OJJDP News @ a Glance Celebrates the New Year by Going Monthly! 

OJJDP News @ a Glance is now being published on a monthly basis—12 times each year rather than the previous six. Publishing more often ensures the News @ a Glance content is as timely as possible, with a new format featuring a bold color palette and emphasizing clarity and readability. A new section, “From the Administrator’s Desk,” provides updates from OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan and her work to promote juvenile justice reform. News @ a Glance will continue to highlight news from OJJDP and our grantees, including columns like “Youth Voices” and “Stakeholder’s Corner.” 
 

Expert Panels Advise the Coordinating Council on Strategies To Advance Youth Justice Reforms

Two panels of experts with extensive experience in the juvenile justice system joined the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for its December 6, 2023, meeting in Washington, DC. Panelists advised Council members on strategies for improving access to preventive and supportive services for youth, to give them the best chance for success in their home communities and keep them from entering the juvenile justice system. Recommendations included:

• Create a national roadmap to support state efforts to advance juvenile justice reforms, emphasizing evidence-based approaches.
• Provide greater support for families with lived experience and increase their role in federal policy.
• Improve access to community-based services for youth by promoting coordination and collaboration among providers.
• Encourage partnerships between schools and police to help keep youth out of the juvenile justice system.
• Invest in early childhood programs, including support for parents.

“When youth receive the support they need—and can take advantage of real opportunities for growth—they are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors and their chances for success increase,” OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan said when she opened the meeting. “Access to needed services helps families stay together—and it helps keep communities safe.” The Administrator also referred to the focus of the Council’s September 19 meeting in Houston, TX, which explored ways federal agencies can support local collaborations to increase the availability of community-based support services for vulnerable youth. 

The Council is collecting input from youth, families, community members, and practitioners on ways federal agencies might coordinate more effectively to prevent youth involvement in the justice system and meet the needs of justice-involved youth in their communities. Responses are due by March 15, 2024. Visit the Council website to access notes and a recording of the December meeting. 
 

National Mentoring Summit Features Workshops by Numerous OJJDP Grantees

Attendees of the 2024 National Mentoring Summit—January 24–26, 2024, in Washington, DC—are receiving a special message from OJJDP Deputy Administrator Chyrl Jones on their mobile phones, via the Mentoring Summit app. “Mentoring has always been central to OJJDP programming,” OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan says. “It is a vital tool for reaching young people and helping them believe in themselves, their worth, and their power. I’m excited the Office has this chance to connect with people who are committed to mentoring and understand its potential to change young lives.” 

The annual Mentoring Summit is hosted by MENTOR, which coordinates the activities of OJJDP’s National Mentoring Resource Center. Event sessions include numerous workshops led by OJJDP grantees who receive funding under the National Mentoring, Multistate Mentoring, and Mentoring for Youth Affected by Opioid and Other Substance Misuse programs.

The National Mentoring Resource Center is sponsoring the Youth Mentoring Research Symposium on Wednesday, January 24. The daylong event is addressing the state of research on topics impacting public policy and the mentoring movement, and opens with a plenary session, “Credible Messengers and Lived Experience Mentors: Opportunities and Challenges.”
 

Data Snapshot Reveals Bullying Trends Among High Schoolers 

OJJDP has updated its Statistical Briefing Book, adding Bullying Experiences Reported by High School Students, 2021, which relies on data from the 1991-2021 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Highlights include:

• The percentage of students who reported experiencing bullying on school property declined between 2011 (20.1 percent) and 2021 (15.0 percent). Reports of electronic bullying remained relatively stable (16.2 percent in 2011 versus 15.9 percent in 2021).
• Female students were more likely than male students to report bullying experiences (on school property: 17.0 percent versus 12.8 percent; electronically: 20.5 percent versus 11.2 percent).
• Students who identify as heterosexual were less likely to report bullying (on school property: 12.0 percent; electronically, 12.7 percent) than their peers who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (on school property: 24.9 percent; electronically, 27.6 percent) and those who identify as other or questioning (on school property: 21.1 percent; electronically, 24.8 percent).
   

Number of Youth in Adult Jails Decreased an Average of 10 Percent Annually Over 10 Years

The number of youth (age 17 and younger) held in local adult jails in the United States decreased an average of 10 percent per year over 10 years, declining from 5,400 at midyear 2012 to 1,900 at midyear 2022, according to Jail Inmates in 2022—Statistical Tables, a new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Of the 1,900 youth confined to adult jails in 2022, 1,600 were held as adults, down from 1,700 in 2021. 

“While an overall decrease in the number of young people confined to adult jails is an encouraging trend, 1,900 youth is 1,900 too many,” says OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan. “Youth should never be held in an adult jail or prison. OJJDP continues our mission to ensure that the justice system always treats children as children.” 

Jails held 663,100 persons at midyear 2022; 15.8 percent of the individuals held were ages 18 to 25. U.S. jails hold individuals before or after adjudication; the jails typically are operated by local law enforcement authorities, such as a sheriff, police chief, or county or city administrator, BJS explains. In contrast, prisons confine individuals after they have been convicted of a criminal offense, and typically are operated by a state’s department of corrections or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.