Recovery Act JAG Program

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the 'Recovery Act') and by 42 U.S.C. 3751(a). The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases. The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.

Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new website ' Recovery.gov ' to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funded under the Recovery Act is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. Recovery JAG funds support all components of the criminal justice system, from multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to crime prevention and domestic violence programs, courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives. Recovery JAG funded projects may address crime through the provision of services directly to individuals and/or communities and by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice systems, processes, and procedures.

Monroe County will use their Recovery Act JAG funds to establish a Wellness, Academic, and Vocational Empowerment (WAVE) Reentry Project. Oriented towards assisting inmates to prepare for community reentry, the WAVE project will provide assessments and screening in the areas of medical, health, mental health and substance abuse, housing, education, and employment. The project will also develop individualized plans to provide a comprehensive, coordinated, and collaborative effort to ensure a continuum of care and treatment during the reentry process. The project goals are to: create a position to oversee the ongoing development, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability for jail diversion and community reintegration services; increase the number of reentry planning and employment readiness services for inmates; reduce the days of incarceration and undue detention of misdemeanant inmates, particularly those with mental illness or co-occurring disorders; reduce the recidivism of individuals participating in re-entry planning and employment readiness services; increase the number of criminal justice personnel trained in law enforcement-based and jail-based diversion strategies; increase collaboration with community stakeholders, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, homeless providers, educational and employment support services, healthcare agencies, financial assistance and social services, and the business community.

NCA/NCF