BLUEFIELD — A major U.S. Department of Justice grant which will help provide care for at-risk youth has been awarded to the city of Bluefield, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. said Friday.
The $450,000 federal Department of Justice grant will support the planning and assessment process to develop a continuum of care with a focus on positive youth development, prevention, diversion and treatment services for youth in Mercer County, Capito said in her announcement Friday.
Capito said the target population is youth between the ages of 4 to 18 with a special priority on the Black population in Bluefield.
According to Capito’s office, this includes planning and assessing promising and evidence-based prevention and intervention services over an 18-month timeline that will inform the development of a community-based continuum of care for youth at risk of becoming or already involved in the juvenile justice system.
Additionally, within the continuum of care plan, economic impact strategies will be outlined to provide cost savings to be reinvested in the community.
“This grant will equip Bluefield with resources that will help make the community safer and set our younger population on a path to reach their full potential. I was proud to deliver these resources that will be used towards efforts that prevent crime and provide more paths to success for our young people,” Capito said.
Chief Dennis Dillow of the Bluefield Police Department confirmed after being contacted by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that the city was receiving the grant.
“It is in a preliminary stage,” Dillow said. “We did receive a grant and there will be more details to follow as soon as it’s finalized.”
No additional details on how the federal grant funding will be used to help area at-risk youth was immediately available Friday from Capito’s office.