Juvenile Justice

This fact sheet provides information on the Native American Pass-Through Grant Program, which provides federal grants to states and localities to help improve their juvenile justice systems. GAO (1) describes how the pass-through grant program works; (2) determines the funding amounts that the states and Indian tribes received under this program for fiscal years 1991 through 1993, and (3) provides examples of how some tribes used the funds.

GAO found that: (1) Indian tribes receive a proportion of state grant funds based on the percentage of the state's under-18 population that resides in areas where the tribes perform law enforcement functions; (2) such tribes can receive funds from both the pass-through grant program and states' general formula grants; (3) in fiscal year (FY) 1991, 23 states had Indian tribes eligible for pass-through funds and 18 of the 23 states awarded funds to their tribes; (4) only 12 states awarded funds that met or exceeded the minimum estimated amount for at least 1 FY between 1991 and 1993; (5) tribes use the pass-through grant funds for such purposes as conducting juvenile needs-assessment studies and providing alternatives to juvenile detention; (6) juvenile justice officials believe that the amount of pass-through grants available are insufficient for tribes to address their juvenile justice problems; and (7) a juvenile justice coalition has recommended that the authorizing legislation be amended to promote juvenile justice system improvements for Native Americans.