Youth Justice Fund

Overview

The Youth Justice Fund provides grants and contributions to projects that encourage a more effective youth justice system, respond to emerging youth justice issues and enable greater citizen and community participation in the youth justice system. The Youth Justice Fund has three components: the Main Fund, Drug Treatment, and Guns, Gangs and Drugs.

Who is eligible?

All of the following are eligible for funding:

  • Non-profit community organizations, societies, and associations which have voluntarily associated themselves for a non-profit purpose;
  • Canadian institutions/boards of education;
  • Bands, First Nations, Tribal Councils, local, regional and national Aboriginal organizations;
  • Provincial, territorial and municipal governments and their agencies and institutions;
  • Private sector organizations as long as such organizations will not make a profit on the work performed;
  • For-profit enterprises, research/evaluation organizations and individuals are eligible for funding to conduct research and evaluation activities; and,
  • Individuals.

Objectives

Projects must meet at least one of the following objectives:

  • Establish special measures for violent young offenders;
  • Improve the system’s ability to rehabilitate and reintegrate young offenders;
  • Increase the use of measures, outside the formal court process, that are often more effective in addressing some types of less serious offending;
  • Establish a more targeted approach to the use of custody for young people; and
  • Increase the use of community-based sentences for less serious offending.

Funding flows through three components: the Youth Justice Main Fund, Drug Treatment and Guns, Gangs and Drugs.

The Main Fund supports a broad range of projects with youth involved in the justice system.  Current funding priorities include youth with mental health issues and/or cognitive impairments such as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

The Drug Treatment component supports drug treatment programming for youth involved in the justice system.

The Guns, Gangs and Drugs component responds to youth involved in the justice system and involved in, or vulnerable to, gun, gang and drug activities. It promotes the provision of community-based educational, cultural, sporting and vocational opportunities to these youth to allow them to make “smart choices” and resist gang involvement or exit gangs.

Activities/Projects

The Fund supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects that provide programming and services for youth in conflict with the law.  It supports professional development activities, such as training and conferences, for justice professionals and youth service providers. Additionally, it funds research on the youth justice system and related youth justice issues.

For a full listing of eligible activities, see Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Grants and Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Contributions.

For information on past projects, please see:

Points to Consider

Projects must target youth who are between the ages of 12 and 17 and currently in conflict with the law, or justice professionals and/or service providers who work with these youth. The Fund generally supports projects for no more than $500,000, for a period of up to three years. The funding amount is determined by assessing the individual project proposal. Please note, funding is based on the availability of funds and current priorities. Not all eligible projects can be funded.

Youth Justice cannot provide operational costs to sustain existing programs.

The Fund cannot support projects focusing on youth who are “at risk of” becoming involved in the criminal justice system, but not actually involved. If your project focuses on youth at risk, please visit the National Crime Prevention Centre Web site.

How to Apply for Funding

Applications for funding are normally received and evaluated on an ongoing basis. The Fund also periodically issues calls for proposals for projects that address specific priorities.

If you are interested in obtaining support for a project, please thoroughly review the information posted on our web site.

If you believe your project concept fits with the Fund's mandate, objectives and priorities, your next step is to contact one of the program analysts. The program analyst can provide more detailed information on the Fund, the approval process and current funding availability. Should your project appear to fit within the Fund's mandate, objectives and priorities, a proposal package may be sent to you.

When you send your completed proposal package to the Department of Justice Canada, Youth Justice staff will review it to determine if your proposal is eligible for funding. The program analyst will contact you once this review is complete.

Official Languages

Official language minority communities are anglophone communities in Quebec and francophone communities in the rest of Canada.

In support of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Department is committed to facilitate the participation of official language minority communities and their organizations in the development and assessment of the Department's policies, programs and services having significant impact on the development of the communities; and to take measures to ensure that the Department of Justice's programs and services reach official language minority communities. In the context of project funding, these measures include:

  • outreach to official language minority communities to enhance their understanding of the Department of Justice funding programs; and
  • encouraging contacts between organizations that are receiving financial assistance and official language minority organizations/groups to ensure that the needs of these communities are taken into consideration in relation to the proposed projects to be considered for Department of Justice Canada funding.

Sustainable Development

The Department of Justice encourages applicants to submit proposals electronically.  If you submit your application on paper, please consider printing on both sides of the paper. These actions will minimize environmental impacts

Publications and Resources

Contact Information

For more information on the Youth Justice Fund, or to apply for funding, please contact the program analyst for the specific funding stream. The program analyst can provide more detailed information on the Fund, the approval process and current funding availability.

Francophone enquiries on any of the funding streams should be directed to Lise Lamontagne.

Main Fund

Gail McQuaid-Bohémier
Program Analyst
Phone:  613-948-2091
Email: gmcquaid@justice.gc.ca

Drug Treatment

Deborah Auger
Senior Program Analyst
Phone: 613-960-6404
Email: dauger@justice.gc.ca

Guns, Gangs and Drugs and all francophone proposals

Lise Lamontagne
Program Analyst
Phone: 613-941-3796
Email: lise.lamontagne@justice.gc.ca