OJJDP FY 2023 Family-Based Alternative Justice Program | O OJJDP 2023 171661

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171661

The OJJDP FY 2023 Family-Based Alternative Justice Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), designed to help states and local communities keep children and parents together when a parent or primary caregiver becomes involved with the criminal justice system. The core idea is to reduce the harm that family separation can cause by supporting community-based alternatives to incarceration for justice-involved parents and caregivers, while also strengthening family stability and improving outcomes for children. OJJDP frames this work within broader DOJ priorities that emphasize civil rights and racial equity, improved access to justice, support for crime victims and justice-impacted people, stronger community safety, and building trust between law enforcement and communities.

A central theme of the solicitation is OJJDPs push to transform juvenile justice and youth-serving systems so they are developmentally appropriate and family-centered, summarized in priorities such as treating children as children, serving children at home with their families in their communities, and opening up opportunities for system-involved youth. Even though the program targets parents and caregivers who are justice-involved, the intent is explicitly youth- and family-focused: by stabilizing the home environment and avoiding unnecessary incarceration, communities can reduce the likelihood that children experience trauma, enter foster care, or become involved in the juvenile justice system themselves. The solicitation highlights a key context point that about one in ten children in the United States has a parent under criminal justice control (incarcerated or on probation/parole), and it cites research noting that incarceration-related separation can create lasting negative effects for children, caregivers, families, and communities.

Applicants are expected to either launch new or strengthen existing alternative justice programs that divert eligible parents or primary caregivers away from incarceration and toward accountable, supervised, community-based options that still protect public safety. The program is meant to promote family unification and prevent system crossover, particularly preventing children from entering foster care and/or the juvenile justice system because of the disruption caused by a parents incarceration. In practice, this can involve coordinated approaches that connect justice supervision with wraparound supports, family-focused services, and community resources so that parents can remain present and engaged while addressing underlying needs that contribute to justice involvement.

Another major requirement is meaningful youth and family partnership. OJJDP makes clear that young people and family members with lived experience should not be treated as an afterthought or token advisors; they are viewed as essential partners in designing, delivering, and improving programs. Applications must explain how youth and families will be integrated into the project plan and budget in ways that are sustainable over time. The solicitation recognizes several levels of partnership: individual-level involvement in case planning and direct services (before, during, and after contact with youth-serving systems), agency-level involvement in program development and evaluation and participation on advisory bodies and staffing structures (including input into budget development), and system-level engagement in strategic planning, reform efforts, and broader system improvement initiatives. This requirement signals that OJJDP is looking for programs that share power with families and youth and use lived experience to guide decisions.

In terms of funding and basic logistics, this opportunity is a grant (not a formula award) with an award ceiling of $750,000 and an anticipated total of about 7 awards. The opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2023-171661, it falls under the law, justice, and legal services activity category, and it is associated with CFDA number 16.738. Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; and for-profit organizations (including small businesses). The solicitation was created March 17, 2023, with an original closing date of May 1, 2023.

Overall, the program is aimed at practical, community-driven alternatives to incarceration that keep families intact, reduce trauma for children, and interrupt pathways that can lead to foster care placement or juvenile justice involvement. Successful proposals are expected to align with OJJDPs equity and access-to-justice commitments, demonstrate a credible plan for diversion and family unification, and show exactly how youth and families with lived experience will shape the work at the case, program, and system levels.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2023 Family-Based Alternative Justice Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.738.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 17, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 01, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171661

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: