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OJJDP Unveils National Mentoring Resource Center
Screenshot of the National Mentoring Resource Center website

OJJDP has established the National Mentoring Resource Center to promote effective, evidence-based youth mentoring. Developed in partnership with MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, the center’s three components—a website, no-cost training and technical assistance, and a research board—collectively support the efforts of the mentoring field.

The website offers comprehensive resource, reference, and training materials including a “What Works in Mentoring” section and examples of evidence-based programs and practices.

Customized training and technical assistance is also available to help programs meet national standards for high-quality, evidence-based mentoring. Applicants may apply for no-cost assistance in areas including mentor-mentee recruitment, screening, training, matching and match closure, monitoring and support, partnership development, and program design, planning, management, operations, and evaluation.

The research board, chaired by David DuBois, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois–Chicago, is composed of prominent experts in youth mentoring practice areas, such as program models, settings for implementation, and outcomes for specific populations. Guided by the standards and protocols of the Office of Justice Programs’ CrimeSolutions.gov and OJJDP's Model Programs Guide, the National Mentoring Resource Center Research Board conducts program evaluations and reviews the resources offered on the website.

Screenshot of National Mentoring Resource center website.Announcing the launch of the center at the 2015 National Mentoring Summit (see “OJJDP Co-Hosts National Mentoring Summit” in this issue), OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee said the center will enhance the capacity of mentoring organizations to develop, implement, and expand effective programs and practices. “Share the site with your colleagues and trainees, read about how to design a mentor training, learn how to manage relationships, get tips on mentor-mentee matching, and learn how to effectively mentor kids with special needs,” said Mr. Listenbee.

OJJDP has a long-standing commitment to high-quality, evidenced-based mentoring and has awarded approximately $287 million in mentoring grants since 2011 to fund programs focused on the special needs of target populations, research, and capacity building of mentoring organizations.

Resources:

Visit the National Mentoring Resource Center and apply for technical assistance on the center’s website.

Read the press release announcing the launch of the center.

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OJJDP Co-Hosts National Mentoring Summit
National Mentoring Summit 2015 logo

OJJDP joined with MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership and other partners, including the Corporation for National and Community Service, America's Promise Alliance, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America on January 28–30, 2015, to host the annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC.

About 900 professionals attended the summit including practitioners, researchers, corporate leaders, government and civic leaders, and representatives of national youth-serving organizations.

In his opening day remarks, OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee emphasized the Office’s longstanding commitment to mentoring as a critical component in preventing entry into the juvenile justice system and fostering positive outcomes for youth. “We, at OJJDP, feel that one of the most important jobs we have is to support positive youth development by ensuring America’s youth have the opportunity to connect with dedicated, energetic, and well-trained mentors,” said Mr. Listenbee.

Administrator Listenbee also announced the launch of the National Mentoring Resource Center. The center, established in partnership with MENTOR, provides resource, reference, and training and technical assistance to advance the implementation of evidence- and research-based youth mentoring practices. (See the feature article “OJJDP Unveils National Mentoring Resource Center,” in this issue.)

OJJDP staff led and participated in workshops featuring OJJDP-sponsored research, including Effective Program Practices in Mentoring Programs Serving At-Risk Youth and Mentors as Advocates and Teachers: What the Data Are Telling Us From the Evaluation of OJJDP's Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Program.

Other youth mentoring experts presented sessions and workshops on a range of topics, including:

January 2015 marked the 13th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, a large-scale public service campaign to recruit mentors and to focus national attention on the importance of individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, and nonprofit organizations working together to ensure positive outcomes for youth.

Resources:

More information about the 2015 National Mentoring Summit is available online.

Visit OJJDP's National Mentoring Resource Center.

To access additional mentoring resources, visit the websites of OJJDP, MENTOR, The Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring, and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

Read OJJDP’s research report on mentoring children of incarcerated parents and MENTOR’s survey of youth perspectives on the outcomes and availability of mentoring.

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White House Launches Asian American and Pacific Islander Bullying Prevention Task Force
Smiling Asian American male student

On November 18, 2014, the White House announced the launch of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Bullying Prevention Task Force. A key component of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the task force will work to address bullying of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth.

The bullying of AAPI youth is a growing problem in the United States. A 2014 study found that nearly 75 percent of turbaned Sikh students in Fresno, CA, were bullied or harassed. Compared with 27 percent in 2009, 50 percent of Asian American New York public school students surveyed in 2012 reported experiencing some kind of bias-based harassment.

“It was difficult growing up as a child. I was a bullied kid,” shares Hines Ward, retired NFL player and former member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “I used to get talked about and teased all the time. The black kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was Korean, the Korean kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was black, and the white kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was both black and Korean,” said Ward, speaking in a White House video.

AAPI youth may be bullied for a multitude of reasons, such as their immigration status, for the way they look, or for their English-language skills. There has also been an increase in hostility toward youth perceived to be Muslim following the 9/11 attacks. Research shows that youth involved in bullying are more likely to have challenges in school, to experience substance abuse, and to have physical and mental health challenges. Being bullied also endangers the victim’s academic achievement, and, ultimately his or her career readiness.

Composed of federal officials with expertise in education, civil rights, language access, community relations, and public and mental health, the task force will work with AAPI community stakeholders to analyze data on the prevalence of bullying in the AAPI community; address the barriers to seeking and receiving help for victims; develop toolkits for schools, students, and parents; and recommend policies to address the problem.

The task force, a partnership between the White House and the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and the Health and Human Services, builds on the Bullying Prevention Summit convened in 2011 by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Resources:

Read the full blog post announcing the launch of the task force on the Justice Department website and follow AAPI bullying prevention on Twitter using the hashtag #AAPIstrong.

Learn more about the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and access resources, including the Guide to Federal Agency Resources: Promoting a Healthy, Vibrant Asian American and Pacific Islander Community on the initiative’s website.

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Departments of Justice, Education Release Correctional Education Guidance Package To Improve Quality of Education Services for Confined Youth

Photo of Attorney General, Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the release of the Correctional Education Package at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria, VA, on December 8, 2014.

Photo copyright U.S. Department of Education.

On December 8, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the release of the Correctional Education Guidance Package, a joint effort of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. The guidance and technical assistance resources which comprise the package will aid juvenile justice secure care facilities, and the local juvenile justice and education agencies that work with and support them, in improving the quality of education for confined youth.

“All children—all children—deserve equal access to a high-quality public education. And this is no less true for children in the juvenile justice system,” said the Attorney General, speaking at the release event.

The package includes several documents intended to ensure that youth in confinement receive an education comparable to that provided in traditional public school settings. A resource guide, Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings, provides supportive core activities and identifies five principles for improving education for confined youth. Three “Dear Colleague” letters provide legal guidance on federally funded facilities’ civil rights obligations to confined youth, outline federal laws guaranteeing the right of youth with disabilities to receive special education and related services, and clarify that young people in secure care settings may be eligible for Pell grants, respectively.

Additional resources include a 2-page fact sheet which provides an overview of the guidance package contents, a fact sheet on federal student aid eligibility for students confined in adult correctional or juvenile justice facilities, and answers to frequently asked questions about the guidance package.

In a letter to the juvenile justice field announcing the availability of the Correctional Guidance Educational Package, OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee hailed the guidance package as “A significant step toward our collective vision of a juvenile justice system that promotes positive educational outcomes for all system-involved youth, enhances their academic and social-emotional skill sets, lessens the likelihood of youth reentering the justice system, and increases their chances of success in life.”

Resources:

Access the Correctional Education Guidance Package.

OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee’s letter to the juvenile justice field as well as the Office’s Statement of Commitment, outlining OJJDP’s actions to ensure that the guidance is a useful tool for the field, can be accessed on the OJJDP website.

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Justice Department Partners With Facebook and Bing To Expand Reach of AMBER Alerts

Amber Alert logo

The first few minutes and hours after a child has been abducted are critical to any search and rescue effort; a missing child is most likely to be found alive and unharmed within the first 24 hours of abduction.

On National AMBER Alert Awareness Day, January 13, 2015, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a Justice Department partnership with Facebook, a social networking website, and Bing, a Microsoft search engine, to expand the reach of the AMBER Alert early warning system.

Created after the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, the AMBER Alert Program, is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, Internet service providers, and the wireless industry. It is designed to disseminate timely, accurate information about abducted children, the suspected abductors, and the vehicles used in the commission of the crimes.

During an AMBER Alert, an urgent news bulletin is broadcast over various channels, including the airwaves, via text messages as well as on highway alert signs to enlist the aid of the public in finding an abducted child and stopping the perpetrator.

Facebook's expanded program provides alerts that are geo-targeted to users who are near the abduction and that are pushed to user news feeds. Notifications provide detailed information, including a photograph of the child and information about the suspected abductor. Bing will allow users to access AMBER Alerts through its online tools.

“Protecting the well-being of our young people is a responsibility that falls to every American. Each of us can help by paying close attention to alerts that come in—and by making sure you are plugged into the AMBER Alert network via social media. Remember … the more vigilant citizens we have on the look-out, the better our chances of a quick recovery,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a video message.

The AMBER Alert Program, which is managed by the Office of Justice Programs with the support of OJJDP, is active in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To date, the program has been credited with the successful rescue of 732 children, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; 15 of those rescued children were due to Wireless Emergency Alerts.

Resources:

Read more about the AMBER Alert system on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the AMBER Alert Program websites.

Sign up to receive AMBER Alerts on Facebook or Twitter using the handle @AMBER Alert.

The guide, AMBER Alert Best Practices is available on the OJJDP website.

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Upcoming Events

31st National Symposium on Child Abuse: March 23–26, 2015

National Children's Advocacy Center logoThe National Children’s Advocacy Center is holding this symposium in Huntsville, AL. The event will feature workshop tracks in the areas of administration, child protective services, interviewing, law enforcement, legal issues, medicine, mental health, prevention, victim advocacy, and wellness. Registration information is available online.

33rd Annual Protecting Our Children National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect: April 19–22, 2015

National Indian Child Welfare Association logoTo be held in Portland, OR, this conference will highlight the latest research and policies concerning the well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native youth, reveal innovative child welfare and mental health practices, highlight effective strategies for financing and sustaining services that impact children, and showcase strategies for involving youth and families in the development of services and policies that lead to systems change. Registration information is available online.

15th Annual Family Justice Center Conference: April 21–23, 2015

Family Justice Center Alliance logoSponsored by the Family Justice Center Alliance, this conference will address a range of topics, including elder abuse awareness, prevention, intervention, accountability to survivors, and promising practices. The event, to be held in San Diego, CA, will also include practical, hands-on training for police officers, prosecutors, advocates, and medical professionals in the day-to-day handling of domestic violence and sexual assault cases. The conference faculty includes survivors, advocates, and nationally and internationally recognized subject matter experts. Registration information is available online.

Child Sex Trafficking: Law Enforcement Response: April 27–29, 2015

This free training will provide attendees with the information necessary to understand, recognize, and investigate cases involving child sex trafficking and exploitation. Modules include a focus on the survivor's perspective and changing perceptions regarding trafficking victims. The 3-day training, sponsored by OJJDP and the AMBER Alert Program, will take place at the Duluth Public Safety Building located at 2030 N. Arlington Ave., Duluth, MN, 55811. Register by March 16, 2015; registration information is available online.

For more information about this training, visit https://www.ncjtc.org/AmberAlert/AMBERInformationalandResourceDocuments/CST_Flyer%20-%20Duluth,%20MN%20-%20April%2027-29,%202015.pdf.

See other available trainings, including Child Abduction Search Tactics—Field Training, Advanced Investigative Strategies for Child Abduction Cases, Technology-Facilitated Crimes Against Children in Indian Country, and Investigative Strategies for Child Abduction Cases on the Amber Alert Program website.

7th Annual National Prisoner’s Family Conference: May 6–8, 2015

Prisoner's Family Conference logoThis event, to be held in Dallas, TX, is the largest national conference focused on how incarceration impacts prisoners and their families. Presenters will include professionals and advocates from the criminal justice, social service, academic, and faith-based arenas. The event is sponsored by Community Solutions of El Paso. Registration information is available online.

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day: May 7, 2015

Each year on Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, our nation renews its commitment to promoting the well-being, mental health, and positive social development of all children and youth. Communities across the country organize public awareness events to mark the occasion, including youth rallies, social media campaigns, and activities with children that promote community conversations about the imBringing Our Missing Children Home Safelyportance of caring adults in enhancing resilience in youth following traumatic experiences. To access resources for organizing an awareness day event and for more information on children’s mental health, visit the Substance Abuse  and Mental Health Services Administration website.

National Missing Children’s Day Ceremony: May 25, 2015

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold its annual National Missing Children’s Day ceremony in DOJ’s Great Hall. The ceremony honors the heroic and exemplary efforts of agencies, organizations, and individuals to protect children. National Missing Children’s Day has been commemorated in the United States since 1984, when it was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan. For more information about the ceremony, contact OJJDP.

National Court Appointed Special Advocates Conference: May 30–June 2, 2015

Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children logoAt this event, sponsored by the National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association, more than 1,200 CASA and guardian ad litem staff, board members, volunteers, judges, attorneys, and other child welfare professionals will gather to connect with peers and learn from leaders in the field. The conference will offer workshops and institutes, general sessions, and an exhibit hall featuring information and resources for the field. The conference will take place in New Orleans, LA. More information about the conference is available online.

Forensic Interviewing of Children Training: June 8–12, 2015

Sponsored by the National Children's Advocacy Center (NCAC), this comprehensive training teaches NCAC’s Child Forensic Interview Structure, which is designed to gather the greatest amount of reliable information in a child-sensitive, developmentally appropriate, and legally defensible manner. Training methods include lecture and audience discussion, child interview practicum, review of recorded forensic interviews, experiential skill-building exercises, and participation in mock court. The training will take place in Huntsville, AL. Registration information is available online. See other training opportunities on the NCAC website.

Coalition for Juvenile Justice 2015 Annual Conference: June 10–13, 2015

This summit, cohosted by OJJDP and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, will focus on the latest research, developments, and challenges facing the juvenile justice field. Sessions will provide attendees a hands-on opportunity to explore the newest methods for preventing delinquency, ensuring fairness through all stages of involvement with the justice system, and establishing the best possible outcomes for children and families who do become involved with the juvenile justice system. The summit will take place in Washington, DC. Registration information is available online.

11th Global Youth Justice Training Institute: June 16–18, 2015

This training institute, hosted by Global Youth Justice, is primarily designed for adults who are enhancing, expanding, or establishing youth justice diversion programs, often referred to as teen court, peer court, youth court, student court, and youth peer jury. The event, to be held in Cape Cod, MA, includes more than 20 peer-to-peer training sessions and a half-day grant-writing session. Registration information is available online.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges 78th Annual Conference: July 26–29, 2015

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges logoTo be held in Austin, TX, this conference will feature a range of juvenile and family law topics, including child abuse and neglect, trauma, custody and visitation, judicial leadership, juvenile justice, sex trafficking of minors, family violence, drug courts, psychotropic medications, children testifying in court, detention alternatives, substance abuse, and the adolescent brain. The event is hosted by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Registration information is available online.

10th Annual National School Safety Conference: July 27–31, 2015

To be held in Las Vegas, NV, this conference will offer sessions led by recognized authorities in the fields of school safety, bullying, crisis management, mental health, and more. Individuals who work in school administration, school counseling, school-based policing, and college campus security should plan to attend this event. The conference is sponsored by the School Safety Advocacy Council. Registration information is available online.

18th Annual International Gang Specialist Training Conference: August 10–12, 2015

Sponsored by the National Gang Crime Research Center, this conference provides more than 100 courses in many areas of expertise designed to "train the trainer" in law enforcement, corrections, prosecution, K–12 schools, prevention, and intervention. The conference will be held in Chicago, IL. Registration information is available online.

27th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference: August 10–13, 2015

This event provides practical instruction using current information, new ideas, and successful intervention strategies to those professionals responsible for combating the many and varied forms of crimes against children. The event, sponsored by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, is designed for law enforcement officers, child protection caseworkers, probation/parole officers, children's advocacy center staff, victim advocates, prosecutors, medical professionals, and therapists. Registration information is available online.

20th International Conference and Summit on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma: August 23–26, 2015

To be held in San Diego, CA, this conference will feature tracks on at-risk youth, child maltreatment, children exposed to violence, intimate partner violence, legal and criminal justice issues, sexual assault/victimization, trauma, and more. The event is hosted by the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma at Alliant International University. Registration information is available online.

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News in Brief

OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee Discusses the Supportive School Discipline Initiative

Supportive School Discipline Communities of Practice logo

Over its next few issues, the Supportive School Discipline e-Digest will feature excerpts from an interview with OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee about the Supportive School Discipline Initiative (SSDI), a collaboration between the Departments of Education and Justice to improve school discipline and student outcomes. In the December issue, Mr. Listenbee spoke about his impressions of the 2014 National Leadership Summit on School Discipline and Climate, an instrumental SSDI event. Register to participate in or access recordings and slides from the federally sponsored Supportive School Webinar series.

OJJDP Awards Grants to Five States To Expand the Reach of Family Drug Courts

Statewide System Reform Program logo

Family drug courts are credited with helping parents stay longer in substance abuse programs, reducing the number and duration of foster care stays for their children, and unifying families. Using funds awarded by OJJDP under the Statewide System Reform Program, the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts, the Colorado Judicial Department, the Judicial Branch of Iowa, the New York State Unified Court system, and the Supreme Court of Ohio will implement family drug court system reforms that will expand and build the capacity and services of family drug courts in the respective states. Children and Family Futures will provide technical assistance to grantees through the OJJDP-funded National Family Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Program. The grant is a step in developing the practices outlined in the OJJDP-sponsored publication Guidance to States: Recommendations for Developing Family Drug Court Guidelines, which offers guidelines to help sites create systems change that will have a lasting impact on the policies and practices of family drug courts.

OJJDP, The National Academies Raise Awareness of U.S. Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Minors

Although the number of children who are or have been sexually exploited through commercial human trafficking is hard to pinpoint, instances of child sex trafficking have been reported in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and estimates indicate there could be as many as 2.4 million victims. To raise awareness and educate professionals who work to prevent, identify, and respond to domestic sex trafficking of minors, OJJDP joined The National Academies to promote an electronic, easy-to-use presentation by the Academies’ Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. The presentation, which provides highlights of the OJJDP-sponsored report Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States, was released to coincide with the commemoration of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January.

National Center for Juvenile Justice Releases Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2014 National Report

Thumbnail of Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2014 National ReportThe National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) has released Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2014 National Report. This OJJDP-sponsored report offers an overview of juvenile victimization and offending and the justice system’s response. It includes information about the characteristics of juvenile populations, juvenile justice system structure and process, law enforcement and juvenile crime, juvenile offenders in court, and juvenile offenders in corrections. Key findings include:

Access the report on the OJJDP website.

SMART Office Releases Guide to Managing Adult and Juvenile Sex Offenders

Screenshot of SMART's SOMAPI website.In 2014, the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) developed the Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative (SOMAPI), a project designed to assess the state of research and practice in sex offender management. Recommendations stemming from SOMAPI informed a newly released report on adult sex offenders and juveniles who commit sex offenses. 

Chapters in the report's juvenile section cover the following:

The SOMAPI report and recommendations are available on the SMART website.

SAMHSA Publishes Paper To Guide Providers in Developing Trauma-Informed Approach for Helping Youth

Cover of SAMHSA paperRecognizing that the individual impact of the three “E’s” of trauma—the event, experience, and effects—require specialized care and treatment for youth to heal and thrive, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.

Being trauma informed, according to SAMHSA, means understanding the impact of trauma and the potential for recovery, identifying symptoms in clients and their families, and responding fully to treat the harms arising from the trauma and prevent retraumatization. SAMHSA’s six principles of a trauma-informed approach are:

Download the report from the SAMHSA’s website.

Alaska Native Tribal Courts Gain Right To Protect Women in Domestic Violence Cases*

Alaska Native communities will be able to exercise their sovereign authority to protect women from domestic violence with the repeal of the “Alaska exemption” from the 2013 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) shortly before the 113th Congress adjourned in December 2014. The bill will also help the 129 Alaska Native tribes without tribal courts to develop them. The repeal of the exclusion is one of the recommendations contained in the recently released report Ending Violence So Children Can Thrive by the Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence.

*An earlier version of this announcement stated erroneously that tribal courts in Alaska Native communities can now prosecute certain domestic violence crimes committed by non-Native Americans against Native Americans. It should be noted that the ability to exercise Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction is limited by statute to Indian country.

Costs for Juvenile Incarceration Detailed in Justice Policy Institute Report

Thumbnail of Sticker Shock: Calculating the Full Price Tag for Youth IncarcerationCalculated for the long-term, the financial costs of incarcerating juvenile offenders are higher than community-based alternatives that prevent crime, divert, and benefit youth, according to an analysis of 33 U.S. states and jurisdictions in Sticker Shock: Calculating the Full Price Tag for Youth Incarceration, by the Justice Policy Institute. About $149,000 is being spent per year, on average, to incarcerate youth. Long-term costs such as recidivism, loss of earnings and tax revenue, and the need for public assistance, spike spending from an estimated $8 to $21 billion annually.

Recommendations for better spending made in the report include shifting funding to community-based treatment and supervision, investing more in diversion and prevention early on to avoid crime altogether, investigating and addressing obstacles for reducing incarceration, studying recidivism and tracking positive outcomes to develop best case examples, and developing consistent measures for defining short- and long-term costs.

Access the report on the Justice Policy Institute website.

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New Publications

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 (NCJRS) website.

Thumbnail of Psychosocial Maturity and Desistance From Crime in a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders Psychosocial Maturity and Desistance From Crime in a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders (Bulletin)
NCJ 248391
Pathways to Desistance Series

This bulletin presents findings on the link between psychosocial maturity and desistance from crime as youth transition from mid-adolescence to early adulthood (ages 14–25). The research shows that youth experience protracted maturation of brain systems responsible for self-regulation into their mid-twenties. Youth whose antisocial behavior continued into early adulthood were found to have lower levels of psychosocial maturity as teenagers compared with other antisocial youth. Most juvenile offenders, including those who committed serious crimes, grow out of antisocial behavior as they transition to adults, the study found. The Pathways to Desistance study followed more than 1,300 serious juvenile offenders for 7 years after their conviction.

View and download this publication.

Juvenile Arrests 2012 Juvenile Arrests 2012 (Bulletin)
NCJ 248513
National Report Series

This bulletin provides a summary and an analysis of 2012 juvenile crime and arrest data reported by local law enforcement agencies nationwide as cited in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting program. As has been the case in general for the past decade, juvenile arrest data for 2012 provide reasons for encouragement. Trends since 1980 reveal that arrest rates in 2012 for all crime index offense categories were at historic low levels. The number of juvenile arrests dropped 10 percent between 2011 and 2012 and has dropped 37 percent since 2003.

View and download this publication.

Coming Soon—

Juvenile Residential Facility Census, 2012: Selected Findings (Bulletin)
National Report Series

Conducted biennially by OJJDP, the Juvenile Residential Facility Census collects information about facilities in which juvenile offenders are held and reports the number of youth who were injured or died in custody during the past 12 months. Findings from the 2012 census show that the juvenile offender population dropped 14 percent from 2010 to 2012 to 57,190 offenders younger than 21 on the census date, the lowest number since 1975. For the first time since 2000, more offenders were in local facilities on the census day in 2012 than were in state-operated facilities. The data also describe security features that are used in facilities. Overall, 43 percent of facilities lock youth in their sleeping rooms at least some of the time. Fourteen deaths were reported; five were suicides. Most of those deaths were white and African American non-Hispanic males. Most of the suicides occurred weeks after the youth’s detainment.

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News From the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice

Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice logo The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) convened a webinar-facilitated meeting on February 20, 2015. The meeting included remarks by OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee; a report-out by the FACJJ subcommittees, a discussion and vote on proposed FACJJ recommendations; and discussion of the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Meeting details will be provided in the next issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance.

FACJJ meetings are open to the public; anyone may register to attend and observe. Additional information is available on the committee's website.

The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice is a consultative body established by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended (Section 223), and is supported by OJJDP. Composed of members of state advisory groups on juvenile justice, the committee advises the President and Congress on matters related to juvenile justice, evaluates the progress and accomplishments of juvenile justice activities and projects, and advises the OJJDP Administrator on the work of OJJDP.

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