This annual report of the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for fiscal year 2015 reports on its activities in working with its partners to narrow the entry points to the juvenile justice system for at-risk youth, reduce youth violence, and support systemic reforms at the state and local levels.
The report focuses on the various ways in which OJJDP supported system wide reform that adopts a developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, and evidence-based approach to juvenile justice policy and program development. It reports that states and communities have reduced the number of youth in detention and confinement, implemented locally developed responses to youth violence, and improved outcomes for system-involved youth. These activities have been promoted and supported by OJJDP in fulfillment of its vision statement that children's contact with the juvenile justice system should be rare, fair, and beneficial to their positive development. After reviewing funding highlights, signature initiatives, and focus areas, specific activities that show OJJDP's commitment to protecting children and preventing youth violence are described. Among these reported activities are the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, the Community-based Violence Prevention Program, Internet crimes against children, Tribal youth initiatives, missing children, and youth with sexual behavior problems. Other chapters feature OJJDP's activities in keeping youth out of the juvenile justice system, and ensuring a better future for system-involved youth. Appended OJJDP fiscal year 2015 awards, publications, and organization.