Opportunity Information: Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171734
The OJJDP FY 2023 Eliminating Records Barriers to Youth Success opportunity is a U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) discretionary funding solicitation designed to remove obstacles that juvenile records can create for young people as they try to move forward with school, jobs, housing, and other key parts of successful reentry. The core purpose is to fund one national training and technical assistance (TTA) provider that will help states, localities, territories, and other jurisdictions strengthen and modernize their juvenile record expungement and sealing policies and practices. The larger theme behind the grant is that juvenile justice is supposed to be about real second chances, and that outdated or hard-to-access expungement and sealing processes can keep youth tied to system involvement long after they have completed requirements or changed direction.
The solicitation is rooted in broader Office of Justice Programs (OJP) priorities, including advancing civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, protecting the public from evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and communities. In practice, that means the selected provider is expected to help jurisdictions identify where record-related barriers disproportionately harm certain groups, where procedures are confusing or inconsistently applied, and where administrative systems prevent youth from actually receiving the relief the law intends. The emphasis is not only on policy on paper, but on implementation that works in real life for youth and families.
OJJDP also frames this work within its current vision for juvenile justice transformation, summarized as: treat children as children; serve children at home, with their families, in their communities; and open up opportunities for system-involved youth. Applicants are encouraged to show how their approach to records clearance supports those aims by reducing long-term collateral consequences, keeping youth connected to family and community supports, and improving access to education and employment pathways. Because sealing and expungement can directly affect eligibility for school enrollment, vocational programs, internships, professional licensing, public benefits, and even routine background checks, the TTA work is positioned as a practical lever for expanding opportunity and reducing unnecessary system harm.
A major required component is meaningful youth and family partnership. The solicitation makes clear that young people and family members with lived experience are not an optional stakeholder group; they are seen as essential partners in designing, improving, and evaluating solutions. Applicants must explain how youth and families will be integrated and sustained in both the project plan and the budget. The opportunity outlines several ways this partnership can show up: at the individual level (for example, involving youth and families in case planning and direct service approaches before, during, and after system contact); at the agency level (helping shape policies, programs, evaluation, advisory bodies, staffing decisions, and budget development); and at the system level (strategic planning, system improvement initiatives, advocacy strategies, and broader reform work). The expectation is that engagement is continuous and structured, not a one-time listening session.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates closer collaboration with the federal agency compared to a standard grant. The funding opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2023-171734, and the CFDA/Assistance Listing number is 16.812. OJJDP anticipated making a single award (Expected Awards: 1) with an award ceiling of $1,500,000. The solicitation was created April 18, 2023, with an original closing date of June 6, 2023. Eligible applicants are broad and include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. In other words, the competition is open to a range of organizations that can credibly serve as a national-level provider delivering training and hands-on assistance across jurisdictions.
Overall, the grant is best understood as an investment in national capacity to help jurisdictions make juvenile record sealing and expungement faster, fairer, and more accessible, while ensuring the work is shaped by the people most affected. The intended result is fewer record-based roadblocks and more consistent, equitable access to the second-chance promise that juvenile justice is supposed to deliver.Apply for O OJJDP 2023 171734
- The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 2023 Eliminating Records Barriers to Youth Success" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.812.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 18, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 06, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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FAQs: OJJDP FY 2023 Eliminating Records Barriers to Youth Success (O-OJJDP-2023-171734)
What is the OJJDP FY 2023 Eliminating Records Barriers to Youth Success opportunity?
It is a U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) discretionary funding solicitation focused on reducing the obstacles that juvenile records can create for young people as they pursue school, employment, housing, and other reentry-related opportunities. The solicitation funds work aimed at improving juvenile record expungement and sealing policies and practices so they are more accessible and effective in real life.
What is the main goal of this solicitation?
The core purpose is to fund one national training and technical assistance (TTA) provider to help states, localities, territories, and other jurisdictions strengthen and modernize juvenile record expungement and sealing policies and practices, with a focus on implementation that works for youth and families.
What problem is OJJDP trying to address with this funding?
OJJDP is targeting record-related barriers that can continue to affect youth long after system involvement ends. The solicitation highlights that outdated, hard-to-access, confusing, or inconsistently applied expungement and sealing processes can keep youth tied to system consequences, limiting education, job prospects, housing access, and other pathways to success.
What kind of award is this (grant vs. cooperative agreement)?
This opportunity is a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates closer collaboration between the award recipient and the federal agency than a standard grant.
How many awards did OJJDP expect to make?
OJJDP anticipated making a single award (Expected Awards: 1).
What is the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling is $1,500,000.
Who is this funding intended to serve?
The intended beneficiaries are system-involved youth and their families who face collateral consequences from juvenile records. The project is also designed to support jurisdictions (states, localities, territories, and other jurisdictions) by improving how they deliver record sealing and expungement relief in practice.
What does OJJDP mean by “records barriers” for youth?
In this solicitation, records barriers refer to the practical ways juvenile records can limit access to opportunities. The opportunity notes that sealing and expungement can affect eligibility for education and training programs, internships, professional licensing, public benefits, housing, and routine background checks, among other areas.
What activities is the selected organization expected to provide?
The selected organization is expected to function as a national TTA provider, delivering training and hands-on technical assistance to jurisdictions to strengthen and modernize juvenile record sealing and expungement policies and practices. The emphasis includes both policy improvement and real-world implementation that youth and families can navigate and use.
Is the focus only on changing laws and written policies?
No. The solicitation emphasizes that improvement must go beyond policy on paper. The provider is expected to help jurisdictions address implementation gaps, administrative hurdles, and inconsistent or confusing procedures that prevent youth from receiving the relief the law intends.
How does this solicitation connect to broader Office of Justice Programs (OJP) priorities?
The solicitation is rooted in broader OJP priorities, including advancing civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, protecting the public from evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and communities.
How does the opportunity address equity and disproportionate harm?
The solicitation expects the provider to help jurisdictions identify where record-related barriers disproportionately harm certain groups, where procedures are confusing or inconsistently applied, and where administrative systems prevent youth from receiving intended relief. This aligns with the stated emphasis on civil rights and racial equity.
How does OJJDP frame this work within juvenile justice transformation?
OJJDP frames the work within its vision for juvenile justice transformation: treat children as children; serve children at home, with their families, in their communities; and open up opportunities for system-involved youth. Records clearance is presented as a practical tool to reduce long-term collateral consequences and support youth connection to family, community, education, and employment.
Why does the solicitation emphasize sealing and expungement?
Because sealing and expungement can directly reduce collateral consequences that affect everyday opportunities. The solicitation highlights that successful records clearance can influence access to schooling, vocational programs, internships, professional licensing, public benefits, housing, and outcomes tied to background checks.
What is the required youth and family partnership component?
A major required component is meaningful youth and family partnership. The solicitation makes clear that youth and family members with lived experience are essential partners in designing, improving, and evaluating solutions, and that engagement should be continuous and structured rather than one-time.
How must youth and family partnership be reflected in the application?
Applicants must explain how youth and families will be integrated and sustained in both the project plan and the budget. The solicitation treats lived-experience partnership as required, not optional.
What are examples of how youth and family partnership can be structured?
The solicitation describes partnership at multiple levels: individual-level involvement (such as engagement in case planning and direct service approaches before, during, and after system contact); agency-level involvement (helping shape policies, programs, evaluation, advisory bodies, staffing decisions, and budget development); and system-level involvement (strategic planning, system improvement initiatives, advocacy strategies, and broader reform work).
Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?
Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses.
Is this opportunity limited to nonprofits?
No. The eligibility list includes nonprofits, higher education institutions, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses.
What is the intended role of the award recipient?
The award recipient is intended to serve as a national-level provider delivering training and technical assistance across jurisdictions, helping to improve the speed, fairness, and accessibility of juvenile record sealing and expungement processes and practices.
What is the funding opportunity number and assistance listing number?
The funding opportunity number is O-OJJDP-2023-171734, and the CFDA/Assistance Listing number is 16.812.
When was the solicitation created and when was it originally due?
The solicitation was created April 18, 2023, with an original closing date of June 6, 2023.
What does success look like under this program’s theory of change?
Based on the solicitation description, success is reflected in jurisdictions having stronger and more modern sealing and expungement policies and practices that work in real life, with fewer record-based roadblocks for youth and more consistent, equitable access to second-chance opportunities.
What is the “second chance” theme mentioned in the opportunity?
The solicitation emphasizes that juvenile justice should be about real second chances, and that record clearance processes should not be so outdated or difficult that they keep youth burdened by past system contact after they have completed requirements or changed direction.
Does the opportunity focus on direct services to individual youth?
The core purpose described is to fund a national TTA provider working with jurisdictions on policies and practices. The solicitation does reference individual-level partnership (including involvement in case planning and direct service approaches), but the central funded role described is training and technical assistance to jurisdictions rather than operating as a direct service program.
Which jurisdictions are expected to benefit from the TTA?
The solicitation describes support for states, localities, territories, and other jurisdictions, with the provider helping strengthen and modernize policies and practices across those settings.
What makes this opportunity different from a typical juvenile justice reform grant?
This solicitation is positioned as an investment in national capacity (a single national TTA provider) focused specifically on eliminating record-based barriers through improved sealing and expungement policies and implementation, with required and sustained youth and family partnership.
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