Kings County Recovery Act JAG project

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.

Kings County, along with the Kings County Probation Department, will use the Recovery Act JAG funds to support state-mandated drug treatment in lieu of custody for non-violent drug offenders. Since 2000, the Probation Department has been mainly responsible for carrying out most of the mandates associated with this law, known as Proposition 36. Due to the state and county fiscal crisis, the Probation Department lost 2.5 employees. The Probation Department will use the JAG funds to preserve one Deputy Probation Officer (DPO) position to continue to carry out the minimum mandates required by Proposition 36. The DPO will prepare eligibility reports for the Superior Courts, conduct intakes on program participants, direct them to treatment, and provide supervision services. Funds will also pay for overtime and local travel expenses for home visits.

NCA/NCF