Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

1. serving children, families, and communities Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Serving Children, Families, and Communities

2. providing national leadership and coordination providing national leadership and coordination

3. Office of Justice Programs “Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods" serving children, families, and communities Can you find OJJDP? OJJDP

4. addressing the nation’s juvenile justice needs addressing the nation’s juvenile justice needs • responding to child victimization • preventing and intervening in delinquency • strengthening the juvenile justice system

5. Is there a “juvenile violence crisis”?

6. Messages the media give us vs.What the data tell us

7. The recent increase in the juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate since 2004 was interrupted in 2007. Internet Citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/crime/JAR_Display.asp?ID=qa05201. October 24, 2008.

8. Less than one-half of 1 percent of juveniles in the U.S. were arrested for a violent offense in 2007. Prepared by the National Center for Juvenile Justice for OJJDP.

9. Youth in Custody . . . on any given day: • Approximately 93,000 youth are in a juvenile residential facility (awaiting or post-adjudication). • 16% of youth in custody were placed as a result of a technical violation; for 5% the placing offense was a status offense. • 42% of juvenile residential facilities are publicly operated; they hold 69% of juvenile offenders Sickmund, Melissa, Sladky, T.J., and Kang, Wei. (2008) "Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook." Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/cjrp/

10. State commitment rates varied considerably in 2006, from 30 to 534 per 100,000 juveniles. More than half of the states had lower rates in 2006 than in 2003. Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08601.asp?qaDate=2006. Released on September 12, 2008.

11. OJJDP component divisions • Office of Policy Development • Concentration of Federal Efforts • Communications Unit • three program divisions • Child Protection Division • State Relations and Assistance Division • Demonstration Programs Division

12. addressing the nation’s juvenile justice needs Child Protection Division • recovering missing and abducted children • addressing child abuse and neglect • protecting children from online predators

13. responding to child victimization recovering missing and abducted children • National Center for Missing and Exploited Children • AMBER Alert addressing child abuse and neglect • Children’s Advocacy Centers • Court Appointed Special Advocates protecting children from online predators • Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces

14. addressing the nation’s juvenile justice needs State Relations and Assistance Division • working with states to improve juvenile justice • meeting the requirements of the JJDP Act • improving conditions of confinement for juvenile offenders • holding juvenile offenders accountable

15. strengthening the juvenile justice system meeting the requirements of the JJDP Act compliance monitoring • deinstitutionalizing status offenders (DSO) • separating juveniles from adults in institutions (separation) • removing juveniles from adult jails and lockups (jail removal) • reducing disproportionate minority contact (DMC), where it exists

16. addressing the nation’s juvenile justice needs Demonstration Programs Division • keeping youth in school and out of trouble • providing mentors for youth in need • reducing gang involvement • implementing tribal youth initiatives • addressing substance abuse and delinquency

17. preventing and intervening in delinquency Keeping youth in school and out of trouble OJJDP’s Truancy Reduction Program • implementing system reforms and increasing accountability • enhancing interagency cooperation • providing a continuum of services • involving youth and increasing community awareness

18. Why Truancy? • Truancy is our first and best indicator that a young person is headed for delinquency • OJJDP has had a long history of promoting truancy reduction to prevent delinquency • We now have overwhelming research and evaluation evidence as a call to action in both policy and practice. • Truancy prevention is inexpensive and saves public funds for deep end costs.

19. Where does truancy lead? • 70% of suspended youth were chronically truant in the 6 months before suspension. • 97% of expelled have been chronically truant in the previous year. • 80% of dropouts were chronically truant in the past year before leaving school. • Chronic absence in Kindergarten predicts lower achievement in subsequent grades.

20. Where does truancy lead? • 90% of youth in detention for delinquent acts had history of truancy offending. • 25% of all expelled youth will be in youth corrections within 1 year. • Even occasional period skippers ages 12-15 are 4 times as likely to be delinquent and begin drug use Source: Colorado Study, National Center for School Engagement

21. preventing and intervening in delinquency providing mentors for youth in need Mentoring Initiatives • National Mentoring Programs • Latino Youth Mentoring Program • Mentoring Programs for At-Risk Tribal Youth • Strengthening Youth Mentoring Through Community Partnerships • System-Involved Youth

22. preventing and intervening in delinquency Reducing youth involvement in gangs OJJDP’s Gang Reduction Program • comprehensive slate of prevention, intervention, and suppression programs • integrated array of related programs across risk domains and age groups • coordinated program implementation with collaboration at leadership and staffing levels

23. strengthening the juvenile justice system implementing tribal youth initiatives Tribal Youth Program • supports and enhances tribal efforts to prevent and control delinquency and violent crime • improves tribal juvenile justice systems • holding offenders accountable

24. preventing and intervening in delinquency addressing substance abuse and delinquency Juvenile and Family Drug Court Program • providing intensive treatment and specialized services • improving cross-system collaboration • increasing effectiveness and cost efficiency

25. juvenile drug courts • OJJDP and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) will support juvenile drug courts collaboratively in 2009 to maximize federal support and ensure implementation of best practices for juvenile drug courts. CSAT will post the joint solicitation. • Three winning applications each will receive two awards, one from CSAT to support treatment and one from OJJDP to support the court operation. The OJJDP award will be for up to $425,000 for 4 years. CSAT will make awards of $200,000 for each of 4 years.

26. juvenile drug courts (continued) • OJJDP also continues to support a 4-year initiative launched in FY 2007 with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CSAT to strengthen the response of juvenile drug courts to juvenile offenders who are substance abusers.

27. getting juveniles better services and better prepared for integration back into their community Second Chance Act (section 211) is focused on Mentoring. This is an area where OJJDP can help. With significant funding for mentoring this year, we are looking to use some of those funds to develop a mentoring program consistent with this section of the Act. Watch on our Web site for the solicitation – Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Initiative

28. getting juveniles better services and better prepared for integration back into their community…continued The Second Chance Act also authorizes re-entry grants to State and local governments, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes that may be used for demonstration projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of individuals who have been incarcerated. Watch on our Web site for the solicitation – Second Chance Act Youth Offender Reentry Initiative

29. getting juveniles better services and better prepared for integration back into their community…continued Also watch for the solicitation: Gang Prevention Youth Mentoring Program – to provide mentors for youth at-risk of gang involvement.

30. serving children, families, and communities visit OJJDP’s Web site www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp

31. serving children, families, and communities subscribe to OJJDP’s electronic resources • JUVJUST • OJJDP News @ a Glance

32. In Closing… • On behalf of the staff and myself at OJJDP, let me say that we work hard everyday believing: • that __ one day effective programs will be adopted across the country; • that __ one day our children and youth will be loved and nurtured everyday, and

33. In Closing…continued • that __ one day all of our children and youth will dream big, work hard, __and realize__ dreams do come true in America, even if you stumble on the journey to adulthood. • Thank you for being such a great audience. It has been my pleasure and honor to be with you for this breakout session.