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OJJDP News @ a Glance

This issue highlights OJJDP programs addressing community violence and child maltreatment. The Tribal Connections section features OJJDP’s response to feedback received during a June 2020 Tribal consultation.
Message From the Acting Administrator
OJJDP Acting Administrator Chyrl Jones

Tribal News Shorts

Access Materials From Training Event For Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts

Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Virtual Enhancement Training logo

The 11th Annual Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Virtual Enhancement Training, held June 21–25, 2021, offered judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, case managers, court staff, and other stakeholders an opportunity to learn about best practices and innovative strategies used by Tribal problem-solving courts.

OJJDP's Tribal Youth Resource Center developed the event's programming for Tribal juvenile healing to wellness courts. The track included sessions on creating safe spaces for youth and caregivers to address grief and loss, confidentiality and ethics in the courts, engaging a culturally responsive approach to support court participants, special considerations for Tribal healing to wellness courts in Alaska, and data management considerations, tools, and resources. Other programming tracks focused on veterans courts, family wellness courts, and general wellness courts. Presentation materials can be found on the event website.

Hearing the Needs of Those Searching for Missing and Murdered Native People

Operation Lady Justice logo

A listening session by the Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives—also known as Operation Lady Justice (OLJ)—targeted grassroots organizations working in Tribal communities and areas where American Indian and Alaska Native people have been murdered or gone missing. During the May 7 session, speakers shared details of their work to address and prevent issues associated with vulnerability to abduction or murder, including substance abuse, human trafficking, and domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence. Many underscored a need for funding and other resources, including accurate, current, and accessible data. They demanded timely responses to missing-person reports, media coverage, efforts to prevent violence, and "a seat at the table" with state task forces.

Another listening session on July 27 focused on public health and safety data on missing or murdered Indigenous people, and ways to improve the data's collection, analysis, use, and dissemination.

OJJDP's AMBER Alert in Indian Country: Protecting Children in Tribal Communities describes training and technical assistance designed specifically for cases of missing Native children. Child Protection FAQ and Guide for Tribal Communities explains how law enforcement agencies typically respond when a child is missing and how parents can assist police in an investigation.

Applications Due August 31 for Program That Expands Tribes' Access to National Crime Data

Tribal Access Program logo

The Department of Justice is accepting applications for its Tribal Access Program (TAP) for National Crime Information through August 31, 2021.

TAP allows select federally recognized Tribes access to critical criminal justice information to improve public safety and protect their communities. The program provides training, software, and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots, and submit information to the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services systems and other national crime information systems.

TAP has helped improve police officer safety, apprehend fugitives, register convicted sex offenders, enforce domestic violence protection orders, and protect children. Webinars describing the program and its capabilities took place in July and early August. The final webinar will take place on August 19. Additional information about the program is available on the program website.

Date Created: August 12, 2021