For many years, sharing information—about research, statistics, and programs that work—with practitioners, policymakers, and the public has been a priority at OJJDP. Fiscal year 2000 was no different. OJJDP used many vehicles to get information out to the field, including print publications, electronic products (such as CD–ROMs, listservs, and Web sites), and satellite videoconferences. The Office�s dissemination efforts addressed a number of key national issues, including the transfer of juveniles to criminal court, juveniles and guns, and minorities in the juvenile justice system, and also observed the completion of the juvenile court�s first century. The activities described in this chapter illustrate OJJDP�s commitment to keeping the juvenile justice field informed about research findings, juvenile justice statistics, and promising programs.

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

The Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC), operated by Aspen Systems Corporation of Rockville, MD, has filled the information needs of the juvenile justice field since 1979, when it was established by OJJDP. JJC is a one-stop shop that provides toll-free telephone and online access to a wealth of information on all aspects of juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and child protection. The Clearinghouse offers policymakers, practitioners, researchers, parents, youth, members of the media, and representatives of community organizations easy access to a comprehensive collection of up-to-date research and statistics, program descriptions, publications, practical guides and manuals, information on grants and funding opportunities, and other useful resources—all prepared by the Nation�s foremost experts in juvenile justice and related fields. An OJJDP Bulletin, Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse: Your Information Resource, provides an overview of JJC services and resources. The Bulletin is available from JJC. Access information from JJC via telephone, fax, e-mail, and the Internet.

The Clearinghouse produces many of OJJDP�s publications, including research and statistical reports and training and technical assistance manuals. During 2000, JJC distributed close to 5 million documents (a 41-percent increase from 1999). JJC also maintains a toll-free number (800–638–8736). During 2000, JJC responded to 70,836 telephone, fax, and e-mail requests (an 18-percent increase from 1999). JJC also continued to respond to calls related to an antiviolence campaign that OJJDP developed in partnership with MTV during 1999. The campaign included an interactive CD–ROM, Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Violence; during 2000, JJC fielded 79,435 calls requesting copies of the CD–ROM.

To make it easier to order OJJDP publications, JJC also initiated a new online ordering service (www.puborder.ncjrs.org). The Online Order Store, which began in September 2000 as a 3-month test program, allows users to order juvenile justice publications, videos, and other materials 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During the test period, the service was made available to a trial clientele, who were encouraged to evaluate the service by placing orders online and providing feedback and comments. The service was launched in December 2000. Orders were received for 1,353 publications in December 2000 and 1,668 in January 2001.

The Clearinghouse also oversees JUVJUST, OJJDP�s popular electronic mailing list that provides timely information about OJJDP and other youth-service-related publications, events, and funding opportunities. JUVJUST subscribers are primarily professionals working in juvenile justice and related youth service fields. The number of subscribers grew from 5,000 to 6,500 between December 1999 and December 2000�an increase of nearly one-third. Archived JUVJUSTs and instructions for subscribing to JUVJUST are available on the OJJDP Web site at ojjdp.ncjrs.org/enews/enews.html.

JJC also maintains a comprehensive library of more than 400,000 titles devoted to juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and child protection. During 2000, the library added some 1,300 documents to the collection.

National Report CD–ROM

In addition to producing and distributing printed publications, OJJDP disseminates information through a variety of electronic products, including CD–ROMs. In FY 2000, OJJDP issued one of its signature reports, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, on CD–ROM. The National Report, which was released in September 1999, contains a wealth of information, offers insights into juvenile crime and victimization, and provides data on the operation of juvenile justice systems across the country. The CD–ROM allows users to view the 230-page National Report in a portable document format (PDF) and contains an �educator�s kit� that includes statistical information in presentation format, data from graphs, more than 40 source documents, and links to government Web sites for additional information. The CD–ROM is available from JJC.

OJJDP National Conference

Since 1996, OJJDP has sponsored three biennial national conferences to explore strategic and programmatic approaches to address the changing nature and patterns of juvenile delinquency. The conference drew approximately 1,500 participants in 2000. The theme of the 2000 conference was Justice for Children: A Vision for the 21st Century. Through 15 preconference sessions, 7 plenary sessions, and 49 workshops, participants learned about responding to juvenile crime and today�s offenders, implementing promising practices and strategies, improving juvenile courts, and protecting children from online victimization, lead poisoning, and maltreatment. OJJDP also reached out to include youth in the conference by inviting them to submit their artwork for an auction, make choral and instrumental musical presentations, and participate in a panel forum with the Attorney General. To make it easier for participants to carry information from the conference back home with them, OJJDP developed a CD�ROM containing publications, PowerPoint presentations, and Web site links related to and expanding on conference topics. The CD�ROM was extremely well received.

Conference participants included personnel from State juvenile justice agencies, leading researchers, judges, State and local policymakers, practitioners, members of public interest groups, and program administrators and directors. All three conferences have encouraged communication among Federal, State, and local policymakers and professionals who are implementing juvenile justice programs.

OJJDP Web Sites

JJC designs and maintains OJJDP�s active and up-to-date Web site (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org), which consists of 6,000 pages and 16 separate dedicated sites devoted to OJJDP-sponsored programs. During 2000, the site�s home page had close to 4 million hits (a 209-percent increase over the previous year), and the overall site had more than 19.7 million hits (a 431-percent increase over 1999). The Web site announces new publications, allows users to download nearly all OJJDP-produced publications, lists information about current and past funding opportunities, includes a calendar of events on upcoming OJJDP-sponsored conferences, and provides access to speeches given by the OJJDP Administrator and senior staff.

The site also features a �JJ Facts and Figures� section that provides information on juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and violence and victimization. This section offers a diagram of how cases proceed through the juvenile justice system; a �Statistical Briefing Book� with statistics, charts, and tables that answer frequently asked questions; and data sets on juvenile arrests, court processing, and supplemental homicide statistics. The section also includes statistics-focused publications and offers links to agencies� and organizations� Web sites that focus on statistics. Users can ask their own statistics-related questions through �askncjrs.org,� an e-mail response service.

At the request of the Attorney General, OJJDP and the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention also developed two new Web sites in 2000. The Children With Disabilities Web site (www.childrenwithdisabilities.ncjrs.org) addresses a broad array of developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities and offers families, service providers, and other interested individuals information about advocacy, education, employment, health, housing, recreation, technical assistance, and transportation. Launched in February 2000, the site has recorded more than 419,000 hits. The Parenting Resources for the 21st Century Web site (www.parentingresources.ncjrs.org) covers a broad range of topics, from caring for a newborn to finding information about college scholarships. It catalogs parenting resources that are available through the Internet and provides links to Federal agencies, private foundations, and other organizations that offer information about child and youth development, child care and education, family concerns, family dynamics, health and safety, and out-of-school activities. Launched in June 2000, this Web site has already registered more than 134,000 hits.

OJJDP also developed Web sites for the Juvenile Court Centennial Initiative and for the 2000 national conference. (The Centennial Initiative, which was designed to help inaugurate the juvenile court�s second century, included a summit meeting held in June 2000 that highlighted successful juvenile court �graduates� and model juvenile justice programs.) OJJDP also maintains sites for many of the programs it funds, including the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders; Drug-Free Communities Support Program; Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program; Juvenile Accountability Block Grants program; and Juvenile Mentoring Program.

Publications

During FY 2000, OJJDP produced more than 80 Fact Sheets, Bulletins, and Reports that informed the juvenile justice field about Office activities and promising approaches to juvenile delinquency. The Office markets and disseminates its publications extensively to ensure that they reach a wide audience, including policymakers, practitioners, members of the media, and many others. OJJDP has access to mailing addresses for more than 90,000 individuals, nearly 60,000 of whom have registered for the Office�s mailing list. Most OJJDP publications are available online through the Web site, and many are available via fax-on-demand, a popular automated service that can be used to order short publications such as Fact Sheets and Bulletins. (The fax-on-demand number is 800–638–8736.) The publications highlighted below and those discussed throughout this Report are only a sample of the documents OJJDP produced in FY 2000. All are available from JJC. A complete list of OJJDP publications released in FY 2000 appears in the appendix.

OJJDP�s Journal

OJJDP publishes Juvenile Justice, a journal that explores a range of topics about juvenile delinquency prevention, control, and system improvement programs. In addition to the issues addressing gender, mental health, and tribal youth programs, OJJDP published a special issue (Volume VI, Number 2) in FY 2000 that focuses on the 100th anniversary of the juvenile court. Articles in this issue discuss reasons to celebrate the court�s first century and reflect on the court�s future. In December 2000, OJJDP published a special issue (Volume VII, Number 3) that focuses on parent-child relationships and includes articles on the May 2000 White House Conference on Teenagers, programs for improving parenting practices, and Team H.O.P.E. efforts to assist families of missing children. Upcoming issues of the journal will address school violence and OJJDP�s Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders.

Juvenile Transfers to Adult Courts

In recent years, a growing number of States have modified their laws to facilitate the waiver or transfer of certain categories of juveniles from the jurisdiction of juvenile courts to the jurisdiction of adult criminal courts. OJJDP published several documents in FY 2000 that deal with this issue. The Fact Sheet Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 1988�1997 presents estimates of the number of cases transferred from juvenile court to criminal court through the judicial waiver mechanism. Juvenile Transfers to Criminal Court in the 1990�s: Lessons Learned From Four Studies is a Summary that describes studies of juvenile transfers in Pennsylvania (two studies), South Carolina, and Utah. The Report Juveniles Facing Criminal Sanctions: Three States That Changed the Rules examines the actual implementation of distinctive approaches to juvenile justice reform in three States and summarizes the lessons learned from these case studies and from the authors� analysis of State legislative activity. The Office also has two upcoming Fact Sheets that describe an OJJDP-funded study of juvenile transfers to criminal courts in Florida.

National Report Bulletins

Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report (National Report), which was released by OJJDP in September 1999, contains comprehensive information about juvenile crime and victimization. To make this information more accessible and usable, OJJDP developed a Bulletin series that provides readers with a quick, focused look at some of the most critical findings. Each Bulletin highlights topics of interest to juvenile justice policymakers and extracts relevant National Report sections (including selected graphs and tables) to present the data. During FY 2000, OJJDP published the following Bulletins in the series:

• Challenging the Myths examines juvenile crime statistics and demonstrates that the predicted emergence of a new kind of violent youth is not supported by the most recent data in the National Report.

• Children as Victims documents the impact of crime on society�s most vulnerable victims. The Bulletin includes statistics on the number of children murdered, sexually assaulted, neglected, and missing.

• Juvenile Justice: A Century of Change provides a thorough, easily understood description of the development of the juvenile justice system in the United States. It also uses the most current data available to examine the recent trend of transferring certain juvenile cases to adult criminal court.

• Kids and Guns provides an overview of national statistics that indicate the devastating impact that easy access to guns has had on the lives and well-being of American youth.

• Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System presents national statistics on the racial and ethnic makeup of juvenile offenders, including data on arrests, court processing, and confinement.

• Violence After School presents data indicating that students are safer at school than away from school and commit fewer crimes during school hours than after school hours.

Satellite Videoconferencing

OJJDP has successfully used satellite telecommunications for several years to provide information and training programs more readily to juvenile justice professionals. This cost-effective medium allows practitioners, policymakers, and researchers from across the country to keep abreast of developments in the field without having to travel far from home. OJJDP has sponsored satellite videoconferences since 1995 through its grantee, Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) of Richmond, KY. A typical videoconference can reach some 500 sites and approximately 15,000 persons at downlink sites and personal computers. During the 2000 calendar year, EKU produced six �live� satellite videoconferences and experimented with cybercasting �live� satellite videoconferences on the Internet.

A videoconference for the 54 grantees in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative was held on January 20, 2000, to provide the grantees with information about grant administration and assist them as new recipients of Federal funds. This videoconference also was Webcast live on the Internet.

The �Model Court Practices in Abuse and Neglect Cases� videoconference, held February 10, 2000, highlighted the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Model Courts Program, which helps courts improve their handling of child abuse and neglect cases. The broadcast focused on the experiences of model courts in El Paso, TX; Louisville, KY; and Newark, NJ. OJJDP hosted the telecast, which had 664 registered down-link sites, in cooperation with NCJFCJ and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

�Crowding in Juvenile Detention: A Problem Solving Approach,� held April 27, 2000, addressed approaches to solving crowding in juvenile detention facilities. Noted practitioners from juvenile justice and detention services around the country participated in the videoconference, which was telecast to 153 registered downlink sites. This videoconference, sponsored with support from the National Juvenile Detention Association, also was Webcast live on the Internet.

�How Shall We Respond to the Dreams of Youth? A National Juvenile Justice Summit� aired on June 7, 2000, and brought together delegates from more than 100 national organizations that help neglected, abused, and delinquent youth. The videoconference was telecast to 164 registered downlink sites and included prerecorded interviews with successful �graduates� of the juvenile justice system, footage of the juvenile justice system at work, and highlights of the OJJDP-sponsored summit. This videoconference also was Webcast live on the Internet.

�Combating Underage Drinking,� held on September 10, 2000, was telecast to 720 downlink sites. It was designed for local, State, and Federal policymakers; community leaders; law enforcement personnel; juvenile court judges; school administrators; youth service providers; retailers; and other concerned citizens. The videoconference also reviewed OJJDP�s Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program. This videoconference also was Webcast live on the Internet, with more than 1,000 individual viewers.

�Child Delinquency: Early Intervention and Prevention� was presented November 14, 2000, from the American Society of Criminology�s annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. Members of OJJDP�s Study Group on Very Young Offenders presented key findings from their research on the nature of child delinquency, its developmental course, key risk and protective factors, and effective intervention and prevention strategies. The video-conference was telecast to 302 downlink sites.

All of these broadcasts (except the Safe Schools/Healthy Students videoconference) may be viewed free of charge at www.juvenilenet.org and also are available for purchase from JJC.

OJJDP also introduced Internet streaming, which simultaneously allows individuals to observe and hear satellite videoconferences from desktop personal computers. EKU and OJJDP also initiated plans to produce an instructional CD–ROM program based on topics addressed in previous videoconferences.