Since the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act more than 40 years ago, OJJDP, which is mandated to carry out the Act’s provisions, has been changing the way the nation deals with troubled youth.

At OJJDP, we envision a nation where our children are healthy, educated, and free from violence. If they come into contact with the juvenile justice system, the contact should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them. We are committed to ensuring that young people are not incarcerated for minor offenses and that youth are kept safe and healthy in juvenile justice residential facilities. We are also addressing racial and ethnic bias to ensure minority youth are not unfairly targeted.

Following are highlights of OJJDP’s work over recent months to guide states across the nation toward effective models for improving public safety and serving the needs of justice-involved youth.

Expanding the Smart on Juvenile Justice Reform Initiative

In November, OJJDP announced an award of $2.2 million to expand its Smart on Juvenile Justice initiative to South Dakota and West Virginia and to provide ongoing support for the three states—Georgia, Hawaii, and Kentucky—that received funding in 2014.

The initiative aims to drive national reform by diverting youth with low-level, nonviolent offenses from the juvenile justice system to community-based alternatives. It also aims to reduce reoffending, eliminate racial and ethnic disparities, maximize cost savings, and support the strategic reinvestment of those savings into avenues that will help states sustain their reform agenda.

The Office is supporting a range of activities under the initiative, including the use of data-driven and evidence-based approaches, grants to study and reduce racial and ethnic disparities throughout the juvenile justice system, comprehensive training for prosecutors, and statewide strategies to improve the quality of indigent defense.

Issuing New Policy on Girls and the Juvenile Justice System

In October, OJJDP issued policy guidance on girls and the juvenile justice system. The policy includes a call to action with eight focus areas for states, tribes, and communities to improve their systematic and programmatic responses. Recommendations include reducing or eliminating the arrest and detention of girls and young women for status offenses, technical violations of probation, simple assault, family-based offenses, running away, and prostitution-related charges, while expanding community-based alternatives to detention and incarceration.

In addition, the recommendations highlight the importance of gender- and culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate services. The guidance also outlines the Office’s commitment to provide technical assistance, grants, research, and data collection support to assist in meeting these goals. For more information, see the article, "OJJDP Releases Policy Guidance on Girls and the Juvenile Justice System," in this issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance.

Assisting States With JJDP Act Compliance

Also in October, OJJDP released to the states a policy on monitoring compliance with the JJDP Act. The policy describes the information that states must submit to demonstrate compliance with the core requirements and that ensures that each participating state maintains an adequate system of monitoring, as required in section 223(a)(14) of the JJDP Act. This policy also details the steps that OJJDP will undertake when conducting annual compliance determinations based on data submitted by the state and when assessing the adequacy of state monitoring systems.

The policy takes effect with fiscal year 2017 funding and is based on data states are currently collecting for the period covering October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016. Recipients of the guidance include juvenile justice specialists, compliance specialists, disproportionate minority contact coordinators, state advisory group chairs, and state planning agency directors. A draft of the policy was submitted to states during the summer of 2015, and their comments were addressed in a Frequently Asked Questions document released along with the policy.

Funding Evidence-Based Programs

As part of OJJDP's ongoing commitment to the safety and well-being of our nation's youth, in fiscal year 2015, the Office awarded $266.6 million to fund evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed approaches to juvenile justice.

Discretionary grants totaling $227.4 million were awarded in a range of areas, including mentoring, missing and exploited children, Internet crimes against children, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, at-risk and justice system-involved girls, indigent defense, reentry, youth violence prevention, police and youth engagement, drug courts, and tribal youth. OJJDP awarded approximately $39 million in formula funding, including Title II Formula Grants and Prison Rape Elimination Act Reallocation Funds.

Resources:

More information about Smart on Juvenile Justice initiative, OJJDP’s policy on girls and the juvenile justice system, and policy on monitoring state compliance with the JJDP Act is available on the OJJDP website. See also OJJDP’s Frequently Asked Questions document to learn more about the Office’s guidance for states on monitoring JJDP Act compliance. To learn more about the Office’s fiscal year 2015 awards, visit OJJDP’s Funding webpage.

In response to the growing number of girls who end up in the juvenile justice system, often following incidents of sexual abuse or exploitation, OJJDP released a policy guidance on girls and the juvenile justice system in October 2015.

The guidance presents eight focus areas where states, tribes, and communities can improve their responses to girls. It also outlines OJJDP’s commitment to providing training and technical assistance, grants, research, and data collection support to enhance the juvenile justice field’s ability to better understand and meet the needs of girls.

Gender Injustice: System-Level Juvenile Justice Reforms for Girls, a report released by the National Crittenton Foundation in partnership with the National Women’s Law Center, presents research using OJJDP data which shows that, in the last two decades, girls’ share of the juvenile justice population has increased at all stages of the system. Key findings from the report show that between 1992 and 2013—

• Despite overall declining juvenile arrest rates, girls' share of juvenile arrests increased by 45 percent.
• Girls’ share of court caseloads increased 40 percent.
• Girls’ share of the detention population increased 40 percent.
• Girls’ share of the postadjudication probation poulation increased 44 percent and postadjudication placement population increased 42 percent.

To draw attention to the urgent needs of at-risk and system-involved girls, OJJDP participated in a number of events addressing the unique needs of this population.

On October 28, 2015, OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee and Senior Policy Advisor Catherine Pierce joined a panel presentation at a White House convening entitled “Girls of Color and Intervening Public Systems: Interrupting the Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline.” The “sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline” is the term used to capture the drift of girls into the juvenile justice system after they have experienced sexual abuse. As President Barack Obama noted in a September 2015 speech to the Congressional Black Caucus, “While boys face the school-to-prison pipeline, a lot of girls are facing a more sinister sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline.”

Experts at the White House convening included Roy Austin, Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity, White House Domestic Policy Council; D.J. Patil, U.S. Chief Data Scientist, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Vanita Gupta, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice. Discussion focused on ways to effect sustainable and systemic reforms that will dismantle the sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline and provide girls of color with better outcomes. Also telling their stories were three young women who had experienced sexual abuse and trauma as girls.

The effects of trauma on girls was also a key topic of discussion at the OJJDP-organized workshop, “Going Against the Grain: Addressing the Needs of System-Involved Girls,” at the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s Juvenile Justice Summit held in Washington, DC, on September 24–25, 2015. Administrator Listenbee, who participated in the workshop, stressed the need for trauma-informed care as an integral intervention strategy to help treat at-risk girls before they encounter the juvenile justice system.

OJJDP’s work on behalf of girls is ongoing. The National Girls’ Initiative, funded by OJJDP, plans to host a series of roundtables to identify emerging trends and develop strategies to address the policy and practice changes needed to divert girls and young women, including those who are involved in domestic violence cases, tribal youth, and young mothers. It also plans to develop an online training course that will be available via the OJJDP Online University.

Resources:

Download a copy of Girls and the Juvenile Justice System.

Read the executive summary of and access a comprehensive infographic from Gender Injustice: System-Level Juvenile Justice Reforms for Girls.

Learn more about OJJDP's research and programs regarding girls' delinquency on the Office’s website.

On October 28, 2015, Administrator Listenbee joined Kristina Rose, Deputy Director of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC); Joanne Grossi, Regional Director at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake; and Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen at a press conference to announce federal grants of $1.5 million to bolster Baltimore’s violence prevention efforts. Baltimore, MD, is 1 of 15 cities taking part in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention.

A grant of nearly $1 million from OVC will enable service providers to develop more effective interventions for male survivors of violence and their families. A $278,000 grant from OJJDP will facilitate the implementation of evidence-based programs and strategies to reduce youth violence and enhance school climate. An additional OJJDP grant of $70,000 will help integrate the faith community into activities aimed at preventing and reducing youth violence and victimization within and around the Safe Streets Baltimore areas. HHS’ grant of $175,000 will fund a pilot of Safe Streets in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore.

On November 17–18, 2015, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, Karol V. Mason; Administrator Listenbee; and Eugene Schneeberg, Director, Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships took part in a Youth Violence Prevention Communities of Practice Fall Convening. “It is important that we gather to share what is working in our communities to prevent youth violence,” Mr. Listenbee said as he welcomed representatives from youth violence prevention demonstration sites nationwide and members of the faith community to the convening.

The Communities of Practice event was the second youth violence prevention knowledge-building event that OJJDP participated in over the past few months. In October, OJJDP representatives joined delegates from Jamaica, the city of Baltimore, the World Bank, and the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention's Forum Coordination Team for a 2-day Youth Crime and Violence Prevention Knowledge Exchange held in Baltimore and at the World Bank.

Baltimore is just one of the many U.S. cities benefitting from OJJDP’s youth violence prevention measures. The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s November meeting was dedicated to looking at efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to address and prevent youth violence across the nation.

In her address to the Council, U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch provided an overview of the Justice Department’s recent activities surrounding violence prevention. She said the Council’s efforts are “crucial to breaking the cycles of poverty, criminality, and incarceration that ensnares far too many young people before they have a chance to find out who they really are—what they can be—and to really flourish.”

Resources:

Read more about OJJDP’s youth violence prevention initiatives on the OJJDP website.

Information about additional federal initiatives to address youth violence, such as the My Brother’s Keeper and Defending Childhood initiatives, as well as OJJDP’s Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program is available online.

At a Council of State Governments forum on improving outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system, Administrator Listenbee spoke passionately about one of his top priorities—comprehensive juvenile justice reform—and outlined concrete steps to help states develop and implement statewide reform plans. The forum took place on November 8–10, 2015, in Austin, TX.

Welcoming representatives from all 50 states, Mr. Listenbee expressed gratitude for their efforts, reminding them of the “truly remarkable” strides the juvenile justice field has made in the last 15 years. “The number of youth in out-of-home placement has declined significantly,” Mr. Listenbee said. “Since 1999, the number of youth in residential placement has been cut in half, down to a little more than 54,000 in 2013.” He also noted legislative reforms implemented in states like Georgia, Kentucky, and Hawaii, and the projected cost savings to these states over the next 5 years. Despite these successes, he acknowledged that each state could do more to improve outcomes for youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

In a separate session, Mr. Listenbee went into greater detail about the comprehensive state plans, which he distinguished from the Comprehensive 3-Year Plan required for OJJDP Title II Formula Grant funding. The plans for improving youth outcomes would complement and expand on the Comprehensive 3-Year Plan and also—

• Establish baseline recidivism rates and provide targets for improvement.
• Align system policies and practices with available research.
• Demonstrate the support of the Governor, legislative and judicial leaders, and representatives of local governments, and position them to assess the implementation of the plan and track progress over time.

Some states had already developed such plans. For those states, Mr. Listenbee announced that OJJDP anticipates awarding grants to help states implement plans to improve outcomes for youth. He also announced that the National Reentry Resource Center would provide intensive technical assistance to help those states without a plan to develop one. He also mentioned that the Council of State Governments Justice Center would share more details about the selection process for technical assistance, along with other resources available to assist all states in developing their statewide plans.

In another session facilitated by Administrator Listenbee, state representatives discussed barriers to reform, ways to integrate research into policy and practice, and strategies for using data to drive decisionmaking.

Resources:

Read more about the forum on the Council of State Governments Justice Center website.

From supporting a youth-led panel at a national hearing to incorporating youth and families in planned roundtable discussions on police and youth engagement, OJJDP is working with law enforcement to ensure that the youth perspective is a part of law enforcement officials’ decisionmaking processes and an integral part of their solutions as they build communities of trust.

Youth Panel at Task Force on 21st Century Police Hearing

In February 2015, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing heard directly from youth during the “Youth and Law Enforcement” panel presentation, organized by the Office as part of its commitment to promoting a developmental and trauma-informed approach to juvenile justice and to enhancing the relationship between youth and law enforcement.

Nicholas Peart, staff member, The Brotherhood-Sister Sol, spoke about his interactions with law enforcement and cautioned that “Aggressive policing is alienating an entire generation of young people.”  Michael Reynolds, co-president of the Youth Power Movement, stated that many of his peers have a fear of the police. “There is a discrepancy between the goal of keeping communities safe and the reality of policing today,” he said.

Phoenix native Jose Gonzales, shared that he had a chaotic childhood and was first detained at age 9. “Needless to say, I have had a fair amount of interaction with law enforcement in my youth. Some has been very positive,” Gonzales said. “Approach is everything … it is important that law enforcement be sensitive to the issues that can exist in a young person’s life.”

Other panelists—Delilah Coleman, a high school senior and member of the Navajo Nation, and Jamecia Luckey, Youth Conference committee member, Cocoa (FL) Police Athletic League—also offered recommendations for cultivating relationships between youth and police.

IACP Panel: The Role of Law Enforcement in Schools

On October 25, 2015, OJJDP hosted a panel presentation at the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s (IACP’s) Annual Conference and Exposition. Moderated by Cynthia Pappas, Senior Policy Advisor at OJJDP, the panel focused on the need to end overly punitive discipline practices that can push students out of school and into the juvenile justice system, fueling what is often referred to as the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

Moses Robinson, a school resource officer from Rochester, NY, shared best practices from his 20-plus-year career. Mr. Robinson relayed that through his training with the National Association of School Resource Officers, which is based on the triad model of educator, informal counselor, and law enforcer, he has built a stronger community by treating his students and their parents and/or guardians with respect and compassion.

Michael Reynolds, a youth activist who provided testimony before the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, challenged the audience to adopt a developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed approach to justice system-involved youth.

Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel of the Philadelphia (PA) Police Department described Philadelphia's innovative prearrest diversion program, which provides comprehensive, intensive, early-intervention programming for high-risk or at-risk youth. Mr. Bethel said that with the help of OJJDP’s “School Justice Collaboration Program: Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court” grant, Philadelphia has further enhanced its program by providing conflict resolution training for all the sworn and nonsworn police officers and principals.

Principal Nia Abdullah applauded this approach as she described how Bowen High School in South Chicago, IL, focuses on best practices to diagnose their students’ academic and behavioral needs and design support services to meet those needs.

OJJDP’s partnership with the Department of Education and the Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will continue to support policies and practices that improve school climates, respond to students' behavioral needs, and avoid referrals to the juvenile justice system. Through the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, OJJDP is working to end harsh and exclusionary discipline practices that push youth out of school and into the justice system.

Police and Youth Engagement Cooperative Agreement

In fiscal year 2015, OJJDP issued a solicitation titled “Police and Youth Engagement: Supporting the Role of Law Enforcement in Juvenile Justice Reform.” The program will provide training and technical assistance in support of two major components that are critical to the development and implementation of an informed process—a youth and law enforcement roundtable and a law enforcement leadership institute.

The roundtable discussion will focus on enhancing the infrastructure to support, sustain, and expand youth and law enforcement engagement. The Law Enforcement Leadership Institute on Juvenile Justice will immerse law enforcement executives in cutting-edge concepts on how to improve interactions between youth and law enforcement and effectively lead juvenile justice reform.

IACP, in partnership with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, will implement the project to improve law enforcement’s response to youth victimization, crime, and delinquency. 

Resources:

Read the Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Policing. For more information about the task force and listening sessions, visit the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services website.

“Many children who are mislabeled delinquent are actually the most traumatized,” said Administrator Listenbee in his plenary remarks at the 2015 Second Chance Act (SCA) & Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) National Conference. “That’s precisely why—in addition to addressing the core protections of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and reducing out-of-home placement—our agency prioritizes supporting a comprehensive, trauma-informed approach to reforming the juvenile justice system,” he said.

Administrator Listenbee went on to discuss the ways in which OJJDP is working to reduce the number of children exposed to adverse childhood experiences who become involved with the juvenile justice system, the importance of detention facility personnel receiving trauma-informed training to enable them to accurately identify and respond to behavior, and the importance of equipping families and communities with adequate tools to help support youth during detention, upon release, and through reentry.

The plenary, “Treating With Care: Assessing and Addressing Trauma for Youth and Adults in the Justice System,” was moderated by David D’Amora, director of Special Projects for the Council of State Governments. Administrator Listenbee was joined by fellow panelists Lori Beyer, director of trauma training and lead trainer at Community Connections; Monique Marrow, a training specialist for the Center on Trauma and Children; and Daryl McGraw, associate director for the Office of Recovery Community Affairs at the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

The conference—cosponsored by OJJDP and the Bureau of Justice Assistance—took place on December 14–18, 2015, in Washington, DC, and brought together SCA and JMHCP grant recipients, experts in the field, and practitioners from around the country.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch provided the welcome keynote address while Karol V. Mason, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, and other Justice Department staff moderated or participated in panels.

The JMHCP track introduced attendees to best practices associated with positive public safety and public health outcomes for people with mental disorders who are involved with the criminal justice system. Sessions on issues, including behavioral health and reentry, vicarious trauma and workforce development, trauma screening and assessment, and measuring family engagement and reentry processes for system-involved youth provided opportunities for cross-learning.

SCA session topics included promising approaches to maximizing resources, reducing recidivism, and improving outcomes for people returning from detention.

30th Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment: January 25–28, 2016

The objective of the San Diego International Conference is to develop and enhance professional skills and knowledge in the prevention, recognition, assessment, and treatment of all forms of child and family maltreatment as well as to enhance investigative and legal skills. Topics include mental health and trauma, forensic interviewing, investigations, research, child welfare, domestic violence, and global issues and perspectives. Registration information is available online.

National Mentoring Summit: January 27–29, 2016

This annual event, to be held in Washington, DC, will bring together practitioners, researchers, corporate partners, government and civic leaders, national youth-serving organizations and the network of affiliate Mentoring Partnerships to explore and advance mentoring’s positive impact on individuals and communities. The theme for this year’s summit is "Connection, Growth, Opportunity." Registration information is available online.

National Conference on Bullying and Child Victimization: February 22–24, 2016

Hosted by the School Safety Advocacy Council, this event, to be held in Orlando, FL, will focus on protecting children using proven best practices and innovative localized programs and efforts. The conference brings together keynote presenters into one forum to provide professional development. More information is available online.

Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting: March 31–April 2, 2016

The Society for Research on Adolescence will hold its biennial meeting in Baltimore, MD, this spring. Persons with an interest in any aspect of research on adolescence are encouraged to join. National Institute of Justice Director Nancy Rodriguez will deliver the keynote speech. Registration information is available online.

32nd International Symposium on Child Abuse: April 4–7, 2016

The National Children’s Advocacy Center will host its 32nd International Symposium on Child Abuse in Huntsville, AL. This conference will offer more than 130 workshops. Sessions will address topics such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, polyvictimization, exploitation, intervention, trafficking, and prevention. More information about the symposium is available online.

16th Annual International Family Justice Conference: April 12–14, 2016

The Family Justice Center Alliance will host its annual conference in San Diego, CA. This event includes training and interactive peer-to-peer discussions on issues related to the handling of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse, and stalking cases with special focus on law enforcement response, criminal prosecution, civil legal assistance, and advocacy. The Alliance welcomes law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, shelter staff, community-based victim advocates, and all others interested in the future of family violence intervention and prevention. Registration information is available online.

OJJDP Administrator Reflects on In re Gault at Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit

“Nearly 50 years after In re Gault, still too many children and youth appear in court without legal representation,” said Administrator Listenbee speaking at the 2015 Juvenile Defender Leadership Summit. “Three issues—quality representation, improving access to counsel, and training for public defenders—remain a high priority for indigent defense.”

Sponsored by the National Juvenile Defender Center, the summit took place October 23–25, 2015, in Salt Lake City, UT, and was attended by more than 350 people. The purpose of the annual summit is to energize and inspire members of the juvenile defense bar, specifically juvenile public defenders, who are often faced with staggering caseloads, extremely limited resources, and a juvenile justice system that is fraught with racial and ethnic bias. Allowing those issues to go unaddressed, and youth to continue appearing without adequate counsel, unduly exposes them to potential civil rights and equal protection violations, as well as a lack of meaningful understanding of the proceedings and the long-term collateral consequences of particular pleas.

Mr. Listenbee spoke on the theme, “50 Years After the Supreme Court Decided In re Gault: A Time for Reflection,” and reminded summit attendees that, “Although In re Gault initially provided—at least constitutionally—more representation for system-involved minors … those protections are simply still not a reality for many of America’s system-involved youth.”

In fiscal year 2015, OJJDP launched the Smart on Juvenile Justice: Enhancing Youth Access to Justice Initiative. The initiative will fund programs and provide training and technical assistance that will improve the quality of indigent defense services nationally. It will also increase the effectiveness of state indigent defense delivery systems.

OJJDP Awards More Than $266 Million in Grants in Fiscal Year 2015

In fiscal year 2015, OJJDP awarded $266.6 million to help at-risk youth, protect children, and improve juvenile justice systems nationwide. The 360 awards were made through discretionary and formula grant funding.

More than $227 million in discretionary grants was awarded in fiscal year 2015. OJJDP awarded $77 million to support youth mentoring programs. More than $25 million was awarded under the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children program, which offers critical intervention and prevention services to families and supports law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels in cases involving missing and exploited children. In addition, the Office distributed $21.4 million to state and local law enforcement agencies under its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program to support joint federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children and to keep children safe from Internet predators.

Discretionary grants were awarded in a range of other areas, including juvenile justice reform and reinvestment, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, at-risk and justice system-involved girls, indigent defense, reentry, youth violence prevention, police and youth engagement, dual-system youth, drug courts, and tribal youth.

Funding through formula grants is available to states and territories through the state agency designated by the Governor. Juvenile justice specialists in each state administer the funding through subgrants to units of local government, local private agencies, and federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native jurisdictions for programs in accordance with legislative requirements. In FY 2015, OJJDP awarded more than $39 million under the following formula grants programs:

• Title II Formula Grants Program: $38.7 million
• Prison Rape Elimination Act Reallocation Funds: $530,980

See additional Highlights of OJJDP's Fiscal Year 2015 Awards.

For more information about the Office’s awards, visit OJJDP’s Funding webpage.

Data Snapshot Shows Decline in Number of Youth in Residential Placement

A data snapshot of OJJDP’s Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement shows that the number of youth in residential placement fell 50 percent between 1999 and 2013. However, racial and ethnic disparities remained.

According to the data, in 2013, minority youth were held in residential placement at 2.7 times the rate of white youth, accounting for 68 percent of the total population of youth in placement. The data also show that less than 40 percent of youth in placement in 2013 were held for a person offense.

View the data snapshot, which also displays the percentage decline in placement rates by state from 2006 to 2013.

OJJDP Staff Receive AAG Awards

On December 9, 2015, the Office of Justice Programs’ Assistant Attorney General (AAG), Karol V. Mason, presented awards for outstanding employee achievement. The following OJJDP staff were recognized:

• Program Manager Kara McDonagh (AAG Distinguished Service Award), for her leadership in advancing OJJDP’s work with tribal youth through the Today’s Native Leaders project.
• Program Manager and Team Lead Geroma Void (Violence Reduction Network Launch Team Award), for her contributions to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Violence Reduction Network, including supervision of one of the pilot sites, Camden, NJ.
• Grant Management Specialist Leanetta Jessie (New Employee of the Year Award), for her work in support of the Office’s juvenile drug court and community supervision improvement efforts.

“Tribal youth, violence reduction in our cities, and juvenile drug courts are among the top priorities at OJJDP,” said Administrator Listenbee. “It is gratifying to see the recognition of the hard work and dedication of our staff in these important areas.”

Marilyn Bruguier Zimmerman Joins OJJDP as Senior Tribal Policy Advisor

OJJDP is pleased to announce that Marilyn Bruguier Zimmerman, former director of the National Native Children’s Trauma Center and associate director of the Institute for Educational Research and Services at the University of Montana, has joined the Office as Senior Tribal Policy Advisor.

In her new role, Ms. Bruguier Zimmerman will provide guidance and advice to the OJJDP Administrator on strategies to improve outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native youth—living on and off reservations—who are at risk of justice system involvement or victimization.

Ms. Bruguier Zimmerman served on both the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities and the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence, the latter of which issued its final report, Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive in November 2015. In her role as Senior Tribal Policy Advisor, Ms. Bruguier Zimmerman will have the opportunity to continue this work and act on the recommendations contained in this groundbreaking report.

Ms. Bruguier Zimmerman is an enrolled member of the Assiniboine-Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck reservation. She has extensive experience working directly with tribes and is an expert in the areas of children’s exposure to violence, traumatic grief, suicide prevention, domestic violence, sexual assault, substance abuse, and juvenile justice.

All OJJDP publications may be viewed and downloaded on the publications section of the OJJDP website. Print publications may be ordered online at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service website.

Coming Soon—

OJJDP’s Major Grant Programs

InFocus Fact Sheet Series

OJJDP administers grant programs authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended. OJJDP also administers several programs under other legislative authority and through partnerships with other federal agencies. This fact sheet provides an overview of the Office’s major grant programs. In keeping with OJJDP’s mission, these programs are designed to help strengthen the juvenile justice system, prevent juvenile delinquency, hold juvenile justice system-involved youth appropriately accountable, and protect and safeguard the nation’s youth.