OJJDP Staff Presents at American Probation and Parole Association Institute

Administrator Harp attended the American Probation and Parole Association's (APPA's) 43rd Annual Training Institute held July 29–August 1, 2018, in Philadelphia, PA. The institute—with the support of OJJDP's Juvenile Community Supervision Improvement program, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, and the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center on Juvenile Justice—featured a symposium on July 30 regarding the future of juvenile community supervision.

On July 31, OJJDP Research Coordinator Jennifer Tyson presented in the session, "Bridging Research and Practice in Juvenile Justice: A Research-Informed Approach to Youth Probation." She noted that the goals of OJJDP’s Bridge Project were to:

• Identify areas where research has not been integrated into policy and practice.
• Translate juvenile justice research into innovative products and dissemination strategies.
• Drive changes in policy and practice.

Dr. TeNeane Bradford, OJJDP’s Associate Administrator of the Core Protections division, met with APPA’s Juvenile Justice Committee to discuss the Office’s work on state compliance with the core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and consolidation of the Office’s Title II Formula Grants program work into the State Relations and Assistance division.

Operation Broken Heart Results in the Arrest of More Than 2,300 Suspected Child Sexual Predators

OJJDP’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force leads the annual national Operation Broken Heart effort. The operation coordinates multiple proactive operations by the 61 ICAC task forces, more than 4,500 affiliate agencies, and federal partners. The most recent operation took place March 1 to May 31, 2018. Operation Broken Heart targets individuals who—

• Produce, distribute, receive, and possess child pornography.
• Entice children online for sexual purposes.
• Engage in sex trafficking of children.
• Travel internationally or cross state lines to sexually abuse children.

This year’s effort, Operation Broken Heart V, resulted in the arrest of more than 2,300 suspected online child sex offenders. The task forces identified 195 suspects who produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, and 383 children who suffered recent, ongoing, or historical sexual abuse or production of child pornography. The task forces also delivered more than 3,700 presentations on Internet safety to more than 390,000 youth and adults during those 3 months.

OJJDP launched the ICAC Task Force program in 1998 to help federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communication systems, or computer technology to exploit children. To date, ICAC task forces have reviewed more than 775,000 complaints of child exploitation, which resulted in the arrest of more than 83,000 individuals. In addition, since the program’s inception, more than 629,400 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and other professionals have been trained on techniques to investigate and prosecute ICAC-related cases.

Read a press release about Operation Broken Heart V.

OJJDP Adds 2016 Juvenile Residential Facility Data to Statistical Briefing Book

OJJDP has updated its Statistical Briefing Book with national and state data from the 2016 Juvenile Residential Facility Census. Developed for OJJDP by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, the research division of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Statistical Briefing Book provides easy online access to statistics on a variety of juvenile justice topics.

Updated offerings in the Statistical Briefing Book include:

• A data snapshot describing facility screening practices and service availability.
• Answers to frequently asked questions about facility characteristics, practices, and services.
• The Juvenile Residential Facility Census Databook, which facilitates independent analysis of data on the characteristics of youth residential placement facilities from 2000 to 2016, including:
• U.S. and state profiles providing national and state-level tables describing detailed information about facility operation, classification, size, and capacity.
• State comparisons of residential placement facility characteristics by operation, classification, size, and capacity.
• Methods information on the Juvenile Residential Facility Census data collection.
• A glossary that defines key terms used.

National Juvenile Court Data Archive Workshop Focuses on Using Data To Improve Youth Outcomes

The 2018 Workshop for Contributors to the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, held May 31–June 1, 2018, in Greenville, SC, offered presentations on juvenile justice system modernization efforts, raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction, and racial and ethnic disparity analysis for youth in custody. Other presentations highlighted differences across states in using probation risk and needs assessment tools, and using electronic fingerprints to build risk assessments.

The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) hosted the OJJDP-funded workshop, which was attended by 39 representatives from juvenile courts or other juvenile justice agencies in 29 states that contribute case-level data to the OJJDP-funded National Juvenile Court Data Archive. OJJDP Social Science Analyst Barbara Tatem Kelley welcomed participants and updated them on OJJDP's fiscal year 2017 research awards and planned research initiatives for fiscal year 2018.

Guest speaker Monty Prow, quality improvement services director for the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections, discussed using continuous quality improvement to achieve long-term outcomes for youth released from state custody. David Barrett, associate dean of academic affairs and research at Clemson University’s College of Education, presented on a multiagency cohort study on juvenile delinquency and recidivism. During the 2-day workshop, NCJJ staff also reviewed the OJJDP-funded National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Program, highlighted content updates to OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book, and presented current analyses from both the Data Analysis and Data Archive projects.

OJJDP Recognized for Excellence in Communications

OJJDP’s Communications Unit has received five communications awards for its Fiscal Year 2016 Awards infographic and the May/June 2017 OJJDP News @ a Glance article, "Justice Department Observes National Missing Children’s Day."

The infographic received a Grand Award for Design & Illustration from the 2018 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence, a second place 2018 Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Award in the Infographic (External) category from the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC), and an Award of Distinction from The Communicator Awards in its Online Advertising & Marketing/Image and Infographic category.

The article, "Justice Department Observes National Missing Children’s Day," won a 2018 Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Award of Excellence in the Mobile Web Article category, as well as an Award of Distinction in the Communicator Awards’ Writing/Feature Article category.

APEX Awards acknowledge outstanding graphic design, editorial content, and communications effectiveness. NAGC advocates for, promotes, and recognizes excellence in government communication. The Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts presents the Communicator Awards to projects that exceed industry standards in quality and achievement.