Applications Available for New OCTAE Awards for Improved Juvenile Justice Reentry Education

Applications are available for the Juvenile Justice Reentry Education Program: Opening Doors to College and Careers through Career and Technical Education (JJ Reentry CTE Program). This program’s purpose is to improve outcomes for youths in and exiting from juvenile justice confinement by providing them with career and technical education (CTE) programs, reentry services, and employment training opportunities. Through these demonstration grants, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will (1) support the establishment and operation of projects that build on existing efforts to improve reentry outcomes for youths involved with the justice system; (2) make CTE the focus of the youths’ education efforts; and (3) build strong partnerships to implement a comprehensive, collaborative approach to improving education, employment, and other services and training for these youths. Programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins), in partnership with a juvenile justice agency, local education agency, postsecondary institution, and/or workforce development agency, are encouraged to apply. 

On December, 8, 2014, ED and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly released the Correctional Education Guidance Package, which is consistent with recommendations of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force Report to the President. The recommendations include enforcing the rights of incarcerated youths to a quality education and eliminating unnecessary barriers to reentry. The grant opportunity builds on last year’s guidance package, which includes a report from ED and DOJ with evidence-based principles and promising practices for improving education programs in juvenile justice facilities. 

This fact sheet provides more information about the JJ Reentry CTE Program. Interested parties are encouraged to review the Federal Register notice for full details on the new awards, including application requirements, eligibility and award information, and key deadlines.  A Pre-application webinar will be held on September 9, 2015, at 3:30 p.m. EDT. This webinar will cover the following: applicant eligibility, the JJ Reentry CTE Program notice and application, and frequently asked questions. Participation in the webinar is not required to apply for the grant. 

To register, please click here. 

OCTAE welcomes the sharing of this information with anyone who may be interested. 

Please contact OCTAE’s Laura Messenger at Laura.Messenger@ed.gov or at 202-245-7840 with any questions or issues about applying or pre-application webinar registration. 

Applications are due on October 30, 2015