§10404 Allocation and Distribution of Funds

Summary

Requires the Attorney General to split the grant money so each State first gets 0.50 percent, and the rest is shared based on each State’s share of the nation’s under‑18 population for the latest year available. The money can only be used for approved juvenile justice programs. States that get money must pass at least 75 percent of their grant to local governments for the purposes listed in the law, unless the State gets a waiver by showing it spent more than 25 percent of juvenile justice dollars itself in the prior fiscal year and that it consulted local governments about the request. When giving money to local units, the State must divide funds using a formula that weights 75 percent to each unit’s average juvenile justice spending over the last 3 years and 25 percent to its average annual number of “part 1” violent crimes over the last 3 years. No local share can exceed 100 percent of that unit’s juvenile justice spending for the payment period; any amounts above that are given to other units. If a unit’s share is under $10,000, the State must use that money to provide services to such small units. If a State doubts the crime or spending numbers a local unit reported, the State must check how those numbers were calculated and, if needed, use the best available comparable data. If a State misses the Attorney General’s application deadline, the Attorney General may hold up to 75 percent of that State’s allocation and use it to fund specially qualified local units, using average State allocations to local units as one way to decide awards.