Shaping the Next 50 Years in Youth Justice at OJJDP’s National Conference
OJJDP welcomed more than 2,500 attendees to the 2024 National Conference on Youth Justice, including young people and families, youth justice practitioners, researchers, OJJDP grantees, and many others committed to achieving justice and equity for youth. The capstone event of OJJDP’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the conference took place November 19–21 in Washington, D.C.
OJJDP Awards More Than $420 Million in Fiscal Year 2024 To Protect Children and Improve Juvenile Justice Systems
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act charges OJJDP with awarding funding to states, Tribes, and communities for programs and services that protect children, prevent delinquency, and improve juvenile justice systems. In fiscal year 2024, the Office awarded more than $420 million in discretionary grants, including $89 million for youth mentoring and $44 million for delinquency prevention and intervention initiatives.
From the Administrator's Desk
When Our Powers Combine: Emerging Leaders Conference Kickoff
Administrator Liz Ryan spent November 18–21 at OJJDP’s National Conference on Youth Justice, meeting with young people, offering remarks, and attending multiple sessions, including “When Our Powers Combine,” a conference kickoff open only to young adults and lived experts of the juvenile justice system. More than 100 youth changemakers gathered, charged with developing a “Call to Action” framed by OJJDP's Continuum of Care framework. Youth leaders presented their recommendations during “Setting a Course for the Next 50 Years of Youth Justice,” a panel discussion on the final day of the conference. Call to Action recommendations to OJJDP include working with youth and young adults to modernize reentry standards and to identify and remove barriers faced by youth and families during reentry. Youth leaders also called for intentional efforts to expand—in meaningful ways—workforce development for youth during reentry and opportunities for young people to develop gainful employment skills.
From the Field: Police Chiefs Express Support for Youth Continuums of Care
The International Association of Chiefs of Police annual conference, held October 19–22 in Boston, MA, featured several sessions devoted to youth justice issues, including the “Engaging Police in Youth Continuums of Care” roundtable. A closed session, the roundtable included law enforcement executives and OJJDP grantees funded under the Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative. OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan offered opening remarks, underscoring the important role law enforcement agencies play in OJJDP’s work.
“Conversations like this are essential to our efforts to reimagine and reform the juvenile justice system,” Administrator Ryan said. “OJJDP already works with law enforcement agencies across the country to protect children from victimization, exploitation, and abuse—but we can do more together.”
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Tribal Connections: Successful Youth Programs Center on Youth and Families, Tribal Representatives Tell OJJDP
OJJDP hosted a Tribal listening session in Washington, DC, on November 18, timed to correspond with the start of OJJDP’s National Conference on Youth Justice. Thirty-five Tribal representatives attended the invitation-only event, joined by staff from the Tribal Youth Resource Center, the Resource Basket, the Pride Justice Resource Center, and OJJDP. Tribal representatives agreed that family involvement is key to successful youth programming, and said young people must be included when planning and implementing programs for them. Employment opportunities are both a useful incentive for youth involvement and an effective strategy for preventing delinquency. Attendees voiced a need for robust, holistic mental health services designed for Tribal youth and for programming to engage emerging leaders. They also requested funding opportunities targeting Indigenous youth at high risk for justice system involvement. The listening session closed with a dance to honor Indigenous youth who are missing or murdered.
- JJDPA Set the Foundation for Youth Justice Reform, Administrator Ryan Says
- Collaborative, Holistic Strategies Help Keep Youth Out of the Justice System
- Children of Incarcerated Parents and Their Caregivers Discuss Their Needs at OJJDP Listening Sessions
- Maine’s Regional Care Teams Seek To Reduce System Involvement by Answering Youth Needs
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Racial disparities persist in the juvenile justice system nationwide. Between 2005 and 2022, referral rates for delinquency cases involving Black youth were more than twice the rates for all other racial groups, according to OJJDP’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Processing of Delinquency Cases, 2005–2022 data snapshot. Since 2007, the delinquency cases most likely to result in out-of-home placements were those involving Black, Hispanic, and American Indian youth.