Federal Grant Award Summary

The Yakutat Tlingit Tribe received a $546,353 Project Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Tribal Youth Program (CFDA 16.731) awarded on October 1, 2025, with a five-year performance period ending September 30, 2030. The grant funds the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe Youth Development Initiative, which implements a sustainable, culturally rooted youth engagement model designed to address critical service gaps for youth in Yakutat, Alaska. The initiative will provide educational support, mental and emotional wellness resources, and youth engagement programming to address documented challenges including high rates of chronic absenteeism, truancy, school dropout, self-harm, and juvenile justice system involvement.

The program will be delivered through community partnerships and is expected to produce direct benefits for Yakutat youth and families through expanded access to preventive and supportive services, while the broader community will benefit from reduced juvenile crime and improved overall well-being. The initiative addresses long-standing resource constraints in the remote southeastern Alaskan community, including limited staffing, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient youth programming. As a component of the Department of Justice's Tribal Youth Program, which focuses on prevention, intervention, and treatment activities for American Indian and Alaska Native youth involved in or at risk of juvenile delinquency, this award supports the program's core objective of improving tribal juvenile justice system responses and outcomes for at-risk youth.