Diverting Children, Adolescents and Young Adults from Criminal Justice System Involvement

The Massachusetts Probation Service is seeking proposals from Massachusetts cities and towns—acting individually or in partnership with community-based organizations—to pilot or expand multidisciplinary diversion programs for juveniles ages 11–18 and emerging adults ages 18–24, with applications due October 16, 2026 on a rolling basis. The program funds community-based activities that intervene prior to arrest or arraignment, including mental health service connections, youth development and mentoring, restorative justice programs, and legal system navigation assistance.

Eligible applicants are municipalities acting as fiscal agents, community-based providers partnering with local governmental units as fiscal agents, or combinations thereof. Written vendor inquiries are due July 24, 2026, with MPS responses by July 28, 2026.

The grant program anticipates several awards ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 per project, with a total appropriation of $500,000. The project period runs one year from contract execution. Administrative costs are capped at five percent of the total grant amount. Awardees may apply for continuation or expansion funding in future years if funds are available.

Selection criteria prioritize applications that have received prior MPS funding; demonstrate comprehensive municipal collaboration involving law enforcement, schools, community-based organizations, and government agencies with written partnership commitments; utilize evidence-based or promising practices; and clearly identify target populations, activities, performance metrics, outcomes, milestone mapping, and expected impacts with baseline and measurable change projections.

Applicants must submit proposals through the COMMBUYS online procurement system. Required documents include a cover letter, cover sheet, narrative, budget summary, budget narrative, partnership commitment letters, support letters, Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, and Contractor Authorized Signatory forms. Awards are announced upon completion of scoring and determination of grant appropriateness.