Congressional Earmark - Performance Measures for the Juvenile Justice System

The American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI), in cooperation with the Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) Project (Florida Atlantic University), and the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ), will demonstrate the feasibility and utility of measuring the performance of juvenile justice systems. The measures will address delinquency reduction, offender accountability to victims and communities, and justice system efforts to equip offenders with skills and attitudes required to pursue constructive rather than criminal goals. Under the grant up to four jurisdictions will collect data on these "benchmark" measures, and issue a report (Report Card) to their constituencies indicating current success, and providing guidance for setting future levels of achievement. The award is an "earmark" and reflects congressional interest in establishing measures and strengthening accountability for the expenditure of public funds. (Congressional staff, and subsequently member, interest in "benchmarks" for juvenile justice performance was spurred by a training session conducted by the concept's author, Dennis Maloney of the BARJ Project.)

NCA/NCF