OJJDP Provides $2.5 Million to AmeriCorps To Open Up Opportunities for System-Involved Youth 

AmeriCorps is distributing $2.5 million in fiscal year 2023 OJJDP funding to 12 community-based organizations that serve youth who are or were involved in the juvenile justice system. Combined with funding from AmeriCorps State and National, these funds will help support the work of nearly 4,000 AmeriCorps members who will engage in service across the nation. This OJJDP-AmeriCorps partnership aims to create safer communities by supporting and opening up opportunities for system-involved young people: helping them transition successfully back to their communities, offering them choices and access to educational and training opportunities, and equipping them with tools and resources to make a difference where they live.

AmeriCorps—the nation’s federal agency for national service—is distributing the funding to organizations to support youth service opportunities in a variety of areas, including land conservation, energy efficiency, construction of affordable housing, and mentoring. OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan—a former AmeriCorps member—called the partnership “the ultimate win-win for public safety.” She announced the OJJDP-AmeriCorps partnership in her March 27 Today in Juvenile Justice: Administrator Update.
 

OJJDP and Children’s Bureau Partner To Address Challenges Facing Dual System Youth

More than half of youth in the juvenile justice system have also been involved in the child welfare system, according to the OJJDP Dual System Youth Design Study. Youth involved in both systems tend to have more out-of-home placements than their peers with experience in just one system; they are also more likely to reoffend.

In May, OJJDP and the Administration for Children and Families released a joint letter encouraging child welfare and youth justice professionals to partner together to address “the complex needs of young people who navigate both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.” The letter underscores the importance of investing in prevention efforts to assist families in crisis and reduce the likelihood of youth entering either system. It was signed by Liz Ryan, OJJDP Administrator, and Rebecca Jones Gaston, Acting Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau and Commissioner of the Administration for Children and Families.

“The complexity of the challenges faced by dually involved youth necessitates a collaborative and innovative approach from all partners,” they wrote. “By breaking down barriers between child welfare and juvenile justice and engaging with communities, families, and young people, we can foster a coordinated response.”

Administrator Ryan and Commissioner Jones Gaston called for youth-serving systems to invest in accessible community-based services, harmonize their policies, and share funding, thus providing stabilizing services that allow youth to remain in their homes. The letter also emphasized the need to address racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, and to rely on the perspectives of young people and families with lived experience in the systems. It was released in May in honor of National Foster Care Month.
 

NCMEC Technical Support Helps Federal Operation Recover 200 Missing Children 

A 6-week national operation led by the U.S. Marshals Service resulted in the recovery of 200 critically missing children, including 123 rescued from dangerous situations, according to law enforcement and child welfare agencies. Most of the children (173) were endangered runaways; two were abducted, one by a family member.

Operation We Will Find You 2 was the second nationwide missing child operation of its kind. Conducted from May 20 to June 24, the operation also involved federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in seven areas with high clusters of critically missing children. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provided technical support.

The operation highlighted the capacity of government and nongovernment agencies to form multidisciplinary teams with the resources required to find critically missing children. NCMEC is an information clearinghouse for families of missing and exploited children and the professionals who serve them. OJJDP has supported the center since its inception in 1984. In fiscal year 2023, the Office awarded NCMEC nearly $41.4 million.
 

NIJ: Effective Responses to Youth Misbehavior Require Accurate, Timely Data 

A new publication from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) underscores the importance of accurate, timely research and data when developing strategies to support positive youth development and prevent and intervene in delinquency. Five Things About Youth and Delinquency presents research-based findings detailing the nature, scope, and context of delinquent behaviors by young people. According to the five findings:

  Risk-taking by youth is a normal part of adolescent development. The cognitive control needed to inhibit risk-taking behaviors undergoes ongoing development, with brain maturation continuing into early adulthood.

  Offending prevalence tends to increase during adolescence and then decline. Most people eventually stop engaging in criminal behavior altogether.

  Fewer than 1 percent of youth ages 0 to 17 were arrested for any offense in 2022, and fewer than half of 1 percent were arrested for a violent offense.

  Youth arrests for violent offenses peaked in the mid-1990s. By 2020, they reached a new low—78 percent below the 1994 peak.

  Of all age groups, youth ages 0 to 17 are responsible for fewer arrests for violent crimes than other age groups. In 2022, youth accounted for 9.4 percent of overall arrests for violent crime, according to data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System. Young adults ages 18 to 24 accounted for 19.9 percent.

NIJ’s “Five Things” series distills findings from rigorous, scientific inquiry into numerous issues, emphasizing the applicability of science to decisions made every day in the field.