(Jim SaintGermain): Mr. Listenbee thank you so much for having me here, it is an honor to participate in OJJDP last message video.

(Robert L. Listenbee): And, Jim, I'm very honored that you're here to join us, when I first saw you, you were a leader in your own right, you were speaking before 4,000 people at a SAMHSA [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration] conference and you just knocked it out of the park then, and I've been very impressed with all the work you've done since then and certainly the work you're doing now with your mentoring organization in New York, so I'm very proud to work with you.

You exemplify one of my top goals in juvenile justice which is to have youth voice involved. I was just honored that that and excited that the President of United States Barack Obama appointed you as a practitioner member of the Coordinating Council of Juvenile Justice here at the Department of Justice, and I'm very excited because of the manner in which you spoke to our own Attorney General about your issues and concerns that you're going to be able to carry on as we go forward in the future.

You have a lot to say, you have a lot to offer, and you're both a leader in your own right and with your own generation, so I'm very confident that juvenile justice is going to be in good hands with you and a lot of other young folks like yourself.

(J.S.): And As the saying goes, those closer to the issues are usually closer to the solution and you've certainly taken heed to that and made sure that we have a voice at the table, and have a seat at the table. 

(R.L.L.): Jim, I would just say it's a symbiotic relationship because we are reaching out to try and ensure that you have a voice at the table, but the things that you do and the things that you say—and the things that the members of your generation say—are inspiring to us, too. When we come back to our office and we're poring over papers, we're inspired to know that there are young people out there who are just, you know, bringing it—making sure that what needs to be said is being said, and being said in a timely manner. So, I just want to commend you again, and those members of your generation that I have spoken of who, who are doing those kinds of things.

(J.S.): So, I know this next question is a little bit tough for you, because I'm going to ask you to prioritize some of your top accomplishments since you've been here. If you can pick the top three accomplishments since you've been in office during your tenure, what would those top three be?

(R.L.L.): I'd certainly say first, and foremost, making sure that youth have a voice at the table. People talk about it, pay lip service to it, it doesn't mean it happens. And, even when young people get to the table, they are not always listened to, and we've tried to emphasize the importance of young people being listened to. And then, even if they're listened to, it doesn't mean that they affect policy.

We try to make sure that we develop a mechanism so that when young people are listened to, that those insights go into the policies that we worked on. We did it with children of incarcerated parents when we heard them over at the White House and what we learned there was incorporated into our research work. We've done it with you when you were working with the President's 21st Century Commission on Law Enforcement.

We've done it in looking at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth when we had them here, at the work we were doing, we made sure that their insights were incorporated into the work that we were doing here is well. We've also done it in a variety of other ways, certainly with youth and mentoring. Making sure that those young people gave us insights and those insights have been incorporated into the work we're doing.

We have a lot of children out there who are being victimized, particularly in the areas of commercial sexual exploitation, we tried to talk to some of those young people that we've had a chance to meet with, and make sure that, in a sensitive caring and compassionate way, we talk to them. But we want to make sure that their insights are incorporated into our policies and practices as well. We know what they need because they told us what they need.

We know that the traditional approaches to addressing their needs are not being met and so we tried to find ways of doing that. Also I just want to say especially with young women, I've met the advocates for young women, we made sure that the policies and the grants and the practices that we've developed here, are really gender responsive. We have a girls policy that we provided to the public and that was used and developed with the assistance of a lot of young ladies as well and women, and they've helped give us guidance and direction on what we ought to be doing here.

So again, that's one of the key things—research. We know that only probably eight cents out of every dollar that’s spent actually comes from the federal government. The other ninety-two cents comes from the state governments. So, if we want the states to take our ideas, they have to be based upon research and based upon best practices and so we tried to develop a lot of best practices and research and have a model program guide that we use. In that area, one of the things that we have coming out—our guidelines for juvenile drug treatment courts—I think those are going to have a tremendous impact on how we address children who have substance use disorders.

Finally, again, I think that having a diverse group of stakeholders is really critical. We've had MacArthur Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Atlantic Foundation. We've worked with the Casey Family Foundation, and of course we've worked with the Pew Charitable Trusts that are our lead foundation working with Smart on Juvenile Justice. These foundations, and again a diverse group of stakeholders and advocates has really made a difference in the field.

We're connected to them, they're connected to us, and we're all trying to move in the same direction. We take guidance from them, they take guidance from us, but we're also with our ear to the ground making sure that we hear what they say and we're trying to do the kinds of things that are going to improve the system overall.

Kids are better now because there are fewer punitive measures and more focus on rehabilitation. I think that's key as we go forward. We still have our focus on public safety, we haven't digressed from that, but we want to make sure that we incorporate all these other things that have proven to be important, and still, we still have a juvenile arrest and crime going down for juveniles for the last 20 years. We must be doing some of the right things we just want to keep doing them. 

(J.S.): You guys have worked on numerous initiatives and programs and policies, can you categorize and kind of pick some of these programs and policies that impact disenfranchised youth over the years?

(R.L.L.): Well, we've worked with a variety of disenfranchised youth—Native American youth, children in the foster care system, children with disabilities. There's some specific policies around reentry which have tried to provide young people with the guidance and direction so they can transition back to the communities and be constructive members of communities. So we have expungement policies, so we can expunge juvenile records at the appropriate time and allow children to also help them also get the kinds of documents they need. Driver's licenses and other identification papers. I think those are important policies.

We haven't moved far enough in the area of helping them address penalties and fines and those kinds of things that young people also collect along the way to try and address those, but we're going to be moving more in that direction. But we're aware of it, thanks to research done by some of the advocates out in the field. We're trying to see what we can do there.

We know that there are a tremendous number of collateral consequences. One of the things that I know from talking to a lot of young people, is a lot of young people have a sense of a stigma that attaches to them because they've been in our system, they need a lot of a mentoring and direct support to overcome that stigma, overcome that sense of a lack of self-esteem that they encounter because they've been in the JJ [juvenile justice] system, and so I think we need to do more in that area, but we have incorporated a number of programs that are focusing on that.

(J.S.): Awesome, and I know that you know some of the dedicated staff members here will continue that work and carry it on so I look forward to that.

You know this next question is a bit tough for me. I've known you to be in the public life and serving America's most vulnerable youth for almost your entire life. You know, as a private citizen now, moving forward, what are some of your hopes and aspirations and some of the ideas you have for OJJDP?

(R.L.L.): Well, Jim I'm very proud of the staff we have here. They're dedicated; they're very bright; they're committed; they care a lot about young people. And, so, I'm very excited that we have that staff here, that we’re nearly fully staffed. I'm very excited about the leadership that's here. We've been engaged in a transition process for the better part of 6 or 8 months and they've stepped up to the front and taken over leadership of this organization and they’re moving forward with it. So I'm very proud of the work that they're doing.

I'm also very excited that the people in the field that I've had a chance to meet with are just so enthusiastic about continuing along the reform agenda that's been laid out by the states and that we've tried to follow as well across the nation. They're excited to improve in all kinds of areas in the juvenile justice system.

I've met with state advisory groups of, at this point, about seven or eight of them directly, and I'm just impressed that they're enthusiastic, so enthusiastic about bring about these changes and I think they will continue to do this.

(J.S.): And you know, almost every city and state that I've been to doing some of this work, here you are standing there, also right next to me, doing as much work as anyone in this field. So, once again, I want to thank you for the service you've provided to our kids. I know for sure that kids who are involved in the system—at-risk youth and kids who are looking for resources and help, kids who are looking to take advantage of their potentials—are much better off now with your service and OJJDP and all the staff here than they were 10 years ago.

I know you will not be hiding. You'll probably be involved in this work because it's in your heart, it's who you are. So, I'm sure that I'll be running into you and we’ll continue the work and move forward and help America's kids, so thank you again Mr. Listenbee.

(R.L.L.): And thank you Jim, I just want to say as a final word, I'm very thankful to the President—President Obama—and Attorney General Holder who selected me and appointed me here, to work here and I'm very thankful to Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason for her support in my work that I've done here, and just a ton of staff who are here as well. I could not have done what I've done without the tremendous support of so many people. When I say that it's an honor and a privilege to have served, I really mean that from the bottom of my heart. So, you know, great to meet you and work with you, and I expect great things for you in the future.

(J.S.): Yes sir, thank you.