Youth Justice Fund

We are currently not accepting new funding proposals. Please check this web site periodically for updates.

The Youth Justice Fund is designed to 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.

To support the achievement of these objectives, we are inviting organizations to submit a funding application for projects that aim to address gaps in services for Indigenous, Black and other racialized youth who are overrepresented in the youth criminal justice system across the country.

Projects targeting youth aged 12 to 17 at the time of committing an offence and who are currently being dealt under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, or justice professionals and/or service providers who work with these youth, and focusing on the following activities may be given funding priority:

• Extrajudicial/diversion programming that are gender and culturally informed;
• Youth restorative justice programs that are gender and culturally informed;
• Custodial and/or community-based rehabilitative and reintegration programming that are gender and culturally informed;
• Specialised programming for youth struggling with complex mental health issues, trauma, and addictions;
• Collaborative and integrated approaches across youth related support systems/sectors (justice, social, health, education, private sector and community service providers, etc.); and
• Training for youth justice professionals to be culturally informed

How to Apply for Funding

As funding is very limited, not all eligible projects will be funded. As the Youth Justice Fund is a federal program, funding may be awarded on the basis of geographic location and area of need in order to provide representation across Canada, when feasible and reasonable.

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

If you believe your project concept fits within the Fund's mandate, objectives and priorities, you can complete the on-line application.

When your completed application is received by the Department of Justice Canada, Youth Justice Fund staff will review it to determine if your project is eligible for funding. A program analyst will contact you once this review is complete.

The Department of Justice Canada thanks you for taking the time to complete and submit an online application. Please do not hesitate to share your comments on how to improve our process and template.

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.

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 Indigenous 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.

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:

• Youth Justice Fund Project Descriptions
• Youth Justice Fund Summaries of Project Evaluations
• Youth Justice Fund Feature Projects
• Youth Justice Fund Project Videos

Points to Consider

Projects must target youth aged 12 to 17 at the time of committing an offence and who are currently being dealt with under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, or justice professionals and/or service providers who work with these youth. The Fund generally supports projects that costs in total about $600,000 for a period of up to three or four 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.

The Youth Justice Fund 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.

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

• Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Grants
• Terms and Conditions for Youth Justice Fund Contributions
• Contribution Funds for Non-Governmental Organizations: A Handbook
• Youth Justice Fund Project Descriptions
• Youth Justice Fund Summaries of Project Evaluations
• Youth Justice Fund Feature Projects
• Youth Justice Fund Project Videos
• Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award

Contact Information

Department of Justice Canada
Programs Branch
Youth Justice Fund
284 Wellington Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8
Telephone: 613-960-4942
Fax: 613-954-4893
E-mail: pb-dgp@justice.gc.ca