SJI Board Approves Grants for the Fourth Quarter

The SJI Board of Directors met in Alexandria, Virginia, on September 19, 2008, to review applications for the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2008.  One (1) Project Grant, 6 Technical Assistance (TA) Grants, and 2 Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were approved, for a total of $255,779.  Grant funding was extremely limited for the fourth quarter due to high demand throughout FY 2008. 

Grant awards included a Project Grant to support the New Mexico Justice System Interpreter Resource Project.  This partnership between the New Mexico courts and numerous justice agencies will improve interpreter training and qualifications, and establish a qualified pool of interpreters for use across the state.  The project also addresses SJI’s Special Interest Program Category: Immigration Issues.  Six (6) TA applications were approved by the Board, including case management support for the 4th Judicial District in Louisiana; resources to improve access to justice in Yuba, Tehama, and Nevada Counties in California; and sentencing improvements for the Judiciary of Guam.  Two (2) CAT Grants were approved that will allow the Vermont courts to provide critical education for judicial officers, and the National Judicial College to expand web-based training for judges.

For FY 2008, SJI awarded 9 Project Grants totaling $760,321; 5 Partner Grants totaling $937,000; 2 Strategic Initiatives Grants totaling $448,168; 22 TA Grants totaling $608,184; 8 CAT Grants totaling $117,452; and 134 Scholarships totaling $183,508; for a grand total of $3,054,633.  Total grant and scholarship requests for FY 2008 was $4,322,398; therefore, SJI supported approximately 71 percent of the total requests.  While some grant and scholarship requests did not make it through the review and Board approval processes to award, SJI also had to limit the number of awards due to lack of available grant funding.  SJI anticipates that the demand for grants will continue to increase in FY 2009.