The United States Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Janet Reno, is committed to investing in the future of America by providing infants, children, and teens with developmentally appropriate opportunities and interventions that will foster the growth of our under-18 population into healthy and law-abiding adults. We are committed to targeting at-risk youth with more innovative programs in order to prevent future delinquency. In 1992, Title V of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended (PL 93-415; 42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), established a new delinquency prevention program, Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs-popularly referred to as the Community Prevention Grants Program -- to assist and encourage communities to focus on preventing juveniles from entering the juvenile justice system. This is the fourth annual report fulfilling the requirements of Section 504(4) of Title V, which states that the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) shall submit a report to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary in the U.S. Senate:

• Describing activities and accomplishments of grant activities funded under this title.

• Describing procedures followed to disseminate grant activity products and research findings.

• Describing activities conducted to develop policy and to coordinate Federal agency and interagency efforts related to delinquency prevention.

• Identifying successful approaches and making recommendations for future activities conducted under the title.

The 1997 Report to Congress begins with a review of current trends in juvenile justice and the role the Community Prevention Grants Program plays in the prevention and control of juvenile problem behaviors. The second chapter provides a brief overview of program implementation activities nationwide, highlights one State's experience implementing the Title V Program model, and provides several program examples from other communities around the country. In the third chapter, the coordination of State and Federal efforts to support local delinquency prevention is discussed. Finally, the last chapter reviews our commitment to delinquency prevention and the promise it holds for our Nation's youth.