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OJJDP News @ a Glance

The July/August issue highlights OJJDP’s Tribal consultation, a youth peer guide in Indian country, interventions for children with sexual behavior problems, and the training of juvenile prosecutors.
Message From the Administrator
Official photo of OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp

News in Brief

 


Now Available: Online Training for Law Enforcement Officers on Children’s Exposure to Violence

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), in partnership with the Yale Child Study Center, has developed an interactive online training series with scenario-based learning to help frontline law enforcement officers identify and respond effectively to children of all ages who have been exposed to violence and potentially traumatic events.

In this OJJDP-funded training, participants learn principles and strategies for on-scene/acute responses, death notification to children, and responding to the needs of children at scenes of domestic violence. Topics also include developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed protocols, and effective collaboration practices with multidisciplinary partners.

The training is based on the OJJDP-sponsored Protecting and Serving: Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Children Exposed to Violence classroom course and Enhancing Police Responses to Children Exposed to Violence: A Toolkit for Law Enforcement.


New Grants and Payment Management Systems To Launch in October

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Beginning October 15, 2020, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) grantmaking components―the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)―will transition to a unified grants management system and a new payment management system. 

The Justice Grants System, known as JustGrants, will replace OJP and OVW’s current Grants Management System (GMS) and the COPS Office’s NexGen system. In addition, OJP, OVW, and the COPS Office will transition from the Grants Payment Request System (GPRS) to the Department of the Treasury’s Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system. DOJ will discontinue the use of its current grants management and payment request systems, including GMS, NexGen, and GPRS, on September 22, 2020.

Data for all current awards from GMS and NexGen will be migrated to JustGrants. This will include all open, active awards and any awards that have not yet reached final closure. Once migrated, all award management activities will take place in JustGrants starting October 15, 2020. During the migration period, September 23–October 14, 2020, no transactions will take place in GMS, NexGen, or GPRS.

The JustGrants website offers a wealth of resources to ease the transition to JustGrants and the ASAP system, including answers to frequently asked questions, information about key transition dates, guidance on how to prepare, and updates on training opportunities. The Department of the Treasury also organizes ASAP trainings; information about currently scheduled trainings may be found on the ASAP website.

Sign up to receive the latest information on DOJ’s rollout of the new grants management and payment management systems.


Early Family/Parent Training Rated “Effective” by CrimeSolutions.gov

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Early Family/Parent Training programming seeks to provide families and parents with training and skills to help promote their children’s physical, mental, and social skills. The practice generally includes two types of programs: home visitation and parent training. Home visitation programs usually involve healthcare professionals who conduct in-home visits with new parents to teach them how to properly care for their children. Parent training programs involve individual or group-based sessions that can be conducted at clinics, schools, or in other community-based settings. These programs focus on strengthening parents’ competencies with regard to monitoring and disciplining their children’s behavior and promoting their children’s social and emotional competencies. For children whose families participated in early family/parent training, the practice is rated “effective” for reducing child problem behaviors.


Bureau of Justice Statistics Releases PREA Data-Collection Activities, 2020

The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently released PREA Data-Collection Activities, 2020. This report describes the Bureau’s data-collection activities during 2019 and 2020 to measure the incidence and prevalence of rape and sexual assault in correctional facilities, as required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). The report discusses the following data collections:

  • National Survey of Youth in Custody
  • National Inmate Survey
  • Survey of Sexual Victimization

In 2019, more than 7,600 prisons, jails, community-based facilities, and juvenile correctional facilities nationwide were covered by PREA.


Youth.gov Shares COVID-19 Resources for Youth and Families

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These are challenging times for all, but especially for young people. Now more than ever, it is important to help youth and young adults stay healthy, motivated, and connected with their communities.

Youth.gov provides information for youth on a range of topics related to COVID-19, including advice about the pandemic and tips for adapting to changes in one’s personal routine, getting access to online technology and tools, coping with depression, and staying mentally and physically active. In addition, Youth.gov provides access to resources for youth-serving organizations to help youth and families during the pandemic. Topics include childcare, education, unemployment insurance, food and nutrition, and safety.

 

Date Created: August 18, 2020