New Curriculum Is Central to OJJDP Efforts Addressing Hate Crimes and Bullying by Youth
OJJDP has released the Youth Hate Crimes and Identity-Based Bullying Prevention Curriculum, a key component of the Office’s Preventing Youth Hate Crimes and Identity-Based Bullying initiative. Designed for middle and high school-aged youth, the curriculum follows a central theme: nurturing the development of respectful, compassionate young people and communities. Its use will empower youth, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan says.
Case Management and Crisis Intervention Help Reduce Violence at a Philadelphia High School
After just 1 year, a school-based program to reduce youth violence is already producing results in a Southwest Philadelphia community. Students at John Bartram High School have experienced a significant drop in gun violence victimization—both inside the school and in the neighborhood surrounding it. The program follows the core strategies of OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model.
From the Administrator's Desk
Want To Improve Youth Justice? Engage and Listen to Young People.
“As Mississippi has shown, youth justice can improve. It can be more responsive to the needs of young people. It can be more equitable. It can meet the demands of public safety, while focusing on second chances. It can serve the community and young people.”
—Administrator Liz Ryan, speaking at the 45th Juvenile Justice Symposium in Biloxi, MS
Administrator Ryan’s remarks in Mississippi on August 7 emphasized the state’s commitment to amplifying the youth voice—a focus OJJDP shares. OJJDP established the Youth and Family Partnership Working Group in 2022, for example, to ensure OJJDP-funded programs directly address youth wants and needs. And this November 19–21, at least 200 young people who are or were involved in the justice system will attend OJJDP’s National Conference on Youth Justice in Washington, DC, joining policymakers, practitioners, OJJDP grantees, and other stakeholders to discuss the future of youth justice.
From the Field: South Dakota Youth Are Telling Their Stories With Murals
“The murals celebrate the transformative journey of these young artists, as they redefine their place in the world through a creative process that draws on their own resilience and imagination.”
—Jacqui Dietrich, Executive Director, Rapid City Arts Council
In South Dakota, the Rapid City Arts Council partners with the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office on the Just Us Mural Project (JUMP), serving young people in the county’s diversion and detention programs.
Tribal Connections: Native Culture Is a Strength, TYRC Young Leaders Say
Tribal Youth Resource Center (TYRC) Young Leaders were central to the OJJDP Tribal Youth Program Midwest Regional gathering, held August 13–15 in Bloomington, MN. Four TYRC Young Leaders (from left: Sam Schimmel, Isabella Fridia, Sydney Matheson, and Anagali [Shace] Duncan) helped research and design meeting content and materials, and facilitated two panel discussions. Twenty-two Tribal youth programs and two youth healing to wellness court programs were represented at the meeting.
News In Brief
- OJJDP Administrator Addresses the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference
- Coordinating Council Discusses Collaborations To Help Youth Thrive
- New OJJDP Data Snapshots Report on Youth in Placement, Judicial Waivers to Criminal Court, and Rates of Depression Among Youth
- Number of Youth in Adult Jails and Prisons Has Fallen Dramatically Since 2008
Access and download bulletins, fact sheets, data snapshots, reports, and other publications.
Learn about upcoming trainings, conferences, webinars, and other events. View the Events Calendar.
Learn about funding opportunities from OJJDP.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) of 1974 created OJJDP and established national standards for the custody and care of youth in the juvenile justice system, setting forth “core requirements” for states. In 1974, they included deinstitutionalizing youth who committed status offenses (noncriminal acts that are considered violations of law only because they were committed by youth) and separating youth from adults in secure facilities (“sight and sound separation”). Subsequent JJDPA reauthorizations expanded the core requirements to include removing youth from adult jails and lockups. The 2018 reauthorization—under the Juvenile Justice Reform Act—strengthens the requirement for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. Learn more.