Delaware's Implementation of Smart Juvenile Justice Enhancing Youth Access to Justice State Reform

In FY 2015, OJJDP awarded planning grants to four states to support them as they developed strategies and policies to ensure that every child receives the guarantees of due process and equal protection and that their other constitutional rights are honored. This initiative provides grants to support award recipients and their collaborative partnership teams as they implement their reform plans to develop effective, well-resourced, statewide model juvenile indigent defense delivery systems with assistance from the training and technical assistance provider for this initiative.

The Executive Office of the Governor of Delaware will implement a juvenile defense delivery system strategic reform plan that emphasizes five key recommendations to create a specialized juvenile defense system, improve the juvenile justice system, reform outdated policies and procedures, implement best practices, enhance community outreach, and ensure that all children in Delaware have access to competent advocacy from arrest through post-disposition. The project will be administered by the Criminal Justice Council (CJC), Delaware’s state administrative agency, in conjunction with the Delaware Office of Defense Services, the public defense agency that represents children in criminal and delinquency cases statewide. The CJC will serve as the fiscal agent for the project. CA/NCF