OJP RELEASES 1998 PROGRAM PLANS

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Office of Justice Programs (OJP)--the Justice Department's primary provider of financial and other assistance to improve the state and local criminal and juvenile justice response to crime--today released its Fiscal Year 1998 Program Plans. The Program Plans describe the funding priorities and planned programs that will be supported by the OJP bureaus and offices in FY 1998, which runs through September 30, 1998.

The OJP FY 1998 Program Plans were sent to the Federal Register and are also available online at OJP's Internet home page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

"Our FY 1998 Program Plans emphasize the need for a broad-based attack on crime, drawing in as appropriate a host of non-criminal justice agencies, the private sector, and the community," said OJP Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson in introducing this year's plans. "This need for a cross-cutting approach that expands beyond traditional, formal justice system agencies continues to be a top priority for the Justice Department and OJP."

The Program Plans describe the planned grant programs of the five OJP bureaus--the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC); three Crime Act Offices--the Corrections Program Office (CPO), the Drug Courts Program Office (DCPO), and the Violence Against Women Grants Office VAWGO); and the Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS).

FY 1998 programs include BJA's Open Solicitation '98, a competitive grant program with a simplified application process that encourages nontraditional applicants for innovative projects to address specific issues. This year's issue areas include community justice, hate crimes, juveniles in adult systems, and indigent defense.

BJS will administer the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) grant program. The program supports the President's goal of establishing an effective national registry of sexual offenders.

OJJDP is considering funding a wide variety of new programs, including teen courts, arts programs for at-risk youth, juvenile court improvement, and programs to address problems such as truancy, care for youth with mental health and substance abuse needs, and teen mothers.

NIJ initiatives include new challenge grants under its ADAM--Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring--program. The grants would enable researchers at ADAM sites to examine areas such as the relationship between alcohol and crime; alcohol, drug abuse, and domestic violence; and drug abuse and female juvenile delinquents.

OVC will solicit applications for victim-related training and technical assistance projects that address areas of urgent need, would have a national impact, and could be easily adapted by other jurisdictions. The Corrections Program Office (CPO) has increased funding under its prison construction and prison-based substance abuse treatment grant programs. The Drug Courts Program Office (DCPO) will make mini-grants for single-focused activities, such as information system or program evaluation development and training. The Violence Against Women Grants Office (VAWGO) will administer a new $12 million grant program to strengthen civil legal assistance programs for domestic violence victims. And the Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS) will fund approximately 40 new sites implementing the Weed and Seed strategy.

For further information about Justice Department grants or for copies of the OJP Program Plans, practitioners and potential applicants should call the Department of Justice Response Center's toll-free telephone number at 1-800/421-6770. Members of the media and Congressional staff should contact OJP's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703.

For more information about OJP and its programs, visit the OJP home page at https://ojp.gov, or call the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free on 1-800/851-3420.

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