Each year, California provides millions of state funding to counties to serve youth within their communities and reduce justice involvement through two major grant programs. First, the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA), which was enacted by the Schiff-Cardenas Crime Prevention Act and given its current name through a California Senate bill the following year, seeks to curb crime by serving youth who are justice-involved or at risk of justice involvement (AB 1913, 2000). In 2007, the Youthful Offender Block Grant (YOBG) was established as part of the state's push for juvenile justice realignment, allowing youth who would have otherwise been confined in the state's youth correctional system, the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), to be served at the county-level (SB 81, 2007). Both the JJCPA and YOBG grant programs are administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), a powerful state criminal and juvenile justice agency, which is responsible for overseeing counties' planning and reporting processes for these funds. As California experiences historic drops in youth arrests and confinement, JJCPA and YOGB funds present an opportunity for reinvestment in community-based alternatives to detention. Youth, including high-needs youth in the justice system, can be best served by community partners that provide culturally-responsive care and build trusting, positive relationships beyond the juvenile justice system. JJCPA and YOBG funds require greater transparency between administrators of funding and the communities most in need of support through the planning, allocation, spending, and program evaluation processes. Only by supporting community stakeholders, youth, and their families, can funds best be used in ways that strengthen positive youth development and ensure a safer California.