THIS IS NOT A COMPETITIVE GRANT
ONLY DISTRICT ATTORNEY JUVENILE DIVERSION PROGRAMS OR PROGRAMS DESIGNATED TO RECEIVE FUNDING BY THE DA OR DCJ SHOULD COMPLETE THIS PLAN.
Juvenile Diversion funds are allocated to each judicial district pursuant to CRS 19-2.5-401, based on a formula that consists of a percentage for juvenile-age population, poverty rate, and juvenile population per square mile.
Each year, District Attorneys will have an opportunity to accept, waive, or decline the allocation for their respective judicial districts. Should the District Attorney elect to waive funds, they may specify an entity and an amount of funding to waive. If a District Attorney declines to accept any state juvenile diversion funding, DCJ will pursue other entities within that judicial district that may provide juvenile diversion services at its discretion. Additional information on the formula review process can be found below.
NOTICE: In February, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council voted to recommend the below proposed model for the juvenile diversion formula allocation, effective July 1, 2024. Allocations for the upcoming State Fiscal Year 23-24 will remain the same.
Purpose of the Funds
Per Colorado Statute, the goal of diversion is to prevent further involvement of juveniles in the formal justice system (19-1-103(44) C.R.S.). Juvenile diversion programs should be community-based alternatives to the formal court system for youth between the ages of 10-17 who have been taken into custody for misdemeanor or felony offenses. Diversion programs should concentrate on holding the youth accountable for their behavior while involving them in programs and activities to prevent future criminal and delinquent behavior.
Eligibility & Requirements
The Colorado Children's Code establishes units of local government and non-governmental agencies as eligible agencies to receive these state funds.
Other Requirements: A cash/in-kind match equal to 25% of the total project cost is required for this grant program.
Approved Formula Methodology
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council approved the following methodology for Juvenile Diversion allocations for FY20-21, FY21-22, and FY22-23.
- All Judicial Districts will receive at least $75,000. This is called “the base.”
- Judicial Districts that received money in the competitive juvenile diversion grant process will be “held harmless,” meaning that Judicial District will receive the same amount as in the competitive FY19-20 funding opportunity.
- Some JDs would be allocated a lesser amount of funds than originally announced in an email to elected DAs in December 2019. DCJ will honor the allocation amounts from that communication.
Reallocation Process
Once the fiscal year is underway, DCJ will analyze program budgets to see if any judicial district has budgeted an amount under their allocation, or declined funds entirely. In August of each year, if there are any such "unclaimed" funds, DCJ will send an announcement to each program director that additional funds may be available. DCJ will work with the JJDP Council to determine the Council's role in reviewing requests for additional funding from these "unclaimed" funds. DCJ will seek the Council's input to determine a standard way of prioritizing reallocated funds, should the need arise. Staff will then use contract modification documents to move money between programs in order to reduce or increase allocations as necessary. In the event that "unclaimed" funds stem from declined funding from a DA's office, DCJ will take steps to allocate funding for juvenile diversion programming to other agencies in that judicial district at its discretion.
Additionally, in January of each year, the division will manage reallocations for "unspent" or "underutilized" funds in a manner similar to the current reallocation process for Juvenile Diversion funds. After the 2nd quarter ends, the division will send an announcement to each program director with instructions to provide an estimate of their projected year-end balance and rationale for that calculation including variables like caseloads and services to be offered. If there are funds that are projected to be returned, staff will work with those programs to adjust their contract documents so that it can reallocate those funds to programs that may indicate a need.
State-Funded Diversion Allocations
Juvenile Diversion funds are issued by the State of Colorado, Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Council. DCJ is the sole point of contact concerning these funds and all communications must be made through the Division of Criminal Justice. Funds are allocated to each judicial district pursuant to CRS 19-2.5-401, based on a formula that consists of a percentage for juvenile-age population, poverty rate, and juvenile population per square mile.
Each year, District Attorneys will have an opportunity to accept, waive, or decline the allocation for their respective judicial districts. Should the District Attorney elect to waive funds, they may specify an entity and an amount of funding to waive. If a District Attorney declines to accept any state juvenile diversion funding, DCJ will pursue other entities within that judicial district that may provide juvenile diversion services at its discretion.
Supplanting: There are no state fiscal rules that preclude supplanting. However, the intent of the funding is to allow for the expansion of diversion to more eligible juveniles into jurisdictions not previously running such programs, to expand services within existing programs, and to provide resources to assist in the screening process required in CRS 19-2.5-401.
Participating agencies are therefore encouraged to use the money to supplement existing diversion programming or implement new programming rather than use the allocation to replace current dollars.
The following amounts are available for State Fiscal Years 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.
| Judicial District | Allocation for FY21-24 | Judicial District | Allocation for FY21-24 |
| 1 | $187,787 | 12 | $75,000 |
| 2 | $215,000 | 13 | $75,000 |
| 3 | $75,000 | 14 | $75,000 |
| 4 | $289,742 | 15 | $75,000 |
| 5 | $75,000 | 16 | $75,000 |
| 6 | $120,415 | 17 | $239,641 |
| 7 | $129,954 | 18 | $403,106 |
| 8 | $204,411 | 19 | $153,000 |
| 9 | $117,254 | 20 | $117,000 |
| 10 | $86,000 | 21 | $140,398 |
| 11 | $75,000 | 22 | $75,000 |
Selected Model
Formula Beginning July 1, 2024
Formula 3: Greater Emphasis on Geographic than Socio-Economic Factors
Formula 3 incorporates 4 weighting factors and 2 restrictions:
- 70% weight: Juvenile Population
- 20% weight: Geographic Area (square miles)
- 5% weight: Poverty Rates
- 5% weight: Disadvantaged Community Score
- Base: $80,000
- Maximum increase: 10%
Formula 3 includes the same minimum funding amount ($80,000) and maximum of 10% increase from previous year's funding.
In focus groups, stakeholders indicated that geography impacted the cost of programming to a larger extent than the socioeconomic disparities of their clients and community. This model reflects that perspective.
Allocations Effective July 1, 2024 by Judicial District
Judicial District | Allocation Amount | Judicial District | Allocation Amount |
1 | $198,678 | 12 | $82,500 |
2 | $216,838 | 13 | $82,500 |
3 | $80,000 | 14 | $80,000 |
4 | $308,909 | 15 | $80,000 |
5 | $80,000 | 16 | $80,000 |
6 | $80,000 | 17 | $263,605 |
7 | $105,581 | 18 | $443,417 |
8 | $147,611 | 19 | $168,300 |
9 | $80,000 | 20 | $118,647 |
10 | $94,600 | 21 | $92,813 |
11 | $80,000 | 22 | $80,000 |
*18th district will be splitting into two separate districts as of July 2024.
Formula Review Process
The Division of Criminal Justice contracted with Infinite Frontier Consulting to conduct the review of the juvenile diversion allocation formula.
- PHASE I: Survey of Stakeholders (Completed)
- A survey was sent to 145 stakeholders from the JJDP Council and the state’s 22 JDs
- The survey remained open from June 15 - June 30, 2022
- 45 stakeholders participated fully and were included in the analysis
Summary: In the survey, stakeholders identified juvenile population, juvenile filings, and square mileage of the JD as the most important factors to weigh. Survey respondents indicated that base level funding is vital to keeping Juvenile Diversion programs afloat; they also said the current $75,000 base was insufficient.- PHASE II: Virtual Information Gathering (Completed)
- Stakeholders’ availability was gathered via a Doodle poll, and they were invited to participate in a series of virtual focus groups
- Focus groups were held on Aug 16, 17, and 31 (2 sessions), as well as Sept 8
- 34 stakeholders participated in the sessions & were included in the analysis
Summary: In the focus groups, stakeholders discussed the potential flaws of including juvenile filings and, instead, suggested a community and/or risk-based measure. In the focus groups, stakeholders continued to express a desire to discuss the funding process- PHASE III: Public Feedback (Completed)
- Three budget allocation formulas and their rationale were presented to stakeholders to solicit feedback via survey. Infinite Frontier received 28 valid and complete responses
- Listening sessions will be held on January 10, 2023 and January 17, 2023 to solicit in-person feedback in a less structured discussion.
- Public input will be collected from January 20 – February 2, 2023 via an online survey
Evaluation
Colorado's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Council has been working with the Office of Adult and Juvenile Justice Assistance to evaluate the state-funded Juvenile Diversion Program.
The following are reports on our findings Colorado's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Council:
- Colorado's Juvenile Diversion Grant Program: Findings and Insights from a Decade of Evaluation
- 2016-2020 Marijuana Tax Grant Evaluation
- 2018 DCJ Juvenile Diversion Data Report
- 2017 DCJ Juvenile Diversion Data Report
- 2015-2016 DCJ Juvenile Recidivism Report
- 2014 DCJ Juvenile Diversion Evaluation Report
- 2013 DCJ Juvenile Diversion Evaluation Report
- Diversion Literature Review (Updated January 2013)
- 2011 Diversion Qualitative Analysis Report
Current & Prior Year Recipients
Staff Contact Information
Kate Ferebee
Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, OAJJA
700 Kipling St. Denver, CO 80215
Direct: (720) 591-1710
Toll Free: (800) 201-1325
E-mail: kate.ferebee@state.co.us
Restorative Justice
DCJ is committed to Restorative Justice, especially in juvenile diversion. Learn more by visiting RJ Colorado.