OJJDP – NPJS Project Training and Technical Assistance with Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders

The National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS) will provide Training and Technical Assistance as a representative of OJJDP in their efforts to improve compliance with the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) core requirement. During this project, NPJS will gather examples of success stories from jurisdictions across the US where through legislative activity, application of programs, implementation of tools, as well as other practices status offenders are diverted from unnecessary intrusion into the juvenile justice system, specifically institutionalization. The identified programs, policies and practices will be formatted into a publication (Toolkit) which will allow other jurisdictions seeking to improve upon local efforts, may select the approach that fits their needs.

            NPJS will develop a technical assistance and training resource. State and local agencies requesting assistance will be assigned a NPJS consultant as project lead who, with the support of OJJDP leadership, will assist the requesting agency in identifying their specific needs. A targeted approach will be developed through the collaboration of the requesting agency, NPJS and OJJDP. Jurisdictions identified as experiencing success in the targeted area of need will be aligned with the requesting agency and will be incorporated as part of the team to develop a strategy toward DSO compliance. The strategy will include specific goals and measurable objectives with action steps. NPJS consultants will document the process to include agency efforts to overcome barriers and collaborations, resources and partnerships that evolve for future reference and continuous learning.

            The intended beneficiaries of this project will consist of jurisdictions (state and/or local) who desire to fully comply with the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) core requirement of the JJRA. Targeted beneficiaries include those jurisdictions (state and/or local) who voluntarily request technical assistance to comply with the DSO.