Research on Juvenile Reoffending, Fiscal Year 2021 | O NIJ 2021 45004

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2021 45004

The Department of Justice, through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), offered this Fiscal Year 2021 discretionary grant opportunity to support rigorous research focused on improving how juvenile reoffending is measured. The core purpose is not simply to study recidivism rates, but to strengthen the underlying measurement practices so that jurisdictions and juvenile justice agencies can collect, interpret, and use juvenile reoffending data in a more accurate and consistent way. NIJ is looking for projects that advance knowledge about what "juvenile reoffending" should mean in practice, how it can be tracked across systems and over time, and how the resulting information can better guide priority-setting, responses to youth behavior, and the monitoring and assessment of policies and programs.

A major emphasis is on practical, high-quality research designs that can directly help agencies improve their data and decision-making. Applicants are encouraged to propose studies that clarify definitions, address measurement challenges (for example, differences in data sources or handling of youth records), and produce findings that agencies can use responsibly when comparing outcomes, evaluating interventions, or reporting performance measures. The solicitation also signals that strong agency partnerships are valuable, especially when research depends on administrative data or operational knowledge from juvenile justice, courts, law enforcement, schools, or related systems.

For proposals that include partnerships with criminal justice or other agencies, NIJ expects clear and committed collaboration. Applications should include a strong letter of support from each partnering agency, signed by an appropriate decision-making authority. These letters are expected to confirm not only participation in the project, but also the agency's understanding that de-identified data generated from or obtained through the project must be archived at the end of the award with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD). Applicants and partners are encouraged to review NACJD policies and protections in advance, since compliance with archiving requirements is a condition tied to the award. If selected, grantees are expected to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies by January 1, 2022, and that agreement must explicitly include provisions to meet the NACJD data archiving requirement. In collaborative projects where multiple agencies would use federal funds to carry out the work, the solicitation also clarifies that only one entity can apply as the primary applicant, while other participating organizations must be included as subrecipients.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as "Research on Juvenile Reoffending, Fiscal Year 2021" (Funding Opportunity Number O-NIJ-2021-45004) under CFDA 16.560, categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and uses the grant funding instrument. It was created on December 18, 2020, with an application deadline of February 22, 2021. NIJ anticipated making about four awards, with an award ceiling of $1,500,000 per award. Eligibility was broad and included state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and other eligible entities as further described in the solicitation's additional eligibility language.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research on Juvenile Reoffending, Fiscal Year 2021" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 18, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 22, 2021. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Nonprofits having 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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