U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced a grant award of $418,000 to help support youth success in the Middle District of Florida. The grant was awarded to the City of Orlando Continuum of Care Project to Support Youth Success by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) “Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success” initiative and is part of more than $17 million going to communities nationwide.  

“Effective prevention and intervention strategies are critical in reducing violence and improving the quality of life in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “Providing youth with opportunities to succeed and realize their potential is essential in developing our future leaders. This initiative is an investment in both.”

The Continuum of Care framework supports a network of services and opportunities to foster positive youth development and prioritizes community safety and effective program outcomes. This new OJJDP investment leverages decades of evidence-based learning to prevent youth from entering or deepening their involvement in the juvenile justice system and steer them on a path to success. At its core, the continuum of care approach is community-driven, leverages local insights, and addresses youth needs through mentoring, after-school programs, and other prosocial activities.