This is an archive of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP's) electronic newsletter OJJDP News @ a Glance. The information in this archived resource may be outdated and links may no longer function. Visit our website at https://www.ojjdp.gov for current information.
November | December 2015

How OJJDP Is Promoting Youth Justice and Safety: 2015 Wrap-Up

 A photo of five kidsSince the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act more than 40 years ago, OJJDP, which is mandated to carry out the Act’s provisions, has been changing the way the nation deals with troubled youth.

At OJJDP, we envision a nation where our children are healthy, educated, and free from violence. If they come into contact with the juvenile justice system, the contact should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them. We are committed to ensuring that young people are not incarcerated for minor offenses and that youth are kept safe and healthy in juvenile justice residential facilities. We are also addressing racial and ethnic bias to ensure minority youth are not unfairly targeted.

Following are highlights of OJJDP’s work over recent months to guide states across the nation toward effective models for improving public safety and serving the needs of justice-involved youth.

Expanding the Smart on Juvenile Justice Reform Initiative

In November, OJJDP announced an award of $2.2 million to expand its Smart on Juvenile Justice initiative to South Dakota and West Virginia and to provide ongoing support for the three states—Georgia, Hawaii, and Kentucky—that received funding in 2014.

The initiative aims to drive national reform by diverting youth with low-level, nonviolent offenses from the juvenile justice system to community-based alternatives. It also aims to reduce reoffending, eliminate racial and ethnic disparities, maximize cost savings, and support the strategic reinvestment of those savings into avenues that will help states sustain their reform agenda.

The Office is supporting a range of activities under the initiative, including the use of data-driven and evidence-based approaches, grants to study and reduce racial and ethnic disparities throughout the juvenile justice system, comprehensive training for prosecutors, and statewide strategies to improve the quality of indigent defense.

Issuing New Policy on Girls and the Juvenile Justice System

In October, OJJDP issued policy guidance on girls and the juvenile justice system. The policy includes a call to action with eight focus areas for states, tribes, and communities to improve their systematic and programmatic responses. Recommendations include reducing or eliminating the arrest and detention of girls and young women for status offenses, technical violations of probation, simple assault, family-based offenses, running away, and prostitution-related charges, while expanding community-based alternatives to detention and incarceration.

In addition, the recommendations highlight the importance of gender- and culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate services. The guidance also outlines the Office’s commitment to provide technical assistance, grants, research, and data collection support to assist in meeting these goals. For more information, see the article, "OJJDP Releases Policy Guidance on Girls and the Juvenile Justice System," in this issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance.

Assisting States With JJDP Act Compliance

left quoteI would like to thank the states for their contributions to this process. Working together, we are enhancing our efforts to narrow the entry points to the justice system and ensure better outcomes for our nation’s young people.right quote

—Administrator Listenbee

Also in October, OJJDP released to the states a policy on monitoring compliance with the JJDP Act. The policy describes the information that states must submit to demonstrate compliance with the core requirements and that ensures that each participating state maintains an adequate system of monitoring, as required in section 223(a)(14) of the JJDP Act. This policy also details the steps that OJJDP will undertake when conducting annual compliance determinations based on data submitted by the state and when assessing the adequacy of state monitoring systems.

The policy takes effect with fiscal year 2017 funding and is based on data states are currently collecting for the period covering October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016. Recipients of the guidance include juvenile justice specialists, compliance specialists, disproportionate minority contact coordinators, state advisory group chairs, and state planning agency directors. A draft of the policy was submitted to states during the summer of 2015, and their comments were addressed in a Frequently Asked Questions document released along with the policy.

Funding Evidence-Based Programs

As part of OJJDP's ongoing commitment to the safety and well-being of our nation's youth, in fiscal year 2015, the Office awarded $266.6 million to fund evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed approaches to juvenile justice.

Discretionary grants totaling $227.4 million were awarded in a range of areas, including mentoring, missing and exploited children, Internet crimes against children, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, at-risk and justice system-involved girls, indigent defense, reentry, youth violence prevention, police and youth engagement, drug courts, and tribal youth. OJJDP awarded approximately $39 million in formula funding, including Title II Formula Grants and Prison Rape Elimination Act Reallocation Funds.

Resources:

More information about Smart on Juvenile Justice initiative, OJJDP’s policy on girls and the juvenile justice system, and policy on monitoring state compliance with the JJDP Act is available on the OJJDP website. See also OJJDP’s Frequently Asked Questions document to learn more about the Office’s guidance for states on monitoring JJDP Act compliance. To learn more about the Office’s fiscal year 2015 awards, visit OJJDP’s Funding webpage.