Youth for Justice (YFJ) is the name of OJJDP's National Law-Related Education Program. It teaches the law to young people and addresses the risks of being young in America today.
The YFJ project helps find ways that law related education can address violence by and against youth in its partnerships for safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools. Law Related Education (LRE) helps young people avoid delinquent behavior and develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes of effective citizens. LRE allows youth to participate in a number of activities that benefit their communities, and equips youth with the skills to combat substance abuse, crime and violence.
YFJ helps develop curriculum and instructional materials and supports a national network of LRE leaders. YFJ also provides professional staff development, conducts programs for students, and prepares community volunteers as leaders in classrooms and community activities. Phi Alpha Delta is one of five organizations that operate under the YFJ initiative.
"Service to the student, the school, the profession and the community" is the principal upon which Phi Alpha Delta is built. The main purpose of the fraternity is to form a strong bond uniting students and teachers of the law with members of the Bench and Bar in fraternal fellowship.
This fellowship is designed to advance the ideals of liberty and justice under law, to stimulate excellence in scholarship, to inspire the virtues of compassion and courage and to foster integrity and professional competence. Phi Alpha Delta strives to promote the welfare of its members, and to encourage their moral, intellectual, and cultural advancement, so that each member may enjoy a lifetime of honorable professional and public service.
The attributes of integrity, compassion and courage, complemented by professional service, are fundamental principles of Phi Alpha Delta, and the indispensable ingredients of the character of a true lawyer.
The mission of the Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center (PAD PSC) is to expand upon the "service to the community" branch of the Phi Alpha Delta Declaration of Purpose, and to promote the Youth for Justice project. The Public Service Center will improve the teaching of law related education in K-12 classrooms, increase the number of law related programs in classrooms, and provide resources to facilitate law related education where needed. The main goal is to teach children to become better citizens, to teach them to resolve conflict without violence, and to prevent juvenile delinquency.
The Public Service Center has determined that the best way to achieve these goals is to rely upon Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International's nearly 250, 000 lawyer and law student members, and recruit them to assist with numerous Youth Court, LRE, National Youth Service of America Day and mentoring programs throughout the nation. In addition, the Public Service Center will promote juvenile delinquency prevention through other programs that all rely on the strength of the fraternity's lawyer and law student members.NCA/NCF
