This is an archive of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP's) electronic newsletter OJJDP News @ a Glance. The information in this archived resource may be outdated and links may no longer function. Visit our website at https://www.ojjdp.gov for current information.
News in Brief

OJJDP Launches DMC Virtual Resource Center

OJJDP has launched the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Virtual Resource Center. This online center provides DMC Coordinators, state advisory group members, and other juvenile justice professionals with tools and resources to support their state and local DMC efforts.

The Web site also provides networking opportunities for users to exchange data and information, share DMC training materials, and notify others about upcoming conferences, events, and current policies, practices, and procedures. Regular Web site spotlights will feature state and local DMC delinquency prevention and systems improvement activities.

OJJDP, IACP Develop Youth-Focused Policing Resource Center

International  Association of Chiefs of Police logo The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and OJJDP have created the Youth Focused Policing Resource Center. This Web site provides a directory of law enforcement programs and services for youth, training and technical assistance in juvenile justice, information on IACP resources, a searchable resource library, a secure discussion forum for law enforcement officials, and comprehensive information and resources relating to youth crime, delinquency, and victimization.

NIJ Study Finds School Interventions Significantly Reduce Dating Violence

A National Institute of Justice (NIJ) study has found that school-level interventions reduced dating violence as much as 50 percent in 30 New York City public schools. These interventions included using school-based restraining orders, increasing faculty and security presence in dating violence "hot spots," and hanging posters to increase awareness of the issue and encourage students to report it to officials. NIJ is a research branch of the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.

"The success of school-level interventions is particularly important because they can be implemented with very few extra costs to schools. The scientific methods in this study were rigorous," said NIJ Director John H. Laub, Ph.D. Dr. Laub has posted a blog on teen dating violence. A press release about the study is available online.

New Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire Released

Logo for National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence

As a supplemental tool to the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the Crimes against Children Research Center has released the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-2nd Edition (JVQ-R2). The questionnaire, which is the core of NatSCEV, attempts to document the full range of victimization that youth experience, including conventional crime, maltreatment, peer and sibling victimization, sexual victimization, witnessing, and other exposure to violence. It can also help practitioners determine youth's needs, assess whether victimization programs are effective, raise awareness about youth victimization, and improve victimization research. JVQ-R2 is free and available online. To view and download publications from the NatSCEV series, visit the OJJDP Web site.

Federal Reentry Council Releases Three MythBuster Fact Sheets Focusing on Juvenile Reentry Issues

The Federal Interagency Reentry Council has released three fact sheets that address issues facing juveniles and their families during reentry. The fact sheets are part of the council's MythBuster series, which is designed to clarify federal policies that affect formerly incarcerated individuals. The three fact sheets address the following misperceptions: that access to juvenile criminal records is strictly limited, that confined youth can easily return to school after release from juvenile confinement, and that Medicaid agencies are required to terminate benefits if an otherwise eligible juvenile is incarcerated. All the MythBuster fact sheets are available online.

New Search Tool Helps Users Find Federal Grants To Fund Youth Programs

The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs has created an online Web tool that allows users to search for federal grant opportunities by topic or federal agency on Grants.gov. The tool uses a filter to search for grants that are likely to fund youth programs. Grants.gov is a Web site that allows users to search and apply for thousands of federal grants.

Teen Alcohol Risk Screening Guide Now Available

The National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has released Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner's Guide. This tool helps healthcare professionals identify youth at risk for alcohol-related problems, counsel or advise them, and connect them to sources of treatment. It contains a risk assessment survey and links to motivational interviewing resources. The guide is free and can be downloaded or ordered online.

Results of Evaluation of Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Initiative Now Available

The OJJDP-funded National Evaluation of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Randomized Community Trial, conducted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is now available online. The goal of the evaluation was to determine the effects of a local, coalition-based approach to implementing best or most promising strategies for increasing enforcement of laws related to underage drinking and reducing underage drinking. OJJDP has administered the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws program since Congress created the initiative in 1998.

Thirty-four sites in five states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, and New York) received funding, intensive technical assistance and training, and program oversight. All of the sites met the grant requirement for enforcement actions to reduce the social availability of alcohol; 33 (97 percent) met the requirement for enforcing laws against driving while intoxicated; 29 (85 percent) met the requirement for activities that relate to or have the goal of changing local policy to enforce underage drinking laws and prevent and reduce underage drinking; and 24 (71 percent) met the requirement for conducting compliance checks. Overall, 18 of the sites (53 percent) met all 4 requirements of the Community Trials Initiative.

Survey on Substance Abuse Prevention and Collaboration Seeks Participants

The Partnership at Drugfree.org is conducting a survey to increase understanding of the best way to develop collaborations between law enforcement, substance abuse prevention agencies, and educators to prevent teens and young adults from engaging in substance abuse. Results of the survey will inform the development of a substance abuse collaboration training manual that will be free and available to participants and interested communities.

The survey is funded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. All members of the juvenile justice community are encouraged to participate. It is available online, and takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete.