2. Collaborative Grant Programs

OJJDP currently collaborates with other Federal offices and agencies to offer delinquency prevention programs consistent with the objectives set forth in the Action Plan and the priority areas identified by Council members. In 1997, five new major interagency delinquency prevention programs resulted from these partnerships (see Exhibit 7).

New interagency initiatives in 1997 focused on reducing risk factors associated with delinquency, involving the community in prevention, addressing mental health and juvenile justice issues, and preventing substance abuse. The comprehensive risk- and protection-focused model on which the Community Prevention Grants Program is based provides the prevention framework for these initiatives as well. For example, the Safe Kids/Safe Streets program, jointly developed with the Executive Office of Weed and Seed and other Office of Justice Programs agencies, brings together community stakeholders to develop comprehensive responses to risks associated with child and adolescent abuse and neglect.

These initiatives also target specific risk factor domains (community, family, school, and individual). For example, OJJDP partnered with the Executive Office of Weed and Seed and the Department of Health and Human Services to address family risk factors through the David Olds Nurse Home Visitation Program that provides prenatal and early childhood services for low-income mothers. In collaboration with the Center for Mental Health Services, Department of Health and Human Services, and National Institute of Corrections, OJJDP is supporting several interagency mental health programs for youth at risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system and those already in the system. The Ounce of Prevention Program, jointly developed by OJJDP and the President's Crime Prevention Council, addresses youth substance abuse issues.

Joint Federal initiatives that allow for the demonstration of programs using specific prevention frameworks and addressing specific risk factors ensure a unified Federal approach to delinquency prevention. Such initiatives also promote interagency cooperation at all levels of government.