TRENTON
- The New Jersey Governor’s Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP)
Committee has awarded a grant to the Salem
County Inter-Agency Council to reduce
the risk factors associated with delinquent
behavior through the program, Salem County
Families and Schools Together (FAST).
The award is in the amount of $95,000.
This is a Prevention Grant, which is designed
to reduce violence, addiction and aggression,
among juveniles. It allows schools, families,
and 81 young people to work together to
achieve community development goals such
as reducing juvenile delinquency and school
dropout rates, and increasing student
success in school. The FAST program focuses
on creating pathways for youth to succeed
in the community, home and school through
various positive activities such as communication
games and family meals.
“Over
the last several years, Prevention Grant
funding has given Salem County the opportunity
to address many of the juvenile delinquency
issues that have a negative effect on
its families and communities. We are encouraged
again by this opportunity to present the
Families and Schools Together program
in some of our most vulnerable communities.
This collaboration of parents, schools,
and community providers seeks to empower
at-risk families to be their own prevention
specialists, and with the support of other
families direct their children to academic
success and away from delinquency and
gang activity,” said Raymond Bolden,
Jr., Program Director, Salem County Inter-Agency
Council.
The Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC),
as the designated planning authority for
the allocation of federal grant funds,
works with the JJDP Committee to identify
appropriate programs, award funds and
monitor their success. The JJDP Committee
is responsible for the distribution of
more than $3 million in federal grant
awards annually to local and state agencies.
The JJDP Committee reviews proposals for
programs that aim to reduce delinquency
and/or seek to create local delinquency
prevention strategies. Programs that receive
funding work with individuals, families
and communities to reduce the risk factors
associated with delinquency. Programs
that demonstrate success are eligible
for continued funding for a maximum of
three consecutive years.
The JJC is committed to helping local
communities address the specific needs
of their young people. We are proud to
be part of a partnership that takes a
proactive approach to help adolescents
and their families, said Howard L. Beyer,
Executive Director, JJC. We know that
the earlier we reach out to children,
the better chance we have of ensuring
that they lead productive lives.
Created in 1995 to bring together services
for delinquent young people, the JJC is
the single state agency responsible for
providing juvenile correctional rehabilitation
and parole services. The JJC also funds
local prevention programs that divert
young people from involvement in the juvenile
justice system.
The project is monitored by staff from
the Program Development and Prevention
Services arm of the JJC’s Office
of Local Programs and Services.
For more information on the JJC, please
visit www.njjjc.com.
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