In recent years, America’s communities have made significant progress in reducing juvenile crime and victimization. This progress is attributable, in part, to strong efforts to develop comprehensive, community-based strategies, which combine prevention and early intervention programs with graduated sanctions that hold young offenders accountable in the juvenile justice system. OJJDP believes that community partnerships are necessary to ensure the continued decline of juvenile delinquency and violent crime. That is why the Office has supported the demonstration and evaluation of a number of community-based programs over the past several years.

Hundreds of communities across the Nation are developing community-based responses to juvenile delinquency and crime through OJJDP grants under the Title V Community Prevention Grants program. Communities in eight States are implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders, which has been the cornerstone of OJJDP’s programming for the past several years. Another six sites are implementing the SafeFutures program (based on the Comprehensive Strategy), which emphasizes the importance of providing a continuum of care at all developmental stages for at-risk and delinquent youth. In addition to these programs, which are highlighted in this chapter, OJJDP is helping communities across the Nation develop comprehensive approaches to reduce and prevent youth substance abuse (see Drug-Free Communities Support Program), truancy (see Truancy Reduction Activities), gang violence (see Chapter 7), and juvenile gun violence (see Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence) and to enforce underage drinking laws (see Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program). These programs all illustrate the types of comprehensive responses OJJDP believes are necessary to reduce delinquency and increase public safety.

Community Prevention Grants Program

The Title V Community Prevention Grants program (Title V) provides incentives to communities to use a comprehensive strategic approach to developing and implementing community-based, data-driven plans that address the prevention of juvenile delinquency. Enacted by Congress in 1992, Title V is the only Federal assistance funding source dedicated solely to delinquency prevention. Congress appropriated $42.5 million for this program in FY 2000.

OJJDP awards Title V discretionary grants to States based on the relative size of their population subject to original juvenile court jurisdiction. The States, in turn, award the funds to qualified units of local government (i.e., a city, county, town, borough, parish, village, or Indian tribe that performs law enforcement functions) to implement delinquency prevention plans that meet their local needs.

Because a State or local government is required to provide a 50-percent cash or in-kind match for each grant, the level of community ownership of and investment in these programs is significant and has contributed to the overall success of the Title V program. Further, many States and communities have provided more than the required match and have incorporated the Title V program model into other grant programs.

From 1994 to 2000, 1,100 communities in 49 States, Washington, DC, and 5 territories (referred to collectively herein as “States”) have received Title V subgrants. Title V helps these communities focus on making systemwide changes rather than simply establishing new programs. The grantees have created communitywide systems change by involving a wide variety of individuals and groups in prevention activities. They also have promoted broader community perspectives, increased communication among key community agencies and systems, reduced gaps and duplication in services, shared resources, and leveraged additional resources. The communities have created programs—such as afterschool recreation, tutoring, conflict resolution, and family strengthening—that have provided youth with opportunities to develop the social and academic skills they need to avoid problem behaviors and experience success.

OJJDP enhanced its administration of the Title V program in FY 2000 by conducting training sessions for OJJDP staff to increase their understanding of program requirements and guidelines and by developing a Title V program monitoring checklist to help OJJDP staff monitor Title V activities more closely. OJJDP expanded training for State Juvenile Justice Specialists and Title V coordinators. The Office also awarded funds to a new Title V training and technical assistance contractor, Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG) of Bethesda, MD. DSG established a listserv for Title V coordinators and developed a Title V newsletter for States and local subgrantees. To facilitate information exchange and dissemination, DSG completed drafts of Title V training modules and began field testing and delivering a new training curriculum. (The curriculum is a work-in-progress, intended to be refined with input from the field on an ongoing basis.) OJJDP also introduced an updated Title V Community Self-Evaluation Workbook, an important step toward making evaluation an integral part of delinquency prevention plan development and implementation.

In FY 1998, OJJDP began funding an impact evaluation of the Title V program in 6 States—Hawaii, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia—and 11 subgrantee sites in these States. Caliber Associates of Fairfax, VA, is conducting the evaluation. To further strengthen the Title V program, OJJDP encouraged collaboration between DSG (the training and technical assistance contractor) and Caliber. Together with OJJDP, DSG and Caliber have jointly conducted Title V training at regional conferences and at OJJDP’s national conference and have contributed to the new Title V newsletter.

The structure and support OJJDP has provided to Title V grantees have contributed significantly to the progress made in many communities. Across the Nation, thousands of citizens have learned the value of comprehensive delinquency prevention planning that focuses on protecting the community and meeting the needs of at-risk youth. As communities have become more proficient in implementing this approach, they have begun to experience significant improvements in juvenile problem behaviors and risk factor reduction and in other areas, including collaboration among community agencies and organizations, coordination of program services, and access to funds. In addition, recognizing the accomplishments that have taken place at the local level, many State agencies are now using the Title V principles to improve State-level planning and guide the administration of other grant programs.

Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders

OJJDP published the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders in 1993 and the Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders in 1995 to help States and local communities reduce juvenile delinquency, improve their juvenile justice systems, and deal with the relatively small number of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders by developing and implementing a comprehensive strategic planning process. The Comprehensive Strategy calls for establishing a framework that provides a comprehensive continuum of services for youth and families from prenatal care to correctional aftercare programs. The Comprehensive Strategy is data driven, research based, and outcome focused; each program and practice developed by this approach is designed to reduce the risk factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and/or build protective factors that buffer children from the impact of risk factors. It includes a variety of delinquency prevention services and graduated sanctions to reduce risk factors and build protective factors. This community-based juvenile justice planning framework has demonstrated the capacity to bring about systemic change in the way that States and local communities identify, prioritize, and address juvenile delinquency and associated family and community issues. The Comprehensive Strategy is an inclusive process that requires commitment, leadership, and energy.

OJJDP has provided intensive training and technical assistance to eight States—Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin. Within these States, 42 local communities have completed and are implementing 5-year Comprehensive Strategy plans. The training and technical assistance are based on the development of the Title V strategic planning process and results of pilot testing in three county jurisdictions. Communities in the eight States have embraced the comprehensive strategic planning framework and have demonstrated improved effectiveness in identifying risk factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency. Many of the communities report that the Comprehensive Strategy planning process has enhanced coordination among agencies and service providers, thereby reducing duplication of services. Communities also have used the momentum gained during the planning process to reallocate resources in a way that supports effective programs and encourages greater accountability for agencies providing services to children and families. Additionally, several communities have successfully accessed additional local, State, and Federal funds to support activities that were identified in their strategic plans.

In FY 2000, OJJDP began an evaluation of the Comprehensive Strategy, including the planning process used by the eight States; finalized a Comprehensive Strategy training curriculum that was developed and field tested within the States; developed a Comprehensive Strategy workbook to provide States and communities with a format for creating an effective and dynamic written plan; and allocated funds to support implementation of the Comprehensive Strategy in Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin. In October 2000, OJJDP also adopted a revised approach and protocol for delivering Comprehensive Strategy training and technical assistance. This revision permits OJJDP to respond to requests for information from States and sites throughout the Nation by using the lessons learned from the experiences in the original pilot sites and eight States to further develop an effective strategic planning framework.

SafeFutures

OJJDP has supported the SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency program since 1995. SafeFutures emphasizes the importance of providing a continuum of care at all developmental stages for youth who are delinquent or are at risk of becoming delinquent. Since 1995, OJJDP has awarded annual grants of up to $1.41 million to Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT; Imperial County, CA; St. Louis, MO; and Seattle, WA. These sites have been developing comprehensive plans that provide appropriate prevention, intervention, and treatment services and graduated sanctions for at-risk and delinquent youth.

During FY 2000, the sites focused on refining this continuum-of-care approach through better integration and coordination of services. For example, Imperial County established an interagency care coordination team to deliver and broker services for youth at risk of out-of-home placement. Fort Belknap established a care coordination system that features assessment, care planning, and advocacy and helps families navigate the multiple tribal, State, and Federal programs in Indian Country.

Grantees also have given specific attention to systems change and program sustainment. Seattle is completing a study of the feasibility of reallocating resources from detention and placement to prevention and early intervention. Imperial County is blending funds across agencies and funding categories. Boston has leveraged additional funds for enhanced afterschool programs and for programs to serve youth who have been injured through violence.

During FY 2000, sites also increased their focus on providing services to high-risk youth and delivered these services—through street outreach, home visits, and other activities—at times and places convenient for youth and families. For example, Contra Costa County used data to identify youth most at risk for perpetrating or being victimized by gang violence and St. Louis refined a screening process to identify individual high-risk youth.

OJJDP also is funding a national evaluation to determine the success of the SafeFutures initiative and to track lessons learned at each of the six sites. The Urban Institute of Washington, DC, is conducting the evaluation, which is examining the implementation process, stakeholders’ perceptions of systems change, community indicators of change, client and family experiences with the SafeFutures program, and case outcomes. The evaluators also are helping sites fully implement the Client Indicator Data Base (CIDB), which captures specific client outcome measures for youth in the areas of education and delinquent and other antisocial or self-damaging behavior. CIDB also measures service delivery and networking among agencies that serve youth who are at high risk of delinquency and who may be in need of multiple services offered either by SafeFutures or by other existing community programs.

In November 2000, OJJDP published Comprehensive Responses to Youth At Risk: Interim Findings From the SafeFutures Initiative. This publication draws on information obtained through multiple visits to each SafeFutures community during the first 3 years of the initiative, followup discussions with selected participants to clarify aspects of program implementation, and analyses of secondary documents. The publication is available from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse.