Addressing Children's Exposure to Violence: A National Policy Academy on Juvenile Justice, Behavioral Health, and Trauma

OJJDP's State and Community Development Awards program was established to provide grants and cooperative agreements to organizations that OJJDP has selected for funds in prior years. This program has been authorized by an Act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice.

The goal of this initative is to increase the capacity of states to oversee the implementation of model public policy initiatives to reduce children's exposure to violence and to adopt and implement the recommendations of the Attorney General's Task Force on Children's Exposure to Violence. Policy Research Associates will implement a policy academy, a process designed to help jurisdictions develop improved policies and practices to address a specific issue. The goal of this initiative, "Addressing Children's Exposure to Violence: A National Policy Academy on Juvenile Justice, Behavioral Health, and Trauma," is to bring together multi-disciplinary teams of key stakeholders from states across the country to reduce children's overall exposure to violence, and to develop and implement effective approaches for reducing the impact of exposure to violence specifically for youth in contact with the juvenile justice system. State teams will receive specialized technical assistance on critical issues, such as behavioral health services and the juvenile justice system, integrated trauma screening and assessment, evidence-based practices, and violence prevention. States will develop and implement sustainable strategic plans to enhance the ability of the jurisdiction to achieve better outcomes for youth and reduce the impact of exposure to violence for youth in the juvenile justice system.

NCA/NCF