[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 97 (Thursday, May 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28287-28294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12092]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
[OJP (OJJDP) Docket No. 1521]
Final Plan for Fiscal Year 2010
AGENCY: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office
of Justice Programs, Department of Justice.
ACTION: Notice of Final Plan for Fiscal Year 2010.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is
publishing this notice of its Final Plan for fiscal year (FY) 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention at 202-307-5911. [This is not a toll-free
number.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs (OJP) in the U.S. Department of Justice. Provisions within
Section 204(b)(5)(A) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq. (JJDP Act), direct the
OJJDP Administrator to publish for public comment a Proposed Plan
describing the program activities that OJJDP proposes to carry out
during FY 2010 under Parts D and E of Title II of the JJDP Act,
codified at 42 U.S.C. 5651-5665a, 5667, 5667a. Because the Office's
discretionary activities extend beyond Parts D and E, the Acting
Administrator of OJJDP published a proposed plan outlining a more
comprehensive listing of the Office's programs. OJJDP invited the
public to comment on the Proposed Plan for FY 2010, which was published
in the Federal Register on December 1, 2009 (74 FR 62821). The deadline
for submitting comments on the Proposed Plan was January 15, 2010.
The Acting Administrator reviewed and analyzed the public comments
that OJJDP received, and a summary of OJJDP activities since the
comment period ended appears later in this document. The Acting
Administrator took these comments into consideration in developing this
Final Plan, which describes the program activities that OJJDP intends
to fund during FY 2010.
Since early in 2010, OJJDP has posted on its Web site (http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov) solicitations for competitive programs to be
funded under the Final Plan for FY 2010. These funding opportunities
are announced via OJJDP's JUVJUST listserv and other methods of
electronic notification. To obtain information about OJJDP and other
OJP funding opportunities, visit Grants.gov's ``Find Grant
Opportunities'' Web page at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp. No proposals, concept papers, or other forms
of application should be submitted in response to this Final Plan.
Department Priorities: OJJDP has structured this plan to reflect
the high priority that the Administration and the Department have
placed on addressing youth violence and victimization and improving
protections for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. The
programs presented here represent OJJDP's current thinking on how to
advance the Department's priorities during this fiscal year. This Final
Plan also incorporates feedback from OJJDP's ongoing outreach to the
field seeking ideas on program areas and the most promising approaches
for those types of areas.
OJJDP's Purpose: Congress established OJJDP through the JJDP Act of
1974 to help States and communities prevent and control delinquency and
strengthen their juvenile justice systems and to coordinate and
administer national policy in this area.
Although States, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)
communities,\1\ and other localities retain primary responsibility for
administering juvenile justice and preventing juvenile delinquency,
OJJDP supports and supplements the efforts of public and private
organizations at all levels through program funding via formula, block,
and discretionary grants; administration of congressional earmark
programs; research; training and technical assistance; funding of
demonstration projects; and dissemination of information. OJJDP also
helps administer Federal policy related to juvenile justice and
delinquency prevention through its leadership role in the Coordinating
Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
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\1\ In this plan, the terms ``tribes'' and ``tribal
jurisdictions'' refer to both American Indian and Alaska Native
communities.
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OJJDP's Vision: OJJDP strives to be the recognized authority and
national leader dedicated to the future, safety, and well-being of
children and youth in, or at risk of entering, the juvenile justice
system and to serving children, families, and community organizations
that protect children from harm and exploitation.
OJJDP's Mission: OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination,
and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and
victimization by supporting States, tribal jurisdictions, and
communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective
coordinated prevention and intervention programs and improve the
juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety, holds
offenders accountable, and provides treatment and rehabilitation
services tailored to the needs of juveniles and their families.
Guiding Principles for OJJDP's National Leadership: OJJDP provides
targeted funding, sponsors research and demonstration programs, offers
training and technical assistance, disseminates information, and uses
technology to enhance programs and collaboration in exercising its
national leadership role. In all of these efforts, the following four
principles guide OJJDP:
(1) Empower communities and engage youth and families.
(2) Promote evidence-based practices.
(3) Require accountability.
(4) Enhance collaboration.
1. Empower communities and engage youth and families. Families and
communities play an essential role in any effort to prevent delinquency
and protect children from victimization. Communities must reach beyond
the formal systems of justice, social services, and law enforcement to
tap into the wisdom and energies of many others--including business
leaders, the media, neighborhood associations, block leaders, elected
officials, tribal leaders, clergy, faith-based organizations, and
especially families and young people themselves--who have a stake in
helping local youth become productive, law-abiding citizens. In
particular, OJJDP must engage families and youth in developing
solutions to delinquency and victimization. Their strengths,
experiences, and aspirations provide an important perspective in
developing those solutions.
To be effective, collaboration among community stakeholders must be
grounded in up-to-date information. With Federal assistance that OJJDP
provides, community members can partner to gather data, assess local
conditions, and make decisions to ensure resources are targeted for
maximum impact.
2. Promote evidence-based practices. To make the best use of public
resources, OJJDP must identify ``what works'' in delinquency prevention
and juvenile justice. OJJDP is the only Federal agency with a specific
mission to develop and disseminate knowledge about what works in this
field. Drawing on this knowledge, OJJDP helps communities replicate
proven programs and improve their existing programs. OJJDP helps
communities match program models to their specific needs and supports
interventions that respond
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to the developmental, cultural, and gender needs of the youth and
families they will serve.
3. Require accountability. OJJDP requires the national, State,
tribal, and local entities whose programs OJJDP supports to explain how
they use program resources, determine and report on how effective the
programs are in alleviating the problems they are intended to address,
and propose plans for remediation of performance that does not meet
standards. OJJDP has established mandatory performance measures for all
its programs and reports on those measures to the Office of Management
and Budget. OJJDP requires its grantees and applicants to report on
these performance measures, set up systems to gather the data necessary
to monitor those performance measures, and use this information to
continuously assess progress and fine-tune the programs.
4. Enhance collaboration. Juvenile justice agencies and programs
are just one part of a larger set of systems that encompasses the many
agencies and programs that work with at-risk youth and their families.
For delinquency prevention and child protection efforts to be
effective, they must be coordinated at the local, tribal, State, and
Federal levels with law enforcement, social services, child welfare,
public health, mental health, school, and other systems that address
family strengthening and youth development. One way to achieve this
coordination is to establish broad-based coalitions to create consensus
on service priorities and to build support for a coordinated approach.
With this consensus as a foundation, participating agencies and
departments can then build mechanisms to link service providers at the
program level--including procedures for sharing information across
systems.
OJJDP took its guidance in the development of this Final Plan from
the priorities that the Attorney General has set forth for the
Department. At the same time, OJJDP drew upon its Strategic Plan for
2009-2011. The four primary goals at the heart of OJJDP's Strategic
Plan echo the Attorney General's priorities. Those goals are: prevent
and respond to delinquency, strengthen the juvenile justice system,
prevent and reduce the victimization of children, and prevent and
reduce youth violence to create safer neighborhoods.
OJJDP's Summary of Public Comments on the FY 2010 Proposed Plan
OJJDP published its Proposed Plan for FY 2010 in the Federal
Register (74 FR 62821) on December 1, 2009. During the subsequent 45-
day public comment period, OJJDP received 150 submissions. Since the
close of public comment, OJJDP has carefully reviewed and considered
each of the submissions in its development of the Final Plan for FY
2010.
Comments addressed many of the program areas and activities in
which OJJDP is currently engaged. Far and away, detention and
corrections reform was the single topic that elicited the most
responses. More than a third of the comments dealt with some aspect of
detention and corrections reform. In keeping with U.S. Department of
Justice priorities, OJJDP will sponsor several detention and
corrections reform programs in FY 2010. They include the National
Training and Technical Assistance Center for Youth in Custody, which
will provide education, training, and technical assistance for State,
local, and tribal departments of juvenile justice and corrections,
service providers, and private organizations that operate juvenile
facilities. OJJDP will also partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation
to expand its Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.
Other areas that drew frequent or substantive comments were
reauthorization of the JJDP Act, disproportionate minority contact,
mentoring, gender-specific issues, and family violence.
OJJDP looks to the field for guidance on emerging juvenile justice
needs and issues of concern, and targets its allocation of funding and
resources, based, in part, on the feedback the Office receives from
policymakers and practitioners through such vehicles as the Proposed
Plan. OJJDP wishes to note that in the interim period between
publication of the Proposed Plan in December and this Final Plan,
Congress identified the Office's funding streams for FY 2010 and OJJDP
adjusted its funding priorities accordingly. As a result, OJJDP will
not fund in 2010 some programs that appeared in the Proposed Plan, and
OJJDP also has added new programs. Comments the Office received on the
Proposed Plan, Administration priorities, and available funds informed
these decisions.
Many respondents expressed their appreciation for being given the
opportunity to review and comment on the Proposed Plan. OJJDP is
encouraged by the volume and quality of the comments that the Office
received for the 2010 Proposed Plan and looks forward to continued
communication and collaboration with the juvenile justice field.
OJJDP Final Plan for Fiscal Year 2010
Each year OJJDP receives formula and block grant funding as well as
discretionary funds for certain program areas. Based on the 2010
budget, OJJDP offers the following 2010 Final Plan for its
discretionary funding. Programs are organized according to Department
priorities and traditional OJJDP focus areas.
Department and OJJDP Priorities
OJJDP administers grant programs authorized by the Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended. OJJDP also
administers programs under other legislative authority and through
partnerships with other Federal agencies. In keeping with OJJDP's
mission, these programs are designed to help strengthen the juvenile
justice system, prevent juvenile delinquency and violence, and protect
and safeguard the nation's youth. The Administration and the Attorney
General have identified children's exposure to violence, gang and
community violence, and racial disparities within the juvenile justice
system as focus areas for the Department.
Programs To Address and Treat Children Exposed to Violence
The Attorney General's Initiative on Children Exposed to Violence
Program: Phase I will support community-based strategic planning to
prevent and reduce the impact of children's exposure to violence in
their homes, schools, and communities. Within the Department, a
committee comprising OJJDP, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office
on Violence Against Women, the National Institute of Justice, Community
Oriented Policing Services, and the Executive Office of United States
Attorneys jointly manages and supports this project. Through strategic
planning, communities will improve access to, delivery of, and quality
of services for children and families and respond to their needs at any
point of entry into the legal, social services, medical, law
enforcement, and community-based support systems. This program will
expand existing partnerships among municipal and tribal leadership;
education; health, including public health and mental health; family
support and strengthening; social services; early childhood education
and development; domestic violence advocacy and services; victim
support; substance abuse prevention and treatment; crisis intervention;
child welfare; courts; legal services; and law
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enforcement at the tribal, local, State, and Federal levels.
Within OJJDP, Safe Start projects enhance the accessibility,
delivery, and quality of services provided young children who have been
exposed to violence or who are at high risk. These programs focus on
practice innovation, research and evaluation, training and technical
assistance, and resource development and public awareness. In 2010,
OJJDP efforts to address children exposed to violence include:
The Safe Start Promising Approaches Project will develop
and support practice enhancements and innovations to prevent and reduce
the impact of children's exposure to violence in their homes and
communities. The two components of this project are: (1) ``Strategic
Enhancement,'' which improves an ongoing evidence-based model, or (2)
``Practice Innovation,'' which implements a strategy/intervention based
on sound theory and evaluative literature, which has yet to be
evaluated rigorously. OJJDP will also conduct a national evaluation of
the project beginning in 2010.
OJJDP will fund a 12- month, full-time fellow position
located at OJJDP to focus on children's exposure to violence
programming. The position is funded via a grant to the fellow's home
institution in the amount of their salary and benefit costs for the
duration of the fellowship.
OJJDP will conduct a second wave of the National Survey of Children
Exposed to Violence to capture trend data and compare it to the results
of the first survey. This project will document changes in the
incidence and prevalence of children's exposure to a broad array of
violence, crime, and abuse experiences.
Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program
Under this program, communities will develop multi-strategy, multi-
disciplinary approaches to reduce gun violence. These programs will
target the high-risk activities and behaviors of a small number of
carefully selected members of the community who are likely to be
involved in violent activities, specifically gun violence, in the
immediate future. These programs will be closely coordinated with a
broader administration initiative. These demonstration programs will
support Federal, State, and local partnerships to replicate proven
strategies to reduce violence, such as CeaseFire, which is widely
credited with significantly reducing shootings and homicides in
targeted Chicago communities. CeaseFire, which employs a public health
approach, interrupts the cycle of violence and changes norms about
behavior. OJJDP will consider for grant support under this program
other community-based violence reduction models that are evidence-
based. This demonstration program includes programs of research and
evaluation and technical assistance. These programs are coordinated
with the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Disproportionate Minority Contact
Section 223(a)(22) of the JJDP Act of 1974, as amended, requires
States to address delinquency prevention and system improvement efforts
to reduce, without establishing or requiring numerical standards or
quotas, the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into
contact with the juvenile justice system. States fund these activities
primarily through their Title II Formula and Title V Delinquency
Prevention Grants funds. OJJDP continues to enhance the annual training
and technical assistance it provides to the States to support their
development of direct services (diversion, alternatives to secure
confinement, advocacy, cultural competency training, etc.); legislative
reforms; administrative, policy, and procedural changes; structured
decisionmaking (detention screening, risk assessment, needs assessment
instruments, etc.), and other activities. OJJDP staff will continue to
conduct annual site visits to the States to monitor progress toward
system change goals and to provide guidance. Additionally, OJJDP
recently reorganized and added a new full-time DMC Coordinator, who
will assist the States in their efforts to address and reduce DMC.
Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention Program
OJJDP will award grants to sites that replicate selected promising
or effective secondary gang prevention and intervention programs in
targeted communities as part of an existing community-based
comprehensive anti-gang initiative. Sites will replicate one of the
following programs: Aggression Replacement Training, Boys and Girls
Clubs (BGCA) Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach, BGCA Gang
Intervention Through Targeted Outreach, Broader Urban Involvement and
Leadership Development Detention Program, and Movimiento Ascendencia.
Tribal Youth
Since 1998, Congress has appropriated more than $120 million for
programs addressing tribal youth. OJJDP administers most of its tribal
initiatives through the Tribal Youth Program (TYP). These programs fund
initiatives, training and technical assistance, and research and
evaluation projects designed to improve juvenile justice systems and
delinquency-prevention efforts among federally recognized American
Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Since 1999, 10 percent of the TYP
appropriation has been used for research and evaluation activities and
2 percent has been used for training and technical assistance.
U.S. Department of Justice Coordinated Tribal Assistance
In response to concerns that tribes voiced during recent public
listening sessions, DOJ developed the Coordinated Tribal Assistance
Solicitation (CTAS) in 2010 that combined all of its existing
competitive tribal solicitations into one document. The CTAS
solicitation is posted on the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Web page
at http://www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov/docs/ctassolicitation.pdf.
Following are the OJJDP solicitations within the CTAS:
Tribal Youth Program supports and enhances tribal efforts
to prevent and control delinquency and improve their juvenile justice
systems. Grantees develop and implement delinquency prevention
programs, interventions for court-involved youth, improvements to the
juvenile justice system, alcohol and substance abuse prevention
programs, and emotional/behavioral program services.
Tribal Youth Reconnection Program engages tribal youth who
are chronically truant or at risk of dropping out of school in
activities centered on cultural preservation, land reclamation, or
green/sustainable tribal traditions.
Tribal Youth Resiliency Program will support tribal
efforts to develop and implement interventions that address the effects
and issues of childhood trauma.
Strengthening Initiative for Native Girls Program teaches
native girls culturally appropriate skills to resist substance abuse,
prevent teen pregnancy, prevent sexual abuse, foster positive
relationships with peers and adults, learn self-advocacy, and build
prosocial skills.
Tribal Juvenile Detention Reentry Program provides
services for youth residing within tribal juvenile detention centers or
soon to be released from such a center. Services include risk and needs
assessments, educational and vocational programs, mental health
services, substance abuse programs,
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family strengthening, recreational activities, and extended reentry
aftercare to help them successfully reintegrate into the tribal
community.
Tribal Youth Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Programs
These field-initiated studies will further what is understood
regarding the experiences, strengths, and needs of tribal youth, their
families, and communities and what works to reduce their risks for
delinquency and victimization. This initiative is especially interested
in evaluations that identify effective and promising delinquency
prevention, intervention, and treatment programs for tribal youth,
including those that assist tribal youth in enhancing their own
cultural knowledge and awareness.
Child Protection Programs in Tribal Communities
This program will provide resources and technical assistance to
Native American communities to help them address child abduction and
child exploitation. Under this program, the grantee will expand the
critical services, best practices, tools, and other resources of the
AMBER Alert and Internet Crimes Against Children programs to protect
children ages 0 to 18 in tribal communities at risk for exploitation.
Tribal Youth National Mentoring Program
This national initiative will support the development, maturation,
and expansion of mentoring services for tribal youth on tribal
reservations that are underserved due to location, shortage of mentors,
emotional or behavioral challenges of the targeted population, or other
situations.
Juvenile Justice System Reform
OJJDP recognizes the need for States to have effective and
efficient juvenile justice systems and for the Office to assist them in
identifying and implementing promising and evidence-based practices.
Reforming juvenile justice and improving systems across the country is
a priority for OJJDP. Components of the juvenile justice system that
OJJDP will focus on in 2010 include detention and corrections reform,
juvenile indigent defense, and youth transitioning back to their
communities from a detention and corrections facility.
To improve juvenile detention and corrections in FY 2010, OJJDP
will work with communities through a multidisciplinary and
comprehensive approach that focuses on youth to assess their risks and
needs and assure they receive effective services and programs that do
not compromise public safety.
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
In FY 2010, OJJDP will partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation
to jointly fund an expansion of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives
Initiative (JDAI) that will provide training and technical assistance
to States and communities implementing the initiative. In 1992, the
Casey Foundation launched JDAI, in which sites across the country
created and tested new alternatives to detention.
At its essence, JDAI demonstrates that jurisdictions can safely
reduce their reliance on secure detention. JDAI communities also test
the hypothesis that detention reforms will equip juvenile justice
systems with values, skills, and policies that will improve results in
other components of the system.
The objectives of JDAI sites are to:
Eliminate the inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure
detention;
Minimize re-arrest and failure-to-appear rates pending
adjudication;
Ensure appropriate conditions of confinement in secure
facilities;
Redirect public finances to sustain successful reforms;
Reduce racial and ethnic disparities.
National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Youth in Custody
Through this program, OJJDP will establish the National Training
and Technical Assistance Center for Youth in Custody (the Center) to
provide education, training, and technical assistance for State, local,
and tribal departments of juvenile justice and corrections, service
providers, and private organizations that operate juvenile facilities.
The Center will emphasize the rehabilitative goals of the juvenile
justice system and provide comprehensive training, technical
assistance, and resources directly to justice facilities that detain or
confine youth. The Center will also update and contribute to the
knowledge base of best practices in detaining or confining youth.
Juvenile Indigent Defense National Clearinghouse
OJJDP is developing and will implement a model national
clearinghouse for juvenile defense attorneys to provide publications
and resources, policy development and leadership opportunities,
training, and technical assistance around indigent defense issues. This
program will improve the overall level of systemic advocacy, enhance
the quality of juvenile indigent defense representation, and ensure
professional and ongoing technical support to the juvenile indigent
defense bar.
Second Chance Act Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Demonstration
Projects
OJJDP, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, will
support additional demonstration projects under the Second Chance Act
Youth Offender Reentry Initiative, a comprehensive response to the
increasing number of people who are released from prison, jail, and
juvenile facilities each year and are returning to their communities.
The goal of this initiative is to reduce the rate of recidivism for
offenders released from a juvenile residential facility and increase
public safety. Demonstration projects provide necessary services to
youth while in confinement and following their release into the
community. The initiative will focus on addressing the unique needs of
girls reentering their communities.
Girls' Delinquency
According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from
1991 to 2000, arrest rates of girls increased more, or decreased less,
than those of boys for the same offenses. By 2004, girls accounted for
30 percent of juvenile arrests. This apparent trend raises a number of
questions, including whether it reflects an increase in girls'
delinquency or changes in society's responses to girls' behavior. While
OJJDP's Girls Study Group helped expand what is known about what
works--and what does not--in preventing and intervening in girls'
delinquency, the field lacks adequate information about evidence-based
programs that effectively address girls' delinquency. In FY 2010, OJJDP
is supporting research and evaluation to identify effective delinquency
prevention, intervention, and treatment programs for girls. OJJDP will
also provide training and technical assistance to the field on
effective delinquency programming for girls.
Evaluations of Girls' Delinquency Programs
These evaluations will measure the effectiveness of delinquency
prevention, intervention, and/or treatment programs to prevent and
reduce girls' risk behavior and offending. Over the past two decades,
the number of girls entering the juvenile justice system has
dramatically increased. This trend
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raised a number of questions for OJJDP, including whether this
reflected an increase in girls' delinquency or changes in society's
responses to girls' behavior. OJJDP's Girls Study Group recently
completed a review of evaluations of girls' delinquency programs and
found that most programs have not been evaluated, thereby limiting
knowledge about the most appropriate and effective programs for girls.
National Girls Institute
The National Girls Institute will evaluate promising and innovative
prevention, intervention, treatment, education, detention, and
aftercare services for delinquent and at-risk girls. The Institute will
translate the information learned through the Girls Study Group and
other research and expert knowledge for practitioners and policymakers.
The Institute will serve as OJJDP's national training and technical
assistance provider for promising and evidence-based practices in
girls' delinquency prevention, intervention, and treatment. The
Institute will also provide information dissemination, collaboration,
policy development, and other leadership functions.
Research, Evaluation, and Data Collection
OJJDP supports and promotes research, vigorous and informative
evaluations of demonstration programs, and collection and analysis of
statistical data. The goal of these activities is to generate credible
and useful information to improve decisionmaking in the juvenile
justice system. OJJDP sponsors research that has the greatest potential
to improve the nation's understanding of juvenile delinquency and
victimization and of ways to develop effective prevention and
intervention programs to respond to it.
Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program
The 2010 Field Initiated Research and Evaluation program will
support multiple grant awards for research and evaluations of programs
and initiatives that focus on the juvenile justice system's response to
delinquency and system improvement. The goal of the research questions
posed will be to inform policy and lead to recommendations for juvenile
justice system improvement.
Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center
This program will provide training and technical assistance to
State, tribal, local, and non-profit entities that work in the juvenile
justice and victimization field on how to prepare for and carry out an
evaluation of their activities. The Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center
will develop easily accessible tools and resources for the field and
assist these agencies in developing evidence-based strategies and
programs.
National Juvenile Justice Data Collection Program
OJJDP supports several key national juvenile data collection
programs, some of which have existed for several years, and others that
are new. These include:
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, which
collects information about all youth residing in facilities who are
awaiting or have been adjudicated for a status or delinquent offense.
Juvenile Residential Facility Census, which collects
information about the security and services of facilities that hold
youth for delinquent offenses, pre- and post-adjudication.
Census of Juveniles on Probation, which collects a 1-day
count of all youth on formal probation, including demographic
characteristics and the offense for which they are being supervised.
Census of Juvenile Probation Supervision Offices, which
collects information about the offices that oversee youth who are on
probation in the United States.
National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Program
This program will support the juvenile justice community's need for
current, high-quality data and statistical information. The grantee
will maintain and update OJJDP's Statistical Briefing Book and its Easy
Access data tools, conduct original research, produce publications,
respond to information requests, and work with OJJDP to develop new
data resources that respond to the needs of the juvenile justice field.
Substance Abuse and Treatment
OJJDP, often in partnership with other Federal agencies and private
organizations, develops programs, research, or other initiatives to
address juvenile use and abuse of illegal, prescription, and
nonprescription drugs and alcohol. OJJDP's substance abuse efforts
include control, prevention, and treatment programs.
Family and Juvenile Drug Court Programs
OJJDP will implement and enhance family drug courts that serve
substance-abusing adults who are involved in the family dependency
court system. The Center for Children and Family Futures will provide
training and technical assistance to family drug courts. The Juvenile
Drug Courts Mentoring and Support Services Initiative will build the
capacity of States, State courts, local courts, units of local
government, and tribal governments to develop and establish
comprehensive support services that include mentoring, educational
services, health services, employment services, community services,
recreational activities, parenting programs, housing assistance to
serve substance-abusing youth who are assigned to the juvenile drug
court program.
OJJDP and the Department of Health and Human Services' Center for
Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) will continue joint funding to
integrate and implement the juvenile drug court and Reclaiming Futures
program models. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court
Judges provides training and technical assistance.
Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program
The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program supports
States' efforts to reduce drinking by juveniles through its four
components: Block grants to the 50 States, the 5 territories, and the
District of Columbia; discretionary grants; technical assistance; and
research and evaluation. Under the block grant component, each State,
the District of Columbia, and the territories receive approximately
$360,000 annually to support law enforcement activities, media
campaigns, and coalition building. The EUDL discretionary grant
component supports several diverse initiatives to help communities
develop promising approaches to address underage drinking. EUDL
training and technical assistance supports communities and States in
their efforts to enforce underage drinking laws. EUDL funds and Federal
partnerships also support evaluations of community initiatives within
the EUDL discretionary grant component.
Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Assessment, Strategic Planning, and
Implementation Initiative
Under this discretionary component of the Enforcing Underage
Drinking Laws program, States will implement an assessment and
strategic planning process to develop targeted, effective activities to
reduce underage access and consumption of alcohol. Grantees will assess
local conditions and design a long-term strategic plan; implement
selected and approved actions of that plan; collect, analyze, and
report data;
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and evaluate how the State responded to the recommendations, crafted
its strategic plan, and implemented portions of the plan with the
remaining funds.
Mentoring
OJJDP supports mentoring programs for youth at risk of failing in
school, dropping out of school, or becoming involved in delinquent
behavior, including gang activity and substance abuse. The goals of the
programs are to reduce juvenile delinquency and gang participation,
improve academic performance, and reduce the school dropout rate.
Mentoring funds support mentoring programs that provide general
guidance and support; promote personal and social responsibility;
increase participation in education; support juvenile offenders
returning to their communities after confinement in a residential
facility; discourage use of illegal drugs and firearms; discourage
involvement in gangs, violence and other delinquent activity; and
encourage participation in community service activities. OJJDP will
also sponsor several research projects that will evaluate mentoring
programs or approaches and the effectiveness of specific mentoring
practices.
Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Initiative
The Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Initiative will provide
grants for mentoring and other transitional services to reintegrate
juvenile offenders into their communities. The grants will be used to
mentor juvenile offenders during confinement, through transition back
to the community, and post-release; to provide transitional services to
assist them in their reintegration into the community; and to support
training in offender and victims issues. The initiative's goals are to
reduce recidivism among juvenile ex-offenders, enhance community
safety, and enhance the capacity of local partnerships to address the
needs of juvenile ex-offenders returning to their communities.
Group Mentoring Research and Evaluation Program
OJJDP seeks to expand what is known about nontraditional mentoring
programs as a prevention and intervention strategy for juvenile
delinquency. OJJDP will evaluate the effectiveness of select group
mentoring programs supported by local Boys and Girls Clubs. Increasing
knowledge regarding the use of group and site-based mentoring programs
is a primary goal for this evaluation.
Mentoring Research Program
This program seeks to enhance the understanding of mentoring as a
prevention strategy for youth who are at risk of involvement or already
involved in the juvenile justice system. While mentoring appears to be
a promising intervention for youth, more evaluation work is needed to
further highlight the components of a mentoring program that are most
effective. It is expected that the results of this effort will
encourage a more effective utilization of resources as well as enhance
the implementation of evidence-based best practices for juvenile
mentoring.
Mentoring for Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiatives
The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiatives are a joint effort by
the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and
Justice to support schools in creating safer and healthier learning
environments. Under this initiative current Safe Schools/Healthy
Student sites will develop and implement community-based mentoring
programs in conjunction with their overall comprehensive communitywide
plan. Safe Schools supports the reduction of negative behavior in
elementary and middle school youth (e.g., truancy, bullying) and
enhances positive behavior and connection to their families, school
personnel, and other community members through evidence-based mentoring
initiatives.
National and Multi-State Mentoring Programs
These programs support national organizations and organizations
with mentoring programs in at least five States to enhance or expand
community programs that provide mentoring services to high-risk
populations that are underserved due to location, shortage of mentors,
special physical or mental challenges of the targeted population, or
other analogous situations that the community in need of mentoring
services identifies.
Strategic Enhancement to Mentoring Programs
Strategic Enhancement to Mentoring Programs focus on enhancing
existing mentoring programs. The three enhancements include: (1)
Involving the parents in activities or services, (2) providing
structured activities and programs for the mentoring matches, and (3)
developing and implementing ongoing training and support for mentors.
Child Victimization
Since its inception, OJJDP has consistently strived to safeguard
children from victimization by supporting research, training, and
community programs that emphasize prevention and early intervention. A
commitment to children's safety is written into the Office's
legislative mandate, which includes the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, the Missing Children's Assistance
Act of 1984, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. OJJDP
continues to improve the responses of the justice system and related
systems, increase public awareness, and promote model programs for
addressing child victimization in States and communities across the
country.
Children's Advocacy Centers
OJJDP will continue funding for programs that improve the
coordinated investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. These
programs include a national subgrant program for local children's
advocacy centers, a membership and accreditation program, regional
children's advocacy centers, and specialized technical assistance and
training programs for child abuse professionals and prosecutors. Local
Children's Advocacy Centers utilize multidisciplinary teams of
professionals to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and
prosecution of child abuse cases.
Court Appointed Special Advocate Programs
OJJDP will continue funding for Court Appointed Special Advocates
(CASA) programs that provide children in the foster care system or at
risk of entering the dependency system with high-quality, timely,
effective, and sensitive representation before the court. CASA programs
train and support volunteers who advocate for the best interests of the
child in dependency proceedings. OJJDP funds a national CASA training
and technical assistance provider and a national membership and
accreditation organization to support State and local CASA
organizations' efforts to recruit volunteer advocates, including
minority volunteers, and to provide training and technical assistance
to these organizations and to stakeholders in the child welfare system.
Missing Children
Authorized through the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984,
as amended, these programs enhance the national response of State,
local, and Federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and
nongovernmental
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organizations to missing and exploited children. These programs serve
as the primary vehicle for building a national infrastructure to
support efforts to prevent the abduction and exploitation of our
nation's children.
Missing and Exploited Children Program Support
OJJDP will continue funding for a national membership organization
for nonprofit organizations serving the families of missing children
and to assist in identifying and promulgating best practices in serving
these children and families.
In FY 2010, OJJDP also will support programs that:
Provide training and technical assistance to local, State,
and tribal law enforcement agencies and other organizations charged
with responding to missing children cases.
Design and implement the AMBER Alert National Conference.
Improve responses to child abductions across borders.
Conduct research on children characterized as lost,
injured, or missing to improve community responses to these cases.
Conduct a national study of the incidence of missing
children.
Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance
Program
This program will support training in areas such as child abuse
investigations, child fatality investigations, and child sexual
exploitation investigations. Authorized by the Missing Children's
Assistance Act, this program will help State and local law enforcement,
child protection, prosecutors, medical providers, and child advocacy
center professionals develop an effective response to child
victimization cases.
Child Exploitation
The increasing number of children and teens using the Internet, the
proliferation of child pornography, and the increasing number of sexual
predators who use the Internet and other electronic media to prey on
children present both a significant threat to the health and safety of
young people and a formidable challenge for law enforcement. OJJDP took
the lead early on in addressing this problem. More than a decade ago,
the Office established the Internet Crimes Against Children task force
program. In FY 2010, OJJDP will launch the Youth with Sexual Behavior
Problems Program to support localities in the development and
implementation of treatment programs for youth ages 10 to 14 who have
exhibited inappropriate sexual behaviors against another child and for
their victims. The program will specifically address interfamilial and/
or co-residential sexual misconduct for youth and provide adjunctive
support services to child victims and families who have been
victimized.
Internet Crimes Against Children Program
OJJDP will continue funding to support the operations of the 61
Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. The ICAC Task
Force Program helps State and local law enforcement agencies develop an
effective response to sexual predators who prey upon juveniles via the
Internet and other electronic devices and child pornography cases. This
program encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and
technical assistance, victim services, and community education.
The ICAC Task Force Strategies for Protecting Children at High Risk
for Commercial Sexual Exploitation Program will support select law
enforcement agencies as they
Improve training and coordination.
Develop policies and procedures to identify commercial
sexual exploitation victims.
Investigate and prosecute cases against adults who
sexually exploit children for commercial purposes.
Adopt practices to intervene appropriately with and
compassionately serve victims, including providing essential services
in cases where technology is used to facilitate the exploitation of the
victim.
In addition, OJJDP is supporting related ICAC activities and
programs, including:
Designing and implementing the 2011 ICAC National Training
Conference.
Research on Internet and other technology-facilitated
crimes against children.
Training for ICAC officers, prosecutors, judges, and other
stakeholders.
Technical assistance to support implementation of the ICAC
program.
Youth With Sexual Behavior Problems Program
This program will assist localities in responding to instances of
child sexual victimization by perpetrators who are younger than 18
years old, with a specific emphasis on interfamilial child victims and
offenders. The program will develop communities' capacity to utilize a
multidisciplinary approach when working with children who have been
sexually abused by other children and adolescents. The program will
also build communities' capacity to provide treatment and supervision
resources to youthful perpetrators of sexual abuse against children.
This program will be coordinated with OJP's Sex Offender Sentencing,
Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) Office.
Juvenile Justice System Improvement
OJJDP works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the
juvenile justice system. A major component of these efforts is the
provision of training and technical assistance (TTA) resources that
address the needs of juvenile justice practitioners and support State
and local efforts to build capacity and expand the use of evidence-
based practices. Training and technical assistance is the planning,
development, delivery, and evaluation of activities to achieve specific
learning objectives, resolve problems, and foster the application of
innovative approaches to juvenile delinquency and victimization. OJJDP
has developed a network of providers to provide targeted training and
technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners.
Child Abuse Training for Judicial and Court Personnel
OJJDP will continue funding for programs that provide targeted
training and technical assistance to judicial and court personnel who
work within the dependency system. The purpose of this initiative is to
improve the juvenile and family courts' handling of child abuse and
neglect cases and ensure timely decisionmaking in permanency planning
for abused and neglected children. The initiative also aims to reduce
and eventually eliminate racial disproportionality and disparate
treatment in the dependency system.
Engaging Law Enforcement To Reduce Juvenile Crime, Victimization, and
Delinquency
This program supports the enhancement or expansion of approaches
that engage Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement in
reducing juvenile crime, victimization, and delinquency by providing
them with comprehensive training, technical assistance, and research
findings. The initiative will examine how police can address priority
issues more effectively using evidence-based strategies that enhance
their effectiveness in policing situations involving youth. Key issues
may include disproportionate minority contact, responses to adolescent
girls,
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school safety, and unsafe and inappropriate use of electronic
communication. This initiative will engage law enforcement leaders and
front-line officers through classroom and Web-based instruction, online
resources, peer-to-peer networking and interaction, and geospatial
information system technology.
State Advisory Group Training and Technical Assistance Project
Under this project, OJJDP provides training and technical
assistance to State advisory groups (SAGs) appointed under the Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP Act) 1974, as amended. The
training and technical assistance that SAG members receive serve two
broad purposes. It enables them to: (1) Better understand the juvenile
justice system in their respective States or territories and (2) become
more familiar with all programs and facilities serving youth. Trained
SAG members will more effectively carry out their roles and
responsibilities to ensure and enhance a responsive juvenile justice
system within their jurisdictions.
General
Support for Conferences on Juvenile Justice
OJJDP will support conferences that address juvenile justice and
the prevention of delinquency. This support would provide community
prevention leaders, treatment professionals, juvenile justice
officials, researchers, and practitioners with information on best
practices and research-based models to support State, local government,
and community efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency.
Dated: May 17, 2010.
Jeff Slowikowski,
Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2010-12092 Filed 5-19-10; 8:45 am]
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