Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant
Grant Status Open
The Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant 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. Grant recipients must use a validated mental health screening tool, and a full mental health assessment tool, if necessary, to conduct the following activities:
- 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 strengthening community-based intensive treatment and management services
- Establishing telehealth services and programs
- Supporting mental health evaluations, which include the use of telehealth services.
Applicants should review the Executive Orders issued since January 2025 to ensure program alignment with the current Administration’s priorities.
Click Here to View the Request for Funding Click Here to View the Q&A
Eligibility
Public entities, units of 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 unless the entity meets the following:
- Verification 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 entity must have an operating agreement or memorandum of understanding and a data sharing agreement with all referral entities.
- Any grantee must have a collaborative service plan as described in IC 31-40-6-4.
- Grant recipients must agree to monthly reporting. Training will be conducted with grantees regarding the reporting. Program Reporting performance measures are explained in the Program Report Definitions document.
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.
The award period for this grant shall be July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028. Projects should begin on July 1, 2026, 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 July 1, 2026, may result in termination of the grant and the deobligation of all awarded funds.
All projects must conclude, and all funding obligations must be made no later than June 30, 2028. All outstanding expenses must be paid, and the final fiscal report must be submitted via IntelliGrants within thirty (30) days of June 30, 2028. Late monthly reports could have a negative effect on future funding.
The following budget itemslisted 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 Youth Justice Oversight Committee has developed the following resources related to diversion programming:
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.
- For a complete list of program report definitions, click here.
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 service 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 and reimbursements for in-state and out-of-state travel must follow the most current Indiana Department of Administration State Travel Policy or the subrecipient’s travel policy, whichever is more restrictive. Non-essential travel is currently excluded under state policy. 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, the rate of compensation, and the 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 the 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 attachments must be included in the application submission.
- ICJI Juvenile Justice System Grants Application (PDF)
- ICJI Juvenile Justice System Grants Budget Template
- Agency Internal Controls Policy/Plan
- Collaboration Plan
- MOUs and/or Data sharing agreements (DSA) with all Community Partners related to the grant that involve sharing of data for reporting purposes
- Job descriptions for employee(s) included in the personnel section
- Contract or Proposal for each contractor in the budget
IntelliGrants Reporting
Juvenile Justice subrecipients are required to submit reports in IntelliGrants. Upon submission, an ICJI grant manager will then review and approve or deny the reports.
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.
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute