OJJDP's State Relations and Assistance Division (SRAD) will hold its 2009 National Conference October 26–29, 2009, in Austin, TX. The conference, entitled "Ensuring Safe and Equal Treatment in the Juvenile Justice System," will address the four core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 2002:

• Deinstitutionalize status offenders (DSO).
• Separate juveniles from adults in secure facilities (sight and sound separation).
• Remove juveniles from adult jails and lockups (jail removal).
• Reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC) within the juvenile justice system.

The first two days of the conference (October 26–27) will focus on monitoring for compliance with DSO, sight and sound separation, and jail removal. Following are a few of the topics to be covered in the conference's information and training sessions: The Role of the State Advisory Group in Compliance Monitoring, Monitoring for the Core Requirements by Facility Type, Utilizing the Valid Court Order, and Compliance Monitoring Definitions: When State and Federal Laws Comport.

Attendance at this portion of the conference is by invitation only. Registration is limited to Juvenile Justice Specialists, State DMC Coordinators, compliance monitors, Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Coordinators, Title V Coordinators, State Advisory Group members, and State juvenile justice program staff.

The final two days of the conference (October 28–29) will focus on systems improvement strategies and activities to reduce DMC. Sessions will include Conducting Reliable DMC Assessments, DMC Diversion Programs, Implementing Risk Assessment Instruments (RAIs) To Reduce DMC, Effective Strategies for Systems Improvement in Rural Communities, and Promising Tribal Youth Systems Improvement Efforts To Reduce DMC. Local DMC practitioners, law enforcement professionals, educators, community youth advocates, researchers, policymakers, and all others involved in State and/or local efforts to prevent and reduce DMC are invited to register to attend.

Registration for the 2009 National Conference is free.

Resources

For more information about the conference, please contact: