This issue of the OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) News @ a Glance addresses OJJDP priorities for 2003, activities for National Mentoring Month, new publications, the contributions of recently deceased staff member Lauren Ziegler, a funding update, and a report on the Child Prostitution Summit.
OJJDP priorities for 2003 are child prostitution, truancy, the disproportionate numbers of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system at any point, and Tribal youth assistance. The theme for the second annual Mentoring Month (2003) was "Who mentored you? Thank them ... and pass it on!" A major public relations initiative was built around the theme, including the launch of a special Web site (www.whomentoredyou.org) by the Harvard Mentoring Project, which features commentary from prominent people about mentors in their own lives. Lauren Ziegler, an OJJDP staff member who recently died at age 34, managed the Drug-Free Communities Support Program for more than 4 years. She was scheduled to receive an award from the White House Advisory Commission on Drug-Free Communities in recognition of her efforts to prevent drug abuse among youth. Regarding fiscal year 2003 funding for OJJDP, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 restructures much of OJJDP's funding activity. The new act consolidates several previously independent programs into a single Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grant program and introduces a number of other significant changes. OJJDP sponsored Protecting Our Children: Working Together To End Child Prostitution, a summit held in Washington, DC, December 13-14, 2002. Among summit recommendations for addressing child prostitution were expanded treatment services, a comprehensive media campaign, model statutes for prosecution, and additional research and resources.