U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Children’s exposure 

to violence 

Youth in Indian country 

Evidence-based practices 

Juvenile reentry 

Underage drinking 

JJDP Act 

Disproportionate 

minority contact 

Commercial sexual 

exploitation of children 

Performance measures 

Missing and 

abducted children 

Mentoring 

Recovery Act 

Girls’ delinquency 

Juveniles in custody 

Research and statistics 

Gang violence 

Internet crimes 

against children 

Training and 

technical assistance 

Community-based 

sanctions 

Tribal juvenile 

justice systems 

Dissemination 

and outreach 

O f f i c e O fJ u v e n i l e J u s t i c e a n dd e l i n q u e n c y P r e v e n t i O n 

2 0 0 9 a n n u a l r e P O r t 
2 0 0 9 
 

 

 

a n n u a l r e P O r t 

O f f i c e O f J u v e n i l e J u s t i c e a n d d e l i n q u e n c y P r e v e n t i O n 

Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

this report covers activities undertaken by the Office of Juvenile Justice and delinquency Prevention 

during fiscal year 2009 (October 1, 2008–september 30, 2009)
�

ncJ 229305
�
U.S. Department of Justice
�

Office of Justice Programs
�

810 Seventh Street NW. 

Washington, DC 20531 

Eric H. Holder, Jr. 

Attorney General 

Laurie O. Robinson 

Assistant Attorney General 

Jeff Slowikowski 

Acting Administrator 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Office of Justice Programs 

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

ojjdp.gov 

Photos used in this report: Copyright © 2010 Alamy Images, Digital Vision, Fotosearch, Getty Images, 

Photodisc, and Shutterstock. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice 

Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the 

Community Capacity Development Office; the National Institute of Justice; the Office for Victims 

of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and 

Tracking (SMART). 
 

f O r e W O r d
�

Since its founding in 1974, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) 

has provided national leadership to federal, state, tribal, and local efforts to prevent delinquency, strengthen the juvenile justice system, and protect children from violence, abuse, 

and exploitation. 

OJJDP is the only federal agency with a specific mission to develop and disseminate knowledge about “what works” in the juvenile justice field. Drawing on this knowledge, we are 

working with communities across the country to replicate proven, evidence-based programs 

and improve existing programs. OJJDP helps communities match program models to their 

specific needs and supports interventions that respond to the specific developmental, cultural, 

and gender needs of the youth and families they serve. 

To ensure the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars, we have established mandatory performance measures for all of our programs and we report on those measures to the Office of 

Management and Budget. OJJDP requires its grantees to report on their performance, set up 

systems to gather the data necessary to monitor performance, and use this information to 

continuously assess progress and fine-tune their programs. 

In fiscal year (FY) 2009, OJJDP posted a record number of solicitations and awarded an 

unprecedented number of grants. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(ARRA) provided a major supplement to the OJJDP appropriation for local and national 

mentoring initiatives and the Internet Crimes Against Children program. ARRA enabled 

the Office to launch a broad array of new initiatives and expand existing efforts in both of 

these critical areas. 

Supporting mentoring programs and fighting Internet crime are just two examples of the 

many ways OJJDP is making a difference every day in the lives of children, families, and 

communities. During FY 2009, the Office continued to be a national leader in the study of 

and development of programs to address girls’ delinquency, children’s exposure to violence, 

gang activity, the problems of at-risk tribal youth, underage drinking, and missing and 

abducted children, among a host of other issues. 
In these and many other areas, OJJDP collaborates closely with federal, state, local, and nonprofit partners. Through research and demonstration programs, training and technical assistance, and information resources, OJJDP is working vigorously with all of its partners in the 

juvenile justice field to build a better future for America’s youth. 

Jeff Slowikowski 

Acting Administrator 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
abOut OJJdP 

the Office of Juvenile Justice and delinquency Prevention (OJJdP) was established 

by congress through the Juvenile Justice and delinquency Prevention (JJdP) act 

of 1974, Public law 93–415, as amended. a component of the Office of Justice 

Programs within the u.s. department of Justice, OJJdP works to prevent and control 

juvenile delinquency, improve the juvenile justice system, and protect children. 

Mission Statement 

OJJdP provides national leadership, coordination, and the resources to prevent 

and respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization. OJJdP supports states and 

communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective and coordinated 

prevention and intervention programs and to improve the juvenile justice system so 

that it protects public safety, holds offenders 

accountable, and provides treatment and 

rehabilitative services tailored to the needs 

of juveniles and their families. 

Organization 

OJJdP is composed of the Office of 

the administrator, three program divisions 

(child Protection, demonstration Programs, 

and state relations and assistance), the 

Office of Policy development (including 

the communications unit), and the 

Grants Management unit. appendix a 

summarizes each component’s role.
 

 

 

 

t a b l e O f c O n t e n t s 

c H a P t e r 1 : OJJDP Is Building a Better Future for America’s Youth: Major Accomplishments . . . . 2
�

Recovery Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
�

Girls’ Delinquency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
�

Children’s Exposure to Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
�

Project Safe Childhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
�

Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
�

Mentoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
�

Listening Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
�

Training and Technical Assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
�

c H a P t e r 2 : OJJDP Is Forming Partnerships To Prevent and Intervene in Delinquency . . . . . . . . . . 12
�

Anti-Gang Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
�

Mentoring Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
�

Juvenile and Family Drug Court Initiatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
�

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
�

Juvenile Integrated Information Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
�

Tribal Youth Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
�

Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
�

c H a P t e r 3 : OJJDP Is Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System Through the JJDP Act . . . . . . . . . 34
�

Formula Grants Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
�

Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
�

Community Prevention Grants Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
�

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
�

c H a P t e r 4 : OJJDP Is Defending Children Against Victimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
�

Project Safe Childhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
�

Internet Crimes Against Children Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
�

Safe Start Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
�

Promoting Child and Youth Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
�

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
�

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
�

Missing Children’s Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
�

AMBER Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
�

Children’s Advocacy Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
�

Court Appointed Special Advocates Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
�

Model Courts Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
�
c H a P t e r 5 : OJJDP Is Providing Resources and Information to the Juvenile Justice Field . . . . . . . . 72
�

Sharing Research Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
�

Statistical Briefing Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
�

OJJDP Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
�

Electronic Newsletter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
�

JUVJUST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
�

Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
�

a P P e n d i x e s 

Appendix A: OJJDP Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
�

Appendix B: State Compliance With JJDP Act Core Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
�
C H A P T E R 1 
C H A P T E R 1 

2 

 

Building a Better 

Future for 

America’s Youth: 

Major Accomplishments 

The nation’s young people face many obstacles on their journey to adulthood. At the same 

time, they have many opportunities not available to earlier generations. One of the principal responsibilities of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) 

is to help ensure that those opportunities remain available and continue to grow to meet the 

ever-changing needs of America’s young people. 

During fiscal year (FY) 2009, the guiding philosophy behind OJJDP’s programs was to fund 

activities and programs that improve outcomes for the nation’s youth. This meant supporting 

evidence-based programs that reduce juvenile delinquency and crime, protect children from 

sexual exploitation and abuse, and improve the juvenile justice system so that it protects public 

safety, holds offenders accountable, and provides services—tailored to individual and community needs—to juvenile victims and offenders and to their families. 

The Office’s many accomplishments in FY 2009 included helping the field understand and 

address pressing issues such as the prevalence of Internet crimes against youth, the rising 

arrest rates for girls, and the long-term negative consequences of children’s exposure to 

violence. OJJDP recognizes that much remains to be done to prevent, intervene in, and treat 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
3 

OJJDP’s mission is to provide national 

leadership, coordination, and resources to 

prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency 

and child victimization. The Office supports 

states, tribal jurisdictions, communities, and 

local governments in their efforts to develop and 

implement prevention and intervention programs 

that hold offenders accountable and provide 

treatment and rehabilitation services tailored to 

the needs of individuals and their families. 

delinquent behavior. The activities highlighted throughout this report illustrate OJJDP’s ongoing 

commitment to strive to improve outcomes for the nation’s children, particularly those at risk, by 

supporting programs that have the greatest potential for improving the juvenile justice system 

and keeping communities safe. 

Recovery Act 

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the landmark American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Act provided the Department of Justice (DOJ) with funding for grants to assist state, local, and tribal 

law enforcement in combating violence against women, fighting Internet crimes 

against children, improving the criminal justice system, assisting victims of 

crime, and supporting youth mentoring. The grants included support for hiring 

new personnel, an essential step in enhancing programs and services. 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

OJJDP awarded grants totaling more than $147 million under ARRA. These 

grants were included in the more than $2.76 billion of ARRA funding awarded 

by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The OJJDP grants included $97.5 million for local and national mentoring initiatives and $50 million to support the 

Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) program. (See chapter 2 for more 

information on ARRA grants that support mentoring initiatives, and chapter 4 

for information on ARRA funds awarded to the ICAC program.) 

Girls’ Delinquency 

In the 1990s, a surge of girls’ arrests brought female juvenile delinquency to the country’s attention. Girls’ rates 

of arrest for some crimes increased faster than boys’ 

rates of arrest. By 2004, girls accounted for 30 percent 

of all juvenile arrests, but delinquency experts did not 

know whether these trends reflected changes in girls’ 

behavior or changes in arrest patterns. The juvenile 

justice field struggled to understand how best to 

respond to the needs of girls who were entering the 

system. In 2004, OJJDP convened the Girls Study 

Group (GSG) to establish a research-based foundation to guide the development, testing, and dissemination of strategies to reduce or prevent girls’ involvement in delinquency and violence. 

To disseminate the GSG’s findings, OJJDP maintains a Girls’ Delinquency Web 

page and is producing a series of bulletins that present the study group’s findings on issues such as patterns of offending among adolescents and how they 

differ for girls and boys; risk and protective factors associated with delinquency, 

including gender differences; and the causes and correlates of girls’ delinquency. 

Detailed information about the new GSG bulletins released in FY 2009 and the 

Girls’ Delinquency Web page can be found in chapter 5. 

In addition to research, OJJDP funds numerous programs focused on intervening in and preventing girls’ delinquency. These programs include Girl Scouting 

in Detention Centers, which provides girls with opportunities to participate in 

activities that promote positive social development; Friendly PEERsuasion, an 

interactive program that helps middle school girls gain knowledge and skills 

and access support systems to avoid substance abuse; and the PACE Center for 

Girls, which provides delinquency prevention programs for teenage girls. Many 

states have used funding under OJJDP’s Formula Grants program to promote 

gender-specific programming. 

4 
5 

 

C H A P T E R 1 

In April 2009, a pilot program cosponsored by OJJDP and OJP trained law 

enforcement personnel on the best ways to approach and interact with adolescent girls during police calls. This program, called Law Enforcement Responses 

to Adolescent Girls, was conducted in Philadelphia, PA, by the International 

Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The course is expected to be offered 

regularly through IACP, once the results of the pilot course have been evaluated 

and the training has been modified accordingly. 

OJJDP’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center has developed a 

training course (Gender Responsive Programming for Girls) to address the 

needs of girls. It focuses on the unique experiences of young women as they 

relate to race, culture, development, economic status, and physical appearance; 

it may be used to enhance services in a range of settings, from communitybased prevention programs for at-risk girls to intensive residential programs 

and detention. 

Online Resources 

The Girls’ Delinquency Web page can be accessed on the OJJDP Web site at ojjdp.gov/ 

programs/girlsdelinquency.html. Detailed information about the GSG can be found on the 

Girls Study Group Web site, girlsstudygroup.rti.org. 

Children’s Exposure to Violence 

Exposure to violence—whether as a victim or as a witness—is associated with 

long-term physical, psychological, and emotional harm. Children who have been 

exposed to violence are at higher risk of mental health problems such as anxiety 

and depression. They are also more likely to use drugs and alcohol, and even to 

engage in violent behavior themselves. 

In June 1999, OJJDP launched the Safe Start initiative to develop evidence-based 

strategies for reducing the impact of children’s exposure to violence. OJJDP continues to work across the areas of practice innovation, research and evaluation, 

training, and national resource development. OJJDP received more than $1 million in federal interagency support to advance this work in FY 2009. 

During FY 2009, OJJDP completed the National Survey of Children’s Exposure 

to Violence (NatSCEV), the first comprehensive attempt to measure children’s 

exposure to violence in the home, school, and community across age groups 

from birth to age 17. The University of New Hampshire conducted the survey 

and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supported additional 

analysis. 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

In remarks addressing the 2009 conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Attorney General commended the Academy for addressing the problem 

of children and violence, which he characterized as a long-term “personal and 

professional concern.” Noting progress made since DOJ began working with 

researchers examining children’s exposure to violence a decade ago, Attorney 

General Holder stated that researchers now have the information needed to 

assess its cumulative effects. Citing recently published findings from NatSCEV, 

the Attorney General described them as “a wake-up call” that we cannot afford 

to ignore and “one that I will not ignore.” 

In FY 2009, OJJDP worked with the Rand Corporation and 15 communities to 

collect child and family outcome data on interventions for children exposed 

to violence. Evaluation reports are slated for release in FY 2011. OJJDP also 

funded practice innovations in these same 15 communities in 2009 to demonstrate new methods to lead the field in addressing children and families living 

with violence. 

For more information on NatSCEV and other OJJDP efforts to prevent and 

reduce children’s exposure to violence, see chapter 4. 

Project Safe Childhood 

OJJDP is proud to play a major role in DOJ’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative, which combats the exploitation of children by Internet predators. The 

project’s goal is to investigate and prosecute crimes against children committed 

through the Internet or other electronic media and communications devices. The 

initiative’s key partners include U.S. Attorneys; the ICAC program, which OJJDP 

manages; the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation; and state and local law enforcement agencies. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP awarded approximately $75 million in grants 

(including ARRA awards) to state and local law enforcement 

agencies under its ICAC program to support joint federal, 

state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes 

against children and keep children safe from Internet predators. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP launched a national media campaign 

as part of the PSC initiative to combat the online exploitation 

of children. The $2.5 million campaign used a combination 

of public service announcements in English and Spanish 

on national cable television channels, in print ads, and in 

Internet promotions such as banner ads, popup ads, and 

Webisodes.
C H A P T E R 1 7 

For more information on how OJJDP is working to protect children by fighting 

cybercrime and conducting many other activities, see chapter 4. 

Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative 

OJJDP helped launch and continues to support DOJ’s comprehensive initiative 

to combat gang violence. The initiative prioritizes prevention programs to provide America’s youth and offenders returning to the community with opportunities that help them resist gang involvement and ensure robust enforcement 

policies when gang-related violence occurs. 

The initiative stresses the importance of federal and state agencies working with 

local partners to coordinate anti-gang strategies. Coordinated through the U.S. 

Attorneys’ Offices, the initiative provides substantial resources to support communitywide responses to gangs across the country. 

In June 2008, OJJDP released a publication that describes best practices learned 

from practitioners experienced in planning and implementing OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model. The document, Best Practices To Address Community 

Gang Problems: OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model, presents findings from 

evaluations of programs that demonstrate the model. The publication was 

included in Florida’s most recent statewide grand jury report on gangs. An 

update of the Best Practices report is in process. 

OJJDP’s many anti-gang activities are described in more detail in chapter 2. 

Mentoring 

Research indicates that mentoring can be a useful strategy in working with 

youth who experience multiple risk factors for delinquency, school failure, and 

other negative outcomes. OJJDP’s juvenile mentoring grants support national 

and community organizations that directly serve youth through mentoring, 

target specific populations of youth, and enhance the capacity of other organizations to recruit, train, and supervise mentors. 

In addition to the $97.5 million in mentoring funds provided under ARRA, the 

Office received $80 million in FY 2009 funding to help develop and enhance the 

capacity of communities to provide mentoring services to at-risk youth nationwide. The mentoring grants will focus on the needs of underserved populations, 

including at-risk youth in American Indian/Alaska Native communities and 

Latino communities that have gang problems. 

OJJDP’s mentoring initiatives are described in detail in chapter 2. 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

 

8 

ELECTRONIC MAPPING—THE SMART SYSTEM 

Available to the public since 2006, OJJDP’s 

Socioeconomic Mapping and Resource 

Topography (SMART) system is a free, Webaccessible application that communities can 

use to position local resources to help prevent 

crime and delinquency. Users can connect 

SMART maps of crime locations with maps of 

local intervention programs and community 

resources. In addition, SMART creates tables 

and graphs to illustrate a wide variety of data 

on socioeconomic factors such as housing, 

population, crime, health, and mortality. 

FY 2009 updates to the SMART system include an enhanced capability to view 

multiple Census Bureau demographics at the same time on one map; the addition 

of the most current data from the Uniform Crime Reports for 1994 to 2007; and 

information on all FY 2009 OJJDP grants, including awards made through the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition, OJJDP released 

a new InFocus fact sheet, Get SMART—Mapping Resources for Crime and 

Delinquency Prevention, which provides detailed information about the uses 

and applications of the system. 

Online Resources 

SMART is available at http://smart.gismapping.info. To access Get SMART—Mapping 

Resources for Crime and Delinquency Prevention, go to www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ 

ojjdp/222504.pdf. 

Listening Sessions 

OJJDP is communicating with the juvenile justice field on challenges and solutions through regularly scheduled listening sessions held in its Washington, 

DC, office. These interactive sessions, launched in May 2009, foster an ongoing 

dialog with policymakers and practitioners on the current trends and issues facing the juvenile justice field. OJJDP will use information from these sessions to 

enhance its collective knowledge base, guide decisionmaking and planning, and 

promote open and transparent governing. 

O F F I C E O F 

ington, DC, meetings. 

OJJDP has also held sessions on trends in the juvenile justice system, reducing 

disproportionate minority contact, research and evaluation, and child protection. Participants from around the country were invited to represent a variety of 

viewpoints and disciplines. Listening sessions also will be held at various conferences throughout the country for those who cannot participate in the WashJ U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 1 9 

Training and Technical Assistance 

OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, and resources 

to those who are working to prevent and respond to juvenile 

delinquency and victimization. A major component of these 

efforts is the provision of training and technical assistance 

(TTA) resources that address the needs of juvenile justice practitioners and support state and local efforts to build capacity 

and expand the use of evidence-based practices. The Office’s 

National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) 

provides the majority of TTA to the field, covering a comprehensive range of topics that include prevention, graduated 

sanctions, intervention, and reentry. 

During FY 2009, NTTAC responded to a total of 122 TTA requests and provided TTA to 1,798 participants. Of those requests, NTTAC supplied technical 

assistance to 61 requesters and 1,722 participants from 33 states, the District of 

Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. NTTAC provided training to 76 participants 

from 26 states. Training and technical assistance covered a variety of topics, 

including compliance monitoring, disproportionate minority contact, strategic 

planning, gender-specific services, juvenile justice system improvement, alternatives to detention, aftercare/reentry, mental health, gangs, mentoring, delinquency prevention, deinstitutionalization of status offenders, tribal youth courts, 

and Native American issues. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP developed a new needs assessment tool that promises to 

provide the most comprehensive and detailed picture to date of the TTA needs 

of agencies and organizations serving the juvenile justice field. OJJDP will use 

the information to better provide the juvenile justice community with tools and 

resources to enhance their organizational capacity and to develop new curriculums and training programs that are timely and responsive. The needs assessment tool is an online self-guided survey that gathers detailed information about 

the background of respondents, the type of organization they work for, the 

type of population they serve, their TTA history, their perspectives on emerging 

issues in juvenile justice, and the types of TTA they would find most helpful. 

Information about specific OJJDP training and technical assistance activities is 

provided throughout this report. 

Online Resource 

For more information, visit the National Training and Technical Assistance Center’s Web site, 

NTTAC.org. 

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C H A P T E R 2 
C H A P T E R 2 

1 2 

 

Forming Partnerships 

To Prevent and Intervene 

in Delinquency 

Research has shown that juvenile delinquency is often associated with a range of factors, 

including family problems, substance abuse, previous exposure to neglect and violence, 

lack of engagement in school, and socioeconomic status. Therefore, in developing prevention and intervention programs, policymakers are increasingly adopting multidisciplinary 

approaches that combine the resources of many different youth-serving agencies and organizations. These partnerships allow for critical information sharing across disciplines, more effective 

problem solving, and the efficient use of community resources. 

One example of such a partnership is the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s 

(OJJDP’s) Gang Reduction Program (GRP), which is designed to reduce gang activity in targeted 

neighborhoods by incorporating a broad spectrum of research-based interventions to address 

the range of personal, family, and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and 

gang activity. The program integrates federal, state, and local resources to incorporate state-ofthe-art practices in prevention, intervention, and suppression. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
1 3 

OJJDP’s approach to preventing and intervening 

in juvenile delinquency takes into account the 

family, school, peers, law enforcement, and the 

larger community. The Office has been working 

closely with federal, state, local, and nonprofit 

partners to provide comprehensive and effective 

strategies to help youth avoid crime and build a 

productive, successful future. 

Another example is the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which is administered by OJJDP. The Council—whose member agencies include the U.S. 

Departments of Justice (DOJ), Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban 

Development, among other agencies—is dedicated to fostering broad-based and multisector collaborations to improve the policies and practices of federal, state, and local programs for youth. 

In addition, OJJDP’s National Juvenile Information Sharing Initiative brings together juvenile 

justice, youth services, and community leaders to effectively coordinate multiple services and to 

foster informed decisionmaking regarding juveniles, whether in the justice, education, health, or 

social services contexts. 

These and many of the other activities discussed in this chapter illustrate how OJJDP is helping 

community leaders reach out to partners and work alongside other sectors to help build a better 

future for America’s youth. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Anti-Gang Initiatives 

OJJDP has long supported the use of data-driven, strategic anti-gang initiatives 

that combine prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry strategies. Such 

initiatives require the collaboration of multiple community partners, including 

law enforcement, schools, social services, community organizations, key community leaders, citizens, and others. Coordinating multiple anti-gang strategies 

offers the highest potential for long-term success in reducing and eliminating 

gang activity. During fiscal year (FY) 2009, OJJDP provided support to federal, 

state, and local parties seeking information and guidance on gang prevention. 

The Office’s major anti-gang efforts are described below. 

DOJ’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative 

During FY 2009, OJJDP continued to play a major role in DOJ’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, launched in 2006. The initiative, 

coordinated through the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, emphasizes the 

importance of working with local partners to coordinate anti-gang 

strategies. As a result of this emphasis, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have 

moved beyond focusing on enforcement-only anti-gang strategies 

and have begun developing comprehensive communitywide strategies geared toward prevention. 

The project initially began with six sites in Los Angeles, CA; 

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Tampa, FL; Cleveland, OH; Milwaukee, 

WI; and the 222 corridor, an area north of Philadelphia, PA. The 

initiative was expanded in 2007 to include Rochester, NY; Oklahoma City, OK; 

Indianapolis, IN; and Raleigh-Durham, NC. It was further expanded in FY 2008 

to 12 sites that include Detroit, MI; and Chicago, IL. OJJDP helped develop this 

initiative and, in FY 2009, continued to provide comprehensive training and 

technical assistance in the areas of prevention and intervention to all of the sites. 

The Office has also played a significant role in the delivery of several anti-gang 

trainings to support DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods. The goal of these trainings is to improve the level of knowledge, communication, and collaboration 

involved in addressing criminal gang issues that affect communities throughout 

the nation. The curriculum is based on current policies and proven practices and 

strategies in the criminal justice field. The trainings combine the gang expertise 

of DOJ law enforcement and criminal justice professionals in a unified DOJ antigang curriculum. Separate tracks provide training for local law enforcement 

executives, line personnel, investigators, and prosecutors. In FY 2009, OJJDP 

further developed the curriculum for these trainings by adding material in the 

areas of prevention and intervention, based on feedback from the training participants in the previous year.
C H A P T E R 2 1 5 

Online Resource 

For more information on the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, visit OJJDP’s Web site at 

ojjdp.gov/programs/antigang/index.html. 

Gang Prevention Coordination Assistance Program 

OJJDP initiated the Gang Prevention Coordination Assistance Program in FY 

2007 to improve the coordination of resources that support community partnerships implementing two or more of the strategies of OJJDP’s Comprehensive 

Gang Model: prevention, intervention, and suppression. Twenty-four communities currently receive Gang Prevention Coordination Assistance grants. Coordinators in the communities identify and leverage a variety of resources to help 

reduce youth gang crime and violence in targeted neighborhoods. The approach 

emphasizes a balance of gang prevention with enforcement and uses community 

organizations and faith-based groups to sustain the work. 

Gang Reduction Program 

OJJDP launched the Gang Reduction Program (GRP) in 2003 to reduce youth 

gang activity in disadvantaged neighborhoods; the program combines federal, 

state, and local resources in four cities across the country. The program continues today in Los Angeles, CA; North Miami Beach, FL; and Richmond, VA. 

GRP incorporates three new ingredients in OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang 

Model, the product of a national gang research and development program initiated in the mid-1980s. First, GRP makes the recruitment of individuals from 

small community organizations a priority. These local entities often are very efficient, raise their own funds, have existing personal relationships with those in 

need, and understand the culture and language of the local community. Second, 

GRP emphasizes multiagency collaboration, not only locally in neighborhoods 

and communities but across federal agencies as well. Third, GRP stresses the 

importance of partnering with the private sector. 

At the outset of this effort, OJJDP recognized that success would benefit not only 

those children who did not become members of gangs, but the community at 

large, including businesses. When crime and violence are reduced, the business 

community (especially small businesses that suffer most from theft and vandalism) experiences significant benefits. For example, the GRP effort in Richmond, 

VA, has led to large-scale improvements and investments in the physical condition of public housing. As a result of GRP, there has been increased safety, more 

stable tenants, and better tenant care of property. The private-sector operator of 

those units saw an economic reason to contribute to the Richmond GRP effort. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

The accomplishments of the Richmond program were recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which awarded the program the 2009 Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement. (For more information, see 

the sidebar, “OJJDP-Sponsored Gang-Reduction Program Wins Top Award.”) 

Unlike many previous efforts where communities chose to address either 

enforcement, prevention, or intervention, the GRP initiative is bringing all major 

sectors together and using the strengths of each to address community needs. 

The Urban Institute conducted a multiyear evaluation (2003–2008) of the GRP 

initiative in all of the original program sites to assess program implementation 

and outcomes. Following are some of the evaluation’s preliminary findings, 

which were submitted to OJJDP during FY 2009: 

• Most of the sites realized successful outcomes related to crime reduction, 

although results varied. 

• Much of the progress that each site achieved can be attributed to the leadership of its coordinator. In addition, OJJDP maintained close oversight during 

the strategic planning and implementation processes and made available 

extensive technical assistance to each site, which also contributed to the success of the GRP. 

• In contrast to many previous crime prevention and reduction efforts, all sites 

successfully implemented the GRP model. 

• The three current sites implemented plans to sustain elements of the program 

as federal funding expired. The fourth original site (Milwaukee, WI) was 

discontinued in 2007, in part because of difficulty in implementing a sustainability plan. 

• Sites independently developed similar organizations led by steering committees; however, collaboration and communication among partners varied by 

site. 

• The short amount of time OJJDP allowed for initial planning (6 months) was 

a major challenge for all sites. It meant that GRP programs represented only 

some initiatives that were already in place; sites did not have time to seek out 

new programs for the target areas. 

During FY 2009, OJJDP prepared to release a bulletin summarizing the results of 

the evaluation. The bulletin, Findings From the Evaluation of OJJDP’s Gang Reduction Program, is slated for publication in 2010. 

Online Resource 

For more information on the Gang Reduction Program, go to OJJDP’s Web site, ojjdp.gov 

(select the “Programs” section).
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C H A P T E R 2 

OJJDP-SPONSORED GANG REDUCTION 

PROGRAM WINS TOP AWARD 

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) selected the Gang Reduction 

and Intervention Program (GRIP) in Richmond, VA, as a winner of the 2009 Webber 

Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement. Richmond is one of OJJDP’s demonstration 

program sites and has received extensive resources and assistance from the Office in 

developing its approach to address youth gang issues. This year’s winners were honored 

in ceremonies held in conjunction with IACP’s annual conference in Denver, CO, in 

October 2009. GRIP is one of three programs worldwide to receive this year’s award. 

Administered by the Richmond, VA, police department, GRIP is a collaborative effort 

between the city of Richmond and federal, state, and local partners to significantly reduce 

gang activity in targeted neighborhoods. Its goals are to reduce youth and young adult 

gang crime in an area on the city’s South Side through the application of proven practices 

that provide youth and young adults with healthy alternatives to joining gangs. 

GRIP helped decrease violent crime in the targeted area between 2005 and 2008—a 

17-percent reduction in rape and an 89-percent reduction in homicides. GRIP’s 400 

volunteers work with about 4,000 at-risk youth per week. The implementation of the 

program at the Richmond, VA, site involved the mobilization and cooperation of more 

than 50 faith-based and community-based organizations. 

GRIP encompasses more than 40 

programs that include health care, 

afterschool care, English as a Second 

Language and Spanish as a Second 

Language classes, job development, 

community revitalization, and a host 

of other programs that provide the 

community, and specifically youth, 

a positive alternative to gangs. 

Recognized by the U.S. Department of 

Justice as a “Best Practices” program, 

GRIP is being expanded within the city 

to include the North Side. 

National Gang Center 

In October 2009, OJJDP’s National Youth Gang Center (NYGC) merged with 

the National Gang Center (NGC), funded by the Office of Justice Programs’ 

Bureau of Justice Assistance. The functions performed by NYGC continue, but 

its incorporation into an expanded National Gang Center leverages resources 

more efficiently while enhancing OJJDP’s response to the needs of researchers, 

practitioners, and other concerned citizens. NGC’s mission is to expand 

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critical knowledge about youth gangs and effective strategies to address them. 

In addition, NGC provides training and technical assistance on communitybased responses to youth gangs and is playing a significant role in DOJ’s Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative. 

NGC also conducts the annual National Youth Gang Survey of police and 

sheriffs’ departments to determine the extent and nature of the nation’s gang 

problem. OJJDP publishes fact sheets each year summarizing the survey results. 

Released in FY 2009, the fact sheet Highlights of the 2007 National Youth Gang 

Survey reported that more than one-third of the 45 jurisdictions in the National 

Youth Gang Survey study population experienced gang problems in 2007.
�

NGC also maintains a Web site with full-text publications on gang programs and 

research, a bibliography of gang publications that are not available electronically, 

lists of gang-related legislation broken down by state and subject, and GANG–
�

INFO, a forum for professionals to exchange information about youth gangs. 

The Web site also maintains a database of gang-related news coverage, to which 

several thousand new articles were posted during FY 2009.
�

Online Resource 

More information about the National Gang Center is available at www.nationalgangcenter.gov/. 

Other Accomplishments 

In addition to the programs highlighted above, OJJDP supported and participated in several other important anti-gang activities during FY 2009: 

•	� In FY 2009, OJJDP launched the Gang Prevention Youth Mentoring Program, 

which offers a comprehensive array of core services for youth who are at risk 

of gang activity. In FY 2009, OJJDP provided more than $9 million to support 

this initiative in 20 sites across the country. (For more information on this 

program, see the section “Mentoring Activities” later in this chapter.) 

•	� An OJJDP-funded study (Norms and Networks of Latino Gang Youth) by 

the Urban Institute is using a social network framework to understand the 

patterns of relationships among Latino gang members and the nature of the 

links that bind these groups to their social contexts. The study will fill an 

important gap in the growing body of gang literature about how interpersonal relationships and networks shape social interaction and group-based 

criminal behavior. 

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C H A P T E R 2
�

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES 

Grants administered by OJJDP are helping the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) make a positive difference in the lives 

of children who live in public housing and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. These children are especially 

vulnerable to the negative impact of poverty and social neglect. 

Through the provision of $40 million in FY 2009 National Mentoring Programs funding through the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009, OJJDP partnered with BGCA to strengthen, expand, and enhance its nationally recognized programs 

and mentoring experiences. The award included approximately $36.8 million in subgrant funding to local Boys & Girls Clubs 

throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. This funding has enabled existing clubs to expand and enhance mentoring 

experiences for approximately 267,929 youth residing in distressed areas. 

Areas of focus in FY 2009 included the implementation of mentoring programs; the establishment and sustainability of new 

clubs in public housing communities, AI/AN communities, and other existing or emerging areas of distress; implementation and 

continuation of BGCA-targeted outreach initiatives; and sustainability support for existing clubs in public housing and Indian 

country as they continue ongoing mentoring programs. 

In FY 2009, BGCA opened 112 new clubs in distressed areas (including 9 in public housing and 7 in Indian country), provided 

sustainability support for 183 existing clubs in tribal areas and 76 existing clubs in public housing, and offered BGCA-targeted 

outreach gang initiatives in 39 communities. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP awarded a grant of $2 million to BGCA through the Office’s Mentoring for At-Risk Tribal Youth 

program. The grant included approximately $1.83 million in subgrant funding to Boys & Girls Clubs in AI/AN communities. 

It also provided funded clubs with the resources necessary to deliver programs, services, and mentoring experiences 

to approximately 28,000 club members, vastly 

exceeding the original proposed goal 

of 3,600 members. 

Currently, more than 220 BGCA clubs in AI/AN 

communities serve approximately 150,000 tribal 

youth in 25 states. OJJDP funding has served as an 

impetus to significantly expand outreach and to more 

profoundly impact the majority of these distressed 

and disadvantaged AI/AN communities and the 

lives of thousands of deserving children. FY 2009 

achievements included technical assistance and 

sustainability support for 151 existing clubs in Indian 

country, furthering the impact of the grant funds. 

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2 0 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Mentoring Activities 

Mentoring is an effective way to prevent at-risk youth from becoming 

involved in delinquency and to help already delinquent youth change their 

lives for the better. Mentoring relationships have been shown to improve 

youth’s self-esteem, behavior, and academic performance. OJJDP has long 

supported mentoring programs; in FY 2009 alone, the Office awarded a total 

of approximately $174 million to help develop and enhance the capacity of 

communities to provide mentoring services to at-risk youth nationwide. 

Recovery Act Mentoring Initiatives 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) made possible 

an unprecedented expansion in OJJDP’s mentoring programs in FY 2009. 

Under ARRA, OJJDP provided support totaling $97.5 million for the following 

initiatives: 

• Recovery Act Local Youth Mentoring Initiative provided support to local 

organizations to develop, implement, or expand local mentoring programs 

that lead to measurable, positive outcomes for at-risk youth. Under this initiative, OJJDP made 26 awards totaling $12.5 million to local organizations 

across the nation. 

• Recovery Act National Mentoring Programs provided support for projects 

that have a national scope and national impact on combating juvenile delinquency, reducing the victimization of children, and improving the juvenile 

justice system through mentoring activities. Under this initiative, OJJDP 

provided a total of $85 million in funding to four national organizations. 

Other FY 2009 Mentoring Initiatives 

In addition, OJJDP awarded $76.5 million in FY 2009 funding to support its mentoring programs. The funding enabled OJJDP to expand its support for mentoring by launching the following programs: 

• Second Chance Juvenile Mentoring Initiative provides funding for nonprofit organizations and AI/AN tribes to develop, implement, and expand 

mentoring programs and transitional services for juvenile offenders who are 

reentering their communities after serving a sentence in a correctional facility. 

• Strategic Enhancement to Mentoring Program supports research- and 

evidence-based enhancements to mentoring programs that involve parents 

and family in activities and services, deliver structured activities and programs for the mentoring matches, and develop training and support for 

mentors. 

Every day, mentors in 

communities across our nation 

provide crucial support and 

guidance to young people. 

Whether a day is spent helping 

with homework, playing catch, 

or just listening, these moments 

can have an enormous, 

lasting effect on a child’s life. 

—President Barack Obama
2 1 

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C H A P T E R 2 

• Gang Prevention Youth Mentoring Program supports the establishment or expansion of mentoring initiatives with core services that 

promote healthy behaviors in youth at risk of gang activity, delinquency, and violence. Grantees participate in communitywide strategies to create prosocial peer groups for youth and to combat gang 

activity. OJJDP also has dedicated training and technical assistance 

resources to assist these sites in coordinating these strategies. 

• Mentoring Initiative for Foster Care Youth supports the development and enhancement of mentoring programs and services for 

at-risk youth in the foster care system to prevent their involvement in the juvenile justice system and for youth in foster care 

who are currently involved in the system. 

• National Mentoring Programs support the efforts of national 

organizations to enhance or expand mentoring initiatives. The goal is 

to assist in the development and continued growth of community programs. 

These programs provide mentoring services to high-risk populations that are 

underserved because of location, a shortage of mentors, physical or mental 

challenges, or other related issues identified by the community. 

• National Youth Mentoring Training and Technical Assistance Initiative 

provides training and technical assistance to build the competency, performance, and capacity of mentoring grantees. 

• Mentoring Research Program will evaluate the impact that adding a paid 

component to a volunteer mentoring program has on its effectiveness. The 

evaluator will conduct process and outcome evaluations to measure the success of the program’s paid and volunteer mentors. The evaluation will also 

measure changes in recruitment, retention, length of matches, and delinquency prevention. 

Juvenile and Family Drug Court Initiatives 

Juvenile drug courts are intensive treatment programs established within and 

supervised by juvenile courts to provide specialized services for eligible druginvolved youth and their families. Juvenile drug courts provide continuous 

judicial supervision over delinquency and status offense cases that involve 

substance-abusing juveniles and deliver a range of support services, including substance abuse and mental health treatment, primary care, and education. 

The goal of these services is to improve juveniles’ level of functioning in their 

environment, address problems that may be contributing to their drug use, and 

develop/strengthen their ability to lead crime- and drug-free lives. Family drug 

court programs strengthen the families of drug-involved youth by improving 

the capacity of families to provide structure and guidance to their children.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Juvenile Drug Courts 

In 2007, OJJDP began a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services’ Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the Robert 

Wood Johnson Foundation to implement the Juvenile Drug Courts/Reclaiming 

Futures Program. This program offers best practices and specific steps to build 

the capacity of states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and 

tribal governments to help court-involved youth break the destructive cycle of 

drugs and alcohol and build a better future through education and skills 

development. 

OJJDP awarded a total of $1.275 million over 4 years to three jurisdictions in 

Greene County, MO; Hocking County, OH; and the New York State Unified 

Court System to implement a juvenile drug court program that integrates the 

Reclaiming Futures program model. The three sites are receiving technical assistance from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation during this 4-year period. In 

addition, CSAT is awarding each site $300,000 in supplemental funding in FYs 

2008, 2009, and 2010 to support treatment services. 

The partnership expanded in FY 2009 in the form of a joint solicitation between OJJDP and CSAT, again to integrate the Reclaiming 

Futures model into the juvenile drug court and to implement best 

practices in treatment for juveniles. The funding solicitation for the 

program was published by CSAT. OJJDP and CSAT awarded grants 

to three jurisdictions in California, Colorado, and Oklahoma. 

OJJDP has entered into an agreement with the Federal Research 

Division of the Library of Congress to conduct an evaluation of 

the 2009 and 2010 juvenile drug court awardees. 

Family Drug Courts 

OJJDP’s FY 2009 Family Drug Courts program supports the implementation 

of sustainable drug courts for substance-abusing adults who are involved in 

the family dependency court system due to child abuse or neglect. Applicants 

were required to propose services both to the parents in the program and 

their children. 

OJJDP issued a solicitation to fund family drug courts for up to $500,000 per 

award for a period of 3 years. Fifteen family drug courts were selected for these 

awards in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Jersey. Through a competitive process, the Center for Children 

and Family Futures in California was selected to provide training and technical 

assistance to family drug courts.
C H A P T E R 2 2 3 

Online Resources 

To learn more about the Juvenile Drug Courts/Reclaiming Futures program, visit the OJJDP Web 

site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). Information about the Family Drug Courts program 

is also available at the OJJDP Web site (select “FY 2009 Awards” in the “Funding” section). 

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program 

OJJDP has administered the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) 

program since Congress created the initiative in 1998. The program has four 

components: 

•	� Block grants awarded to each state and territory and the District of Columbia 

to improve the enforcement of underage drinking laws. 

•	� Discretionary grants awarded to competitively selected states to support the 

demonstration of best or promising practices at the local level. 

•	� Training and technical assistance. 

•	� Evaluation. 

This section focuses on EUDL’s FY 2009 discretionary grants and evaluation 

activities. For more information on EUDL’s block grants and training and technical assistance, see chapter 3. 

For more than a decade, OJJDP has been supporting and enhancing efforts by 

states and local jurisdictions to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors 

and the purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors. EUDL discretionary grants support several initiatives, all aimed at helping communities 

use a comprehensive approach to address underage drinking as well as to document the strategies that are most effective. 

Highlights of recent EUDL discretionary programs include partnerships with 

university/college campuses and adjacent communities to implement researchbased and promising practices; a Rural Communities Initiative designed to 

reduce access, change social norms, and increase enforcement in geographically 

isolated areas; a collaboration with the U.S. Air Force to prevent access to and 

consumption of alcohol by underage military personnel; and a Community 

Trials Initiative to implement and rigorously evaluate the impact of best practices and most promising practices tested in the context of the EUDL program. 

FY 2009 funding supported the expansion of OJJDP’s partnership with the Air 

Force: programs in Missouri and Wyoming were added to those already operating in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Montana. The National Institute on 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is supporting the program’s evaluation, which is 

being conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. 

Other FY 2009 developments include the release of preliminary findings from 

the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s evaluation of the Community 

Trials Initiative. Thirty-four sites in five states (California, Connecticut, Florida, 

Missouri, and New York) received funding, intensive technical assistance and 

training, and program oversight to support the implementation of best and 

most promising practices for reducing underage drinking. All of the sites met 

the requirement for enforcement actions to reduce the social availability of 

alcohol; 33 (97 percent) met the requirement for enforcing laws against driving 

while intoxicated, 29 met the requirement for activities that relate to or have the 

goal of changing local policy to enforce underage drinking laws and prevent 

and reduce underage drinking, and 24 met the requirement for conducting compliance checks. Overall, 18 of the sites, or 53 percent, met all 4 requirements of 

the Community Trials Initiative. 

The evaluation found statistically significant improvements in the funded communities compared with control communities in the percentage of law enforcement agencies that reported conducting compliance checks and party patrol 

operations. Overall, 28 of the sites (83 percent) reported sustaining some type of 

activity related to the Community Trials model. 

Online Resources 

More information on the EUDL program is available on the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the 

“Programs” section), and at www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227469.pdf. 

Juvenile Integrated Information Sharing 

Agencies responsible for the health and well-being of youth face daily challenges to improve their information-sharing capabilities, reduce replication of 

data and services, and close service gaps. Furthermore, many agencies do not 

have—and urgently need—access to accurate and timely information to assist in 

determining appropriate supervision, services, and sanctions for youth. Youthserving agencies also face the complex tasks of addressing confidentiality issues 

and implementing strategies for collaboration. 

OJJDP was the first agency to sponsor a national effort to improve information 

sharing among community agencies involved with youth. Since 2000, OJJDP has 

supported the National Juvenile Information Sharing (JIS) Initiative, a training 

and technical assistance project that helps community leaders collaborate in providing effective services and making informed decisions regarding juveniles in a 

range of contexts, including the justice system, education, and social services.
C H A P T E R 2 2 5 

Under the direction of the Center for Network Development (CND), the JIS Initiative has created a framework for information sharing that includes guidelines 

for successful interagency partnerships and protocols that comply with state and 

federal privacy and confidentiality requirements and with national standards for 

exchange of information between agencies. 

The Initiative also has developed a JIS data model that uses precise informationexchange standards and processes to help ensure the most effective sharing of 

critical information about youth across multiple agencies. The Missouri Juvenile 

Justice Information System and the Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator provided initial feedback on the data model. In FY 2009, testing of the 

updated versions of the JIS guidelines and data model began at two pilot sites 

in Colorado. As of FY 2009, jurisdictions in 16 states had adopted JIS guidelines 

as the basis for developing JIS plans and crafting juvenile information-sharing 

legislation. Additional states are reviewing the guidelines and the JIS data model 

for implementation and are working with CND to determine their level of readiness to take on these efforts. 

The JIS Web site serves as a national clearinghouse for information on training 

and technical assistance opportunities, juvenile information-sharing project 

updates, profiles of promising information-sharing efforts, and advances 

in technology. OJJDP sponsors an ongoing JIS Webinar series that provides 

free online training events for juvenile justice and other youth-serving 

professionals on a wide range of topics. In FY 2009, OJJDP conducted a 

two-part series of Webinars that explored information privacy protections 

provided in federal and state laws and model state legislation. 

Online Resources 

For more information about the JIS Initiative, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select 

the “Programs” section, then select “Information Sharing to Prevent Juvenile Delinquency: A 

Training and Technical Assistance Project”). Also visit the JIS Web site, juvenileis.org. To learn 

more about the guidelines developed for JIS, read OJJDP’s publication, Guidelines for Juvenile 

Information Sharing, available at www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/215786.pdf. 

Tribal Youth Initiatives 

Many American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities lack comprehensive programs to address substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and high 

truancy and dropout rates. In FY 2009, OJJDP entered its 11th consecutive year 

of congressional appropriations to address these pressing issues. 

OJJDP carries out its tribal youth initiatives largely through two programs that 

award grants to federally recognized tribes for activities that prevent and control 

delinquency and improve the effectiveness of tribal juvenile justice systems: the 

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2 6 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Tribal Youth Program (TYP) and the Tribal Juvenile Accountability Discretionary 

Grants Program (T–JADG). 

Funding 

In FY 2009, Congress appropriated $25 million to support TYP. This significant 

funding increase—two and a half times the FY 2008 appropriation—enabled 

OJJDP to launch the following new programs: 

• The Tribal Juvenile Detention and Reentry Green Demonstration Program seeks to implement green technologies and environmentally sustainable activities for tribal youth residing in, or soon to be released from, tribal 

detention facilities. The program is designed to provide youth with opportunities for acquiring new skills in culturally relevant ways. It also will enable 

tribes to develop financial partnerships with universities and/or green organizations for long-term environmental as well as economic benefits. For more 

information, see the sidebar, “OJJDP’s Reentry Programs for Tribal Youth 

Incorporate Green Technologies.” 

• The Training and Technical Assistance for Tribal Juvenile Detention and 

Reentry Green Program, to be carried out by Educational Development 

Center, Inc. (EDC), will help Tribal Green Demonstration Program grantees 

develop partnerships with organizations to incorporate green technologies 

and environmentally sustainable activities into their reentry program. EDC 

has expertise in providing programming and support in Indian country for 

incarcerated youth, reentry, and community-based programs. 

• The Tribal Youth Field Initiated Research and Evaluation Program supports field-initiated studies to further understanding of the experiences, 

strengths, and needs of tribal youth, their families, and communities along 

with what works to reduce their risks for delinquency and victimization. 

OJJDP awarded an FY 2009 grant to the University of Montana to document 

the link between the treatment of trauma and the reduction of violence and 

substance abuse to better understand why violence proliferates in tribal communities. The university will gather extensive data from Fort Peck Reservation in Montana and from courts, tribal police, tribal leaders, schools, focus 

groups, and other sources. 

In addition, 37 TYP grants totaling approximately $12 million were awarded in 

FY 2009 to tribes in 16 states. OJJDP also provided extensive training to FY 2009 

grant recipients, including training that focused on successful comprehensive 

juvenile justice planning. 

The T–JADG grants provide funds for programs that hold AI/AN youth 

accountable for their offenses while providing the necessary resources and 

support for positive outcomes and reduced recidivism. In FY 2009, OJJDP
2 7 

 

C H A P T E R 2
�

OJJDP’S REENTRY PROGRAMS FOR TRIBAL YOUTH INCORPORATE 

GREEN TECHNOLOGIES 

Three tribes are partnering with local universities to incorporate environmentally sustainable activities as part of reentry 

programs for youth in detention. Funded through a 4-year FY 2009 grant under OJJDP’s Tribal Juvenile Detention and 

Reentry Green Program, the initiative is designed to prevent delinquency and reduce recidivism by using agricultural and 

green technologies as a platform to meet the following goals: strengthening families, deepening pride in traditional tribal 

culture, and replacing alcohol and other drug use with specific health and wellness activity. Important components of the 

program include tutoring and online educational opportunities as well as substance abuse and mental health counseling. 

• The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will create a community garden at its Youth Justice Center 

in Pearl River, MS. In consultation with tribal elders, teenagers will plant corn, beans, and squash, which are 

known as “the three sisters” because of the central role these foods played in providing sustenance to early 

Native Americans. Youth will also learn about the cycle of planting, nurturing, and harvesting as taught in tribal 

culture. Mississippi State University, long known for its expertise in agriculture, is assisting with the project. The 

eventual goal is to establish community gardens in each of the Choctaw Indians’ eight officially recognized tribal 

communities, which extend over 35,000 acres of land in rural Mississippi. Tribal elders will teach youth how to 

make traditional crafts that can be sold. Profits from the sales will be returned to the detention facility to fund the 

creation of future traditional arts and crafts products. 

• The Rosebud Sioux Tribe of Rosebud, SD, will team up 

with Sinte Gleska University, a tribally chartered institution 

of higher education on the Rosebud Reservation, to 

develop a 12-month reentry program for adjudicated 

youth that includes learning about and implementing green 

technologies at the facility and in tribal communities. The 

program will serve adjudicated youth ages 12 to 17 in the 

Wanbli Wiconi Tipi, a 47-bed-capacity juvenile detention 

facility owned and operated by the tribe. The project will 

include organic farming, beekeeping, and the growing 

of soybeans for biodiesel fuel. The goods produced (honey, 

vegetables, herbs, and biodiesel fuel) can be sold. The university will provide courses 

on wind energy, solar energy, and alternate fuels, and will also offer training in packaging, marketing, and 

sales. At the same time, youth will deliver the agricultural products they have grown to tribal elders as part of the 

youth’s community service project. Community service will include other forms of assistance such as landscaping 

and woodcutting. The program’s goal is to reduce the rate of recidivism of adjudicated youth—currently at 

an alarming 90 percent—by promoting the value of service to others, cultural connectedness, education, job 

opportunities, and small business development in emerging green industries. 

• The Hualapai Indian Tribe of Peach Springs, AZ, is providing youth ages 14 to 17 with opportunities to 

design and build an onsite greenhouse and gardens, which will incorporate organic traditional Hualapai 

agricultural species and other vegetables and herbs. Recycling will be part of the daily routine, with both 

organic and nonorganic materials collected and sorted. Meals cooked in the detention facility will include 

the foods grown by the youth. A strong emphasis on cultural and environmental education is intended to 

foster pride in the community and a commitment to natural preservation. The program’s primary partners 

include the local University of Arizona extension office; the Tribal Housing Department, which will oversee 

youth internship opportunities upon reentry; and the local Boys & Girls Club, which will designate a staff 

person to work at the juvenile facility to mentor reentering youth and promote leadership opportunities. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

awarded seven T–JADG grants totaling more than $2 million to the following 

tribes: the White Earth Reservation (MN), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe (MT), the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, the RenoSparks Indian Colony (NV), the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and the 

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (WI). This represents the 

largest number of T–JADG grants ever awarded by OJJDP. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP provided more than $5 million in funding for mentoring programs to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of 

America, and EDC’s 7th Generation Mentoring Program for Court-Involved 

Tribal Youth. 

Training and Technical Assistance 

In FY 2009, OJJDP continued its cooperative agreement with EDC to fund a 

Tribal Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center to provide culturally 

sensitive training and technical assistance to TYP grantees and all federally 

recognized tribes in Indian country. The technical assistance includes access to 

AI/AN professional staff with expertise in the development of culturally based 

approaches to prevention and intervention, capacity building, strategic planning, program implementation, program evaluation, and program sustainability. 

OJJDP also provided its annual regional TYP trainings for grantees. The training 

focuses on helping tribes apply their strengths and experiences to develop and 

maintain programs that are valuable to their communities. 

In FY 2009, TYP continued to participate in the Tribal Justice Safety and Wellness 

Training and Technical Assistance initiative launched by the Assistant Attorney 

General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). This initiative provides training 

and information to tribal leaders, administrators, program managers, and grant 

writers on overall resources available from OJP. Also in FY 2009, OJP held consultations with tribes to identify priority areas in Indian country. 

In May 2009, OJJDP sponsored a Webinar entitled “Stimulate Your Grant Writing 

Skills.” This Webinar was developed in response to the high volume of funding opportunities made available to AI/AN communities through the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and through OJP, OJJDP, and other 

federal agencies. In April 2009, another Webinar, “Introduction to Motivational 

Interviewing,” explained the advantages of training staff in special interviewing 

techniques that have proven to be successful in fostering healthy decisionmaking by youth and enhancing program success. 

OJJDP hosted a 3-day orientation session for new TYP and T–JADG program 

grantees in Bethesda, MD, in November 2008. The training was designed to
 

 

 

C H A P T E R 2 2 9 

strengthen relationships between OJJDP and TYP and T–JADG grantees. Grantees learned about program and financial management; program planning, 

implementation, evaluation, and sustainability strategies; and training and technical assistance resources available from OJJDP and other federal agencies. The 

meeting also provided grantees networking opportunities to meet with OJJDP 

leadership and program managers to discuss their new TYP and T–JADG programs and to meet with other grantees. Approximately 42 participants attended, 

representing 21 AI/AN communities from 12 states. OJJDP’s Acting Administrator and other senior staff provided opening remarks. 

ATTORNEY GENERAL PLACES HIGH PRIORITY 

ON ADDRESSING PUBLIC SAFETY NEEDS OF 

INDIAN COUNTRY 

In June 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice launched 

a major initiative to improve coordination of efforts to 

address issues of public safety in Indian country. This 

announcement was followed by numerous regional 

meetings and planning sessions with tribal leaders to 

discuss critical issues such as law enforcement policy 

and personnel, grants and technical assistance, 

federal prosecution in Indian country, tribal court 

development, domestic abuse, and drug courts and 

substance abuse. 

In October 2009, officials from the Department 

of Justice (DOJ) and 382 representatives of 

federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) 

tribes convened in St. Paul, MN, to participate in a DOJ-sponsored Tribal Nations Listening 

Session. The goal of the session was to allow tribal leaders and senior DOJ officials to 

discuss the serious crime and public safety challenges in Indian country and collaborate on 

long-term solutions to these problems. 

In his address to the session, Attorney General Eric Holder stressed the importance of 

improving dialog and partnerships between the federal government and tribal governments. 

He announced the creation of a Tribal Nations Leadership Council that will meet biannually 

to coordinate efforts between DOJ and AI/AN governments. The Attorney General also 

stated that to further facilitate dialog and establish enduring relationships between his office 

and tribal leaders, he would personally visit several AI/AN communities over “the next year 

and beyond.” 

Topics discussed with tribal representatives included seeking support for tribal 

justice programs, ending violence against women, and implementing and/or 

sustaining specific programs for tribal youth. 

We must act now to protect 

youth in Indian country. 

Violence against children 

doesn’t just impact the child, or 

the child’s family. It devastates 

entire communities, because it 

leads to so many other forms 

of violence. 

—Attorney General Eric Holder 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Research Activities 

In its ongoing effort to gain a deeper understanding about the needs of tribal 

youth and communities, and about the strategies that work most effectively to 

address those needs, OJJDP sponsored the following research and evaluation 

activities during FY 2009: 

• CSR, Inc., is conducting a 2-year process evaluation of OJJDP’s administration of the Tribal Youth Program. OJJDP will use the information from this 

study to better understand how federally recognized tribes use the grant 

funds they are awarded, and how OJJDP can better support program implementation and sustainability. The lessons learned from this evaluation will 

also be useful for other federal and state grantmaking agencies that seek to 

improve their grant programs and training and technical assistance to tribal 

communities. 

• The National Indian Youth Leadership Development Project is examining 

Project Venture, a nationally recognized substance abuse and delinquency 

prevention program that is being replicated in more than 50 AI/AN and 

other communities around the nation. Although the program, which originated in New Mexico, has been implemented nationally, little is known 

about its implementation in areas outside of New Mexico. Preliminary 

results indicate the program is having positive effects in many communities 

around the country. 

• The American Youth Policy Forum documented ongoing TYP activities in 

five tribal communities and in FY 2009 produced a report that provides preliminary findings based on site visits in 2007 and 2008. The report, Strengthening Indian Country Through Tribal Youth Programs, suggests that, as a result 

of participation in these five programs, fewer children engage in risky behaviors, life skills are learned as youth engage in and lead projects that make a 

difference in the community, and youth break the cycle of abuse in their lives 

as they receive guidance from caring adults who help them make healthy 

and informed decisions. 

• Prevent Child Abuse America, in partnership with the National Indian Child 

Welfare Association and other partners—Purdue University, Macro International, and key AI/AN researchers—is studying tribal youth victimization 

and delinquency. The research is designed to increase knowledge about the 

severity and extent of tribal youth victimization, tribal adult caregivers’ perceptions of youth victimization, and intervention and treatment resources 

available to tribal youth. 

TYP staff are also working with the National Center for Juvenile Justice on 

a report that summarizes national-level data on AI/AN youth. Modeled on 

OJJDP’s Juvenile Offenders and Victims: National Report, the document will focus 

specifically on AI/AN youth. The report will be available in FY 2011.
C H A P T E R 2 3 1 

Online Resources 

For more information about the Tribal Youth Program and the Tribal Juvenile Accountability 

Discretionary Grants Program, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). To learn more about OJJDP’s training and technical assistance, visit OJJDP’s Tribal Youth 

Training and Technical Assistance Center at www.tribalyouthprogram.org. Additional information 

about the Tribal Juvenile Detention and Reentry Green Program is available through OJJDP’s Tribal 

Juvenile Detention & Reentry Center at www.tribalreentry.org. 

Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention 

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention is an independent body within the executive branch of 

the federal government and it operates under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972. The Council’s primary functions are to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal 

programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and 

federal programs relating to missing and exploited children. The Council meets 

quarterly. 

In FY 2009, the Council continued its efforts to improve the coordination of 

federally funded youth programs. The Council has nine members representing 

eight federal agencies and up to nine practitioner members. The Attorney 

General is the ex-officio chairperson and the OJJDP Administrator is the vice 

chairperson. 

Funds previously awarded through four interagency agreements supported 

numerous important initiatives in juvenile justice and delinquency prevention during FY 2009. Funds were provided to the U.S. Department of Labor to 

support enhanced coordination of federal resources for disadvantaged youth, 

primarily through the Shared Youth Vision program; to the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services for activities aimed at preventing child and adolescent injuries and deaths; to the Corporation for National and Community 

Service to create a Web presence for the Federal Mentoring Council; and to the 

National Endowment for the Arts to expand model theater programming for atrisk youth. 

Council staff and partner agencies spent considerable time collaborating on 

cross-agency work, including mentoring and state and local planning processes. 

Notably, staff have created a set of Web-based tools and resources to assist federal staff in developing, implementing, and supporting comprehensive community initiatives (see sidebar, “Coordinating Council Launches Web Site To Help 

Federal Staff Support CCIs”). Work in 2009 centered on updating and refining 

this new Web resource. 

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“The Web site is intuitive— 

well designed and 

easy to navigate.” 

“This is the most 

comprehensive resource 

available for those of us 

working with CCIs.” 

“A terrific source to support 

community change.” 

—Comments from federal 

managers and senior 

officials on the new 

CCI Web site 

Online Resources 

More information is available on the Coordinating Council’s Web site, juvenilecouncil.gov. To 

access the Web-based tools and resources that assist federal staff in developing, implementing, 

and supporting comprehensive community initiatives, visit cciToolsforFeds.org. 

COORDINATING COUNCIL LAUNCHES WEB 

SITE TO HELP FEDERAL STAFF SUPPORT CCIs 

In FY 2009, the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

established a new Web site, cciToolsforFeds.org, that offers a wealth of tools and 

resources to help federal staff plan, support, and help sustain comprehensive 

community initiatives (CCIs)—local community interventions that seek to improve 

outcomes for youth and families through systems change. 

CCIs foster broad-based and multisector collaborations to improve the governance, 

policies, practices, and values of organizations and systems involved in promoting the 

health and well-being of youth. Issues addressed by CCIs include readiness for school, 

high school graduation rates, the disproportionate representation of minority youth in 

the justice system, child abuse and neglect, suicide, substance abuse, and delinquency 

and violence. 

Although the emphasis on systems change is what 

sets a CCI apart from a conventional service-delivery 

program, it is also what makes a CCI challenging to 

plan and implement. Even when funding provides for the 

time to build collaborative relationships and structures, 

grantees—under pressure to meet day-to-day client 

demands—understandably tend to divert energy and 

focus from the long-term, systems change work to the 

immediacy of service delivery. 

The Coordinating Council’s new Web site helps federal staff align the funding, 

management, evaluation, and technical assistance necessary to maintain the focus 

on systems change in partnership with community organizations and agencies serving 

children, youth, and families. 

Every day, professionals involved with CCIs are learning more about what makes a 

CCI effective and how the federal government can best support community change 

efforts. The goal of cciToolsforFeds.org is to serve as a living resource that reflects 

the most up-to-date knowledge in the field. The site will be updated regularly as new 

information becomes available. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 3 
C H A P T E R 3 

3 4 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Strengthening the 

Juvenile Justice System 

Through the JJDP Act 

Since its passage in 1974, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act has 

changed the way states and communities deal with troubled youth. The original goals 

of the Act were to help state and local governments prevent and control juvenile delinquency and to improve the juvenile justice system. These goals were reaffirmed in the reauthorization of the Act in 2002. 

States1 participating in the Formula Grants program must comply with the four core protections 

of the JJDP Act to receive full funding: 

• Deinstitutionalize status offenders (DSO). 

• Separate juveniles from adults in secure facilities (separation). 

• Remove juveniles from adult jails and lockups (jail removal). 

• Reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC) within the juvenile justice system.2 

1 In this chapter, the term “states” also encompasses U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Wyoming does not participate in the 

Formula Grants program. 

2 In 1988, Congress first required states participating in the Formula Grants program to reduce the disproportionate number of minority youth confined in secure facilities. The issue was elevated to a core requirement in 1992, and then broadened in 2002 to encompass 

disproportionate representation of minorities at any point in the juvenile justice system. 
3 5 

 

As one of the four core protections of 

the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, 

reducing disproportionate minority 

contact is a requirement for all states that 

participate in the Formula Grants program. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP continued to increase 

the scope and number of its resources— 

including training, technical assistance, 

publications, and research activities— 

to help states address this critical issue. 

Meeting the core protections is essential to creating a fair, consistent, and effective juvenile justice 

system that advances the important goals of the JJDP Act.3 

During FY 2009, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) worked with 

the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the 5 U.S. territories to provide financial and technical assistance to support the implementation of the JJDP Act’s requirements. The Office assisted 

states in developing strategies to reduce the disproportionate number of minority youth who 

come into contact with the justice system. 

The Office also worked with states to help them implement accountability-based reforms; 

develop collaborative, community-based delinquency prevention programs; and prevent the 

purchase and consumption of alcohol by minors. These activities are helping states realize the 

importance of forming partnerships and leveraging a variety of resources to help make a difference for youth by strengthening the juvenile justice system. 

3 On December 17, 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 678, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009. This bill was introduced on March 24, 2009, by Senator Patrick Leahy. In addition, H.R. 6029, the Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2010, was introduced by Representative Keith Ellison with cosponsor Representative 

Robert C. “Bobby” Scott on July 30, 2010. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor and the House Committee on the Judiciary. To obtain copies of these bills and updates on their status, go to thomas.loc.gov. 

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3 6 

Formula Grants Program 

Each participating state must develop and implement a strategy for achieving 

and maintaining compliance with the four core protections as part of its annual 

Formula Grants State Plan. A state’s level of compliance with each of the core 

protections determines eligibility for its continued participation in the Formula 

Grants program. 

OJJDP awarded approximately $63 million in Formula Grant funds to designated state agencies in FY 2009. During that same period, OJJDP made programmatic site visits to more than 30 states, completed 11 compliance monitoring 

audits, provided technical assistance, and sponsored numerous training conferences to assist states in implementing comprehensive juvenile justice plans and 

programs to prevent delinquency and improve their juvenile justice systems. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) 

provided 27 training and technical assistance projects to more than 400 participants in 16 states for the Formula Grants program. The top five topic areas 

were disproportionate minority contact, juvenile justice system improvement, 

compliance monitoring, delinquency prevention, and deinstitutionalization of 

status offenders. Participants included representatives of tribal communities, the 

court system, and law enforcement; facility staff; and service providers. OJJDP 

provided an additional 23 trainings to State Advisory Groups (SAGs), including 

new- and advanced-member training and strategic planning. 

OJJDP RELEASES FACT 

SHEETS ON FORmULA AND 

BLOCk GRANTS PROGRAmS 

During FY 2009, OJJDP prepared fact sheets on 

the Office’s Formula Grants, Community Prevention 

Grants, Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws, and 

Juvenile Accountability Block Grants programs. The fact 

sheets provide information on authorizing legislation, 

eligibility, activities, training and technical assistance, 

and performance measures. They also feature success 

stories showing how program funds make a positive 

difference in the lives of youth and communities across the nation. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 3 3 7 

OJJDP’s national conference was held in Austin, TX, in October 2009. The conference, entitled “Ensuring Safe and Equal Treatment in the Juvenile Justice System,” addressed the four core requirements of the JJDP Act. The first part of the 

conference focused on deinstitutionalization of status offenders, sight and sound 

separation of juvenile and adult offenders in secure facilities, and the removal of 

juvenile offenders from adult jails and lockups. The remainder of the conference 

focused on systems improvement strategies and activities to reduce DMC. 

Performance Measures 

In 2009, states and territories reported data for a total of 1,431 subgrants across 

more than 960 separate organizations. This represents more than $81 million in 

funded activities. Funds were allocated to activities across many program areas; 

activities with the largest funding allocations included: 

• Disproportionate minority contact (22 percent). 

• Delinquency prevention (18 percent). 

• School programs (9 percent). 

The following program areas show the types of activities that most 

states selected: 

• Delinquency prevention (29 percent). 

• Disproportionate minority contact (19 percent). 

• School programs (10 percent). 

Formula Grant-funded programs served more than 244,000 youth during the 

reporting period. Of these youth: 

• Sixty-seven percent completed program requirements. 

• Fifty-seven percent exhibited a desired change in the targeted behavior.4 

• Eight percent offended or reoffended during the program period. 

Of the Formula Grant-funded programs, about 34 percent reported implementing at least one evidence-based program. 

4 Targeted behaviors differed, depending on the youth’s specific program goals. In the majority of cases, Formula 

Grant-funded programs targeted a reduction in antisocial behavior, improved school attendance, or increased 

social competence. 

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OJJDP’s PERFORmANCE mEASURES 

OJJDP’s Performance measures Web page facilitates the collection and reporting 

of data that measure the results of OJJDP-funded programs. The page features 

training resources, performance-measure guidelines tailored to every solicitation, 

and centralized easy-to-access information. It provides an overview of performance 

measurement, OJJDP’s performance reporting requirements and resources, and 

access to important federal performance measurement resources. In FY 2009, 

OJJDP enhanced the Web page through a new format that features more userfriendly summary data and charts. 

In addition, OJJDP continues to provide leadership within the Office of Justice 

Programs in its work to establish a stronger performance measures system 

throughout the agency. 

Online Resource 

For more information, visit the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the 

“Funding” section, then “Performance measures”). 

Compliance Progress 

In FY 2009, OJJDP continued its work with the states to help them achieve compliance with the core requirements and provide state agencies with training 

to meet these requirements. To this end, OJJDP held a Training of the Trainers 

event at the start of FY 2009; it was designed to increase the pool of state compliance monitors qualified to provide onsite peer-to-peer training in the area of 

compliance monitoring. In addition, in May 2009 OJJDP held the first of its semiannual classroom trainings for new compliance monitors at the Office of Justice 

Programs in Washington, DC. 

OJJDP’s extensive training and technical assistance continues to make a difference: since the initial passage of the JJDP Act, all participating states have made 

significant progress in achieving compliance with its four core requirements. For 

example, a comparison between baseline violations (based on data submitted 

when a state first begins participating in the Formula Grants program) and current violations (based on data used to determine funding eligibility for FY 2009) 

illustrates the progress states have made: 

• DSO violations have decreased by 97.2 percent, from 171,076 to 4,950. 

O F F I C E O F 

• Separation violations have decreased 96.9 percent, from 81,810 to 2,568. 

• Jail removal violations have decreased 96.5 percent, from 154,618 to 5,488. 

J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
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C H A P T E R 3 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COmmITTEE ON 

JUVENILE JUSTICE 

OJJDP obtains advice and guidance from 

the states, the territories, and the District 

of Columbia through the Federal Advisory 

Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ). 

FACJJ is an advisory body established 

by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention Act of 1974, as amended 

(Section 223), and is supported by OJJDP. 

Its role is to advise the President and Congress on matters related to juvenile 

justice and delinquency prevention, to advise the OJJDP Administrator on the work 

of OJJDP, and to evaluate the progress and accomplishments of juvenile justice 

activities and projects. 

FACJJ comprises appointed representatives from the State Advisory Groups 

(SAGs) of each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the 5 U.S. territories. 

(SAGs are appointed by the Governors and assist their states in developing 

and implementing the juvenile justice plans their states are required to submit to 

OJJDP every 3 years in order to receive Formula Grant funds.) FACJJ’s mandated 

responsibilities include preparing two annual recommendation reports—one to 

the President and Congress, and one to the Office. 

Federal Advisory

Committee on

Juvenile Justice

The majority of states continue to report minimal or no violations of the DSO, 

separation, and jail removal requirements. Although DMC compliance cannot be 

measured in terms of violations, states must show OJJDP that they are working 

to reduce the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact 

with the juvenile justice system, and some states are making significant progress 

in this area. OJJDP’s DMC accomplishments are discussed below. 

In FY 2009, most states were qualified to receive the maximum amount of Formula Grant funds on the basis of compliance status. (For more compliance information, see appendix B.) 

State progress toward achieving the goals of the JJDP Act has been significant. 

However, the hard work of sustaining that progress remains. OJJDP continues to 

provide an intensive program of training and technical assistance to help states 

address compliance issues. 

Online Resources 

For more information on the Formula Grants program, visit the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov 

(select the “Programs” section). Also visit ojjdp.gov/formulagrants. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

DMC Activities 

The 1992 amendments to the JJDP Act, which elevated DMC to a core requirement, have enabled states to make significant progress in addressing disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile justice system. For example, 

90 percent of states currently collect and analyze data by race and ethnicity for 

at least half of the juvenile justice system contact points. In addition, more than 

80 state and local delinquency prevention and systems improvement activities 

have been designated as best practices. 

Despite this progress, minorities remain overrepresented in the juvenile justice 

system. Long a leader in the nation’s efforts to reduce DMC, OJJDP continues 

to increase the scope and number of its resources—including training, technical 

assistance, publications, and research activities—to help states address this issue. 

FY 2009 was a productive year for the DMC initiative and included many 

accomplishments. In June 2009, the Office facilitated a DMC Listening Session, 

which included an overview of current trends in the effort to address DMC and 

the implementation of best practices for delinquency prevention and system 

improvement. Participants were asked to discuss, among other topics, how 

states and territories are measuring disproportionality via the Relative Rate 

Index (RRI),5 the use of objective risk assessment instruments at the various 

contact points, and specific examples of states and communities that have 

reduced or mitigated disproportionality based on process, outcome, and 

impact evaluations. 

In response to state DMC coordinators’ concerns about disproportional representation of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth, in FY 2009 OJJDP 

convened an interagency workgroup with representation from the Bureau of 

Justice Statistics, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Justice Research and Statistics Association. The workgroup’s primary goals are to determine the extent 

of DMC (particularly in states with significant AI/AN populations), to further 

examine how AI/AN youth are processed compared with other minority youth, 

to ascertain how cultural needs are addressed, to identify existing promising 

delinquency prevention and systems improvement strategies, and to update the 

Formula Grants program passthrough allocation. 

OJJDP conducted new DMC coordinator trainings in Washington, DC, in January and April 2009, for coordinators from the District of Columbia, Indiana, 

5 OJJDP has selected the RRI as the method for identifying disproportionate minority contact. This method involves 

comparing the relative volume (rate) of activity for each major stage of the juvenile justice system for minority youth 

with the volume of that activity for white (majority) youth. The RRI provides a single-index number that indicates 

the extent to which the volume of that form of contact or activity differs for minority youth and white youth. In its 

simplest form, the RRI is the rate of activity involving minority youth divided by the rate of activity involving 

majority youth.
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C H A P T E R 3 

Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Texas, 

West Virginia, and Vermont. The trainers provided information on the DMC 

Reduction Model and offered step-by-step assistance in implementing all five 

phases based on each state’s specific circumstances. The Office will continue to 

offer these trainings as requested. OJJDP also conducted presentations and trainings for juvenile justice and child welfare stakeholders and SAGs in Nebraska, 

Oregon, Virginia, and Washington. 

Continuing the goal of training and technical assistance, OJJDP conducted topical Webinars on the RRI in March and April 2009. The purpose of the training 

was to provide state and local DMC coordinators, SAG members, and local 

DMC coalitions with the tools to successfully measure the extent of disproportionality. Many states reported the Webinar format as one of the best methods 

to train their juvenile justice system stakeholders at no cost. In addition, the 

information helped states better interpret and analyze their data. OJJDP also 

conducted bimonthly conference calls in FY 2009 with state and local coordinators to discuss current and upcoming activities and provide networking 

and information-sharing opportunities. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP’s online DMC Technical Assistance Manual was updated 

and expanded to address topics of importance to DMC coordinators. The chapter on identification of DMC was expanded to include more detailed information on how to determine the extent of disproportionality. One new chapter 

describes the roles and responsibilities of state DMC coordinators and another 

new chapter addresses efforts to provide delinquency prevention and systems 

improvement activities for Hispanic youth in Washoe County, NV, and Travis 

County, TX. 

In addition, OJJDP launched a new series of bulletins designed to help the 

juvenile justice field reduce DMC. The first bulletin in the series, Reducing 

Disproportionate Minority Contact: Preparation at the Local Level, describes 

practical and proven methods for initiating an effort to reduce DMC in 

local communities. More information on the bulletin series is available in 

chapter 5. 

Juvenile Accountability 

Block Grants Program 

The Juvenile Accountability Block Grants (JABG) program helps states and 

units of local government improve their juvenile justice systems by implementing accountability-based programs that focus on both juvenile offenders and 

the juvenile justice system. Accountability means holding a juvenile who has
 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

violated the law responsible for the behavior by imposing 

consequences commensurate with the seriousness of the 

offense and the youth’s previous criminal history. These 

sanctions can include restitution, community service, 

victim-offender mediation, probation, electronic monitoring, 

incarceration, and reentry services. JABG monies also fund 

training and technical assistance to enhance the ability of 

the state and local juvenile justice systems to maintain and 

enhance intervention and treatment programs, track offenders, and process cases in a timely manner. 

OJJDP distributed approximately $48 million in JABG funds 

in FY 2009 to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the 

5 U.S. territories. In addition, OJJDP distributed approximately $1.1 million to 

select AI/AN tribal entities through its Tribal Juvenile Accountability Discretionary Grant program. Recipients must use their JABG funds to support activities 

in 1 of 17 program areas centered on 4 types of activities: hiring staff, building 

infrastructure, implementing programs, and training staff. 

OJJDP also provides training and technical assistance through a number of 

providers: 

• The National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) provides 

telephone or onsite training and technical assistance. The requests for JABG 

training that NTTAC received in FY 2009 were concentrated in the following 

areas: restorative justice, juvenile courts and probation, corrections/detention 

facilities and personnel, law enforcement and court personnel, information 

sharing, and risk and needs assessment. Approximately 324 participants 

received training and technical assistance in 16 states. Participants included 

probation officers, substance abuse treatment providers, family advocates, 

judges, clerks and court staff, law enforcement personnel, juvenile justice 

residential and detention staff, representatives of community organizations, 

and juvenile justice coalition members. 

• CSR, Inc., manages the data collection and technical assistance tool, known 

as DCTAT, that states use when submitting JABG performance measurement 

data. CSR staff also provide training and support on the use of the JABG performance measures. 

• The JABG Technical Support Center, established by OJJDP with assistance 

from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and a grant to the Justice Research and 

Statistics Association, provides states the data they need to calculate JABG 

allocations for local jurisdictions.
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C H A P T E R 3 

Performance Measures 

To assess the effectiveness of the JABG program, OJJDP developed a set of 

performance measures that have helped the Office, Congress, and the juvenile 

justice field see the progress made by, and the challenges facing, the program. 

During FY 2009, OJJDP continued to work with the states to collect quantitative 

performance measurement data. Data received are for the reporting period of 

April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009. 

States and territories reported data for a total of 1,462 subgrants, which accounted for approximately $80 million in funded activities. Funds were allocated 

to activities across all 17 JABG program areas; the activities with the largest 

funding allocations included: 

•	� Accountability-based programs (25 percent). 

•	� Court/probation programming (16 percent). 

•	� Restorative justice (9 percent). 

The following performance measurement data are just a few examples that illustrate the JABG program’s ongoing effectiveness: 

•	� Seventy-three percent (142,101 of 195,257) of program youth exhibited a 

desired change in targeted behavior.6 

•	� Seventy-seven percent (99,109 of 128,827) of program youth who exited the 

program successfully completed program requirements. 

•	� Twenty-one percent (309 of 1,462) of programs reported using an evidencebased program or practice. 

•	� Twenty percent of youth reoffended during the program period. 

l l l SucceSS StorieS: JABG PROGRAm 

Public Defender Placement/Education Assistance Program Assists 

Young Ex-Offenders in Reentering the Community (California) 

The California Corrections Standards Authority used JABG funds in FY 2009 to support the Public 

Defender Placement/Education Assistance Program, a unique project that addresses the backlog of 

public defender cases in the city and county of San Francisco and also works to identify communitybased alternatives and out-of-home placements for youth who would otherwise remain in custody 

6 Targeted behaviors differed depending on the youth’s specific program goals. In the majority of cases, JABG programs targeted a 

reduction in antisocial behavior, improved school attendance, or increased social competence. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

unnecessarily. The public defender represents clients in juvenile court matters, obtains appropriate 

assessments of clients (including educational and mental health assessments), and builds partnerships 

with community-based alternatives to detention and other community services. The placement attorney 

works with a public defender specializing in youth advocacy to develop comprehensive reentry 

plans for juveniles before they return to their families or the community. This attorney also works in 

partnership with the courts and probation to expedite youth from detention to out-of-home placement, 

monitoring the progress and needs of the youth in placement. 

This grant has made a significant difference in the lives of youth reentering the community. Detention 

delays for clients in custody awaiting out-of-home placement have been reduced substantially—from 

3 months to 2 weeks for first-time placements. In addition, the increased attention and emphasis on 

developing strong reentry plans in partnership with the courts and probation before juveniles are 

released from placements has led to a reduction in recidivism and successful termination from juvenile 

court jurisdiction. 

TeamChild Partnerships Address Complex Needs of At-Risk Youth (Florida) 

JABG funds help support TeamChild, a collaborative effort between Legal Services of North Florida 

and the Second Circuit Public Defender’s Office. The partnership provides comprehensive advocacy 

for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. While the public defender provides representation for 

the delinquency charges, Legal Services tackles underlying issues that influence children’s behavior and 

often lead them into the juvenile justice system. 

The youth served have multiple needs for legal advocacy on a variety of issues, including special 

education, school discipline, health care, access to public benefits, housing, and dependency law. Social 

service support, coordinated by a social worker at the public defender’s office, is an integral part of 

successful service delivery. The project also helps parents obtain services to assist their children, enabling 

the parents to keep their children at home rather than having them placed in foster care, residential 

treatment, or juvenile justice facilities. TeamChild reduces recidivism rates of juvenile offenders and 

costs for institutional care, saves the juvenile justice system and local law enforcement money, and helps 

children turn their lives around. 

The stories are as varied as the children served, but the one consistent factor that interferes with the 

youth’s opportunity for long-term success is a failure of some support system in their lives. Following is 

just one example of the many success stories made possible by JABG funds: 

Justin is an 11-year-old boy who was arrested after he accidentally started a fire in the boys’ restroom 

at school. Justin is borderline developmentally disabled, is language impaired, and has autistic 

characteristics. He was trying to unclog a soap dispenser with a lighter he found at the bus stop so he 

could wash his hands. According to his mother, Justin washed his hands often because of an obsessivecompulsive disorder. The school, which had never experienced major problems with Justin, had him
C H A P T E R 3 4 5 

arrested and attempted to expel him by sending him to an alternative “second-chance” school. The 

TeamChild legal advocate assisted in getting the delinquency case dismissed and filed a complaint 

against the school board because Justin’s actions were related to his disabilities. TeamChild also had a 

psychologist testify on Justin’s behalf, and the school board agreed to reinstate Justin and provide extra 

therapy to address his needs. 

Community Prevention Grants Program 

OJJDP’s Community Prevention Grants (CPG) program, funded through Title 

V Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention, has helped communities 

develop a comprehensive, research-based approach to delinquency prevention 

since 1994. The program’s goal is to improve outcomes for youth by reducing 

risk factors and enhancing protective factors in schools, communities, and 

families. 

Extensive research has shown that risk factors increase the likelihood that a 

youth will engage in delinquent behavior, and protective factors help prevent or reduce that likelihood. For example, studies have shown that a lack of 

engagement in school and persistent family conflicts are highly correlated with 

adolescent delinquency and violence, among other serious problems. In developing a program to prevent juvenile delinquency, communities often adopt a 

collaborative approach that includes working with schools and families to help 

these at-risk youth. 

The CPG program encourages local leaders to initiate multidisciplinary needs 

assessments of the risks and resources in their communities and develop locally 

relevant prevention plans that simultaneously draw on community resources, 

address local gaps in services or risks, and employ evidence-based or theorydriven strategies. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP awarded a total of approximately $1.8 million in grants for 

the CPG program, with $33,486 to most states. The JJDP Act requires grantees 

to garner a 50-percent funding match from the state and/or localities, thereby 

maximizing the chance of success for Community Prevention Grant-funded 

programs. 

Training and Technical Assistance 

OJJDP offers a three-part training series to help grantees write successful 3-year 

delinquency prevention plans. The training includes: 

•	� Community team orientation, which brings together key local leaders and 

provides an overview of the CPG model. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

• Community data collection and analysis training, which helps participants 

review, analyze, prioritize, and present the data they have collected. 

• Community planning and program development training, which shows participants how to use data to develop delinquency prevention plans and how 

to select appropriate strategies using the Model Programs Guide (for more 

information, see sidebar, “Model Programs Guide”). 

During FY 2009, more than 125 juvenile justice staff and participants received 

1 or more of 5 trainings in 1 of the following locations—Alaska, the District of 

Columbia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Vermont. Because membership in a community coalition is a prerequisite for funding, training participants included 

community leaders, program developers, researchers, and others who are 

involved in mobilizing the community or in governing or serving children. 

The Office also provides specialized training in performance measurement and 

evaluation, evidence-based practices, and sustainability. The training is available 

to CPG subgrantees, juvenile justice specialists, and state CPG coordinators. 

Performance Measures 

During FY 2009, states and territories reported data for a total of 196 CPG subgrants across more than 130 separate organizations, representing more than $5.7 

million in subgrant and statewide awards. During this period, there were a total 

of 78 evidence-based programs (40 percent of the total subgrants). 

Of the 18 CPG purpose areas, the activities with the largest funding allocations 

included: 

• Delinquency prevention (49 percent). 

• School programs (18 percent). 

• Disproportionate minority contact (15 percent). 

The following performance measurement data are indicators of the CPG 

program’s success: 

• Sixty-six percent (14,767 of 22,436) of program youth exhibited a desired 

change in targeted behavior.7 

• Eighty-five percent (13,571 of 16,021) of youth who exited programming 

successfully completed program requirements. 

7 Targeted behaviors differed depending on the youth’s specific program goals. In the majority of cases, CPG 

programs targeted a reduction in antisocial behavior, improved school attendance, or increased social competence.
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C H A P T E R 3 

•	� Eight percent (211 of 2,786) of program youth reoffended during the 

program period. 

Online Resources 

To learn more about the Community Prevention Grants program, visit the OJJDP Web site, 

ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). Also visit ojjdp.gov/cpg. 

mODEL PROGRAmS GUIDE 

OJJDP’s model Programs Guide (mPG) is a user-friendly, online portal of scientifically tested, evidence-based programs 

that address a wide range of issues across the juvenile justice spectrum. The mPG profiles more than 200 prevention and 

intervention programs and helps communities identify those that best suit their needs. Users can search the database by 

program category, target population, risk and protective factors, effectiveness rating, program type, and other parameters. 

The mPG was originally developed as a tool to support OJJDP’s Community Prevention Grants program; at first it 

concentrated on the problems of delinquency, violence, and alcohol and other drug abuse. In 2005, as part of its 

commitment to encourage collaboration, OJJDP expanded the mPG to incorporate evidence-based programs that 

target other concerns affecting at-risk and delinquent youth. To identify these programs, OJJDP partnered with the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and mental Health Services Administration; the National 

Institute on Drug Abuse; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the U.S. Departments of Education, Housing 

and Urban Development, and Labor; and other agencies. As a result of this collaboration, the mPG now includes proven 

programs that address youth problems such as academic failure, poor interpersonal skills, tobacco use, sexual activity/ 

exploitation, exposure to trauma, family dysfunction, and social and community disorganization. 

In October 2007, OJJDP further expanded the mPG to add strategies and programs that show promise in helping 

jurisdictions reduce disproportionate minority contact (DmC). The searchable DmC-reduction best practices database 

contains profiles of counties and states that have implemented a variety of promising strategies used to reduce DmC, 

such as legislative reforms, policy and procedural changes, cultural competency training programs, and risk assessment 

instruments. In addition, the database contains more than 70 profiles of early intervention programs, diversion programs, 

alternatives to secure detention and corrections, and advocacy programs. 

In 2009, OJJDP completed another expansion of the mPG to include strategies and programs that help jurisdictions identify 

and implement evidence-based initiatives leading to the removal of status offenders from secure detention or correctional 

facilities. The central feature of the deinstitutionalization of status offenders (DSO) best practices Web site is a searchable 

database containing profiles of programs and strategies in each of five major status offense categories: truancy, running 

away, ungovernability/incorrigibility, violating curfew laws, and violating underage drinking laws. 

Within these categories, programs and practices are organized into two groups: direct services that target status offenders 

and their families as well as system-involved youth, their families, and communities; and system change strategies that 

seek to modify aspects of the juvenile justice system (e.g., laws and ordinances, policies, practices) that may contribute 

to DSO violations. In addition to profiles of programs and strategies, the database provides useful resources, statistics, 

answers to frequently asked questions, and topical literature reviews. 

Online Resource 

To access the model Programs Guide, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). 

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l l l SucceSS Story: COmmUNITY PREVENTION GRANTS PROGRAm 

Afterschool Program Reaches Out to Youth and Families (Georgia) 

Community Prevention Grants programs are based on the assumption that certain risk factors—such as 

drug use and lack of supervision after school—increase the likelihood of juvenile delinquency. They seek 

to improve outcomes for youth by collaborating with families and community agencies to address the 

risk factors. 

An afterschool prevention program in Warren County, GA, is making a significant difference in the lives 

of young people in that community. The program, Structured Alternative for Education (SAFE), serves 

125 youth through a comprehensive array of afterschool and weekend programs focusing on academics, 

cultural development, recreation, and the development of life skills necessary for healthy lifestyles. The 

programming specifically targets at-risk youth in an effort to improve school attendance and reduce 

violence, drug use, teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, and bullying. 

The parents of these youth can participate in family days and parent workshops that offer detailed and 

current information about the risks youth face. The goal of the workshops is to help parents talk with 

their children about risky behaviors such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. 

In addition, SAFE helps youth understand the inappropriateness of violence and offers specific skills 

for engaging in disagreements without the use of violence. The program also promotes strategies for 

adopting a more assertive attitude in the face of peer pressure, demonstrating that youth do not need to 

be tolerant of their friends’ behavior when those behaviors include unhealthy choices. 

Nine of ten youth participated in SAFE activities at least 10 hours a week for 50 weeks. Over the course 

of 1 year, the percentage of parents who discussed issues of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use with their 

children increased from 53 to 71 percent. The percentage of youth exposed to announcements, ad 

campaigns, or other information about this topic increased from 67 to 90 percent after 1 year in the 

program. 

Eighty-two percent of SAFE participants were absent from school fewer days than in the previous 

school year. The average number of missed school days decreased by more than 30 percent—from 

approximately 6 days to approximately 4. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 3 4 9 

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program 

The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) program comprises both block 

grants and discretionary grants. This chapter focuses on EUDL’s block grants 

and training and technical assistance activities. For information about EUDL’s 

discretionary grant activities, see chapter 2. 

Under the EUDL block grants program, each state, the District of Columbia, 

and the five U.S. territories received $360,000 in FY 2009, totaling more than $20 

million. These funds are allocated to enforce state laws prohibiting the sale of 

alcoholic beverages to minors and to prevent the purchase or consumption of 

alcoholic beverages by minors. 

Activities funded under the EUDL program may include: 

•	� Forming statewide task forces of state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies to target establishments suspected of a pattern of violations 

of state laws governing the sale and consumption of alcohol by minors. 

•	� Creating public advertising programs to educate establishments about statutory prohibitions and sanctions. 

•	� Developing innovative programs to prevent and combat underage drinking. 

EUDL funds support a wide range of activities. Many states focus on enforcement, emphasizing compliance checks of retail alcohol outlets. Other enforcement activities include crackdowns on false identification, programs to deter 

older youth or adults from providing alcohol to minors, party patrols to prevent drinking at large gatherings, “cops in shops” to keep minors from purchasing alcohol, youth-focused campaigns to enforce impaired driving laws, 

and investigations to determine the source of alcohol and hold the responsible 

party accountable for their role in an alcohol-related incident. The funds also 

support public education programs and innovative methods for reaching youth. 

The training and technical assistance component of the EUDL program has been 

instrumental in helping communities and states enforce underage drinking laws 

around the country. OJJDP’s Underage Drinking Enforcement and Training Center (UDETC), managed by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, provides training workshops, curriculums, regional meetings, national conferences, 

onsite strategic technical assistance, and other resources. In FY 2009, UDETC 

conducted a total of 46 trainings, reaching more than 3,928 individuals in 22 

states. 

One of the highlights of the EUDL program in FY 2009 was the 11th Annual 

National Leadership Conference, held in Dallas, TX, in August. The conference 

Underage drinking is not a 

harmless “rite of passage,” 

but instead an unhealthy, 

unsafe, and illegal act that 

endangers the health and 

safety of our nation’s youth 

and the communities in 

which they live. 

—Jeff Slowikowski 

Acting Administrator, OJJDP 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

included plenary sessions along with presentations by law enforcement, judicial members, youth, researchers, and community leaders. Speakers included 

OJJDP’s Acting Administrator and representatives of federal, state, and local 

programs. The conference provided critical information about new tools, 

research, and technology that are available to further efforts to enforce underage 

drinking laws nationwide. Approximately 1,400 participants attended the 

conference. 

In addition, UDETC enhanced its outreach to the youth community in FY 

2009 through the Youth Council, whose 17 members represent various rural, 

urban, and suburban communities. A total of 330 youth, representing 32 states, 

attended the national leadership conference. The Youth Council played a major 

role in the planning and implementation of the conference’s youth track, serving 

as presenters, facilitators, and hosts. 

Performance Measures 

During the activity period January 1 to December 31, 2009, states and territories 

reported data for a total of 1,097 EUDL subgrants across 680 separate organizations. In this period, states and territories reported data for approximately $50 

million in subgrant and statewide awards. Nationally, funds were allocated to 

three program categories: coalitions, media, and enforcement. Twenty-five percent of subgrants focused on coalitions, 22 percent on media, and 53 percent on 

enforcement. 

Performance data for this reporting period indicate some positive trends: 

• Seventy-five percent of funded projects are using an evidence-based model. 

• Forty-seven percent of task forces and coalitions addressing underage drinking in states were created as a result of EUDL funding. 

• Eighty-one percent of off-premise alcohol establishments checked during this 

reporting period were in compliance (51,879 of 63,906 establishments). 

• Eighty-four percent of on-premise alcohol establishments checked were in 

compliance (30,910 of 36,741). 

• A total of 23,074 adult citations were issued during enforcement operations 

conducted during this reporting period. 

• A total of 474,186 youth were involved in task force and coalition leadership 

activities. 

Online Resources 

For more information on the EUDL program, visit the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the 

“Programs” section). Also visit ojjdp.gov/eudl and the UDETC Web site at www.udetc.org.
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l l l SucceSS StorieS: EUDL PROGRAm 

Collaborative Efforts Dramatically Reduce Alcohol-Related Deaths Among Youth 

(South Dakota) 

For Michael, a high school graduation party had tragic and preventable results. Michael was 1 of 13 

South Dakota youth who died in an alcohol-related crash in the spring of 2006. That year, stories like 

Michael’s moved South Dakota’s Department of Public Safety, Department of Human Services, and 

Attorney General’s Office to convene an action group in late 2006 to respond to the problem of underage 

drinking. A multifaceted, interagency strategy was implemented to develop a teen court diversion 

program, a school-based education program, trained prevention specialists, and community partnerships 

linking law enforcement, schools, and communities toward a common goal. 

One example of South Dakota’s successful effort to intervene in and prevent underage drinking is 

its Teen Court Association. As an alternative to traditional court, youth are sentenced by a jury of 

their peers. In South Dakota, nearly 2,000 underage alcohol cases have been heard in the Teen Court 

Association over the past 3 years, reducing recidivism rates to less than 15 percent within 6 months of 

when youth complete their sentences. 

South Dakota’s placement of trained prevention specialists in schools and communities has also 

proven effective; nearly 80 percent of all school districts in South Dakota and six colleges and 

universities are taking a stand against underage drinking and driving in support of the laws. 

Working together across agencies and organizations, South Dakota has reduced alcohol-related 

deaths by nearly 70 percent since 2006. 

“Shoulder Tap” Decoy Operation Reduces Underage Drinking (California) 

A recent survey conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department indicated that 46 percent of all minors 

who attempt to acquire alcohol use the “shoulder tap” method: youth stand outside a liquor store or 

market and ask adults to buy them alcohol. 

In response to that information, investigators from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) 

joined forces with more than 30 other law enforcement agencies on March 14, 2009, in what is considered 

to be the largest shoulder tap decoy operation ever conducted in California. 

In addition to the ABC investigators, the task force consisted of approximately 180 police officers 

representing more than 35 agencies. The task force operation resulted in approximately 170 citations 

and bookings. A total of 126 individuals were cited for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors and 

another 24 were arrested for other violations, including driving under the influence, possession of 

illegal narcotics, probation violations, and stolen vehicle charges. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Those who break the law and knowingly buy beer for minors are arrested and cited with a misdemeanor, which carries a $500 fine for first-time offenders. As many as 40 hours of community service 

may be added to the penalty. The fine can increase to $1,500 for those with criminal records or warrants 

or those who commit additional crimes during the operation. 

A followup operation in May 2009 was equally successful. Working with local enforcement agencies throughout the state, ABC reported that 272 minors were cited for possession or consumption 

of alcohol, 128 persons were cited for selling alcohol to minors, and 142 adults were cited for purchasing alcohol for individuals younger than age 21. The program’s success can also be measured 

quantitatively by the reduction in alcohol-related arrests, crimes, and calls for services. Further 

qualitative measures include statements of satisfaction from local officers and community members, and visible improvements in the physical condition of communities. 
C H A P T E R 4 
C H A P T E R 4 

5 4 

 

Defending Children 

Against Victimization 

Few things are more difficult to understand than the victimization of a child. Crimes 

against children are committed by both family members and strangers and range from 

physical and sexual abuse to abduction and sometimes murder. In addition, many children witness violence in their families and communities. Two decades of research have shown 

that children who are victims of or witnesses to violence run a higher risk of becoming violent 

themselves and of being further victimized as children and as adults. 

The growing number of children and teenagers using the Internet and communications devices; 

the increase in adolescent risk-taking behavior involving technology, including the production 

and dissemination of sexually explicit images; the proliferation of child pornography; and the 

sophistication of predators who are searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims 

present a significant threat to the health and safety of young people and a formidable challenge 

for law enforcement. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
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OJJDP strives to protect America’s children from 

abuse, exploitation, and victimization. Although 

physical and sexual abuse of children is not a 

new problem, access to the Internet and the 

proliferation of communications technology have 

changed the way predators access children and 

changed the kinds of risks children face. Through 

initiatives such as the Internet Crimes Against 

Children program and Project Safe Childhood, 

OJJDP is improving the prosecution of computerfacilitated child exploitation and engaging in 

community outreach to educate families about 

risks to children who use the Internet. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) took the lead early on in 

addressing this growing problem. More than a decade ago, the Office established the Internet 

Crimes Against Children (ICAC) program, which helps state and local law enforcement agencies 

effectively prevent, interdict, and investigate technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and 

Internet crimes against children. 

Since its inception, OJJDP has consistently worked to safeguard children from victimization by 

supporting research, training, and community programs that emphasize prevention and early 

intervention. OJJDP activities highlighted in this chapter provide an overview of how the Office 

is improving the responses of the justice system and related systems, increasing public awareness, and promoting model programs for addressing child victimization in states and communities across the country. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

Do you know what your kids 

do online? One in seven kids 

receives sexual messages 

online. Those messages can 

come from anyone. . .Protect 

your kids by talking to them 

regularly and monitoring their 

online activity. 

—Project Safe Childhood 

public service announcement 

Project Safe Childhood 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) established the Project Safe Childhood initiative 

in May 2006 to improve the prosecution of computer-facilitated child exploitation and to enhance community outreach to educate families about risks to children over the Internet. The initiative coordinates the efforts of U.S. Attorneys; 

ICAC task forces; federal partners, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 

the U.S. Marshals Service; national organizations such as the National Center for 

Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC); and state and local law enforcement 

officials in each U.S. Attorney’s district. 

As part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, OJJDP launched a national 

media campaign in FY 2009 to combat the online exploitation of children. 

OJJDP’s media campaign used a combination of public service announcements 

(PSAs) in English and Spanish on national cable television channels, in print ads, 

and in Internet promotions. Regional promotions—radio spots, movie theater 

PSAs, and media events—were held in four cities: Miami, FL; St. Louis, MO; 

Seattle, WA; and San Diego, CA. The PSAs promoted two themes: one reminded 

parents that the Internet can be an unsafe place for children and that children 

should be supervised when online. A second set of ads was aimed at men ages 

18 to 40 to deter would-be sexual predators from using the Internet to entice 

minors into engaging in illegal sexual behavior. 

OJJDP supported numerous other efforts in FY 2009 to raise public awareness 

about the potential dangers of the Internet. OJJDP sponsored the conference, 

“Possibilities: Creating a Safer Future for Our Children,” in Springfield, MA, 

in June 2009. The conference, hosted by Western New England College, offered 

training and information on Internet safety and other topics such as family 

abduction, bullying, human trafficking, and gangs. In April, OJJDP staff participated in a Webcast hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services’ 

Maternal and Child Health Bureau, “Preventing Exploitation of Children and 

Adolescents on the Internet.” 

Online Resource 

To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to projectsafechildhood.gov. 

Internet Crimes Against Children Program 

Since 1998, the ICAC program has been helping state and local law enforcement 

agencies develop an effective response to cyberenticement and child pornography cases. This program encompasses investigative and forensic components, 

training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education 

through public awareness and prevention programs.
 

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C H A P T E R 4 

The ICAC program includes a national network of 61 coordinated task forces representing more than 2,000 federal, state, 

and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. These 

agencies conduct proactive investigations, forensic examinations, and prosecutions. By helping state and local law 

enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable 

responses to online child victimization and child pornography, OJJDP and the ICAC program have built capacity at 

the local level to address related offenses. In FY 2009, 

ICAC task forces received 27,890 reports of technologyfacilitated child sexual exploitation from the public and 

from electronic service providers. Investigations initiated 

from these reports led to 3,783 arrests, forensics examinations of more than 

19,260 computers, and 6,100 case referrals to other law enforcement agencies. 

A major source of reports reviewed by ICAC task forces is NCMEC’s 

CyberTipline, which handles phone calls and online reports of sexual 

exploitation of children. The CyberTipline has received more than 868,290 

reports since the system was activated in 1998. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP awarded approximately $75 million under the ICAC program; 

$50 million of those funds were allocated through the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009. The funds have supported the activities of the existing ICAC task forces, the establishment of two new task forces in the high-need 

areas of New York and Houston, training and technical assistance for the task 

forces, and research on the scope and consequences of technology-facilitated 

child exploitation. 

The ICAC Training and Technical Assistance Program, funded through a cooperative agreement with Fox Valley Technical College, provides training and 

technical assistance to the task force agencies. Training is designed for ICAC task 

force members as well as affiliated law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and 

parole/probation officers. Courses include the ICAC Investigative Techniques 

Program, ICAC Undercover Chat Investigations Training Program, ICAC Unit 

Supervisor Training Program, ICAC Trial Advocacy Program for Prosecutors, 

ICAC Child Sex Offender Accountability Training Program, and ICAC CyberTip 

Management Program. Nearly 100,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, 

and other professionals have been trained throughout the United States and in 

17 countries around the world on techniques to investigate and effectively prosecute ICAC-related cases. In FY 2009, the ICAC program trained approximately 

31,800 law enforcement personnel and 2,000 prosecutors. 

One highlight of 2009 was the ICAC training event, “Silicon Valley Internet 

Crimes Against Children Conference,” held in May in San Jose, CA. The event
 

 

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included information sessions on the latest ICAC investigation methods, prosecution strategies, case studies, and the latest practices used by online offenders. 

The event was cosponsored by OJJDP; more than 600 law enforcement and prosecution staff from across the United States attended. 

Online Resource 

For more information about the Internet Crimes Against Children program, including state task 

force contacts, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). 

Safe Start Initiative 

Children who witness or are the victims of violence are more likely to eventually abuse drugs and alcohol. They are at greater risk for depression, anxiety, 

and other posttraumatic disorders and they are more likely to commit acts of 

violence themselves. Through its Safe Start initiative, OJJDP has played a central 

role in calling national attention to this issue and raising awareness of the social 

costs of children’s exposure to violence. 

As noted in chapter 1, OJJDP launched the Safe Start initiative in 1999 to 

broaden knowledge about and promote community investment in evidencebased strategies for reducing the impact of children’s exposure to violence. The 

initiative’s Safe Start Center serves as a national resource for information and 

training to communities that are implementing these strategies. 

The Safe Start initiative is expanding partnerships among family- and youthserving agencies that are responsible for addressing early childhood education 

and development, health, mental health, child welfare, family support, substance 

abuse prevention and intervention, and domestic violence and crisis intervention. These partnerships include law enforcement, the courts, and legal services. 

Each component of the Safe Start initiative is designed with a specific goal: 

• Practice and Innovation has expanded the system of care to children 

exposed to violence. 

• Research and Evaluation is identifying what works and what does not work 

in lessening and preventing the harmful effects of exposure. 

• Training and Technical Assistance is building a base of effective strategies to 

address children’s exposure to violence. 

• Resource Development and Outreach is promoting the adoption and use of 

these strategies across the nation.
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In 2009, through interagency agreements with the National Institute of Justice 

and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau, respectively, OJJDP awarded $300,000 to the Rand Corporation and $300,000 to the 

Safe Start Center for training and technical assistance, resource development, 

and outreach. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP completed its National Survey of Children’s Exposure 

to Violence (NatSCEV) with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention. NatSCEV is the first comprehensive attempt to measure children’s 

exposure to all types of violence in the home, school, and community across 

age groups from birth to age 17 and the first attempt to measure the cumulative exposure to violence over a child’s lifetime. The reports of lifetime exposure 

indicate how certain types of exposure change and accumulate as a child 

grows up. 

In interviews conducted by the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against 

Children Research Center from January to May 2008, NatSCEV gathered data on 

both past-year and lifetime exposure to violence across a number of categories, 

including physical assault, bullying, sexual victimization, child maltreatment, 

dating violence, and witnessed and indirect victimization. 

Researchers found that 60 percent of children were exposed to violence, crime, 

or abuse in the past year, either directly or indirectly. Almost half that number 

were assaulted at least once in that period. One in ten had suffered some form 

of child maltreatment—abuse or neglect—and 1 in 16 was victimized sexually. 

Almost 40 percent of all children experienced two or more direct victimizations 

in the previous year. The results of the study were published in October 2009 in 

the OJJDP bulletin, Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Study. 

For more information on the bulletin, see chapter 5. 

With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, OJJDP 

awarded approximately $441,000 to the University of New Hampshire for 

NatSCEV in FY 2009. 

Online Resources 

For more information on the Safe Start initiative, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select 

the “Programs” section). Additional information is available on the Safe Start Center Web site, 

safestartcenter.org. 

Promoting Child and Youth Safety 

In FY 2009, OJJDP funded a new discretionary program, Promoting Child and 

Youth Safety: Community Initiatives and Public Awareness. The program will 

support field-initiated local child and youth safety demonstration projects in 

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multiple communities and leverage investment in those communities by developing public awareness campaigns that disseminate safety messages to the 

broadest possible audience. 

OJJDP awarded a total of $3.29 million in grants to support these goals. The 

Office provided $1.74 million to support community initiatives aimed at promoting child and youth safety. Outreach efforts and programming will target youth 

homelessness, children’s exposure to violence, the prevention of sexual abuse, 

teen dating violence, the reduction of risk factors for children in underserved or 

nonserved populations, and technology safety. These projects provide comprehensive training, curriculums, educational programming, and direct services. 

OJJDP also awarded $1.55 million to fund a public awareness campaign tailored 

to local community initiatives. The public awareness campaign is designed to be 

replicated in many jurisdictions. 

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children 

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) involves crimes of a 

sexual nature committed against juvenile victims for financial or other economic 

reasons. These crimes include trafficking for sexual purposes, prostitution, sex 

tourism, mail-order-bride trade and early marriage, pornography, stripping, 

and performing in sexual venues such as peep shows or clubs. CSEC is not only 

illegal, it brings about significant and, at times, life-threatening physical, mental, 

and emotional harm to the victimized youth. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP supported new initiatives, expanded training and technical 

assistance efforts, and funded new research projects to address CSEC. OJJDP 

awarded the Fund for the City of New York more than $1.27 million to support a 

national study of the incidence of CSEC. This is the first national-scale data collection effort on CSEC since 2003. The study will estimate the size and scope of 

CSEC, describe the characteristics and needs of CSEC victims, identify available 

services, and analyze prosecution outcomes for victims and exploiters. 

Another new initiative—Improving Community Response to CSEC—will 

provide $500,000 to three communities to strengthen effective collaborations 

between stakeholder organizations and, ultimately, enhance the effectiveness of 

community response. The expanded training and technical assistance effort will 

provide training to the three communities as well as to the ICAC program. Following are brief descriptions of the communities receiving OJJDP awards: 

• The Interagency Children’s Policy Council of Alameda County, CA, will 

support the work of the Sexually Exploited Minor’s Network, a collaboration between the county’s public and private providers. The program aims
C H A P T E R 4 6 1 

to offer comprehensive training and education to increase awareness about 

and promote effective responses to CSEC in the community, street outreach 

to identify and connect high-risk youth to shelter and essential services, 

expanded case management and other specialized services, and a collaborative case-conferencing model to strengthen and improve the investigation 

and prosecution of CSEC cases. Specific objectives include increasing the 

number of collaborative cases and convictions against adults who exploit 

children, reenrolling youth in school or preparing them for employment, and 

decreasing substance use. Case management files, collaborative case logs, 

training logs, and surveys will be used to document and measure outcomes. 

•	� Kristi House, Inc., a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC), received a grant to 

address the problem of CSEC in Miami-Dade County, FL, and to expand this 

project to other Florida cities in partnership with the Florida Department of 

Children and Families and other CACs in the state. The project will work 

through the Kristi House-led CSEC Working Group, which consists of 35 

agencies. Once trained by OJJDP, Working Group members will develop a 

systemwide protocol, disseminate training, adopt best practices for addressing CSEC, and improve capacity to effectively investigate and prosecute 

cases against adults who exploit youth. The project also seeks to strengthen 

the capacity of Kristi House’s CSEC program, Project GOLD (Girls Owning 

their Lives and Dreams). The goal is to identify and serve an increasing number of exploited and at-risk girls. Project GOLD provides best-practice mental 

health counseling and coordinates other essential services through compassionate and culturally sensitive case management and advocacy. 

•	� Multnomah County, OR, will use its OJJDP grant to improve local capacity 

to address CSEC and build on current collaborative efforts. Project staff will 

provide training to 250 individuals from at least 50 local agencies using a 

training framework supplied by OJJDP; increase the identification of CSEC 

victims by community partners; increase the availability of essential services 

for at least 70 CSEC victims, including advocacy, emergency housing, mental 

and physical health services, and the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of CSEC; and promote collaboration between Multnomah County 

partners to assess local need and provide interventions. 

National Center for Missing & 

Exploited Children 

OJJDP funds the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which 

provides 24-hour services and support to families, children, law enforcement 

agencies, and federal agencies dealing with missing and exploited children. 

In FY 2009, the Center received 89,359 calls and assisted in the recovery of 

13,348 children. 

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As noted earlier in this chapter, NCMEC also manages the CyberTipline, which 

allows computer users and service providers to report Internet-based child 

pornography and exploitation. During FY 2009, the CyberTipline handled more 

than 108,000 reports regarding potential child exploitation or online harm to 

children. 

The Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP), a mechanism to identify victims of child pornography, was used to identify more than 890 children in pornographic images and videos during FY 2009. To date, there are a total of 2,598 

identified child victims in the CVIP system. 

NCMEC also is a key participant in the annual National Missing Children’s Day 

commemoration and the AMBER Alert program, both described below.

Online Resource 

To learn more about NC EC, visit its Web site at missingkids.com. 

Missing Children’s Day 

In May 2009, DOJ held its annual commemoration of National Missing Children’s Day with a ceremony at DOJ’s Great Hall in Washington, DC. The ceremony honors the memory of missing children and recognizes the extraordinary 

efforts made by law enforcement personnel and citizens to protect children from 

harm. The Deputy Attorney General provided the keynote address and the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) presided 

over the ceremony. Awards were presented to law enforcement officers and 

citizens who were instrumental in the recovery of missing children during the 

previous year. 

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day in memory of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy who disappeared from a 

New York City street corner on that day in 1979. Missing Children’s Day honors 

his memory and the memory of children who are still missing, celebrates the stories of recovery, and pays tribute to the exemplary efforts of agencies, organizations, and individuals engaged in protecting children.

AMBER Alert 

The AMBER Alert program, which marked its 13th anniversary in 2009, had 

helped recover approximately 490 abducted children nationwide by the end of 

FY 2009. AMBER Alerts are media notices that are broadcast on radio, television, 

highway signs, and wireless devices such as mobile phones, and over the Internet when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted
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C H A P T E R 4 

OJJDP PROmOTES CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AT 

NATIONAL CONFERENCES 

During FY 2009, OJJDP’s Child Protection Division staff participated in national conferences on the topic of child 

abuse prevention to discuss OJJDP’s efforts to protect children and share strategies for reducing children’s exposure 

to violence. 

• The Associate Administrator of the Child Protection Division spoke at the 25th National Symposium on Child 

Abuse, held by OJJDP’s National Children’s Advocacy Center in Huntsville, AL, in march 2009. more than 

900 child abuse prevention professionals attended the symposium. OJJDP sponsored several workshops 

during the conference, including Family and Nonfamily Abductions, Human Trafficking, Interview/Interrogation 

of Child Abuse Suspects, Physical and Neglect Child Abuse Injury Reconstruction Techniques, Rural Child 

Abuse, and Child Death Investigations. OJJDP funded scholarship awards for 150 participants. 

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sponsored the 17th National Conference on Child 

Abuse and Neglect in Atlanta, GA. During the 6-day conference in late march and early April 2009, OJJDP 

staff made a presentation on how the Safe Start initiative decreases risk factors and increases protective 

factors for children exposed to violence in their homes and communities. The presentation was made during 

the session, Addressing Exposure to Violence as a Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Strategy. 

• OJJDP staff conducted a workshop at the 10th annual National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse and 

Exploitation Prevention in August 2009 in New Orleans, LA. The workshop featured an overview of OJJDP 

programs designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The overview highlighted 

OJJDP’s multimedia public awareness campaign launched in early FY 2009. The campaign’s public service 

announcements, available in both English and Spanish, were presented. The National Conference on Child 

Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention is the leading conference of its kind in the United States. 

and is in imminent danger. The broadcasts provide information about the child 

and the abductor that could lead to the child’s recovery, such as a physical 

description of each and a description of the abductor’s vehicle. All 50 states, the 

District of Columbia, and 2 U.S. territories have AMBER Alert plans. OJP manages the program with the support of OJJDP. In FY 2009, $5 million was appropriated for the program. 

AMBER Alert activities include annual national training conferences and local 

and regional training on topics such as Child Abduction Response Teams 

(CARTs) and investigative techniques. 

The fifth annual AMBER Alert conference, held in October 2008 in Orange 

County, CA, brought together CART members; AMBER Alert coordinators; 

broadcasters; missing-child clearinghouse coordinators; tribal, law enforcement, and transportation leaders; and representatives from Canada, Mexico, the 

United Kingdom, Greece, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The conference 

included training tracks divided by discipline and region. Some sessions were 

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devoted to southern- and northern-border states and to participants working to 

bring AMBER Alerts to Indian country. Family members of child abduction victims also participated in roundtable discussions. 

Broadcasters and other AMBER Alert partners received training coordinated 

through Newsplex, the scenario-based training facility in Columbia, SC. 

AMBER Alert partners also strategized on how to maintain and expand their 

child abduction response plans during a time when state budgets are shrinking. 

The sixth annual AMBER Alert conference was held in Tampa, FL, in October 

2009. The conference focused on the latest information on human trafficking, 

CARTs, uses of new technology, border coordination, and the use of AMBER 

Alerts in tribal communities. 

Efforts are currently underway to bring the AMBER Alert program into Mexico 

through the AMBER Alert Southern Border Initiative. NCMEC reports that 

Mexico accounts for 47 percent of all international child abductions from the 

United States. Hundreds of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers from the United States and Mexico met in El Paso, TX; and San Diego, CA, 

in February and August 2009, respectively, to receive training and to discuss 

efforts to stop child abductions in both countries. In May 2009, Baja California 

became the first state in Mexico to have an AMBER Alert plan. A second state, 

Tamaulipas, appointed an AMBER Alert coordinator immediately after the 

2009 AMBER Alert symposium was held. 

Through a cooperative agreement with Fox Valley Technical College, OJJDP 

provided 10 CART training and technical assistance programs to 563 participants in 2009. Participating agencies were encouraged to review existing policies and practices and ways in which interagency and regional cooperation 

could improve casework involving missing and abducted children. Participants 

received guidance on creating memorandums of understanding, resource inventories, and action plans to guide them through the development of a CART, 

thereby building a foundation for improving response capacity, resource coordination, and child-recovery capabilities in their jurisdictions. 

Online Resource 

For more information on the AmBER Alert program, visit its Web site at www.amberalert.gov. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
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C H A P T E R 4 

l l l SucceSS StorieS: AmBER ALERT PROGRAm 

•	� In Durham, NC, the mother of a 3-week-old boy was assaulted by the child’s father after 

he forced his way into her home. The suspect left the residence with the child and fled in a 

vehicle. Because he was known to be violent and possibly a drug user, an AMBER Alert was 

quickly issued. An individual who knew the abductor saw the AMBER Alert and contacted law 

enforcement. The child was safely rescued. 

•	� In Flagstaff, AZ, the father of a 6-year-old boy refused to return the child to his mother at the 

court-appointed time after a visit. Law enforcement officials telephoned the father to follow up. 

The father issued a threat: “If you don’t hear from me in one hour, my son and I will be dead.” 

The father then called the judge involved in his case and made a similar threat. An AMBER 

Alert was quickly issued. A Mohave County deputy sheriff who lived next door to the father 

recognized his vehicle, and a SWAT call was initiated on the residence. The suspect later turned 

himself in. The child was rescued after he was found in the residence unharmed. 

•	� In Pleasanton, CA, the Alameda County sheriff’s department activated a regional AMBER Alert 

on behalf of the Pleasanton police department for a 2-month-old boy who was taken by force by 

his father and the child’s uncle. The child’s grandmother observed the AMBER Alert on the local 

news and contacted the suspects to arrange for their surrender. The suspects turned themselves 

in to the Antioch police department, and the child was safely rescued. 

•	� In Bradenton, FL, an AMBER Alert was issued for a 12-year-old girl who may have been lured 

from her home by an adult male, possibly through Internet contact. The suspect saw the AMBER 

Alert, became alarmed, and dropped the victim off close to her home. The suspect was later 

identified and arrested. 

AMBER Alert in Indian Country 

In 2007, OJP launched its AMBER Alert in Indian Country pilot program in 13 

tribal communities in Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wyoming. The program supports the recovery 

of missing and abducted children by providing infrastructure and equipment 

resources to meet the needs of tribal communities. During FY 2009, OJJDP built 

on the recent development of AMBER Alert plans in these communities by offering a range of critical training and technical assistance programs. 

In FY 2009, 12 of the 13 pilot sites had adopted or were in the process of adopting AMBER Alert programs, either alone or in cooperation with state and local 

authorities, and 12 of the 13 sites had passed tribal resolutions or ordinances 

adopting the AMBER Alert program. All of the participating tribal communities 

were developing their own CARTs or participating with local agencies that have 

CART programs. An additional 10 tribal communities, which were not initial 

pilot sites, also created their own CART programs. 

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Each of the sites received an allocation to help procure the resources 

needed to implement an AMBER Alert plan. Allocations were based 

on several characteristics, including community needs assessments, 

tribal population, adoption of a tribal resolution to create an AMBER 

Alert plan, and participation at AMBER Alert in Indian Country trainings and meetings. The tribes used the allocations to obtain software, 

canine units, personal alert and messaging systems, digital boards, 

vehicles, trailers, and cell phones, among other resources. In addition, 

NCMEC provided printers, scanners, fax machines, and cameras 

donated from sponsors. 

In FY 2009, more than 700 tribal community members, government leaders, first 

responders, child protection officials, and law enforcement officials attended 

training and technical assistance programs to improve skills and capacity related 

to a wide range of child protection needs. Interest in the AMBER Alert in Indian 

Country initiative continues to grow; by the end of FY 2009, tribal communities made approximately 50 requests for technical assistance for FY 2010. OJJDP 

established a goal of implementing AMBER Alert plans in an additional 25 tribal 

communities in 2010. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP conducted an assessment of AMBER Alert operations 

in Indian country and concluded that inadequacies in communications and 

information-management technology significantly hamper the ability of tribal 

law enforcement agencies to respond to reports of missing, abducted, and endangered children and other life-threatening emergencies. Call-taker training was 

cited as a significant need throughout tribal communities. OJJDP has responded 

to this need by developing a program of instruction specially designed for emergency call takers in Indian country. The training program was launched in the 

fall of 2009. 

Children’s Advocacy Centers 

OJJDP’s Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) help coordinate the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases. Recognizing that child 

abuse is a multifaceted problem, CACs involve multidisciplinary teams of 

professionals—child protective and victim advocacy services, medical and mental health agencies, and law enforcement and prosecution—to provide a continuum of services to victims and nonoffending family members. Working together, 

these professionals gain a more complete understanding of each case, allowing 

them to identify the most effective response to instances of child abuse. OJJDP 

has long recognized the efficacy of the CAC model and has provided program
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C H A P T E R 4 

funding to expand access to CACs and their valuable services through the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. In FY 2009, $20 million was appropriated for 

the program. 

The National Children’s Alliance (NCA) serves as the national accrediting and 

membership body for CACs and administers federal grants to develop and 

improve these advocacy centers. In collaboration with NCA, the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) and four regional CACs—in the Midwest, 

Northeast, South, and West—work in close partnership to encourage communities to establish local CACs and to provide existing centers with training, technical assistance, and other services. 

Recent OJJDP-sponsored research has demonstrated that CACs are more cost 

effective than alternate approaches, shorten the length of time to disposition 

in child abuse cases, increase the likelihood that abused children will receive 

medical and mental health services, and improve caregiver satisfaction with the 

investigative and prosecutorial process. In 2009, more than 700 CACs served 

259,000 child victims and treated approximately 400,000 children with preventive 

measures. The CAC model is gaining international attention as a proven strategy 

for responding to child abuse. As of the end of FY 2009, CACs (or CAC-like programs) existed in 12 countries, with interest growing rapidly around the world. 

In addition to training and technical assistance in the field, OJJDP offers a wide 

range of online resources. NCAC’s Child Abuse Library Online, which disseminates new research and recommendations for practitioners, currently has more 

than 450 registered users. In addition, NCAC offers a total of 19 online trainings, 

all of which are available at no cost. These trainings were viewed by more than 

1,500 professionals in 2009. 

In March 2009, OJJDP funding helped launch the Telehealth Institute for Child 

Maltreatment, a Web-based peer review system for medical providers associated 

with CACs. Participating providers upload nonidentifying (anonymous) case 

information to a secure server in order to receive peer feedback on diagnostic 

findings, exam techniques, and photo documentation. More than 100 medical 

providers from 26 states have registered to participate in the program. 

Online Resources 

For information on Children’s Advocacy Centers, including the locations of the regional 

centers, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). The National 

Alliance for Children’s Web site can be accessed at nationalchildrensalliance.org. Additional 

information about the National Children’s Advocacy Center is available at nationalcac.org. 

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Court Appointed Special Advocates Program 

The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program ensures that abused 

and neglected children receive culturally sensitive, effective, and timely advocacy in dependency court hearings, ultimately resulting in their 

placement in safe, permanent homes. Authorized by the Victims of 

Child Abuse Act of 1990, as amended, OJJDP administers funding 

to the National CASA Association, which directs that a “courtappointed special advocate shall be available to every victim of 

child abuse or neglect in the United States that needs such an 

advocate.” OJJDP partners with National CASA to provide funding for state CASA organizations and new program development 

as well as expansion of CASA programs and training and technical assistance to volunteer advocates, child welfare professionals, 

attorneys, judges, and social workers. 

National CASA also helps state CASA organizations build their capacity to provide services to local programs. The program makes subgrant funds available 

to local programs to support court-appointed special advocates who provide 

advocacy for abused and neglected children in the court system. These trained 

volunteers, also known as guardians ad litem, serve as fact finders, monitors, 

facilitators, and advocates in cases where there are charges of child abuse and 

neglect in dependency proceedings. The National CASA Association serves as a 

resource center, providing support and information dissemination services. 

FY 2009 OJJDP funding for the CASA program totaled nearly $15 million, of 

which $11 million supported state and local programs and almost $4 million 

supported training and technical assistance. More than 70,900 CASA volunteers 

served more than 237,000 abused and neglected children through 1,055 program 

offices. CASA volunteers have helped more than 2 million abused children since 

the first program was established in 1977. 

In 2009, CASA provided a variety of training and technical assistance activities 

on topics such as program development, management, volunteer recruitment 

and supervision, resource development, public relations, child advocacy, court 

practices, legal and liability issues, case management, and data collection. Also 

in 2009, the CASA program responded to more than 38,720 requests for technical 

assistance, including 42 onsite consultations. The CASA Web site recorded more 

than 2.1 million visitors. 

Online Resource 

For more information on the Court Appointed Special Advocates program, visit the National 

CASA Association Web site, nationalcasa.org.
C H A P T E R 4 6 9 

Model Courts Program 

The Model Courts program strives to reduce the number of, and achieve better 

outcomes for, foster children throughout the country by improving dependency 

court practice through judicially led system reform. Developed, managed, and 

guided by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) 

with funding from OJJDP, the project provides tailored training and technical 

assistance to Model Court jurisdictions and engages in cutting-edge national 

program, policy, and initiative development. 

Each Model Court leads local system reform by selecting short-term improvement goals that are based on proven practices. As a result of the work of the 

participating courts, programs that have proven to be effective in a single jurisdiction have now become nationwide efforts. In addition, some of the nation’s 

largest jurisdictions have experienced significant reductions in foster care caseloads. Following are just a few examples of improvements resulting from the 

Model Courts project: 

•	� In Chicago’s Cook County juvenile court, the number of children in out-ofhome care was reduced from 31,534 to 7,102 between 1998 and 2009. 

•	� During the same period, the number of children in out-of-home care in New 

York City’s family court was reduced from 40,909 to 14,589. 

•	� In Los Angeles County juvenile court, the number of children under court 

jurisdiction decreased from 47,420 to 24,768. 

OJJDP supports NCJFCJ’s Courts Catalyzing Change: Achieving Equity and 

Fairness in Foster Care initiative (CCC), a national agenda to reduce the disproportionate representation of and disparate outcomes for children of color in 

dependency court systems. The program is identifying and evaluating all decision points in the dependency court system and recommending strategies for 

court and systems change to reduce racial disproportionality and disparate 

treatment. 

The Model Courts program also maintains an active publications program to 

educate the juvenile justice field on best practices for improving outcomes for 

children in the dependency court system. The following publications were 

released in 2009: 

•	� Better Outcomes for Infants and Toddlers: Judicial Survey on Infants and Toddlers 

and the Dependency Court System, Summary of Findings Report. This report presents the data gathered from a judicial survey on current knowledge about 

infant development and identifies barriers and action steps for judges to take 

in serving very young children. 

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7 0 

 

 

•	� Court Reform and American Indian and Alaskan Native Children: Increasing Protections and Improving Outcomes. This publication recommends improvements 

in data collection and collaboration between courts and public agencies in 

meeting the unique needs of American Indian/Alaska Native children in 

dependency court cases. 

•	� The Model Court Effect: Proven Strategies in Systems’ Change. This report highlights the work of the Victims Act Model Courts and provides data outcomes 

associated with best practices used in the courts. 

•	� Model Courts National Agenda Implementation Guide. This handbook offers 

helpful step-by-step advice on how to successfully put a national CCC 

agenda into effect. It includes guidance on creating collaborative partnerships, sharing information, and developing a strategic plan. 

Online Resources 

To learn more about the model Courts program, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select 

“model Dependency Courts Initiative” in the “Programs” section). Information is also available 

on the NCJFCJ Web site, ncjfcj.org. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 5 
C H A P T E R 5 

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Providing Resources 

and Information 

to the Juvenile 

Justice Field 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides practitioners, 

policymakers, and the public with critical information about the latest research findings 

on juvenile justice issues and possible approaches to solving them. The Office disseminates data on juvenile crime and the response of the juvenile justice system, including information about juvenile arrests, detention and corrections populations, probation caseloads, and 

court activities. OJJDP’s Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP), Census of Juveniles in 

Residential Placement (CJRP), and Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) provide the most 

comprehensive statistics available on youth in custody. 

The Office uses a full range of media to reach the widest possible audience. These outlets include 

comprehensive online data systems; a Web site featuring the latest information about research, 

programs, and funding; an award-winning online newsletter; a listserv that alerts subscribers to 

important funding opportunities, publications, and events; and a broad array of online and print 

publications. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
7 3 

OJJDP is a leading and authoritative source 

of information on juvenile justice issues. 

The Office disseminates information about 

research findings, juvenile justice statistics, 

and promising programs through comprehensive 

online databases, Web sites, Webinars, and a 

wide range of print and online publications. 

Sharing Research Findings 

OJJDP’s research activities provide valuable information about many critical issues facing practitioners and policymakers. The Office recognizes that these findings need to be widely disseminated if they are to be used to improve outcomes for the nation’s children. During fiscal year 

(FY) 2009, the Office shared research findings with the field through a number of online and 

print publications as well as conferences. 

Girls Study Group Bulletin Series 

As noted in chapter 1, OJJDP convened the Girls Study Group (GSG) in response to the rising arrest rates for girls. Through its research, GSG aims to gain a better understanding of the 

dynamics of girls’ delinquency and guide policy development regarding female juvenile offenders. OJJDP works closely with the GSG to broadly disseminate the major findings from the study 

group’s activities. The Office is currently publishing a series of bulletins highlighting the major 

findings of the GSG research. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

The first two bulletins in the series received significant media coverage: Charting 

the Way to Delinquency Prevention for Girls, which provides an overview of the 

GSG research, was featured in an article in USA Today. The findings of Violence 

by Teenage Girls: Trends and Contexts, an examination of recent trends in girls’ violent offending and the settings in which girls commit violent crimes, were discussed in an article in The Atlantic Monthly magazine and other media outlets. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP released the third bulletin in the series, Resilient Girls— 

Factors That Protect Against Delinquency. This publication describes how four 

factors—the presence of a caring adult, school connectedness, school success, 

and religiosity—affect girls’ propensity for delinquency. The bulletin draws on 

data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which was 

inspired in part by efforts to understand more clearly the unique needs and 

experiences of girls. Although many of the factors that place boys and girls at 

risk for delinquency are the same, current literature suggests that each gender may respond differently to protective factors. 

Following are brief descriptions of other upcoming bulletins in the GSG series: 

• Suitability of Assessment Instruments for Delinquent Girls determines the extent 

to which assessment instruments used with at-risk and justice-involved 

youth are equally appropriate and effective in assessing girls and boys. 

• Causes and Correlates of Girls’ Delinquency reviews the personal, family, peer, 

school, and community factors that can lead to delinquency among girls. 

• Developmental Sequences of Girls’ Delinquent Behavior investigates the different 

patterns of delinquent behaviors in which girls become involved and provides insight into the life pathways that lead to girls’ delinquent behavior. 

• Girls’ Delinquency Programs: An Evidence-Based Review examines delinquency 

prevention programs for girls and determines whether these programs effectively intervene in girls’ delinquency. 

Online Resources 

To learn more about OJJDP’s research on girls’ delinquency, visit the OJJDP Web site’s Girls’ 

Delinquency page at ojjdp.gov/programs/girlsdelinquency.html. For additional information on 

the Girls Study Group, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Programs” section). 

Survey of Youth in Residential Placement Bulletin Series 

OJJDP sponsors the nation’s most comprehensive data collection program on 

juvenile offenders in custody and the facilities that hold them. Through a constellation of surveys—which include SYRP, CJRP, and JRFC—the agency provides critical information to state and national researchers and policymakers

7 4 
7 5 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 

C H A P T E R 5 

who are investigating and seeking answers to major policy and practice questions affecting youth in residential placement, and disseminating those findings 

to the field. While CJRP and JRFC gather critical data from residential facility 

administrators, SYRP interviews juveniles directly, providing an unprecedented 

view of their experiences in custody. By interviewing the youth directly, SYRP is 

able to address issues that no other information source covers. 

Using computer-assisted self-interviews, SYRP asks youth about their current 

offenses and also about their previous involvement in the juvenile justice system, providing a comprehensive picture of the types of juvenile offenders and 

the direction of any recent changes in the severity of their offense categories. The 

survey includes questions about the youth’s family backgrounds (their principal 

caregiver(s) when they were growing up and who they lived with before their 

most recent entry into custody) and about their educational status and experiences. The responses reveal the youth’s achievements, whether they are on track 

academically (i.e., at an age-appropriate grade level), have special needs, or have 

received sanctions. In addition, the survey obtains information about the facility 

environment and youth’s experiences in the facility. By eliciting the perspectives 

of youth on a spectrum of issues, the SYRP findings offer a richly detailed view 

of the population of juveniles in residential placement. 

To help practitioners, policymakers, and the public better understand SYRP, 

OJJDP has launched a bulletin series that describes the study and its findings 

in detail. In October 2008, OJJDP released the first bulletin in the series, Introduction to the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement, which reviews SYRP’s 

background and history, describes its design and methodology, discusses its 

strengths and limitations, and summarizes the questions it answers about 

the population of youth in custody. 

The remaining bulletins in the series, planned for release in FY 2010 and 

FY 2011, will describe research in each of the survey’s topic areas: 

• Youth’s Needs and Services presents key findings on the emotional and 

psychological problems, substance abuse issues, medical needs, and educational background of youth in residential placement, as well as the services 

provided by residential facilities to address these issues. 

• Conditions of Confinement describes the physical features of juvenile facilities, rates the quality of available programs, and reports on access to various 

social, emotional, and legal supports at the facilities. 

• Youth’s Characteristics and Backgrounds summarizes current offenses and 

youth’s previous involvement in the juvenile justice system, and provides 

data on offenders’ family backgrounds.
 

7 6 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

• Nature and Risk of Victimization provides information on the percentages of 

youth who report victimization experiences while in custody, including theft, 

robbery, physical assault or threat, and sexual assault, and how these problems were addressed. 

Online Resource 

Introduction to the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement may be viewed and downloaded 

on the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the “Publications” section). 

Disproportionate Minority Contact Bulletin Series 

As noted in chapter 3, OJJDP has long been a leader in efforts to reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC) with the juvenile justice system. As part of its 

goal to ensure that states comply with the DMC core requirement of the Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, OJJDP has committed to technical assistance, national and regional training conferences, and 

publications that disseminate strategies that states can use to reduce DMC. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP launched a new series of bulletins focusing on DMC. The first 

bulletin in the series, Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact: Preparation at 

the Local Level, presents important information about the context in which local 

preparation takes place—media coverage and public attitudes about crime, race, 

and youth. Preparation at the local level is critical to understanding the roles, 

values, priorities, and joint missions of local stakeholders as they begin to reduce 

DMC. Included among the topics planned for future bulletins are how DMC 

affects American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/ 

Latino youth and an update on OJJDP’s DMC activities. 

National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence 

Bulletin Series 

As described in detail in chapter 4, OJJDP maintains an active program of 

research, training, and technical assistance designed to improve the effectiveness of community programs that address the issue of children’s exposure to 

violence. The Attorney General has set this issue as a top priority for the U.S. 

Department of Justice. A key component of OJJDP’s outreach effort is the publication of information based on its research. 

In FY 2009, OJJDP initiated a new National Survey of Children’s Exposure to 

Violence (NatSCEV) bulletin series, the first of which, Children’s Exposure to 

Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey, was published in October 2009. It summarizes the results of the most comprehensive study to date on the impact of 

children’s exposure to violence. The study was sponsored by OJJDP with the 

support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

We simply cannot stand 

for an epidemic of violence 

that robs our youth of their 

childhood and perpetuates a 

cycle in which today’s victims 

become tomorrow’s criminals. 

—Attorney General 

Eric Holder
C H A P T E R 5 7 7 

The study’s findings, first released in the journal Pediatrics, were widely covered 

in the national print and broadcast media, including the Chicago Sun-Times; The 

Christian Science Monitor; the New York Post; USA TODAY; The Wall Street Journal; 

National Public Radio; CBS Evening News; CNN Newsroom; and NBC Nightly 

News. 

OJJDP’s bulletin series will examine a broad range of issues from the survey 

data, including co-occurrence of family violence, risk factors for exposure to 

violence in the community, multiple victimizations, and correlates of victimization and mental health. Bulletins will highlight key findings from these 

various analyses for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working on 

behalf of youth and families experiencing or at risk of violence. 

Also in FY 2009, OJJDP’s Safe Start Center published Healing the Invisible 

Wounds: Children’s Exposure to Violence. The guide, available in English and 

Spanish, offers tips on how to recognize the signs of children’s exposure to 

violence and gives advice on assisting children who have been exposed. 

Exposure to violence is a pervasive problem that crosses all ages; the 

guide provides specific information pertaining to children of various ages 

as well as a list of resources. 

Online Resources 

For more information on the NatSCEV study, visit the Web site of the University of New 

Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center, www.unh.edu/ccrc/projects/ 

natscev.html. The Safe Start Web site can be accessed at safestartcenter.org. 

ASC Annual Meeting 

During the 60th annual American Society of Criminology (ASC) conference in 

St. Louis, MO, in early FY 2009, OJJDP announced the public release of more 

than a decade of data from the agency’s juvenile corrections data collections. 

The data—available for the first time to the general research community—are 

providing critical information to state and national researchers who are investigating and seeking answers to major policy and practice questions in juvenile 

justice and disseminating those findings to the field. 

The data collection released includes CJRP data from 1997 to 2006 and JRFC data 

from 2000 to 2004. CJRP provides detailed information on all juveniles in residential facilities in the United States, including gender, date of birth, race, most 

serious offense charged, court adjudication date, admission date, and security 

status. JRFC collects information on how facilities operate and the services they 

provide, including detailed information on facility security, crowding, injuries 

and deaths in custody, facility ownership, operation, and services. 

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O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

National Juvenile Corrections Data Workshop 

As a followup to OJJDP’s release of data from the agency’s juvenile corrections data collections at the ASC conference (see “ASC Annual Meeting” 

above), OJJDP and the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the 

University of Michigan held a workshop, Using National Juvenile Corrections 

Data Files: 1997–2006, as part of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research’s Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social 

Research. Held in Ann Arbor, MI, this inaugural workshop made a wealth of 

national data from OJJDP’s data collections available to researchers and practitioners and provided participants with the tools necessary to understand and 

use the data appropriately. 

Statistical Briefing Book 

OJJDP has primary responsibility for developing and disseminating statistical 

information on the juvenile justice system and does so through several mechanisms. OJJDP funds the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, which provides 

information about cases handled by courts with juvenile jurisdiction. OJJDP 

established the Archive at the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) to 

provide automated juvenile court data sets. NCJJ produces several annual statistical reports for OJJDP based on Archive data and manages the content for 

the Statistical Briefing Book (SBB) on OJJDP’s Web site. 

SBB provides a wealth of information for practitioners, policymakers, the media, 

and the public. This online tool has current statistics about juvenile crime and 

victimization and about youth involved in the juvenile justice system. SBB is 

especially reliable because data are continually updated, ensuring that users 

receive timely information. The site includes a “Frequently Asked Questions” 

section, publications, data analysis tools, and national data sets. SBB has become 

a primary source of information on juvenile crime and juvenile justice for individuals in the United States and throughout the world. During FY 2009, there 

were more than 618,000 visits to the SBB site and more than 4.5 million page 

views. 

SBB uses Easy Access, a family of Web-based data analysis tools that NCJJ 

developed for OJJDP to expand access to recent, detailed information on juvenile crime and the juvenile justice system. The Easy Access applications provide 

information on national, state, and county population counts, as well as information on homicide victims and offenders, juvenile court case processing, and 

juvenile offenders in residential placement facilities. 

The Statistical Briefing Book 

is a great tool for faculty and 

students. The site is easy to 

navigate, and the information 

is timely and important. Also, 

the site provides us with the 

opportunity to examine data, 

develop our own tables, 

and try to determine 

what the trends are. 

—Alida V. Merlo, Ph.D. 

Professor, Department of 

Criminology 

Indiana University 

of Pennsylvania 

Indiana, PA
C H A P T E R 5 7 9 

OJJDP recently added the application, Easy Access to NIBRS: Victims of 

Domestic Violence, which allows users to analyze state-level data on victims 

of domestic violence based on information collected by the Federal Bureau 

of Investigation’s (FBI’s) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). 

With this application, users can explore the characteristics of domestic violence 

victims, including demographic information on the victim (age, sex, and race), 

victim injury, and the victim-offender relationship. Data are based on incidents 

reported in 2005 from law enforcement agencies in 26 states. 

In FY 2009, SBB was enhanced to provide easier, faster access to information. 

Direct links to several popular data analysis tools have been added. A new “Did 

You Know?” section offers current facts and information every time users visit 

the home page. The “What’s New” section is now featured at the top of the page 

to facilitate user access to the most up-to-date information. Finally, the site has a 

new design and color scheme that coordinate with other components of OJJDP’s 

Web resources. 

Following are a few examples of other FY 2009 SBB updates that are ensuring 

users have quick access to the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date 

juvenile justice data available: 

•	� The “Easy Access to FBI Arrest Statistics” section has been updated to 

include data for 2006. This section presents juvenile arrest statistics for 29 

offense categories at the national, state, and county level. Users can select 

displays based on counts or rates for juveniles, adults, or all ages combined. 

•	� The “Frequently Asked Questions” section has been updated for the topical 

areas of Law Enforcement and Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Population Characteristics, and Juveniles in Corrections. 

•	� Juvenile Arrests 2007 summarizes 2007 juvenile crime and arrest data reported 

by local law enforcement agencies across the country and cited in the FBI 

report, Crime in the United States, 2007. This annual OJJDP bulletin characterizes the extent and nature of juvenile crime that comes to the attention of the 

justice system and allows readers to compare trends over time. 

The Juvenile Court Statistics 2005 report was also added to SBB in FY 2009. Developed and produced by NCJJ, the report is one of the nation’s oldest justice statistical publications, dating back to 1929. This edition describes delinquency cases 

handled between 1985 and 2005 and petitioned status offense cases handled 

between 1995 and 2005 by U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction. Courts with 

juvenile jurisdiction may handle a variety of matters, including child abuse and 

neglect, traffic violations, child support, and adoptions. This report focuses on 

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8 0 

 

Thank you very much for an 

extraordinarily helpful and 

user-friendly Web site, which 

is helping us develop 

a grant proposal for 

a mentoring program. 

The site provides a wealth 

of valuable information. 

—Ruth Jensen 

Indian Education Program 

Hillsboro, OR 

cases involving juveniles charged with law violations (delinquency or status 

offenses). The data used in the analyses were contributed to the National Juvenile Court Data Archive by more than 2,100 courts with jurisdiction over 80 percent of the juvenile population in 2005. 

OJJDP also produced and added four new fact sheets to SBB based on data from 

the Juvenile Court Statistics report: Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2005; Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 2005; Juvenile Delinquency Probation Caseload, 2005; and Person Offense Cases in Juvenile Court, 2005. (For more information, 

see the “Publications” section later in this chapter.) 

Online Resource 

To access the Statistical Briefing Book, go to the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov (select the 

“Statistics” section). 

OJJDP Web Site 

The OJJDP Web site (ojjdp.gov) is a leading online resource for the latest information on a broad spectrum of topics related to juvenile justice. Home page 

spotlights feature breaking news on upcoming events and current funding 

opportunities, as well as publications and other resources. The home page also 

provides ready access to research, publications, programs, and related resources 

to bring problems such as child abduction, commercial sexual exploitation of 

children, gang involvement, girls’ delinquency, and underage drinking into 

clearer focus. 

The heart of the Web site is its database-driven capability, which gives users 

quick access to comprehensive information. For example, the Topics page 

enables users to easily access all items related to specific subject areas, including 

funding opportunities, programs, events, and publications. 

In accordance with OJJDP’s commitment to keeping the field informed about 

the juvenile justice-related activities of other government agencies and organizations, the Web page disseminates timely information about these organizations’ 

meetings, grant opportunities, and publications. 

The Web site received approximately 63.4 million hits in FY 2009; there were 

approximately 3.5 million visits to the Web site during the same period. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
8 1 

 

C H A P T E R 5 

Electronic Newsletter 

Another popular online information resource is OJJDP News @ a Glance. This 

bimonthly newsletter is sent to subscribers via e-mail and is also available on 

the Web site. The newsletter highlights major OJJDP activities and priorities, 

updates from OJJDP-funded programs, new publications, and conferences. 

News @ a Glance received top honors in the 2009 National Association of 

Government Communicators (NAGC) Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards 

competition. OJJDP took first place in the Gold Screen Awards competition 

under the e-newsletter category. The NAGC Blue Pencil & Gold Screen 

Awards recognize superior government communications products and 

their producers in 47 categories. More than 500 entries are generally 

received each year and submissions are judged by a prestigious panel of 

experts. 

At the end of FY 2009, News @ a Glance had nearly 26,000 subscribers—reflecting 

an increase of more than 1,000 subscribers since October 2008. 

JUVJUST 

OJJDP’s electronic listserv, JUVJUST, provides e-mail notices of timely information on juvenile justice and other youth service-related news. JUVJUST 

subscribers receive semiweekly announcements about publications, funding 

opportunities, conferences, and other valuable resources. JUVJUST reaches 

nearly 21,000 subscribers. JUVJUST announcements are frequently picked up by 

other governmental and private-sector media, significantly expanding the audience they reach. 

Online Resources 

To subscribe to OJJDP News @ a Glance and JUVJUST announcements, go to the OJJDP Web 

site, ojjdp.gov (click on the appropriate “Subscribe” button on the home page). Both services 

are free. 

Publications 

OJJDP develops and disseminates a broad range of information about juvenile 

justice and child protection. The publications described throughout this report 

play a central role in every facet of OJJDP’s mission, from enhancing opportunities for youth to ensuring public safety and supporting law enforcement. Following is a list of the major publications released by OJJDP during FY 2009. 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

 

8 2 

Characteristics of Juvenile Suicide in Confinement (bulletin). Provides the results of 

a survey on juvenile suicides occurring in confinement between 1995 and 1999. 

NCJ 214434. 

Charting the Way to Delinquency Prevention for Girls (GSG bulletin). Provides an 

overview of research on female juvenile delinquency conducted by OJJDP’s Girls 

Study Group. GSG was created to provide a comprehensive research foundation 

for understanding and responding to girls’ involvement in delinquency. 

NCJ 223434. 

Co-Occurrence of Substance Use Behaviors in Youth (bulletin). Examines the prevalence and overlap of substance-related behaviors among youth, making comparisons based on age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. Available online only. 

NCJ 219239. 

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Key Measures. Outlines nine measures that have been identified as key to determining court performance in child abuse and neglect cases. NCJ 223567. 

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Implementation Guide. 

Provides practical advice on how to set up a performance measurement team, 

assess capacity, prioritize among measurement needs, plan data collection activities, and use the data generated through the performance measurement process 

to plan reforms. NCJ 223568. 

OJJDP PUBLICATIONS WIN AWARDS 

In FY 2009, the Office was recognized for excellence in the 

content and design of its publications, as noted below: 

•	� First place in the National Association of Government 

Communicators 2009 Gold Screen Awards competition 

under the E-Newsletter category.
�

•	� A 2009 Communicator Award from the International 

Academy of the Visual Arts in the Newsletter–
�

Government category. 

•	� A 2009 Communicator Award from the International 

Academy of the Visual Arts for the Missing Children’s 

Day materials in the Marketing/Promotion–Design 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

category.
8 3 

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: User’s Guide to Nonautomated Data Collection. Explains how to use nonautomated data collection 

methods (such as file review, court observation, interviews, and focus groups) to 

enhance performance measurement. NCJ 223569. 

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Technical Guide. 

Describes all 30 court performance measures for child abuse and neglect cases. 

NCJ 223570. 

Court Performance Measures in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases: Guide to Judicial 

Workload Assessment. Presents a method for obtaining data on judicial workloads 

in abuse and neglect cases, which includes an assessment of what is required for 

best practice in these cases. NCJ 223571. 

Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2005 (fact sheet). Presents statistics on 

delinquency cases handled in U.S. juvenile courts between 1985 and 2005. 

NCJ 224538. 

Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 2005 (fact sheet). Presents statistics 

on petitioned delinquency cases waived to criminal court between 1985 and 

2005. Available online only. NCJ 224539. 

Domestic Assaults by Juvenile Offenders (bulletin). Analyzes data reported to 

the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System by a large sample of law 

enforcement agencies from 30 states. Available online only. NCJ 219180. 

Get SMART—Mapping Resources for Crime and Delinquency Prevention (InFocus 

fact sheet). Offers comprehensive information about OJJDP’s Socioeconomic 

Mapping and Resource Topography (SMART) system, a geographic information 

and Web-based mapping application that pinpoints specific geographic areas of 

crime and delinquency and nearby government and community resources available to address these issues. NCJ 222504. 

Highlights of the 2007 National Youth Gang Survey (fact sheet). Reports findings 

from the 2007 National Youth Gang Survey. Based on survey results, it is estimated that nearly 3,550 jurisdictions across the United States experienced gang 

activity in 2007. NCJ 225185. 

Introduction to the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (bulletin). Introduces 

the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement, reviewing its background, 

describing its design and methodology, discussing its strengths and limitations, 

and summarizing the questions it answers about the population of youth in 

custody. NCJ 218390. 

C H A P T E R 5 

Thank you for sending the 

Toolkit for Court Performance 

Measures in Child Abuse 

and Neglect Cases. 

The California juvenile 

dependency courts have 

found the toolkit very helpful 

and used it to develop 

California’s dependency 

performance measures. 

—Diane Nunn, Director,
�

Center for Families, 

Children & the Courts
�

Judicial Council of California
�

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

 

 

8 4 

OJJDP PUBLISHES TOOlkIT fOR COuRT PeRfORmaNCe 

meaSuReS IN ChIlD abuSe aND NeGleCT CaSeS 

In FY 2009, OJJDP released the five-volume Toolkit for Court 

Performance measures in Child abuse and Neglect Cases, which 

provides practical and comprehensive guidance on how dependency 

courts can institute a system of performance measurement and create 

more efficient and effective operations. 

The result of a collaborative, broad-based effort between the Children’s 

Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services and OJJDP, 

the Toolkit provides practical, comprehensive guidance on how to 

undertake performance measurement to improve child and family 

outcomes of safety, permanence, and well-being and move toward 

more efficient and effective dependency court operations. 

Three leading court reform organizations—the American Bar 

Association, the National Center for State Courts, and the National 

Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges—provided technical 

support, and 12 pilot sites in which the Toolkit was tested also provided 

critical feedback and input. The Toolkit is designed to help courts: 

• Reestablish their baseline of current practices. 

• Diagnose the areas of service delivery they need to improve. 

• Make improvements to their operations. 

• Track their efforts. 

• Identify, document, and replicate positive results. 

The Toolkit’s volumes are entitled key measures, Implementation Guide, 

user’s Guide to Nonautomated Data Collection, Technical Guide, and 

Guide to Judicial Workload assessment. 

Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program: 2006/2007 Report to Congress. Presents 

information on the program’s activities and accomplishments during FYs 2006 

and 2007. Available online only. NCJ 225367. 

Juvenile Arrests 2006 (bulletin). Summarizes 2006 juvenile crime and arrest data 

reported by local law enforcement agencies across the country and cited in the 

FBI report, Crime in the United States, 2006. NCJ 221338. 

Juvenile Arrests 2007 (bulletin). Summarizes 2007 juvenile crime and arrest data 

reported by local law enforcement agencies across the country and cited in the 

FBI report, Crime in the United States, 2007. NCJ 225344. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 5 8 5 

Juvenile Delinquency Probation Caseload, 2005 (fact sheet). Presents statistics 

on delinquency cases resulting in probation in 2005. Available online only. 

NCJ 224536. 

Juvenile Residential Facility Census, 2004: Selected Findings (bulletin). Focuses on 

the educational and physical health services offered in juvenile residential facilities in 2004. The Juvenile Residential Facility Census gathers information about 

the characteristics of facilities in which juvenile offenders are held, including 

their size, structure, type, ownership, services, and security arrangements. Available online only. NCJ 222721. 

OJJDP Annual Report 2006–2007. Presents information on the activities and 

accomplishments of the Office during FYs 2006 and 2007. NCJ 223612. 

OJJDP Annual Report 2008. Describes OJJDP’s activities and accomplishments 

during FY 2008. NCJ 225036. 

Person Offense Cases in Juvenile Court, 2005 (fact sheet). Presents statistics on person offense cases processed by juvenile courts in 2005. Available online only. 

NCJ 224537. 

Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact: Preparation at the Local Level (DMC 

bulletin). Provides a six-step preparation process drawn from OJJDP’s Disproportionate Minority Contact Technical Assistance Manual and offers guidance in 

identifying the roles, values, priorities, and joint missions of local stakeholders. 

NCJ 218861. 

Resilient Girls—Factors That Protect Against Delinquency (GSG bulletin). Describes 

how four factors—the presence of a caring adult, school connectedness, school 

success, and religiosity—affect girls’ propensity for delinquency. Available online 

only. NCJ 220124. 

Title V Community Prevention Grants Program: 2006–2007 Report to Congress. 

Reviews the background of the Community Prevention Grants program; highlights federal, state, and local activities in 2006–2007; and outlines OJJDP’s plans 

for enhancing the positive impact of Community Prevention Grants program 

funds. Available online only. NCJ 225086. 

Online Resources 

All OJJDP publications can be viewed and downloaded from the OJJDP Web site, ojjdp.gov 

(select the “Publications” section). Print publications can also be ordered online at the National 

Criminal Justice Reference Service Web site, ncjrs.gov (select the “A–Z Publications/Products” 

section). 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
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OJJDP’S NATIONAL JUVENILE JUSTICE DATA COLLECTION 

PROGRAM MONITORS TRENDS IN THE RESIDENTIAL 

PLACEMENT OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS 

Since OJJDP’s inception, an important part of its information dissemination role has been to gather and report data on youth 

held in public and private juvenile residential placement facilities. As noted earlier in this chapter, the Census of Juveniles in 

Residential Placement (CJRP) and the Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC), administered by OJJDP in alternate years, 

provide comprehensive data on juveniles in custody and the facilities that house them. In addition, the Survey of Youth in 

Residential Placement asks youth about their background and experiences in custody. 

Facilities included in these data collections represent a wide range of facility types: secure and nonsecure, as well as 

publicly operated (state and local) and privately operated (including long-term and short-term holding). Juvenile facilities 

go by many different names across the country: detention centers, juvenile halls, shelters, reception and diagnostic centers, 

group homes, wilderness camps, ranches, farms, youth development centers, residential treatment centers, training or reform 

schools, and juvenile correctional institutions. Some look like adult prisons or jails, some look like campuses, and others look 

like houses. This section highlights key findings from the 2007 CJRP and 2008 JRFC and briefly summarizes information on 

deaths of juveniles in custody from the 2008 JRFC. 

Juvenile Residential Facility Census 

A total of 2,458 facilities reported holding juvenile offenders on the 2008 census date. Facilities could identify themselves 

in more than one category: 734 were detention centers, 210 were training schools, 64 were reception/diagnostic centers, 

661 were group homes, 847 were residential treatment centers, 85 were ranch/wilderness camps, 167 were shelters, and 

31 were boot camps. 

The number of juvenile offenders in residential placement in publicly and privately operated juvenile facilities has declined 

steadily since 2000. In 2008, there were fewer than 81,000 juvenile offenders housed (263 per 100,000 youth age 10 

through states’ upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction in the general population). The last time that so few juvenile offenders 

were counted in the national census of juvenile facilities was in 1993, when the tally was slightly less than 79,000. 

The 2000 JRFC registered the largest population of juvenile offenders in residential placement—108,802—since the data 

collection expanded in 1974 to include private facilities. The number of juvenile offenders in residential placement in 

publicly and privately operated facilities dropped 26 percent in 2008 from its peak in 2000. 

Characteristics of Juveniles in Residential Placement 

The biennial CJRP provides a 1-day “snapshot” of youth held in public and private juvenile detention and correctional 

facilities; it includes offense, gender, race, age, and other data. The following highlights are primarily from the census 

conducted on October 24, 2007. 

Overview 

• Nearly 87,000 youth—279 per 100,000 juveniles in the general population—were held in public 

and private juvenile residential facilities on the 2007 census date. Of this number, 83,150 were held for 

delinquency offenses and 3,664 were held for status offenses. Tribal facilities reported an additional 

113 youth held. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
C H A P T E R 5
� 8 7 

• Nearly 7 of 10 juvenile offenders in residential placement had been adjudicated and committed to the facility 

by the court. Almost 3 of 10 were detained in a facility waiting for their case to be completed or awaiting 

placement elsewhere. 

• Slightly more than one-third of youth in residential placement were there because they were charged with 

or adjudicated for a person offense. About a quarter were held for a property offense, approximately 15 

percent for technical violations of probation or parole, 12 percent for public order offenses, 8 percent for drug 

offenses, and 4 percent for status offenses. The most common delinquent offenses were assault and burglary. 

The most common status offense was ungovernability. 

Juvenile offenders in residential placement facilities, by most serious offense 

2007 Percent change, 2001–2007 

Total 

Juveniles 

in public 

facilities 

Juveniles 

in private 

facilities Total 

Juveniles 

in public 

facilities 

Juveniles 

in private 

facilities 

Most serious offense 86,814 60,624 26,190 –17 –17 –15 

Delinquency 83,150 59,413 23,737 16 17 15 

Person 

Criminal homicide 1,087 1,006 81 2 4 –17 

Sexual assault 5,885 3,813 2,072 –13 –18 –3 

Robbery 7,433 6,227 1,206 1 1 5 

Aggravated assault 7,283 5,678 1,605 –14 –14 –14 

Simple assault 6,785 4,318 2,467 –15 –16 –14 

Other person 2,667 1,924 743 –17 –16 –21 

Property 

Burglary 8,517 5,956 2,561 –25 –29 –17 

Theft 4,316 2,994 1,322 –26 –23 –32 

Auto theft 3,639 2,515 1,124 –41 –41 –39 

Arson 683 525 158 –35 –31 –44 

Other property 3,921 2,839 1,082 –20 –19 –22 

Drug 

Drug trafficking 1,476 973 503 –39 –46 –18 

Other drug 5,619 3,182 2,437 –15 –18 –12 

Public order 

Weapons 4,051 3,010 1,041 27 25 33 

Other public order 6,695 4,398 2,297 –7 –10 –2 

Technical violation 13,093 10,055 3,038 –15 –14 –18 

Status offense 3,664 1,211 2,453 –28 –39 –20 

Ungovernable 1,355 284 1,071 22 4 41 

Running away 815 377 438 –31 –40 –29 

Truancy 574 158 416 –25 –35 –15 

Underage drinking 475 171 304 –27 –12 –31 

Curfew violation 137 58 79 –5 –25 12 

Other status offense 308 163 145 –50 –66 10 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
8 8 

 

• For youth in tribal facilities, the most common offense was technical violation of probation or parole (42 

percent). Weapons and other public order offenses accounted for about a quarter of tribal youth in residential 

placement, followed by drug offenses other than trafficking and aggravated assault (about 1 in 10 each). 

Gender and Age 

• Males dominate the juvenile residential placement population. The ratio of males to females is more than 

six to one. 

• Nearly 12,000 female juvenile offenders were in residential placement on the 2007 census date—accounting 

for 14 percent of all offenders held in public and private facilities. The female proportion was 13 percent in 

public facilities and 15 percent in private facilities. 

• Approximately 36 percent of female offenders in residential placement were housed in facilities that were 

holding females only—this represents 15 percent of all facilities, and the females they held were about 5 

percent of the total offender population in placement. In contrast, 59 percent of males were in male-only 

facilities, which constituted 52 percent of facilities, and the males they housed were 51 percent of the total 

offender population. 

• Female juvenile offenders in residential placement tend to be a bit younger than their male counterparts. In 

2007, juveniles age 15 or younger accounted for 39 percent of females in custody, compared to 30 

percent of males. The median age for males was 16; for females it was 15. 

Race 

• More than 57,000 minority youth were in residential placement on the 2007 census date—representing 66 

percent of all offenders held, with non-Hispanic black youth accounting for 41 percent of the population. 

• Nationally, the residential placement rate was highest for black youth and lowest for Asian youth. For every 

100,000 black juveniles living in the United States, 767 were in a juvenile facility on the 2006 census date; 

the rate was 540 for American Indians, 326 for Hispanic youth, 170 for Whites, and 85 for Asians. 

• The overall juvenile residential placement population decreased 17 percent between 2001 and 2007. The 

decline for White youth was 29 percent, more than triple the decline among minority youth, which declined 

9 percent. 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
8 9 

 

C H A P T E R 5 

Deaths in Residential Placement 

Juvenile offenders in residential 

OJJDP’s latest data indicate that deaths of juveniles placement facilities, by race/ethnicity in residential placement remain relatively rare. 

According to the 2008 JRFC, 16 youth died while Percent 

in custody at juvenile facilities, the same number as 2007 change, 

were reported in 2006. Accidents and suicides were Race/ethnicity total Percent 2001–2007 

the leading causes of death in 2008. There were 5 Total 86,814 100 –17 deaths from accidents (down from 10 in 2006) and 

White 29,534 34 –29 8 deaths by suicide (up from 4 in 2006). There were 

Minority 57,280 66 –9 two deaths from an illness/natural cause and one 

Black 35,447 41 –13 death from a homicide (by a nonresident outside the 

Hispanic 18,056 21 0 facility). As in prior years, death rates were generally 

American Indian 1,464 2 –27 higher in private facilities than in public facilities. 

Asian 754 1 –37 

Online Resources Pacific Islander 281 0 –11 

Most of the data in this section were taken from Mixed/other 1,278 1 106

OJJDP’s online Statistical Briefing Book (discussed 

Note: Figures include 113 youth in tribal facilities. earlier in this chapter). Additional information 

is available in the OJJDP fact sheet, Juveniles in 

Residential Placement, 1997–2008. To access 

these resources, visit the OJJDP Web site, 

ojjdp.gov (select the “Statistics” section). 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
A P P E N D I X E S
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9 3 

 

A P P E N D I X A 

OJJDP Organization 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Administrator 

Chief of Staff 

Principal Deputy Administrator Planning, Budget 

Management, and 

Administration Unit
 

Grants Management 

Unit
 

Deputy Administrator Deputy Administrator 

for Policy for Programs 

Communications 

Unit 

Office of Policy 

Development 

Child Protection 

Division 

Demonstration 

Programs Division 

State Relations 

and Assistance

 Division 

OJJDP Office of the Administrator 

The Office of the Administrator (OA) establishes OJJDP’s priorities and policies, oversees the 

management of the Office’s divisions, and fosters collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies and associations that share OJJDP’s commitment to preventing and combating juvenile delinquency and addressing the problem of missing and exploited children. 

Office of Policy Development 

The Office of Policy Development (OPD) assists the OJJDP Administrator in coordinating national 

policy on juvenile justice. OPD advises the Administrator on policy and legal issues and how 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 4 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 

OJJDP can best accomplish its mission. OPD also provides leadership and direction for OJJDP’s research and training and technical assistance efforts and oversees the agency’s communications and planning activities. 

Communications Unit 

The Communications Unit (CU) is responsible for OJJDP’s information dissemination and outreach. CU develops OJJDP publications, manages its Web site and 

online services, and performs a range of writing and editing functions to support 

the Office. CU also serves as a liaison to the Office of Justice Programs on mediarelated issues. 

Child Protection Division 

The Child Protection Division (CPD) develops and administers programs related 

to crimes against children and children’s exposure to violence. It provides leadership and funding in the areas of enforcement, intervention, and prevention. 

CPD’s activities include supporting programs that promote effective policies and 

procedures to respond to the problems of missing and exploited children, Internet 

crimes against children, abused and neglected children, and children exposed to 

domestic or community violence. 

Demonstration Programs Division 

The Demonstration Programs Division (DPD) provides funds to public and private 

agencies, organizations, and individuals to develop and support programs and 

replicate tested approaches to delinquency prevention, treatment, and control in 

areas such as mentoring, substance abuse, gangs, truancy, chronic juvenile offending, and community-based sanctions. DPD also supports and coordinates efforts 

with tribal governments to expand and improve tribal juvenile justice systems and 

develop programs and policies that address problems facing tribal youth. 

State Relations and Assistance Division 

The State Relations and Assistance Division (SRAD) provides funds to help state 

and local governments achieve the system improvement goals of the Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended; combat underage 

drinking; implement delinquency prevention programs; address disproportionate 

minority contact; and support initiatives to hold juvenile offenders accountable for 

their actions. SRAD also supports and coordinates community efforts to identify 

and respond to critical juvenile justice and delinquency prevention needs. 

Grants Management Unit 

The Grants Management Unit (GMU) provides grant administration assistance 

and guidance to OJJDP’s program divisions. GMU also provides technical assistance and support for grant application and award activities to OJJDP staff and 

constituents.
 

 

9 5 

A P P E N D I X B 

State Compliance With
�

JJDP Act Core Requirements 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Formula Grants 

program supports state and local efforts in planning, operating, and evaluating projects 

that seek to prevent at-risk youth from entering the juvenile justice system or intervene 

with first-time and nonserious offenders to provide services that maximize their chances of leading productive, successful lives. The program also provides funds to enhance the effectiveness of 

the juvenile justice system. 

To receive funding, states must commit to achieving and maintaining compliance with the four 

core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974, as 

amended: deinstitutionalization of status offenders, separation of juveniles from adults in secure 

facilities, removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and reduction of disproportionate 

minority contact within the juvenile justice system. 

If a state, despite its good faith efforts, fails to demonstrate compliance with any of the core 

requirements in any year, OJJDP will reduce its formula grant for the subsequent fiscal year by 

20 percent for each requirement for which the state is noncompliant. The following table indicates (in blue) the states that received reduced FY 2009 funding for noncompliance with one or 

more of the JJDP Act’s core requirements. 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

 

9 6 

FY 2009 Funding Reductions for Noncompliance 

State1 

Deinstitutionalization 

of status offenders 

Separation of 

juveniles from 

adults in secure 

facilities 

Removal of 

juveniles from 

adult jails and 

lockups 

Reduction of 

disproportionate 

minority contact 

Alabama √ √ √ √ 

Alaska √ √ √ √ 

Arizona √ √ √ √ 

Arkansas X √ X √ 

California √ √ √ √ 

Colorado √ √ √ √ 

Connecticut √ √ √ √ 

Delaware √ √ √ √ 

District of Columbia √ √ √ √ 

Florida √ √ √ √ 

Georgia √ √ √ √ 

Hawaii √ √ √ √ 

Idaho √ √ √ √ 

Illinois √ √ √ √ 

Indiana √ √ √ √ 

Iowa √ √ √ √ 

Kansas √ √ √ √ 

Kentucky √ √ √ √ 

Louisiana √ √ √ √ 

Maine √ √ √ √ 

Maryland √ √ √ √ 

Massachusetts √ √ √ √ 

Michigan √ √ √ √ 

Minnesota √ √ √ √ 

Mississippi X √ X √ 

Missouri √ √ √ √ 

Montana √ √ √ √ 

Nebraska √ √ √ √ 

Nevada √ √ √ √ 

New Hampshire √ √ √ √ 

New Jersey √ √ √ √ 

New Mexico √ √ √ √ 

New York √ √ √ √ 

North Carolina X √ √ √ 

North Dakota √ √ √ √ 

Ohio √ √ √ √ 

O F F I C E O F J U V E N I L E J U S T I C E A N D D E L I N Q U E N C Y P R E V E N T I O N 
A P P E N D I X B 9 7 

State1 

Deinstitutionalization 

of status offenders 

Separation of 

juveniles from 

adults in secure 

facilities 

Removal of 

juveniles from 

adult jails and 

lockups 

Reduction of 

disproportionate 

minority contact 

Oklahoma √ √ √ √ 

Oregon √ √ √ √ 

Pennsylvania √ √ √ √ 

Rhode Island √ √ √ √ 

South Carolina √ √ X √ 

South Dakota √ √ √ √ 

Tennessee √ √ √ √ 

Texas √ √ √ √ 

Utah √ √ √ √ 

Vermont √ √ √ √ 

Virginia √ √ √ √ 

Washington X √ √ √ 

West Virginia √ √ √ √ 

Wisconsin √ √ √ √ 

Wyoming2 – – – – 

American Samoa √ √ √ X 

Guam √ √ √ √ 

Northern Mariana 

Islands 

√ √ √ √ 

Puerto Rico3 √ X X – 

Virgin Islands X √ √ √ 

X = reduced FY 2009 funding for noncompliance; √ = full FY 2009 funding for compliance. 

1 The term “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. 

territories.
�

2 Wyoming does not participate in the Formula Grants program.
�

3 The U.S. Census Bureau has exempted Puerto Rico from reporting racial statistics. 

2 0 0 9 A N N U A L R E P O R T 
 

U.S. Department Department ofJustice 

Of OJJDP Report fice of Justice ProgramsProgramsPrograms 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Delinquency Prevention *NCJ~229305*

Washington,ashington,ashington, DC 20531 

Official BusinessBusinessBusiness 

Penalty for Private Use $300 

PRESORTED STANDARD
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POSTAGE & FEES PAID
�

DOJ/OJJDP
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PERmIT NO. G–91
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