Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities Program

by: Iola Bonggay

The Office of Justice Programs, more commonly referred to as OJP, is a federal government agency operating within the United States Department of Justice that is primarily responsible for preventing crimes through research and development, the provision of assistance to state and local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies through grants, and assistance to crime victims.

The grants and initiatives of the OJP are all geared towards the realization of its general agency mission which is to "increase public safety and improve the fair administration of justice across America through innovative leadership and programs."

In line with this mission, the Office of Justice Programs has recently established the Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities Program in an attempt to substantially improve probation success rates, while simultaneously improve public safety, reducing returns to prisons and jails, and saving essential taxpayer dollars.

Essentially, the goal of the program is to device a more efficient and evidence-based probation programs that can potentially address concerns regarding offenders’ needs and the ample reduction of recidivism.

The interested applicants of the program can tailor their proposals around the attainment of the following Smart Probation demonstration project objectives:

a) The improvement of supervision strategies that will reduce recidivism and provide training, technical
assistance, and policy support.

  (continued...)

Smart Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and Creating Safer Communities Program
  Page 2

About The Author Iola Bonggay is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. She also maintains Websites providing resources on community grants and health grants.

Additional Resources

category - Civic Engagement Grants

Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Training and Technical Assistance Program
In line with this mission, the Office of Justice Programs has recently established the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Training and Technical Assistance Program (JMHCP), wherein it seeks to increase public safety by encouraging collaboration between criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health and substance abuse treatment systems.

---

Conservation Innovation Grants Program
The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the state of Michigan has recently established the Conservation Innovation Grants(CIG) Program wherein it intends to stimulate the creation and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and initiatives.

---

Effective Communication for People with Disabilities: Before, During, and After Emergencies
The National Council on Disability has recently established the program entitled Effective Communication for People with Disabilities: Before, During, and After Emergencies wherein the agency intends to assess the quality of communication between American with handicaps and disabilities before, during, and after emergencies.

---

Government Grants Within the United States Disaster Prevention and Relief Sector
According to the Disaster Survival Resources website, there has been about 640 disastrous events (floods, tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, cyclones, etc.) that have occurred in the United States since 1980 to 2010. Cumulatively, these catastrophic instances have killed 12, 366 people.

---