The Neglected and Delinquent Program under Title I, Part D of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as reauthorized by the Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA) consist of two subparts. Subpart I is the State Agency (SA) formula grant program, Subpart 2 is the Local Education Agency (LEA) program.  

Title I, Part D, Subpart 1 (ESSA Section 1401): Program Purpose

1. improve educational services for youth who are neglected, delinquent, and at-risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system so they have the opportunity to meet challenging state academic content and achievement standards;
2. provide them with services to transition successfully from institutional settings to further schooling or employment;
3. prevent youth from dropping out of school; and provide a support system to ensure the continued education of youth who either have dropped out or are returning from correctional facilities.

Title I, Part D, Subpart 2 (ESSA Section 1421): Program Purpose

The purpose of Title1, Part D, Subpart 2 is to support the operation or Local Education Agency (LEA) programs that involve collaboration with locally-operated facilities.

1. carry out high quality education programs for preparation of secondary school completion, training, employment, or further education;
2. provide activities to facilitate transition from correctional facilities to further education or employment;
3. operate programs in local schools for children and youth returning from correctional facilities and programs that may serve at-risk children and youth.

Additional Information: 

Subpart 1: This funding is available to state agency programs. The USDOE allocates funds for this subpart to State educational agencies based on the number of children and youth in state-operated institutions and the State’s average per-pupil educational expenditures. Once USDOE determines a state’s Subpart 1 allocation, the state educational agency makes subgrants to each state agency based on either (1) its proportionate share of the state’s adjusted enrollment count of children and youth who are Part D-eligible or (2) programs with the highest need.

Subpart 2: This funding is available to local education agencies (such as school districts) and facilities that reside within the boundaries of these agencies. USDOE allocates funds for this subpart to ADE based on October case-load data on the number of children and youth living in local institutions for delinquent children and at-rsk institutions. ADE has the option of awarding subgrants to eligible local educational agencies by formula or through a discretionary (i.e., “competitive”) grant process. Arkansas grants these funds to facilities who reported ten (10) or more eligibles during the reporting period. Contact State Part D coordinator for exceptions.

Expectations of Applicants:

Although requirements differ for Subpart 1 and Subpart 2 programs, all agencies receiving Part D funds are required to: 

•  Meet the educational needs of children and youth who are delinquent or at-risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system, and assist in the transition of these students from these facilities to locally operated programs 
•  Ensure that these students have the same opportunities to achieve as students in regular community schools
•  Evaluate the program and disaggregate data on participation by gender, race, ethnicity, and age, not less than once every 3 years-required yearly in Arkansas
•  Submit an application
•  Undergo bi-annual monitoring and a yearly desk audit

Eligibility:

In order for students of a facility or state agency in Arkansas to receive services provided with Title I, Part D funds, the facility:

•  Must be licensed by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS)
•  Must be in “good standing” with DHS’s monitoring office and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE)
•  Must be defined as a delinquent facility based on original charter, certification information from DHS, or mission statement approved by facility’s board
•  Must have at least ten (10) students who are eligible for services during the reporting period; all students must be between the ages of 5 - 21 for Subpart 1 and 5 -17 for Subpart 2; contact state Part D coordinator for exceptions.
•  Must have completed the Neglected and Delinquent Survey for the previous year by appropriate deadline to be eligible for current year’s funding
•  Must have an average minimum stay of 30 days

Funding:

Services from Title I, Part D funds, in Arkansas, are only available to residential delinquent facilities or at-risk facilities. Funding generated for Title I, Part D is determined through a formula based on census counts and data collected from the facility. This is called the Annual Count. The State Part D coordinator will work with both current and potentially funded agencies to identify children and youth who are delinquent. or at-risk. This report is required annually for all states. No sampling or estimating is allowed in preparation of the report. Since these data will generate Federal funds, they are subject to audit and must be supportable from documented records. 

Only students who meet the following are eligible to be counted:

•  Must be under the age of 21;
•  Must be one for whom a free public education is being provided; and
•  Must be enrolled in a regular program of instruction supported by non-federal funds for at least 20 hours per week; 15 hours per week for students in adult correctional facilities.

Title I funds generated by children in eligible facilities must supplement the number of hours of instruction they receive from state resources. The Annual Count is due from the facility the first Friday in December. Facility counts are submitted to ADE; ADE collects this data and submits a report to the USDOE. USDOE then uses these counts to determine allocations.

Preliminary amounts are released by the USDOE by May of each year and the Federal Grants Management office of ADE completes final allocations by the beginning of August. The allocation notifications usually follow in the form of a Commissioner’s Memo issued by ADE. The Commissioner’s Memo includes a list of eligible facilities and the school from which funding will flow. This school district will be the entity that takes fiduciary responsibility. Funds generated by the delinquent eligibles create a separate allocation for the school district or state agency and must be used to provide Title I services to children residing in these institutions.

Remember, grant amounts are based on data submitted the previous year. Grant awards are effective up to 27 months following the award date; however, funds may be reallocated for non-response, not meeting initial deadline, not heeding deadlines for follow-up information or failing to submit reports in a timely manner.

For more information, please contact: