Budgeting Plans and Actual Expenditures

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is an agency that provides a variety of services to youthful offenders within Georgia State. The agency has 26 facilities with 98 court offices that detains and oversees the rehabilitation process for youth offenders. It also remains one of the largest educators in the state, with more than 20000 youth undergoing a variety of training programs (Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, 2020). The DJJ has four programs, which include community service, secure detention, firm commitment, and administration. The budget for the DJJ in the financial year 2018 was $345 million, which makes it one of the highest-funded agencies in the state. The fiscal year 2019 saw an increase in the budget recommendation up to $351 million. The Criminal Justice and public safety subcommittee are responsible for the budget appropriation of the agency. This subcommittee presents the budget proposal to the representatives for discussion. The subcommittee can make recommendations for the budget increase or decrease depending on the demands of the agency (Brief, 2013). Every year, the subcommittee makes different budget allocations depending on the needs of the agency. In 2019, the subcommittee recommended a budget of $351 million, which was an increase of $6 million from the previous year (Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, 2020). The DJJ's programs and operations fall under the U.S. Department of Justice under federal functions, and its obligation is to deliver justice and detain offenders in correctional facilities. The operations fall under the full range of activities under the justice department. The federal government initially operated DJJ under the U.S. Department of Justice before handing over its operations to the state government. The budget authority refers to the number of funds that an agency can request from the treasury for funding of its operations. The budget outlays on the hand refer to the expenditures under the budget authority in a given financial year. The DJJ's 2018 budget was $345 million. This is composed of over $122 million budget authority and $100 million from other funds (Division of Financial Services, 2020). The agency has been making increments in its budget recommendations each year. The agency has been spending close to two-thirds of its budget on the out-of-home placement program for the youth. The 2018 budget appropriation for the agency was divided into four programs. The community service received $97 million, the administration received $24 million, and secure commitment received $98 million (Division of Financial Services, 2020). Secure detention had the largest share of $124 million from the budget. The budget request for the financial year 2012 by the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice was $310 million (Division of Financial Services, 2020). The DDJ request includes the agency's discretionary ads and the mandatory funding of the four programs, and it increases annually with an increase of activities. Also, the governor has the power to make budget recommendations for the agency. The budget request and the recommendations by the governor usually differ. The governor, as a political leader, therefore, plays a significant role in the budget allocation to the agency. Besides, the president appoints a team to oversee the accountability and responsibility of the agency in carrying out its mandate. This further shows how political elements influence the activities of DJJ. The representatives at the state are responsible for the approval of the budget request, as presented by the budget subcommittee. The representatives can either increase or decrease the budget request depending on the priorities of the state. The role of representatives in budgetary allocation to the agency shows the significant role of political influence in funding DJJ. The Division of Financial Services (DFS) has the responsibility of ensuring that the DJJ complies with the requirements. DFS role is to oversee the budget services, procurement, and matters of accounting within the agency. The Budget services work with the office of the governor, senator, and the legislature to ensure that the agency complies with the set procedures. The "Budget Services acts as the central coordination point and guides in the use and management of the resources” (Division of Financial Services, 2020). Accountability and responsibility of the agency management are under check by the office of the governor and the budget evaluation office. The administrators of the various functions of the agency are answerable to the committee on justice, which still gives the political influence a significant role in the management and running of the affairs of the agency. An intergovernmental agency that influences the budgetary decision by Georgia DJJ is the World Program of Action for Youth (WPAY). The agency runs through the United Nations program to ensure that the situation for youth around the world improves. The WPAY works with juvenile justice agencies across the globe to identify key issues and priority areas. It focuses on topics, such as youth education and juvenile justice as a way to improve the lives of young people. Based on the priority areas presented by WPAY, the DJJ agency forecasts its expenditure and offers a budget proposal based on those priorities. If the priority set is community service and education for the juvenile within the correctional facilities, DJJ allocates more of its budget to this area. The WPAY is in constant communication with the juvenile justice departments to identify key priority areas that can improve the lives of the youth. The United Nations Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ) also influences the budgetary decisions of Georgia DJJ. This body works with juvenile justice agencies across the world to improve the juvenile justice system. It offers a wide range of advice on areas of justice for juveniles. It makes recommendations to the juvenile departments on matters of juvenile laws and policies that need to be revised (Strnadova, Cumming & O'Neill, 2017). Through consultation with the IPJJ, the DJJ identifies areas of improvement and needed change to improve juvenile justice. The DJJ then makes a budget request to the treasury based on the recommendations by the IPJJ. The agency aims to put more resources on the areas of priority, as identified by the IPJJ. Therefore the intergovernmental agency influences not only the budget request but also the allocation of budget to various programs. The need to strengthen the juvenile justice system as a way of enhancing the well-being of the youth has continued to dominate international policymaking. The goal is to have a robust juvenile justice system in which the youth get rehabilitated during their stay at the facility. The "United Nations standard minimum rules for the administration of juvenile justice" provides international policies that ensure the juveniles have a meaningful life in the community. The global policies on juvenile justice focus on the measures to mobilize resources to promote the well-being of children. The policies seek to bring in family, schools, and community groups as a way of reducing the incarceration of juveniles. The emphasis is on how to deal with juveniles in the case of lawbreaking humanly. The policymaking on juvenile justice at the international levels directly affect the budget. These policies need to be implemented, and the implementation requires resources. The agency, therefore, makes a budget request based on the set priority according to the international policies on juvenile justice. One way to improve the budget of the agency is to make it flexible. A flexible budget can allow the agency to make changes in its program expenditures when the need arises. Flexible budgets help in the planning and forecasting of the expenses required by the agency. When a flexible budget request is presented to the budget committee, it provides room for any change without affecting the operations of various programs. Flexible budgets with a good forecast can help the agency eliminate the issue of the budget deficit. It provides the agency with an option to focus on key priority areas. The second recommendation is to have the agency make a budget request that is based on the plan. The agency needs to have a prior plan of what it intends to do in a particular year and request a budget based on that. Budget planning offers an opportunity to focus the budget on the government's plans for the year, which is a better method to ensure that the budget presented for approval is enough for the planned programs. 

References 

Brief, F. (2013). Justice and Public Safety Subcommittee 2013-15 Fiscal Biennium Budget Highlights.  Positions (FTE),  32 (32,813.0), 32-089. 

Division of Financial Services. (2020). Retrieved 10 March 2020, from https://djj.georgia.gov/djj-divisions/division-financial-services 

Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. (2020). Retrieved 10 March 2020, from https://georgia.gov/agencies/georgia-department-juvenile-justice 

Strnadova, I., Cumming, T. M., & O'Neill, S. C. (2017). Young people transitioning from juvenile justice to the community: Transition planning and interagency collaboration.  Current Issues in Criminal Justice,  29 (1), 19-38.