Fourteen sessions highlighting OJJDP-funded research were featured at the American Society of Criminology’s (ASC’s) 73rd annual meeting on November 15–18, 2017. ASC is a leading forum for the dissemination of scientific and professional knowledge about crime and delinquency.
Members of OJJDP's research team—Deputy Associate Administrator Brecht Donoghue, Research Coordinator Jennifer Tyson, Social Science Analysts Barbara Tatem Kelley and Benjamin Adams, and Grants Management Specialist Keith Towery—provided an overview of the Office’s research grants and activities in a session titled “Research Funding, Data, and Dissemination Resources at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.” They discussed the OJJDP grant application process and provided updates on anticipated research funding opportunities in fiscal year 2018 and tips on submitting grant proposals. Staff also discussed OJJDP’s efforts to collect, analyze, and disseminate national statistics and initiatives to develop models for how data can serve the information needs of state and local justice agencies.
The presentation “How Research Was Synthesized and Translated Into Guidelines for Juvenile Courts” described how OJJDP, in partnership with researchers from across the country, developed the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines. The guidelines, released in late 2016, are based on the translation of syntheses of research about juvenile drug courts, youth and family programming, substance use treatment, and juvenile court processing into practical and actionable guidance for courts.
In the session “Where Are We Now? Current Progress and Future Work on Federal Repositories of Evidence-Based Justice Information,” staff from OJJDP, the National Institute of Justice, and the Development Services Group discussed recent changes to the Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov site and OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide. These online resources have inventoried hundreds of program evaluations, rating the strength of evidence for what works, what doesn’t, and what’s promising in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.
OJJDP staff joined representatives from the National Center for Juvenile Justice for the panel “Latest Findings From OJJDP’s Data Analysis Program.” OJJDP sponsors the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Program, which serves as the Office’s statistical analysis center for responding to the research needs of the juvenile justice community. The panel presented recent research from the project in the following areas: Hispanic youth in juvenile court, girls in the juvenile justice system, and youth in residential placement.
The session “Examination of Developmental Life Course: Implications of Longitudinal Research for Juvenile Justice Policy and Practice,” included an overview of several OJJDP-supported longitudinal research initiatives on at-risk and delinquent youth. These include the Northwestern Juvenile Project, the Pathways to Desistance study, and the Pittsburgh Girls Study. In addition to presentation of findings on delinquency and life course outcomes, the panelists highlighted key policy and practice implications for the juvenile justice field.
Other sessions featuring OJJDP-supported research addressed the school-to-prison pipeline, restorative justice, juvenile diversion programs for girls, and protecting victims of commercial sexual exploitation, among other topics.
Resources:
For more information about this year’s ASC meeting and to access program information, visit the ASC website.
For timely and reliable statistics on a variety of juvenile justice topics, visit OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book and access 300 evidence-based prevention, intervention, and reentry programs by visiting OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide.