must be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Learn more.
- Costs must be consistent with policies and procedures of the grant program and applied uniformly.
- Costs must be adequately documented with supporting materials including receipts, invoices, timesheets, paystubs, etc. The ICJI supporting documentation policy can be found here.
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.
IntelliGrants Reporting
Juvenile Justice subrecipients are required to submit quarterly programmatic and fiscal reports in IntelliGrants. Upon submission, an ICJI grant manager will then review and approve or deny the reports. Each program report and fiscal report must be approved by ICJI prior to seeking reimbursement.
Webinar on the 2025-2027 Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant Pilot Program RFP
Date: Friday, October 18, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (ET)
ICJI’s Youth Services Division conducted a webinar on the 2025-2027 Behavioral Health Competitive Grant Pilot Project Program request for proposal.
The webinar included a basic overview of the program, important highlights, and what to know before applying. There was also an opportunity to ask questions from the division.
Technical Assistance
For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact the ICJI Helpdesk, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, except state holidays. ICJI is not responsible for technical issues with grant submission within 48 hours of grant deadline.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Programs Guide
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Model Programs Guide (MPG) contains information about evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs. It is a resource for practitioners and communities about what works, what is promising, and what does not work in juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and child protection and safety. Click the link to view the Model Programs Guide.
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES: The Office of Justice Programs has training and guidance for evidence-based practices. Read the guidance here.