Eileen Garry Joins OJJDP as Deputy Administrator
OJJDP is pleased to announce that Eileen M. Garry, former Deputy Director for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has rejoined OJJDP as Deputy Administrator. Ms. Garry served in this capacity prior to joining BJA in 2001, and temporarily reassumed the position in May 2016 on an interim basis to help the Office through the executive selection process.
“In a rather short period of time, Eileen Garry’s leadership has helped to keep OJJDP on an impressive upward trajectory,” said Mr. Listenbee. “Her affection for and commitment to juvenile justice issues and the young people of this country is strong, and I am pleased that she has been such a knowledgeable and helpful partner since her arrival.”
Ms. Garry has spent most of her career in the juvenile and criminal justice arenas. She initially worked as an Office of Justice Programs (OJP) contractor for more than 18 years, and has served in OJP leadership another 20-plus years. Ms. Garry joined BJA in September 2001 and led efforts to process death benefits for public safety officers killed at the World Trade Center on September 11. She went on to lead BJA’s major reorganization in 2002 when the Drug Court Program and Corrections Program offices merged with BJA. She was actively engaged in the Gulf region’s criminal justice infrastructure recovery and relief efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Ms. Garry recently served as Deputy Executive Director of the Indian Law and Order Commission.
Department of Justice Awards Nearly $50 Million To Combat Human Trafficking
On September 29, 2016, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that the Department of Justice has awarded more than $49 million in grants to combat human trafficking nationwide. The grants will provide comprehensive and specialized services for human trafficking survivors, support task forces that investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases, assist child victims of sex trafficking, and support research and best practices to prevent and respond to such crimes.
“The Department of Justice is committed to fighting human trafficking, a heinous crime that preys on the young and the defenseless,” said Attorney General Lynch. “These critical grants will fund efforts across the country to deepen our understanding of this appalling practice, to bring traffickers to justice, and to support survivors as they heal and begin their lives anew.”
Most of the $3.9 million in fiscal year 2016 funding OJJDP allocated to human trafficking went to mentoring services for youth victims of trafficking. Other funding for these awards comes from the Office for Victims of Crime, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office on Violence Against Women. Visit OJJDP’s Human Trafficking—Services for Survivors webpage for survivor and practitioner resources.
OJJDP Mourns the Passing of Ned Loughran
Edward Loughran. Photo courtesy of the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators.
Mr. Loughran led CJCA in partnering with OJJDP on several projects that were critical to the Department of Justice’s mission throughout the past 20 years. These include establishing the Performance-based Standards, developing the Reducing the Use of Isolation toolkit, and delivering training and technical assistance to the field via the Center for Coordinated Assistance to States. These efforts have helped guide correctional administrators, staff, and the broader juvenile justice community on improving conditions of confinement and the rehabilitative services facilities offer, and measuring and monitoring the use and impact of confinement and isolation.
Among his many career achievements, Mr. Loughran served as commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) from 1985 to 1993. Under his leadership, DYS was acknowledged by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for being the most cost effective juvenile justice agency in the nation and having the lowest recidivism rate. Prior to his work in Massachusetts, Mr. Loughran spent 10 years working for the New York State Division of Youth as a program director and as the administrator in the agency’s central office.
“OJJDP has lost a true friend and partner,” said OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee upon hearing of Mr. Loughran’s passing. “Ned's contributions to advancing juvenile justice reform are singular. His efforts to reduce the practice of isolation and encourage the use of data to improve the care and safety of youth in facilities has had a profound and lasting impact. He will be greatly missed.”Administrator Listenbee Heralds Law Enforcement Heroes Helping Missing and Exploited Children
On September 22, 2016, Office of Justice Programs’ Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason and OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee, attended the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) presentation of the 2016 Heroes’ Awards.
The following law enforcement officers were recognized for their heroic efforts to resolve cases involving missing or sexually exploited children—Homeland Security Investigations special agents Christopher Neville, Henry Cook, and Eli Bupp; Pennsylvania State Trooper Nicholas Cortese; U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Corricelli; Texas Department of Safety Lieutenant Derek Prestridge; Texas Highway Patrol Troopers II Joseph Shafer and Jason Sanchez; and Massachusetts State Police Trooper Dan Herman and Lieutenant Robert Murphy.
“We celebrate the dedicated efforts of men and women who have done so much to make our nation a safer place for our children,” said Administrator Listenbee, at the ceremony held in Washington, DC. “You bring hope where there is pain and sorrow.”
The OJJDP-funded NCMEC collects and distributes data regarding missing and sexually exploited children. In partnership with OJJDP, the center offers critical intervention and prevention services to families and assists law enforcement and child-serving professionals in cases involving missing and exploited children. OJJDP funding for NCMEC in fiscal year 2016 was approximately $28.3 million.
OJJDP Convenes Meeting of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Commanders
On September 28–29, 2016, OJJDP hosted a meeting of Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force commanders in Arlington, VA. The 2-day meeting included informational sessions on new technology; news on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s enhancements to the CyberTipline, updates on the center’s Child Victim Identification program and Child Sex Trafficking Team; and presentations and case studies on the latest ICAC investigation strategies. Task Force Commanders also heard from industry representatives with companies such as Apple and Kik about their business processes and their efforts to address online child exploitation.
Approximately 75 attendees were present, including 61 ICAC task force commanders, ICAC training and technical assistance providers, and OJJDP staff. In his remarks, Administrator Listenbee discussed the scope of the national child exploitation problem, successes, and challenges—such as continually evolving technology and social media platforms that impact ICAC investigations and create a constant need for training.
“You work with some of the best forensic and investigative technology available, but our strength is in our teamwork and dedication to our vision” said Mr. Listenbee. “By any measure you wish to choose, the ICAC program has made a difference in protecting the safety and well-being of this nation’s children.”
The OJJDP-sponsored ICAC Task Force program was established to combat the online enticement of children by sexual predators, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography. Since 1998, ICAC task forces have reviewed more than 580,000 complaints of alleged child sexual victimization resulting in the arrest of more than 60,000 individuals.
OJJDP Proposes New Formula Grants Regulations
In August 2016, OJJDP proposed new formula grant regulations to help states better meet the mandates established in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Published in the Federal Register for public comment, the proposed regulations include changes to eliminate subjectivity in the process for determining whether a state or territory has complied with the Act's core requirements to deinstitutionalize status offenders, separate juveniles from adults in secure facilities, remove juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and set clear numerical standards to determine compliance. Both the JJDPA and its accompanying regulations provide protections for youth currently involved with or at risk of coming into contact with the juvenile justice system. The Formula Grant program provides formula grant awards to states to support their juvenile delinquency prevention programs and improve their juvenile justice systems.
OJJDP-Sponsored Report Examines Judicial Model To Eliminate School Pathways to System Involvement
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has released the OJJDP-funded Report on the Evaluation of Judicially Led Responses to Eliminate School Pathways to the Juvenile Justice System. The report discusses findings from an evaluation of a judicially led collaborative model that brings together critical stakeholders such as schools, behavioral health experts, and law enforcement to reduce referrals of youth to juvenile courts for school-based behaviors and disciplinary infractions. The report also contains recommendations for future research and focused data collection.
National Institute of Corrections Reports on Increase of Girls in Adult Correctional Facilities
The National Institute of Corrections, in collaboration with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, has released No Place for Youth: Girls in the Adult Justice System—Gender-Responsive Strategies for Justice-Involved Women and Girls. The report summarizes current research, includes input from practitioners, and offers recommendations for improving conditions and outcomes for girls who are sentenced to adult facilities. The report also highlights challenges administrators and justice-involved girls face when youth are transferred to the adult criminal justice system.
October Is National Bullying Prevention Month
Every October is observed across the country as National Bullying Prevention Month, and OJJDP has a number of resources that help to raise awareness about the prevalence of bullying and its impact on youth.
OJJDP’s School-Based Bullying Prevention Implementation Guide (iGuide) is a research-based resource to assist school personnel, students, parents, and other practitioners working with youth with creating safe school environments through implementing school-based bullying prevention programs. The iGuide provides information on needs assessment tools, ways to analyze the problem, evidence-based programs to prevent and intervene in bullying, and guidance on gaining support for prevention program implementation. There is also additional information about the scope of the problem, predictors of bullying, and laws against bullying on OJJDP's Model Programs Guide website.
The Role of Technology in Youth Harassment Victimization—a joint publication from OJJDP and the National Institute of Justice—examines technology-involved harassment within the broader context of other types of youth victimization to improve current policies and practices regarding youth victimization. The data reveal that mixed-peer harassment (involving both in-person and technology-based elements) is the most traumatic for victims, especially those victimized in multiple ways in the past and facing numerous stressors in their present lives. This research makes an important contribution as one of the first national studies to provide detailed incident-level data on the role of online technology in youth harassment and to explore the connection between harassment victims’ experiences and prior victimizations across a range of domains. These findings point to several important areas for future inquiry and for policy and practice.
To learn more about bullying prevention and to access helpful resources, including webinars, visit StopBullying.gov.