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 The information in this archived resource may be outdated and links may no longer function.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.
March | April 2016

Administrator Listenbee Outlines OJJDP’s Support for Tribal Youth at National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges Conference

“The legacy of historical trauma caused by loss of home, land, culture, and language—and the subsequent abuse of Native children in American boarding schools—has had a devastating result, one that continues to reverberate to this day,” acknowledged Administrator Listenbee as he introduced the session, “The Crisis in American Indian Juvenile Justice,” at the National Conference on Juvenile Justice. The conference was hosted by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and took place on March 20–23, 2016, in Las Vegas, NV.

Citing findings from the OJJDP-supported report, Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive, which show that tribal youth are exposed to extreme levels of violence, Mr. Listenbee told attendees that OJJDP is working collaboratively with Native communities to develop and support programs that reflect tribes’ values and help their youth to heal and thrive. He elaborated on federal initiatives to support Native youth, such as the 2015 White House Tribal Youth Gathering. The OJJDP-supported event brought more than 1,000 youth from approximately 200 tribes face to face with senior federal officials who heard about issues important to the youth and their communities. The gathering was part of President Obama’s Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative, an effort to improve the lives of Native youth by seeking out their voices and making more youth-driven investments in their communities.

Other OJJDP initiatives to support tribal youth include welcoming Marilyn Bruguier Zimmerman, a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence, as OJJDP’s Senior Tribal Policy Advisor; requiring that grantees include provisions for tribal youth in their mentoring practices; and providing funding to expand Tribal Healing to Wellness courts. These courts provide developmentally appropriate, community-based, and culturally appropriate services for youth who come into contact with the tribal juvenile justice system because of substance use.

In closing, Mr. Listenbee called on juvenile court judges and other juvenile justice professionals to help improve outcomes for tribal youth by treating them with “dignity and compassion” and informing their families and communities of their whereabouts as an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of their tribal nations.

Resources:

To learn more about OJJDP’s tribal youth programs and services, visit the Office’s website and read Administrator Listenbee's blog.