Indigent Defense
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.836
- Agency
-
Office of Justice Programs
Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 29 $16,217,047 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
- Block Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0405-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funds local implementation of juvenile indigent defense practices and services, CFDA 16.836, with the most recent grant award dated October 1, 2024, and multiple grant opportunities currently open including one due October 23, 2025.
The program supports concrete enhancements to public defense systems serving youth involved in juvenile justice proceedings. Recent awards demonstrate sustained investment in specialized attorney training and certification, holistic multidisciplinary defense teams integrating forensic social workers and paralegals, education advocacy for court-involved youth with disabilities, victim restitution assistance programs, appellate defense infrastructure, and training initiatives targeting rural jurisdictions. The East Baton Rouge Advanced Advocacy Project Phase 2 expansion received $524,307 to add paralegals and field investigators; Maine's Youth Access to Counsel Project received $425,142 to establish the state's first juvenile public defender office and implement statewide training; and Texas's Education Advocacy Program received $403,126 to serve youth with disabilities in the juvenile justice system.
OJJDP is the sole funding agency across the entire portfolio. The program awarded 29 grants totaling $16.2 million in federal dollars obligated (with $16.4 million total including non-federal cost-share) from October 2017 through October 2024. The assistance-type mix is predominantly Project Grants, representing 79 percent of awards, with smaller shares of Cooperative Agreements at 14 percent and Block Grants at 7 percent. Award cadence has averaged 3 to 5 grants annually over the past five years, though 2023 saw only 2 awards. Individual project grants typically range from $290 thousand to $650 thousand; the Gault Center's national training and technical assistance cooperative agreement received $3.5 million.
Three grant opportunities remain open with near-term deadlines. OJJDP FY25 Enhancing Juvenile Indigent Defense (due October 23, 2025) solicits local implementation efforts and is open to state governments, county and city/township governments, special districts, and nonprofit and higher-education applicants. OJJDP FY25 Enhancing Youth Defense (due February 5, 2025) supports system-level improvements through direct grants and technical assistance, limited to government applicants. OJJDP FY25 Enhancing Youth Defense Training and Technical Assistance (due February 4, 2025), a cooperative-agreement vehicle, seeks organizations to provide specialized training and intensive technical assistance and is open to nonprofits, for-profit organizations, and higher-education institutions. All three opportunities are live; the February deadlines are now imminent.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s) name: Implement enhancements that improve juvenile indigent defense. Program goal(s) description: Support organizations providing public defense services to address barriers and gaps within the juvenile justice system for indigent yo
- Description
AL description: This program supports local implementation of juvenile indigent defense practices and services that strengthen and improve the representation of youth involved in the juvenile justice system to reduce reoffending and decrease recidivism.
Eligibility
- Beneficiary eligibility
individuals subject to juvenile court jurisdiction
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Length and time phasing of assistance vary by project--see applicable program announcement.
How to apply
- Preapplication coordination
Preapplication coordination is required. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.
- Time to approval or disapproval
The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.
- Renewals
In some cases, award periods may be extended if specific criteria are met. For details, please review the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section of the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide available at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/overview
Grant opportunities
Show all 13
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 29 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Gault Center | $5,791,309 | 36% |
| 2 | Office Of The State Public Defender | $853,061 | 5% |
| 3 | Public Defender Maryland Office Of | $845,542 | 5% |
| 4 | County Of Hamilton, Ohio | $818,207 | 5% |
| 5 | Judiciary Courts Of The State Of North Carolina | $805,214 | 5% |
| 6 | Michigan Indigent Defense Commission | $649,327 | 4% |
| 7 | County Of LOS Angeles | $649,326 | 4% |
| 8 | Georgia Public Defender Council | $442,284 | 3% |
| 9 | Wisconsin State Public Defender | $437,888 | 3% |
| 10 | State Of Maine | $425,142 | 3% |
10 of 23 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$27,643 |
| FY2025 | -$206,650 |
| FY2024 | $2,954,791 |
| FY2023 | $2,193,883 |
| FY2022 | $4,394,698 |
| FY2021 | -$228,741 |
| FY2020 | $1,780,990 |
| FY2019 | $1,769,482 |
| FY2018 | $1,735,988 |
| FY2017 | $1,552,594 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.836?
Assistance Listing 16.836 is Indigent Defense, a federal grant program run by Office of Justice Programs (Department of Justice).
What is the CFDA number for Indigent Defense?
Its CFDA number is 16.836: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.836 awarded?
29 grant awards under 16.836 have obligated $16,217,047 in federal funds to 23 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 16.836?
The recipients obligated the most under Indigent Defense are The Gault Center ($5,791,309), Office Of The State Public Defender ($853,061) and Public Defender Maryland Office Of ($845,542).
How much did 16.836 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 16.836 obligated -$206,650 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.836?
No opportunity listed under 16.836 is open now. The latest, OJJDP FY25 Enhancing Juvenile Indigent Defense, was posted on September 15, 2025.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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