57912 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention

[OJP (OJJDP)–1297]

Proposed Comprehensive Plan for

Fiscal Year 2001

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs,

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Program

Plan for fiscal year 2001.

SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention is

publishing this notice of its Proposed

Comprehensive Plan for fiscal year (FY)

2001.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before November 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator,

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, 810 Seventh

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Eileen M. Garry, Director, Information

Dissemination Unit, at 202–307–0751.

[This is not a toll-free number.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention (OJJDP) is a component of

the Office of Justice Programs in the

U.S. Department of Justice. Pursuant to

the provisions of Section 204 (b)(5)(A)

of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, 42

U.S.C. § 5601 et seq. (JJDP Act), the

Acting Administrator of OJJDP is

publishing for public comment a

Proposed Comprehensive Plan

describing the program activities that

OJJDP proposes to carry out during

fiscal year (FY) 2001 under Parts C and

D of Title II of the JJDP Act, codified at

42 U.S.C. § 5651–5665a, 5667, 5667a.

Taking into consideration comments

received on this Proposed

Comprehensive Plan, the Acting

Administrator will develop and publish

OJJDP’s Final Comprehensive Plan

describing the particular program

activities that OJJDP intends to fund

during FY 2001, using in whole or in

part funds appropriated under Parts C

and D of Title II of the JJDP Act.

OJJDP acknowledges that at this time

its FY 2001 appropriation is not yet

final. Depending on the outcome of

these legislative actions, OJJDP may

alter how its programs are structured

and will make any necessary

modifications to this Proposed Program

Plan when it is published in final form

following the public comment period.

The proposals presented here represent

OJJDP’s current thinking and initial

priorities for this fiscal year. These

priorities also reflect feedback from

OJJDP’s ongoing outreach to the field

asking for ideas on priority areas and

the most promising types of programs

for those areas.

Notice of the official solicitation of

grant or cooperative agreement

applications for competitive programs to

be funded under the Final

Comprehensive Plan will be published

at a later date in the Federal Register.

No proposals, concept papers, or other

forms of application should be

submitted at this time.

Background

In developing its program plan for

Parts C and D each year, OJJDP must

take into consideration the latest

available data on U.S. juvenile crime

and victimization and view these

statistics in relation to those of recent

years. In 1998 (the latest year for which

data are available), the Nation

experienced its fourth consecutive year

of an unprecedented drop in the rate of

juvenile arrests for a violent offense.

The preliminary indications from the

Federal Bureau of Investigation indicate

that the number of arrests in 1999 also

declined (although these numbers do

not differentiate between arrests of

adults and juveniles). Although the

recent decline is encouraging, the arrest

rate for youth is still higher than it was

in the mid-1980’s. From 1987 to 1994,

the country saw a two-thirds increase in

the violent crime arrest rate for juvenile

males and a doubling for juvenile

females. By 1998, though, the rate for

males was just 24 percent above the

1987 rate and the rate for females was

85 percent higher than in 1987. (For

more information, see the OJJDP 1999

Bulletin Juvenile Arrests 1998 by

Howard N. Snyder. Copies of this

publication and others cited in this

Proposed Program Plan are available

from OJJDP’s Juvenile Justice

Clearinghouse at 800–638–8736 or

online at OJJDP’s Web site at

www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.)

The social conditions facing youth

have also changed. According to

American’s Children: Key National

Indicators of Well-Being 2000, a

publication of the Federal Interagency

Forum on Child and Family Statistics,

the poverty rate of children dropped to

18 percent in 1998 from its high of 22

percent in 1993. Deaths among

adolescents age 15 to 19 continued to

decline. In 1997, the mortality rate of

this age group was 75 per 100,000,

compared with the high of 89 per 1,000

seen in 1991. Declines in deaths from

firearm injuries between 1994 and 1997

contributed to this drop. Since 1993, the

rate of juvenile violent victimization has

decreased from 44 victims per 1,000

juveniles ages 12–17 to 25 per 1,000.

This decrease was present for virtually

every demographic category.

On the other hand, many negative

social indicators have remained at high

levels. From 1980 to 1998, the percent

of young adults ages 18 to 24 who had

completed high school remained

relatively flat at 85 percent. The

prevalence of heavy drinking among

adolescents has remained constant as

has the prevalence of regular cigarette

smoking. Illegal drug use among 8th,

10th, and 12th grade students has not

changed from 1998 to1999. In fact,

although drug use among 12th graders

had declined in the 1980’s, since 1992,

illicit drug use has increased among this

population. (For more information, see

the American’s Children: Key National

Indicators of Well-Being 2000.)

Although the arrest rates for juveniles

have dropped, the juvenile justice

system still must deal with a very heavy

case load of juvenile offenders. In 1997,

the juvenile justice system held 105,790

individuals for offenses in residential

facilities throughout the country.

Although not strictly comparable to past

numbers (because of different data

collection methods), this number

indicates an increase over the

approximately 94,500 offenders held in

residential placement in 1995. The

Nation’s juvenile courts handled 1.76

million delinquency cases in 1997.

While this number had remained stable

since 1996, it represented a 48-percent

increase over the 1988 caseload. In

1997, juvenile courts sentenced 179,800

youth to out-of-home placement and

another 645,600 to probation. The

proportion of all cases in the courts

receiving such dispositions did not

change much from 1988 to 1997

(fluctuating mildly in the intervening

years). However, by 1997 juvenile courts

were sentencing more youth than ever

to these dispositions because of the

increase in the total number of cases

handled. The benefits of a decreased

arrest rate have yet to filter through the

system to decrease rates of incarceration

or probation.

Because of the dramatic changes in

juvenile arrests and the state of youth in

the country, concerns about the juvenile

justice system have shifted over the past

decade. While at the beginning of the

1990’s some predicted a plague of

violence caused by juveniles, the Nation

now faces quite a different situation as

a new millennium dawns. Today the

challenge is to find solutions to a

different set of related issues such as

drug dependency, mental health care,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57913

and a large residential population of

juvenile offenders. The decrease in

juvenile arrests is not a signal to become

lax in attending to the problems of

youth. Instead, it should be considered

a sign of encouragement to continue

emphasizing the beneficial programs

and the effective intervention efforts

currently under way.

The causes of the downward trends in

juvenile violence are complex. Current

research cannot yet say with certainty

what combination of programs and

social factors led to this decline.

However, national statistics and

research point to community policing,

gun violence prevention programs, gang

intervention, school safety efforts, and

prevention programs such as mentoring

as effective factors in reducing juvenile

violence and victimization. OJJDP will

continue support of innovative

programs, evaluation of these and other

programs, research, and national data

collection. With the results of these

efforts, policymakers and practitioners

will be in a better position to make

informed choices in their mix of

programs and approaches to best serve

their communities. Their efforts will

help to reinforce the existing trends

away from juvenile violence and

delinquency, and OJJDP is committed to

continuing to support their work.

OJJDP’s Proposed Program Plan for

Fiscal Year 2001 focuses on solidifying

the gains achieved in reducing the rate

of juvenile arrests. It continues to

emphasize programs that provide an

environment for youth that encourages

prosocial development. The Proposed

Program Plan contains research and

program evaluation projects that expand

an understanding of why the final years

of the 1990’s were so beneficial for

youth. It expands efforts to enhance the

capacity of the juvenile justice system as

a whole to make the right decisions for

youth.

In this Proposed Comprehensive Plan,

OJJDP describes its priorities for funding

activities authorized under Part C

(National Programs) and Part D (GangFree Schools and Communities;

Community-Based Gang Intervention) of

Title II of the Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act. The

activities authorized under Parts C and

D constitute part, but not all, of OJJDP’s

overall responsibilities, which are

outlined briefly below.

In 1974, the JJDP Act established

OJJDP as the Federal agency responsible

for providing national leadership,

coordination, and resources to develop

and implement effective methods to

prevent and reduce juvenile

delinquency and improve the quality of

juvenile justice in the United States.

OJJDP administers State Formula Grants

under Part B of Title II, State Challenge

Grants under Part E of Title II, and

Community Prevention Grants under

Title V of the JJDP Act to assist States

and territories to fund a range of

delinquency prevention, control, and

juvenile justice system improvement

activities. OJJDP provides support

activities for these and other programs

under statutory set-asides that are used

to provide related research, evaluation,

statistics, demonstration, and training

and technical assistance services.

Under Part C of Title II of the JJDP

Act, OJJDP funds Special Emphasis

programs and—through its National

Institute for Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention— numerous

research, evaluation, statistics,

demonstration, training and technical

assistance, and information

dissemination activities. OJJDP funds

school and community-based gang

prevention, intervention, and

suppression programs under Part D and

mentoring programs under Part G of

Title II of the JJDP Act. OJJDP also

coordinates Federal activities related to

juvenile justice and delinquency

prevention through the Concentration of

Federal Efforts Program and serves as

the staff agency for the Coordinating

Council on Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention; both of these

activities are authorized in Part A of

Title II of the JJDP Act. Another OJJDP

responsibility under the JJDP Act is to

administer the Title IV Missing and

Exploited Children’s Program.

Other programs administered by

OJJDP include the Drug Prevention

Program, the Enforcing Underage

Drinking Laws Program, the Safe

Schools Initiative, the Tribal Youth

Program, the Safe Start: Children

Exposed to Violence Initiative, and the

Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block

Grants program. OJJDP also administers

programs under the Victims of Child

Abuse Act of 1990, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 13001 et seq.

OJJDP focuses its funding and support

activities on the development and

implementation of programs with the

greatest potential for reducing juvenile

delinquency and improving the juvenile

justice system by establishing

partnerships with State and local

governments, American Indian and

Alaska Native jurisdictions, and public

and private agencies and organizations.

OJJDP performs its role of national

leadership in juvenile justice and

delinquency prevention through a cycle

of activities. These include collecting

data and statistics to determine the

extent and nature of issues affecting

juveniles; supporting research studies

that can lead to program

demonstrations; testing and evaluating

demonstration projects; sharing lessons

learned from the field with practitioners

through a range of information

dissemination vehicles; providing seed

money to States and local governments

through formula and block grants to

implement programs, projects, or reform

efforts; and providing training and

technical assistance to assist States and

local governments to implement

programs effectively and to maintain the

integrity of model programs as they are

being replicated.

As noted previously, OJJDP is a

component of the Office of Justice

Programs (OJP). This Department of

Justice agency emphasizes the

importance of coordination among its

components and with other Federal

agencies whenever possible in order to

obtain maximum results from OJP

programs and initiatives. OJJDP’s

coordination efforts include joint

funding, interagency agreements, and

partnerships to develop, implement,

and evaluate projects. This proposed

plan reflects OJJDP’s coordination

efforts. For a more complete picture of

OJP program activities that affect the

field of juvenile justice, readers are

encouraged to review the Office of

Justice Programs Fiscal Year 2001

Program Plan when it becomes

available. (Readers should check the

OJP Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov

periodically for an announcement of the

availability of the OJP Program Plan.)

Fiscal Year 2001 Program Planning

Activities

The OJJDP program planning process

for FY 2001 is being coordinated with

the Acting Assistant Attorney General,

Office of Justice Programs, and all OJP

components. The program planning

process involves the following steps:

• Internal review of existing programs

by OJJDP staff.

• Internal review of proposed

programs by OJP bureaus and

Department of Justice components.

• Review of information and data

from OJJDP grantees and contractors.

• Review of information contained in

State comprehensive plans.

• Review of comments from youth

service providers, juvenile justice

practitioners, and researchers who

provide input in proposed new program

areas.

• Consideration of suggestions made

by juvenile justice policymakers

concerning State and local needs.

• Consideration of all comments

received during the period of public

comment on this Proposed

Comprehensive Plan.

57914 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

Discretionary Grant Continuation

Policy

OJJDP has listed on the following

pages continuation projects currently

funded in whole or in part with Part C

and Part D funds and eligible for

continuation funding in FY 2001, either

within an existing project period or

through an extension for an additional

project or budget period. A grantee’s

eligibility for continued funding for an

additional budget period within an

existing project period depends on the

grantee’s compliance with funding

eligibility requirements and

achievement of the prior year’s

objectives. The amount of award is

based on prior projections,

demonstrated need, and fund

availability.

The only projects described in this

Proposed Program Plan are those that

would receive Part C or Part D FY 2001

continuation funding under project

period or discretionary continuation

assistance awards and program areas

that OJJDP is considering for new

awards under Part C or Part D in FY

2001. This plan does not include

descriptions of other OJJDP programs,

including mentoring programs under

Part G of Title II of the JJDP Act, the

Drug Prevention Program, the Enforcing

Underage Drinking Laws Program, the

Safe Schools Initiative, the Tribal Youth

Program, the Safe Start: Children

Exposed to Violence Initiative, and the

Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block

Grants Program. When appropriate,

OJJDP issues separate solicitations for

applications for funding for these or

other programs that are not authorized

under Parts C and D. Readers interested

in learning about all OJJDP funding

opportunities are encouraged to call

OJJDP’s Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

at 800–638–8736 or visit OJJDP’s Web

site at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org and click on

‘‘Grants & Funding.’’

Consideration for continuation

funding for an additional project period

for previously funded discretionary

grant programs will be based on several

factors, including the following:

• The extent to which the project

responds to the applicable requirements

of the JJDP Act.

• Responsiveness to OJJDP and

Department of Justice FY 2001 program

priorities.

• Compliance with performance

requirements of prior grant years.

• Compliance with fiscal and

regulatory requirements.

• Compliance with any special

conditions of the award.

• Availability of funds (based on

appropriations and program priority

determinations).

In accordance with Section 262

(d)(1)(B) of the JJDP Act, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 5665a, the competitive process

for the award of Part C funds is not

required if the (Acting) Administrator

makes a written determination waiving

the competitive process:

1. With respect to programs to be

carried out in areas in which the

President declares under the Robert T.

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency

Assistance Act codified at 42 U.S.C.

5121 et seq. that a major disaster or

emergency exists, or

2. With respect to a particular

program described in Part C that is

uniquely qualified.

Introduction to Fiscal Year 2001

Program Plan

In administering the discretionary

grants program under Parts C and D of

Title II, OJJDP has identified four goals

as the major elements of a sound policy

that ensures public safety and security

while establishing effective juvenile

justice and delinquency prevention

programs. Achieving these goals, which

are discussed below, is vital to

protecting the long-term safety of the

public from juvenile delinquency and

violence.

• OJJDP promotes delinquency

prevention and early intervention efforts

that reduce the flow of juvenile

offenders into the juvenile justice

system, the numbers of serious and

violent offenders, and the development

of chronic delinquent careers. While

removing serious and violent juvenile

offenders from the street serves to

protect the public, long-term solutions

lie primarily in taking aggressive steps

to stop delinquency before it starts or

becomes a pattern of behavior.

• OJJDP seeks to improve the juvenile

justice system and the response of the

system to juvenile delinquents, status

offenders, and dependent, neglected,

and abused children.

• OJJDP supports efforts in the area of

corrections, detention, and communitybased alternatives to preserve the public

safety in a manner that serves the

appropriate development and best use

of secure detention and corrections

options, while at the same time fostering

the use of community-based programs

for juvenile offenders.

• OJJDP seeks to support law

enforcement, public safety, and other

justice agency efforts to prevent juvenile

delinquency, intervene in the

development of chronic delinquent

careers, and collaborate with the

juvenile justice system to meet the

needs of dependent, neglected, and

abused children.

In 1993, OJJDP published its

Comprehensive Strategy for Serious,

Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders,

which set forth a research-based

comprehensive approach for addressing

the problems of juvenile crime and

victimization and for achieving its

program goals. The Comprehensive

Strategy was developed to assist States

and local communities in preventing atrisk youth from becoming serious,

violent, and chronic juvenile offenders

and in crafting a practical response to

those who do. Since 1995, OJJDP has

utilized the Guide for Implementing the

Comprehensive Strategy for Serious,

Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders,

developed in partnership with

consultant experts in the fields of

prevention and graduated sanctions,

which has been the blueprint for

providing training and technical

assistance to over 40 local communities

in eight States in the development of

local strategic plans based on the

Comprehensive Strategy. This

comprehensive strategic planning

process involves a systematic method

which utilizes data and research-based

best practices and programs to fill

identified gaps in services to youth and

families. The desired product of this

planning effort is a 5-year strategic plan

supported by all the stakeholders within

that community. The lessons learned

from the Federal, State, and local

partnerships developed through the

Comprehensive Strategy Training and

Technical Assistance Initiative are

currently enhancing the well-being of

the children and families in many of

those communities and are assisting

OJJDP in providing guidance and

direction to many other State agencies

and local jurisdictions seeking

assistance in the development of this

strategic planning approach designed to

prevent, reduce and control juvenile

delinquency.

This Proposed Plan also supports the

Coordinating Council’s 1996 National

Juvenile Justice Action Plan, which

grew out of the Comprehensive Strategy.

This Action Plan, which the

Coordinating Council is currently

updating, provides eight objectives

designed to reduce juvenile violence

and describes ways to meet these

objectives. Together, the Comprehensive

Strategy and the Action Plan constitute

a sound strategy for translating

innovation and research findings to

infrastructure.

Continuation Programs

OJJDP organizes its proposed

programs under four broad categories

that reflect its program goals and the

principles of the Comprehensive

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57915

Strategy. These categories are Public

Safety and Law Enforcement,

Delinquency Prevention and

Intervention, Strengthening the Juvenile

Justice System, and Child Abuse and

Neglect and Dependency Courts. An

additional category (Overarching)

contains programs with significant

elements common to more than one of

the other four categories. Descriptions of

the specific programs in each of the five

categories appear after the discussion of

new programs below.

New Programs

Because the FY 2001 Proposed

Comprehensive Plan is being published

prior to the enactment of the FY 2001

appropriation, proposed new

programming is outlined from the

highest to the lowest priority. If there is

sufficient funding to support new

programs in addition to those proposed

for continuation funding, OJJDP

proposes to develop new programs in 12

broad subject areas. The public is asked

to comment on the proposed new

programs, which are described briefly

below, and suggest additional priority

areas for funding consideration.

1. Helping Families Navigate the

Juvenile Justice System

OJJDP proposes to support a range of

advocacy services for families designed

to help them understand and navigate

the juvenile justice system, learning

how they can appropriately and

productively interact with the various

entities in the system to meet their

child’s needs. Referral to services that

can assist children and their families

meet their needs would also be an

important component of this effort.

Possible approaches to be considered

include support to private organizations

that have experience in working with

non-English-speaking families or

providing advocacy and support for

parenting networks in the community.

2. Addressing the Problem of Juvenile

Sex Offending

This program area was identified in

the FY 2000 Program Plan and is

included again in the Proposed FY 2001

Program Plan because of the many

requests from the juvenile justice field

and the public for information on

effective sex offender treatment

programs and model community

responses to prevent sexual

victimization. OJJDP is considering

support for evaluations of treatment

models for juvenile sex offenders that

are currently in use. In addition, OJJDP

is considering a study that examines the

effects of State registration and

notification legislation on juvenile sex

offenders. This work would build upon

the development of a juvenile sex

offender typology currently being

funded by OJJDP. It will also respond to

the needs of practitioners and

policymakers by increasing the

accessibility and strategic use of

accurate information about the nature,

extent, and impact of juvenile sex

offending through a training, technical

assistance, and information

dissemination program to be funded in

FY 2001.

3. Preparing Juvenile Offenders for

Reentry Into Their Communities

OJJDP proposes to develop several

programs designed to facilitate juvenile

offenders’ reentry into the community

from out-of-home placements. Two of

these would focus specifically on

improving education and training

resources within correctional facilities.

The first would teach juveniles to

design, build, and maintain computer

networks through Cisco Systems’ Cisco

Networking Academy Program. The

second would develop and implement a

pilot demonstration of a model

correctional education program in both

a juvenile detention facility and a

correctional facility. The latter project

would be an extension of prior work

funded by OJJDP to provide assistance

in addressing the literacy needs of

juvenile offenders. OJJDP is also

proposing to expand its work on

juvenile aftercare services to target

specialized populations such as

adolescent female offenders, minority

youth, and juvenile offenders with

mental health and substance abuse

problems and to assess the lessons

learned about institutional programming

for serious and violent juvenile

offenders.

4. Helping Youth and Families Prevent

Violence

OJJDP proposes to expand its violence

prevention activities by focusing on

children who can be taught peaceful

ways of resolving problems, families

who can be counseled regarding

violence prevention, and teachers who

must effectively manage their

classrooms. One proposed project

would develop violence prevention

protocols for pediatricians similar to

those developed around unintentional

injuries such as motor vehicle accidents.

This project would respond to the need

to address homicide and other injuries

caused by interpersonal violence.

Children must also be taught to avoid

violence, and OJJDP proposes to expand

its work on bullying prevention by

providing training and technical

assistance to schools to implement the

highly successful and proven program

of Dr. Dan Olweus, the Principal

Investigator who developed, refined,

and systematically evaluated the

Bullying Prevention Program in

Norway. The program is one of the

Blueprints for Violence Prevention (see

the Blueprints program description

below, under the Strengthening the

Juvenile Justice System category of

programs). OJJDP is also considering

expanding training and technical

assistance resources to new teachers in

effective classroom and conflict

management. From lessons learned in

North Carolina, OJJDP would focus on

changing practices in colleges of

education and State boards of

education, which have responsibility to

create and manage the training of new

teachers.

5. Assessing and Meeting the Needs of

Status Offenders and Other Youth Upon

Initial Contact With the Juvenile Justice

System

OJJDP is proposing to fund a program

that would identify the best practices

and programs from around the country

that are effective in dealing with such

status offenses as truancy, running

away, curfew violations, alcohol

possession and use, and incorrigibility.

Juveniles who commit status offenses

may be taking a first step into the

juvenile justice system that will escalate

into delinquent behavior. Prevention

and treatment through early

intervention at this stage have proven to

be less expensive and more effective

than efforts to change subsequent

delinquent behavior.

OJJDP is also considering expanded

support for two existing programs that

address the needs of youth when they

first come to the attention of law

enforcement. One program would

provide guidelines, materials, training,

and technical assistance to the two

currently funded Community

Assessment Centers. These Centers

operate as a single point of entry into

the juvenile justice and the youth

services systems, provide immediate

and comprehensive assessment and

integrated case management, and

operate an appropriate management

information system (MIS). OJJDP is also

proposing to expand support for the

Child Development-Community

Policing model to support program

implementation in the current

replication sites. These ongoing

collaborations between law enforcement

and mental health professionals are

designed to better address children’s

exposure to violence, which has been

shown to be a risk factor for future

problem behaviors.

57916 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

6. Studying Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

(FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) as

Risk Factors for Delinquency

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal

Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) are

associated with a specific set of

neurobehavioral deficits that predispose

affected individuals to delinquent and

other high risk behaviors. A significant

percentage of youth in detention and

secure corrections may be affected by

undiagnosed FAS/FAE. Traditional

juvenile justice system programs are not

designed to serve this population, and

youth with FAS/FAE, once involved

with the juvenile justice system, are

likely to experience a high rate of

recidivism. OJJDP proposes to support a

study to assess the rate of FAS/FAE

youth within the juvenile justice

system, determine what services are

available, and develop screening and

individualized case management and

planning to better serve youth affected

by FAS/FAE.

7. Supporting Field-Initiated Research,

Demonstration, and Evaluation

Programs

OJJDP proposes to support fieldinitiated research, demonstration, and

evaluation projects that have the

potential to provide valuable

information to policymakers and

practitioners, complement the new and

current programs outlined in this

Proposed Program Plan, and support

OJJDP’s mission in significant and

creative ways. Topics explored in past

OJJDP-funded field-initiated research

include mental health issues in the

juvenile justice system; juvenile justice

system operations, sanctions, and

treatments; programs for at-risk and

female juvenile offenders; and

delinquency prevention.

8. Expanding the Use of Cost-Benefit

Analyses

OJJDP is interested in expanding the

uses of cost-benefit analyses in juvenile

justice. Up to now, their use has been

limited to select States or localities. As

a first step to promoting the greater use

of this method for assessing programs,

OJJDP would convene a group of experts

in the fields of policy analysis,

economics, and juvenile justice to

determine how cost-benefit analyses can

best be used for juvenile justice policy

analysis. Following the development of

a set of recommended analyses, OJJDP

would support the development of a

guide containing information on

methodology, data collection

instruments, and a set of standard cost

estimates.

9. Increasing the Capacity and

Effectiveness of Juvenile Probation

Despite the acknowledgment that

probation is the ‘‘workhorse’’ of the

juvenile justice system and many courts

are dependent upon probation officers

to assist them by recommending

appropriate dispositions in juvenile

cases, probation officers often receive

only limited training before assuming

their important roles and scant inservice training opportunities. OJJDP

proposes to fund the development of a

probation officer curriculum and to

provide limited technical assistance to

juvenile probation officers and their

agencies. One training curriculum

would be for supervisory staff, a second

one for field officers.

10. Understanding Youth Gangs in

Chronic Gang Cities

OJJDP proposes to combine multiple

state-of-the-art methods for

understanding youth gangs through a

single coordinated research project in

two or more large population, chronic

gang cities. The study would focus on

comparing gangs representing mutiple

racial/ethnic groups (e.g., predominately

African American, Hispanic, Asian,

White, American Indian, or mixed).

Research questions would include how

different ethnic gangs vary in gang

structure and group processes, what

factors predict peaks and valleys in gang

offending across each of the ethnic

groups over time, and what prevention,

intervention, and suppression

approaches are most appropriate to

respond to ethnic variations across a

chronic gang city. Some of the

methodological approaches that would

be employed include analysis of

incident-level law enforcement data,

crime and resource mapping systems,

school risk-factor surveys, qualitative

field studies, and gang member

interviews.

11. Integrating Culturally Sensitive and

Culturally Competent Strategies To

Prevent Disproportionate Minority

Confinement

OJJDP proposes to identify current

best practices and provide specialized

training and technical assistance to

assist States in their efforts to address

disproportionate minority confinement.

While many program managers have

made the initial step of broadening

existing programming by hiring

minority staff, a comprehensive

approach to culturally sensitive and

competent programming is needed.

Experts in the field of culturally

competent program design and

implementation would provide targeted

support to assist States in broadening

the scope of current delinquency

prevention programs. This initiative

would provide a critical tool in the

implementation of States’ compliance

with the disproportionate minority

confinement core protection.

12. Expanding the Comprehensive

Strategy Program

Recognizing the success of the

research-based Comprehensive Strategy

for Serious, Violent, and Chronic

Juvenile Offenders since its inception in

1993, this project would promote the

expansion of the Comprehensive

Strategy Program by supporting

planning and implementation in up to

eight new States and/or localities. In

addition, this project would support the

development or refinement of

management information systems in

communities developing or

implementing the Comprehensive

Strategy Program.

Fiscal Year 2001 Programs

The programs that OJJDP proposes to

fund in FY 2001 are listed

alphabetically and summarized within

each of the five categories discussed

previously: Overarching, Public Safety

and Law Enforcement, Strengthening

the Juvenile Justice System,

Delinquency Prevention and

Intervention, and Child Abuse and

Neglect and Dependency Courts.

With regard to implementation sites

and other descriptive data and

information, program priorities within

each category will be determined based

on grantee performance, application

quality, fund availability, and other

factors.

As part of the appropriations process,

Congress is likely to identify a number

of programs for funding consideration

with regard to the grantee(s), the amount

of funds, or both. These programs will

be listed in the Final Program Plan.

Congress is also likely to direct OJJDP to

examine certain programs, provide

assistance to them if warranted, and

report to the Committees on

Appropriations of both the House and

the Senate on its intention for each one.

These programs will also be listed in the

Final Program Plan.

Fiscal Year 2001 Program Listing

Overarching

Coalition for Juvenile Justice

Insular Area Support

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems

Development Program

National Resource Center for Safe

Schools

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57917

National Training and Technical

Assistance Center

OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract

OJJDP Technical Assistance Support

Contract—Juvenile

Justice Resource Center

Program of Research on the Causes and

Correlates of Delinquency

SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce

Youth Violence and Delinquency

Technical Assistance for State

Legislatures

Telecommunications Assistance

Training and Technical Assistance

Coordination for the SafeFutures

Initiative

Public Safety and Law Enforcement

Evaluation of the Comprehensive

Community-Wide Approach to Gang

Prevention, Intervention, and

Suppression Program

Evaluation of the Partnerships to

Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence

Program

Evaluation of the Rural Gang Initiative

Evaluation of the Transfer of

Responsibility for Child Protective

Investigations to Law Enforcement

Agencies

Gang Prevention Through Targeted

Outreach (Boys & Girls Clubs)

Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement

Training and Technical Assistance

Program

Mesa Gang Intervention Project (MGIP)

National Youth Gang Center

Rural Gang Initiative Demonstration

Sites

Technical Assistance to the Gang-Free

Schools and Communities Initiatives

Delinquency Prevention and

Intervention

Assessing Alcohol, Drug, and Mental

(ADM) Disorders Among Juvenile

Detainees

The Chicago Project for Violence

Prevention

Communities in Schools

Diffusion of State Risk- and ProtectiveFactor-Focused Prevention

Do the Write Thing Challenge Program

Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction

Demonstration Program

Intergenerational Transmission of

Antisocial Behavior

Investing in Youth for A Safer Future—

A Public Education Campaign

Multisite, Multimodal Treatment Study

of Children With Attention Deficit/

Hyperactivity Disorder

Risk Reduction Via Promotion of Youth

Development

Strengthening Services for Chemically

Involved Children, Youth, and

Families

Study of the Marketing of AgeRestricted Violent Entertainment to

Children

Technical Assistance for Community

Prevention Programs—Title V

Truancy Reduction Demonstration

Program

Strengthening the Juvenile Justice

System

Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ)

Training Project

Blueprints for Violence Prevention:

Training and Technical Assistance

Building Blocks for Youth

Census of Juveniles in Residential

Placement

Center for Students With Disabilities in

the Juvenile Justice System

Comprehensive Children and Families

Mental Health Training and Technical

Assistance

Connecticut/Cook County (IL) Girls

Collaborative

Development of the Comprehensive

Strategy for Serious, Violent, and

Chronic Juvenile Offenders

Evaluation of the Department of Labor’s

Education and Training for Youthful

Offenders Initiative

Evaluation of the Performance-Based

Standards Project

Evaluation of SafeFutures

Juvenile Defender Training, Technical

Assistance, and Resource Center

The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Unit

Juvenile Residential Facility Census

Longitudinal Study to Examine the

Development of Conduct Disorder in

Girls

National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis

Project

National Juvenile Justice Program

Directory

The National Longitudinal Survey of

Youth 97

Performance-Based Standards for

Juvenile Correction and Detention

Facilities

Study Group on Very Young Offenders

Systems Improvement Training and

Technical Assistance

Survey of Juvenile Probation

Technical Assistance to Native

American Tribes and Alaskan Native

Communities

TeenSupreme Career Preparation

Initiative

Child Abuse and Neglect and

Dependency Courts

National Evaluation of the Safe Kids/

Safe Streets Program

Safe Kids/Safe Streets: Community

Approaches to Reducing Abuse and

Neglect and Preventing Delinquency

Overarching

Coalition for Juvenile Justice

This project supports the Coalition for

Juvenile Justice, an organization

composed of member representatives of

State Advisory Groups appointed by

State Governors under section 223(a)(3)

of the JJDP Act to establish policies and

priorities for the Formula Grants

program. Pursuant to statutory

requirements, the Coalition will:

conduct an annual conference of

member representatives; disseminate

information on data, standards,

advanced techniques, and program

models developed and funded by OJJDP;

offer training on how to work with the

media on juvenile justice issues; review

Federal policies regarding juvenile

justice and delinquency prevention;

advise the Administrator with respect to

the work of OJJDP; and advise the

President and Congress with regard to

State perspectives on the operation of

the Office and Federal legislation

pertaining to juvenile justice and

delinquency prevention.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, the Coalition for

Juvenile Justice. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Insular Area Support

The purpose of this statutorily

required program is to provide support

to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam,

American Samoa, and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands. Funds are available to address

the special needs and problems of

juvenile delinquency in these insular

areas, as specified by Section 261(e) of

the JJDP Act of 1974, as amended, 42

U.S.C. 5665(e).

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

A component of the National Criminal

Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), the

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC)

collects, synthesizes, and disseminates

information on all aspects of juvenile

justice. OJJDP established the

Clearinghouse in 1979 to serve the

juvenile justice community, legislators,

the media, and the public. JJC offers tollfree telephone access to information;

prepares specialized responses to

information requests; produces,

warehouses, and distributes OJJDP

publications; exhibits at national

conferences; maintains a comprehensive

juvenile justice library and database;

and administers several electronic

information resources. NCJRS is

administered by the National Institute of

Justice (NIJ) under a competitively

awarded contract to Aspen Systems

Corporation.

This program will be implemented by

the current contractor, Aspen Systems

Corporation. No additional applications

will be solicited in FY 2001.

57918 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems

Development Program

The Juvenile Justice Statistics and

Systems Development (SSD) Program

was competitively awarded in 1990 to

the National Center for Juvenile Justice

(NCJJ) to improve national, State, and

local statistics on juveniles as victims

and offenders. The SSD project has

traditionally consisted of three tracks of

work: National Statistics,

Dissemination, and Systems

Development. In FY 2001, NCJJ would

continue many activities under the first

two tracks, including maintaining an

extensive library of data files, producing

Easy Access software packages and the

Web-based OJJDP Statistical Briefing

Book, and continuing to service requests

for juvenile justice information. In FY

2000, additional funding from OJJDP

allowed NCJJ to enhance activities

under the Systems Development track of

the project. This work would continue

with FY 2001 funding.

To meet the challenge of managing

the cases of youth within their

jurisdiction effectively and efficiently,

juvenile court administrators and judges

need ready access to information that

will support the operation,

management, and decisionmaking of the

full-service juvenile court system.

Knowledge-based decisionmaking

(which should be the hallmark of every

juvenile justice system) requires not just

the collection of data but the

collaboration of the community leaders

who will give meaning to the data. This

was the focus of the recently released

book Juvenile Justice With Eyes Open,

published in FY 2000 as part of the

Statistics and Systems Development

Project (Systems Development Track).

Also in FY 2000, NCJJ used the

principles outlined in this publication

to develop and field-test an approach

that local jurisdictions can employ to

systematically identify and fulfill their

local information needs. This includes

training local juvenile justice leaders in

the rational decisionmaking model

(RDM) as a design tool for management

information systems; developing data

specifications for an effective

information system to meet operational,

management, and research needs;

identifying data needs from collateral

service providers and data that will be

of use to collaterals; and modeling

agreements and protocols with collateral

service providers to share case-level

and/or aggregate data. Field-testing

would continue in FY 2001.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, the National

Center for Juvenile Justice. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

National Resource Center for Safe

Schools

Since 1984, OJJDP and the U.S.

Department of Education have provided

joint funding to promote safe schools.

This work has focused national

attention on cooperative solutions to

problems that disrupt the educational

process. Because an estimated 3 million

incidents of crime occur in America’s

schools each year, it is clear that this

problem continues to plague many

schools, threatening students’ safety and

undermining the learning environment.

With FY 1998 funding, the U.S.

Department of Education’s Safe and

Drug-Free Schools Program and OJJDP

established the National Resource

Center for Safe Schools for a 3-year

project period. This project expanded

the scope and provision of previous

training and technical assistance to

communities and school districts across

the country. The grantee is working to

help schools develop and put in place

comprehensive safe school plans. It

does this by providing onsite training

and consultation to schools and

communities, creating and distributing

resource materials and tools, providing

Web-based information services, and

partnering with State-level agencies to

build State capacity to assist local

education agencies. Through the

inclusion on the project’s Advisory

Committee of representatives of

Hamilton Fish National Institute on

School and Community Violence and

other school-related training and

technical assistance providers, this

project has developed training materials

and information resources based on the

latest research findings on effective

programs and best practices.

The grantee provided information,

training, and/or technical assistance to

more than 7,000 recipients. In addition,

the grantee developed a curriculum for

comprehensive school planning, trained

six school districts in South Carolina,

conducted two regional conferences,

issued and distributed a quarterly

newsletter, and convened a national

Advisory Committee Meeting.

During FY 2001, the National

Resource Center for Safe Schools will—

• Prepare and distribute topical fact

sheets and case studies.

• Provide training to a national

network of trainees through ‘‘training of

trainers.’’

• Conduct regional conferences on

safe school topics.

• Provide tailored onsite training and

technical assistance.

A new solicitation would be issued

and a grant awarded through a

competitive process in FY 2001.

National Training and Technical

Assistance Center

The National Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention Training and

Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC)

was established in FY 1995 under a

competitive 3-year project period award.

NTTAC serves as a national training and

technical assistance repository,

inventorying and coordinating the

integrated delivery of juvenile justice

training and technical assistance

resources and establishing a database of

these resources. NTTAC convened the

first in a series of annual OJJDP training

and technical assistance granteecontractor meetings that are used for

sharing of information, development of

policies, and collaboration and

coordination of efforts. NTTAC’s

funding in FY 1996 provided services in

the form of coordinated technical

assistance support for OJJDP’s

SafeFutures and gang program

initiatives, continued promotion of

collaboration between OJJDP training

and technical assistance providers,

developed training and technical

assistance materials, and completed and

disseminated the first OJJDP Training

and Technical Assistance Resource

Catalog.

In FY 1997, NTTAC disseminated a

second, updated Training and

Technical Assistance Resource Catalog;

created a Web site for the Center and a

ListServ for the Children, Youth and

Affinity Group; held three focus groups

on needs assessments; and coordinated

and provided 38 instances of technical

assistance in conjunction with OJJDP’s

training and technical assistance

grantees and contractors. In FY 1998,

NTTAC finalized the jurisdictional team

training and technical assistance

packages on critical needs in the

juvenile justice system, updated the

resource catalog, facilitated the annual

OJJDP training and technical assistance

grantee and contractor meeting,

developed a bimonthly newsletter

(NTTAC News), continued to update the

repository of training and technical

assistance materials and the electronic

database of training and technical

assistance materials, and continued to

respond to training and technical

assistance requests from the field. In FY

1999, NTTAC was operated by the

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, which

provided clearinghouse services and

maintained the 800 number. The fourth

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57919

grantee-contractor meeting was

conducted by OJJDP staff in Chicago,

and the training and technical

assistance protocols developed in 1998

were reviewed in preparation for final

issuance. In FY 2000, a competitive 1-

year contract was awarded to Caliber

Associates to continue implementation

of the Center. The Center has completed

a number of tasks, including

implementing the OJJDP Training,

Technical Assistance, and Evaluation

Protocols, developing three

supplemental technical assistance

packages on corrections, developing a

protocol for ensuring cultural

competency in the delivery of training

and technical assistance, issuing the

NTTAC newsletter, redesigning the

NTTAC Web site, developing and pilot

testing a training and technical

assistance data collection instrument in

support of the development of an Office

of Justice Programs comprehensive

training and technical assistance

database, updating the resource catalog,

and convening the 5th Annual OJJDP

Training and TA Grantee and Contractor

Meeting.

In FY 2001, the Center would

continue developing marketing

materials and managing the brokering of

training and technical assistance

requests received by the Center via the

800 number, e-mail, and the Web site.

The contractor would also redesign and

increase the capacity of the NTTAC Web

site, increase the capacity of the Center

resource repository, redesign the

Center’s database and resource catalog

using the training and technical

assistance data collection instrument

developed and tested in FY 2000,

provide train-the-trainers workshops for

OJJDP grantee-contractors, provide

technical support on curriculum

development and specialized technical

assistance protocols, and develop fact

sheets, bulletins, and newsletters.

A new solicitation would be issued

and a contract awarded through a

competitive contract action in FY 2001.

OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract

This contract was competitively

awarded in FY 1999 to Caliber

Associates for a period of 4 years to

provide OJJDP with an expert resource

to perform independent program

evaluations and assist in implementing

evaluation activities. Caliber is currently

conducting a national evaluation of

Title V—Community Prevention Grants

for Local Delinquency Prevention

Programs. The evaluation is designed to

examine the viability and effectiveness

of the Title V delinquency prevention

model. To address the research

questions, the evaluation is examining

the key stages of program

implementation at the local level, which

include community mobilization,

assessment and planning,

implementation, and

institutionalization and monitoring.

Other evaluation activities include

building local evaluation capacity by

conducting ongoing evaluation

technical assistance and training

activities to meet the individual

evaluation needs of Title V subgrantees

and developing the annual Title V

Report to Congress.

This contract will be implemented by

the current contractor, Caliber

Associates. No additional applications

will be solicited in FY 2001.

OJJDP Technical Assistance Support

Contract—Juvenile Justice Resource

Center

This contract has been competitively

awarded since the mid-1980’s when

OJJDP identified the need for technical

assistance support in carrying out its

mission. FY 2001 is the third year of a

4-year project period. The Juvenile

Justice Resource Center (JJRC) provides

technical assistance and support to

OJJDP, its grantees, and the

Coordinating Council on Juvenile

Justice and Delinquency Prevention in

the areas of program development,

evaluation, training, and research. With

assistance from expert consultants, JJRC

coordinates the peer review process for

OJJDP grant applications and grantee

reports, conducts research and prepares

reports on current juvenile justice

issues, plans meetings and conferences,

and provides administrative support to

various Federal councils and boards.

This contract will be implemented by

the current contractor, Aspen Systems

Corporation. No additional applications

will be solicited in FY 2001.

Program of Research on the Causes and

Correlates of Delinquency

Since 1986, this longitudinal study

has addressed a variety of issues related

to juvenile violence and delinquency

and has produced a massive amount of

information on the causes and correlates

of delinquent behavior. Three project

sites participate: Institute of Behavioral

Science, University of Colorado at

Boulder; Western Psychiatric Institute

and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh; and

Hindelang Criminal Justice Research

Center, University at Albany, State

University of New York. These projects

are designed to improve the

understanding of serious delinquency,

violence, and drug use by examining

how youth develop within the context

of family, school, peers, and

community. The three sites engage in

both collaborative and site-specific

research. The three research teams

worked together to ensure that certain

core measures were identical across the

sites. This strengthens the findings from

these projects by allowing for

replications of findings in individual

sites and enabling cross-site analyses.

Results from the study have been used

extensively in the field of juvenile

justice and contributed significantly to

the development of OJJDP’s

Comprehensive Strategy for Serious,

Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders

and other program initiatives. Over the

years, findings from the Causes and

Correlates research have been presented

in a number of OJJDP Bulletins and Fact

Sheets. In an effort to make these

important findings increasingly

accessible to the public, a Causes and

Correlates of Delinquency subpage has

been incorporated into the OJJDP Web

site. The subpage (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/

ccd/index.html) includes descriptions

of the individual projects and a

bibliography of all the publications

resulting from these projects.

In the upcoming year—the second

year in a 3-year project period, the

Causes and Correlates projects will

continue collaborative and site-specific

analyses of the data. Topics for

upcoming reports will include defining

characteristics and predictors of very

young offending, consequences of

delinquency, and long term effects of

juvenile justice system involvement. In

addition, researchers at the three sites

will continue efforts to provide

researchers access to the Causes and

Correlates data. Concerns about

confidentiality prohibit the release of

the data sets to the general public.

However, OJJDP and the Causes and

Correlates researchers have been

exploring alternative methods of making

the data more accessible to other

researchers, the most promising being a

remote access system. Plans for the

upcoming year include developing and

testing a remote access system at one of

the sites.

This program will be implemented by

the current grantees, the Regents of the

University of Colorado, the University

of Pittsburgh; and the Research

Foundation of the State University of

New York at Albany, SUNY. No

additional applications will be solicited

in FY 2001.

SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce

Youth Violence and Delinquency

In FY 1995, OJJDP competitively

selected six communities to implement

the SafeFutures Program. SafeFutures

seeks to prevent and control youth

crime and victimization through the

57920 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

creation of a continuum of care in

communities. This continuum enables

communities to be responsive to the

needs of youth at critical stages of their

development by providing an

appropriate range of prevention,

intervention, treatment, and sanctions

programs. The services provided

through these programs include family

strengthening; afterschool activities;

mentoring; treatment alternatives for

juvenile female offenders; mental health

services; day treatment; graduated

sanctions for serious, violent, and

chronic juvenile offenders; and gang

prevention, intervention, and

suppression.

OJJDP will award fifth year funding to

the Boston SafeFutures site in order to

complete its 5-year project period,

which began in FY 1995 through a

competitive process. In FY 2001, Boston

SafeFutures will continue to provide a

set of services that builds on community

strengths and existing services and fills

in gaps within their existing continuum.

Specific attention will also be given to

improving the coordination and

integration of services and program

sustainability within Boston.

In addition, within the program

developments and system changes that

have occurred in the other five

communities, there are promising

activities, programs, and approaches

that can serve as a model for other

communities. In FY 2001, OJJDP will

provide limited support through a

competitive process among the

SafeFutures grantees to assist the sites

in sustaining these aspects of the

programs. The Boston project will not

be finished with the fifth year of the

project at that time and thus would not

be eligible for these funds.

A national evaluation is being

conducted by the Urban Institute to

determine the success of the initiative

and track lessons learned at each of the

six SafeFutures sites. OJJDP has also

committed training and technical

assistance resources to SafeFutures sites

in FY 2001.

SafeFutures activities will be

implemented by the current grantees.

No additional applications will be

solicited in FY 2001.

Technical Assistance for State

Legislatures

Since FY 1995, OJJDP has awarded

annual grants to the National

Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

to provide relevant, timely information

on comprehensive approaches in

juvenile justice to aid State legislators in

improving State juvenile justice

systems. Nearly every State has enacted,

or is considering, statutory changes

affecting the juvenile justice system.

This project has helped policymakers

understand the ramifications and

nuances of juvenile justice reform.

The grant has improved capacity for

the delivery of information services to

State legislatures. The project also

supports increased communication

between State legislators and State and

local leaders who influence

decisionmaking regarding juvenile

justice issues. In FY 2000, NCSL

published and distributed the second

edition of ‘‘Comprehensive Justice: A

Legislator’s Guide.’’ Designed as a folder

containing a series of briefing papers,

the guide focuses on systemic juvenile

justice from a policy perspective and

includes many examples of how State

legislation has created or implemented

components of comprehensive juvenile

justice.

NCSL has also provided onsite

technical assistance to many States

developing or refining legislation. It has

conducted annual invitational forums

for select legislators involved in

legislative activity that may warrant

increased understanding on various

juvenile justice issues. NCSL also

maintains an informational

clearinghouse on juvenile justice issues.

In FY 2001, NCSL would—

• Provide tailored, in-State assistance

to four legislatures.

• Produce and distribute a 60-minute

audiotape based on ‘‘Comprehensive

Justice: A Legislator’s Guide.’’

• Prepare and distribute to legislators

and staff two LegisBriefs (fact sheets) on

key juvenile justice topics.

• Plan and convene a concurrent

session at the NCSL 2001 annual

convention.

• Continue research, analysis, and

reporting on State juvenile justice

enactments.

The project would be implemented by

the current grantee, the National

Conference of State Legislatures. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Telecommunications Assistance

OJJDP uses information technology

and distance training to facilitate access

to information and training for juvenile

justice professionals. This cost-effective

medium enhances OJJDP’s ability to

share with the field salient elements of

the most effective or promising

approaches to various juvenile justice

issues. In FY 1995, OJJDP awarded a

competitive grant to Eastern Kentucky

University (EKU) to produce live

satellite teleconferences. In FY 2000,

OJJDP continued the cooperative

agreement with EKU to provide program

support and technical assistance for a

variety of information technologies and

to explore linkages with key constituent

groups to advance mutual information

goals and objectives. This medium

allows practitioners, policymakers, and

researchers from across the country to

keep abreast of developments in the

field without having to travel. A typical

videoconference will reach some 500

sites and approximately 15,000 persons

at downlink sites and through personal

computers.

During FY 2000, EKU produced five

‘‘live’’ satellite videoconferences and

experimented with cybercasting ‘‘live’’

satellite videoconferences on the

Internet. OJJDP has employed the use of

Internet Streaming to simultaneously

allow persons to observe and hear

satellite videoconferences from desktop

personal computers.

Currently, project staff are studying

the feasibility of taking past satellite

videoconference materials, video,

printed hardcopy materials, and

interviews with panelists and

developing a Web-based tool or CD–

ROM of the information to be used as

a training or educational tool. EKU

would continue to provide technical

assistance to other organizations

planning to conduct satellite

videoconferences.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, Eastern Kentucky

University. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Training and Technical Assistance

Coordination for the SafeFutures

Initiative

OJJDP proposes to continue funding

for limited training and technical

assistance to the SafeFutures Initiative

in FY 2001. This coordination effort

enhances local capacity for

implementing and sustaining effective

continuum-of-care and systems change

approaches in the six SafeFutures sites.

Project activities include assessment,

identification, and coordination of the

implementation of training and

technical assistance needs at each of the

sites. In FY 2001, this training and

technical assistance would focus on

sustaining the successes that the sites

achieved during the previous years of

the program.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, Patricia

Donahue. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57921

Public Safety and Law Enforcement

Evaluation of the Comprehensive

Community-Wide Approach to Gang

Prevention, Intervention, and

Suppression Program

OJJDP will continue funding this

evaluation in FY 2001. Under a

competitive cooperative agreement

awarded in FY 1995, the evaluation

grantee assisted the five program sites

(Bloomington, IL; Mesa, AZ; Riverside,

CA; San Antonio, TX; and Tucson, AZ)

in establishing realistic and measurable

objectives, documenting program

implementation, and measuring the

impact of this comprehensive approach.

It has also provided interim feedback to

the program implementors and trained

the local site interviewers. The grantee

will continue to gather and analyze data

required to evaluate the program,

monitor and oversee the quality control

of data, provide assistance for

completion of interviews, and provide

ongoing feedback to project sites. This

project began in 1995 and will end in

2002.

This project will be implemented by

the current grantee, the University of

Chicago, School of Social Service

Administration. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Evaluation of the Partnerships To

Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence Program

This project began with a competitive

award in FY 1997 to document and

evaluate the process of community

mobilization, planning, and

collaboration needed to develop a

comprehensive, collaborative approach

to reducing gun violence involving

juveniles. The Partnerships To Reduce

Juvenile Gun Violence Program is being

implemented in three sites: Baton

Rouge, LA; Oakland, CA; and Syracuse,

NY. The grantee, COSMOS Corporation,

would continue data collection and

submit a interim report on the impact

evaluation in the next year. In addition

to working with the three Partnership

sites, COSMOS Corporation completed

work in FY 2000 on the OJJDP Bulletin

Fighting Juvenile Gun Violence and has

developed a training and technical

assistance protocol based on its

experience with the Partnership sites

and the gun violence report. This

training and technical assistance

package will be offered to a limited

number of communities that are focused

on reducing gun violence through a

collaborative planning process.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, COSMOS

Corporation. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Rural Gang Initiative

This initiative is a continuation of

ongoing efforts to test OJJDP’s

Comprehensive Gang Model. In FY

1999, four competitively selected rural

sites conducted comprehensive

assessments of their local gang problem

and developed program designs to

implement the Comprehensive Gang

Model. These sites were Elk City, OK;

Glenn County, CA; Mt. Vernon, IL; and

Longview, WA. The evaluation grantee,

the National Council on Crime and

Delinquency (NCCD), has conducted

case studies to document and analyze

the 1-year community assessment and

program planning efforts in the four

sites. These case studies will contribute

to the development of a model approach

to assessment of community gang

problems in rural areas. NCCD has also

developed an outcome evaluation

design for sites that are being funded to

implement the model in subsequent

years. FY 2000 was the first year of

funding for the outcome evaluation, and

FY 2001 funding would continue to

support data collection for this

evaluation.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, the National

Council on Crime and Delinquency. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Transfer of

Responsibility for Child Protective

Investigations to Law Enforcement

Agencies

In response to concerns about the

increasing demands on public child

welfare agencies, the safety of children,

and the effectiveness of law

enforcement and social service agencies

to deliver critical services, the State of

Florida passed legislation in 1998 that

allows for the transfer of the entire

responsibility for child protective

investigations to a law enforcement

agency. Currently, three counties in

Florida are in various stages of

implementing this transfer of

responsibility. This project is comparing

the outcomes in the three counties

where responsibility is being transferred

to the sheriff’s office with three

comparison counties in the State of

Florida. The project is concerned

primarily with whether children are

safer, whether perpetrators of severe

child abuse are more likely to face

criminal sanctions, and whether there

are impacts on other parts of the child

welfare system. Also, a thorough

process evaluation will be conducted to

describe and compare the

implementation process across the three

counties. This project is in the final year

of a 3-year period.

This evaluation is being funded under

an interagency agreement with the

National Institute of Justice. The grantee

is the School of Social Work, University

of Pennsylvania. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Gang Prevention Through Targeted

Outreach (Boys & Girls Clubs)

The purpose of this program is to

enable local Boys & Girls Clubs to

prevent youth from entering gangs,

intervene with gang members in the

early stages of gang involvement, and

divert youth from gang activities into

more constructive programs. This

program reflects the ongoing

collaboration between OJJDP and the

Boys & Girls Clubs to reduce problems

of juvenile delinquency and violence.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America

provides training and technical

assistance to local gang prevention and

intervention sites, including some at

OJJDP Comprehensive Gang sites, and to

other clubs and organizations through

regional trainings and national

conferences. In FY 2000, the Boys &

Girls Clubs added new gang prevention

sites, gang intervention sites, and

‘‘Targeted Reintegration’’ sites where

clubs work to provide services to youth

returning to the community from

juvenile correctional facilities to prevent

them from returning to gangs and

violence. In FY 2001, the Boys & Girls

Clubs of America would identify and

support up to 30 new gang prevention

sites through targeted outreach and

would also hold a Delinquency and

Gang Prevention Symposium in the

spring. A national evaluation of this

program is being implemented by

Public/Private Ventures.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, the Boys & Girls

Clubs of America. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement

Training and Technical Assistance

Program

The Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement

Training and Technical Assistance

Program explores adolescent violence in

the United States as a social

phenomenon and a policy issue. The

program covers a range of youth

violence issues including the

examination of crime statistics and

emerging legislation. The program also

conducts analysis of key areas of youth

violence policy and practice: youth

firearm possession and use; school

violence and safety; youth-oriented

57922 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

community policing; gang and drug

involvement; serious, violent, and

habitual juvenile offenders;

multidisciplinary youth violence

strategies; police management of youth

programs; tribal juvenile crime; and

Chief Executive Officer responses to

delinquency and violence.

The program examines the core issues

of youth violence using methods that

are consistent with effective police

practices and that promote a more

positive future for America’s youth.

Similarly, leaders in the areas of law

enforcement, prosecution, the courts,

corrections, probation, and other

juvenile justice agencies receive

information, materials training and

technical assistance designed to solve

managerial issues that hinder the

implementation of effective youth crime

prevention strategies.

Since FY 1999, Federal funds have

supported the provision of training

sessions and technical assistance to

State and local law enforcement

jurisdictions. In FY 2000, the following

workshops were conducted: (1) School

Administrators For Effective Police

Operations Leading to Improved

Children and Youth Services and (2)

Serious Habitual Offender

Comprehensive Action Program

(SHOCAP). Based on practitioner

feedback and needs assessment data, the

grantee completed revisions to the Chief

Executive Officer Youth Violence

Forum. Additionally, an instructional

design committee has been formed to

revise and update the following: Youth,

Gang, Gun and Drug Policy; Youth

Oriented Community Policing, and the

Youth Violence Reduction

Comprehensive Action Program. A new

workshop, Tribal Law Enforcement

Training and Technical Assistance, is

also under development. The grantee

will continue to provide training and

technical assistance through the

workshops series described above.

This program will be implemented by

the current grantee, the International

Association of Chiefs of Police. No

additional applications will be solicited

in FY 2001.

Mesa Gang Intervention Project (MGIP)

In FY 1995, OJJDP competitively

selected the City of Mesa to be one of

five communities to implement and test

the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model.

Since that time, the Mesa Gang

Intervention Project (MGIP) has become

an exciting and promising gang

intervention program. The program

targets youth in Mesa who are gang

involved and youth who are at high-risk

for gang involvement. The program

provides a cadre of services including

job skill development, counseling, drug

and alcohol treatment and prevention,

tattoo removal services, and outreach.

The program monitors gang-involved

youth, holding them accountable for

negative behaviors. The program has

developed into a partnership with many

agencies in Mesa, including police,

adult and juvenile probation, United

Way, local Boys & Girls Clubs, other

youth-serving agencies, private

businesses/corporations, and others.

Preliminary evaluation information

from MGIP looks very promising in

reducing youth gang crime among

targeted youth. Additionally, the

program has been well received locally

and most program components and staff

have been sustained with local funds.

In FY 2001, OJJDP would provide

limited additional support to MGIP to

continue the local evaluation and

assessment activities and allow MGIP to

function as a ‘‘host’’ site for future

OJJDP training on the Comprehensive

Gang Model.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, the City of Mesa,

AZ. No additional applications would

be solicited in FY 2001.

National Youth Gang Center

The proliferation of gang problems

over the past two decades led OJJDP to

develop a comprehensive, coordinated

response to America’s gang problem.

This response involved five program

components, one of which was

implementation and operation of the

National Youth Gang Center (NYGC).

Competitively funded in 1994 to expand

and maintain the body of critical

knowledge about youth gangs and

effective responses to them, NYGC

provides support services to the

National Youth Gang Consortium,

composed of Federal agencies with

responsibilities in this area. NYGC is

also providing technical assistance for

OJJDP’s Rural Gang Initiative. In FY

2000, NYGC (1) conducted indepth

analyses of the National Youth Gang

Survey results that track changes in

gang membership and activity, (2)

produced timely information on the

nature and scope of the youth gang

problem, (3) continued tracking gangrelated legislation at both the State and

Federal level, and (4) continued

providing training and technical

assistance to the Rural Gang Initiative

program sites.

With FY 2001 funds, the Center

would continue to collect, analyze, and

disseminate current, comprehensive,

and accurate national-level gang-related

information. It would continue to assist

State and local jurisdictions in the

collection, analysis, and exchange of

information on gang-related

demographics, legislation, literature,

research, and promising program

strategies. The Center would also

continue to provide indepth technical

assistance to rural gang initiative

grantees and to grantees of other OJJDP

gang programs.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, the Institute for

Intergovernmental Research. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Rural Gang Initiative Demonstration

Sites

During FY 2000, OJJDP competitively

funded four rural communities (Elk

City, OK; Glenn County, CA; Longview,

WA; and Mount Vernon, IL) to conduct

a comprehensive assessment of the local

youth gang problem. Each site has

collected relevant data from multiple

sources, including police, schools,

courts, and community residents. They

have gathered various types of data,

including data on gang crime, the

presence of risk factors for gang

membership, and community

demographics, and data from

community surveys and focus groups.

This information was used in each site

to determine the nature and scope of the

existing youth gang problems. A

steering committee made up of

community representatives in each site

used the final assessment findings to

develop a response to the problems

identified. In two of the four sites, it was

determined and agreed locally that an

intensive gang intervention effort was

not necessary. Instead, these two

communities will use the data to

develop gang prevention services and

intervene with delinquent and ganginvolved youth through a less intensive

effort. The remaining two sites have

determined that a more intensive gang

intervention effort is required and

would implement the OJJDP

Comprehensive Gang Model in FY 2001.

In FY 2001, OJJDP would support the

two communities implementing the

OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model. An

independent evaluation of these two

sites would also be conducted and

technical assistance would be provided

through the National Youth Gang

Center.

This initiative would be implemented

by two of the four current grantees,

Glenn County, CA and Mount Vernon,

IL. No additional applications would be

solicited for this initiative in FY 2001.

Technical Assistance to the Gang-Free

Schools and Communities Initiatives

In FY 2000, OJJDP launched a

multisite replication of the OJJDP

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57923

Comprehensive Gang Model and a foursite demonstration program to

implement the Model and further

enhance the Model’s school component.

In FY 2001, OJJDP proposes to fund the

National Youth Gang Center to provide

training and technical assistance during

the implementation stages of this

initiative in selected communities

across the country. The National Youth

Gang Center is currently providing

technical assistance on OJJDP’s Model

to communities involved in OJJDP’s

Rural Gang Initiative and to other OJJDP

grantees.

OJJDP would provide a supplemental

award to the National Youth Gang

Center to provide the technical

assistance. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Delinquency Prevention and

Intervention

Assessing Alcohol, Drug, and Mental

(ADM) Disorders Among Juvenile

Detainees

This project is a major longitudinal

study assessing alcohol, drug, and

mental disorders among juveniles in the

Cook County Detention Center in

Chicago, IL. The project has three

primary goals: (1) to determine how

alcohol, drug, and mental disorders

develop over time among juvenile

detainees, (2) to investigate whether

juvenile detainees receive needed

psychiatric services after their cases

reach disposition (whether they return

to the community or are incarcerated),

and (3) to study the development and

interrelationship of dangerous and risky

behaviors related to violence, substance

use, and HIV/AIDS. This project is

unique because the sample is so large:

it includes 1,833 youth from Chicago

who were arrested and interviewed

between 1995 and 1998. The sample is

stratified by gender, race (African

American, Hispanic, non-Hispanic

white), and age. Initial interviews have

been completed, and extensive archival

data (arrest and incarceration history,

health and mental health treatment, etc.)

collected on each subject. The

investigators have been tracking the

subjects and are now conducting the

first set of followup interviews. A

significant number of deaths, virtually

all of them linked to violence (e.g.

gunshot wounds), have already

occurred. Because of their extensive and

thorough tracking procedures, the

investigators will be able to reinterview

subjects regardless of whether they are

back in the community, incarcerated, or

have left the immediate area. The large

sample size will provide sufficient

statistical power to study rarer disorders

(including co-occurring disorders),

patterns of drug use, and risky, lifethreatening behaviors.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, Northwestern

University. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

The Chicago Project for Violence

Prevention

The Chicago Project for Violence

Prevention is a citywide, long-term

effort to reduce violence. Objectives

include reductions in homicide,

physical injury, disability and

emotional harm from assault, domestic

abuse, sexual abuse and rape, and child

abuse and neglect. A partnership among

the Chicago Department of Public

Health, the Illinois Council for the

Prevention of Violence, the University

of Illinois, and Chicago communities,

the project began in 1995 with joint

funding from OJJDP and the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, the

National Center for Injury Prevention

and Control, the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, and the U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development. The

Project now provides technical

assistance to seven Chicago

communities and citywide

organizations involved in violence

prevention planning. In FY 2001, the

Chicago Project would complete

evaluation reports on the first three

communities involved in the project.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, the University of

Illinois, School of Public Health. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Communities In Schools, Inc.

The purpose of Communities In

Schools (CIS) is to provide training and

technical assistance to the CIS Network

that will result in increased ability to

build economic opportunity for CIS

students and families, to build healthy

families and communities, and to build

healthy public-private partnerships

throughout the CIS Network. A special

focus is placed on strengthening the

families of CIS youth. In FY 2000, CIS

has exceeded anticipated outcomes and

demonstrated that grant resources have

leveraged additional activity for family

strengthening activities in the CIS

Network. Working with the Families

and Schools Together (FAST) National

Training and Evaluation Center, CIS is

creating a network of expert trainers to

disseminate proven family

strengthening initiatives. To that end,

the focus has been on ‘‘seeding’’ the CIS

Network with the Families and Schools

Together (FAST) research-based

approach to family strengthening. The

implementation of the FAST program is

taking place through statewide

initiatives in Missouri, North Carolina,

and South Carolina, and interest in

statewide replication has been

identified in Georgia, Kentucky, and

Texas. In FY 2001, Communities In

Schools would expand the number of

sites in the CIS Network implementing

the FAST program.

The program would be implemented

by the current grantee, Communities In

Schools, Inc. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Diffusion of State Risk- and ProtectiveFactor-Focused Prevention

Since FY 1997, OJJDP has provided

funds to the National Institute on Drug

Abuse, through an interagency

agreement, to support this 5-year study

of the public health approach to

prevention, focusing on risk and

protective factors for substance abuse at

the State and community levels. The

study is identifying factors that

influence the adoption of the public

health approach and assessing the

association between this approach and

the levels of risk and protective factors

and substance abuse among adolescents.

The study will also examine State

substance abuse data gathered from

1988 through 2001 and use interviews

to describe the process of implementing

the epidemiological risk- and protectivefactor approach in Colorado, Illinois,

Kansas, Maine, Oregon, Utah, and

Washington.

This project will be implemented

under an interagency agreement with

the National Institute on Drug Abuse by

the current grantee, the Social

Development Research Group at the

University of Washington School of

Social Work. No additional applications

will be solicited in FY 2001.

Do the Write Thing Challenge Program

This program provides youth at risk of

delinquency, crime, and victimization

with an opportunity to use the written

word to express their ideas on how best

to address these problems in their

communities. The program uses

teachers and volunteers from law

enforcement, the juvenile justice

system, the medical community, and

youth-serving organizations to work

with the youth to develop their ideas

and put them on paper in narrative or

poetic form. Program participants learn

to respect others’ ideas and to

understand the value and power of

words. Students are asked to accept the

challenge and pledge to avoid violence

in their own lives and help prevent and

reduce it in the lives of others.

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With OJJDP funding, which began in

FY 1997, the program has expanded to

18 cities with more than 450 schools

and youth-serving organizations

participating. This past school year,

more than 50,000 students participated

in the program’s classroom discussions

about youth violence and possible

solutions. In FY 2001, the program

would prepare a comprehensive

analysis of at least 5,000 student

submissions, publish a summary and

develop a computer presentation of that

analysis, and provide training and

technical assistance to help the local Do

the Write Thing committees establish a

new initiative, Community Peace

Partnerships, to unite local groups

working to prevent and reduce youth

violence and victimization.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, the National

Campaign to Stop Violence. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction

Demonstration Program

In FY 1999, OJJDP began funding

seven sites around the country to

implement truancy reduction programs.

Grantees, representing a diversity of

models and geographic locations,

include Contra Costa, CA; Honolulu, HI;

Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; King

County, WA; Suffolk County, NY; and

Tacoma, WA. Also in 1998, OJJDP

funded the Colorado Foundation for

Families and Children (CFFC) to

conduct a national evaluation of the

Truancy Reduction Demonstration

Program. As part of the evaluation,

CFFC is working with the sites to (1)

determine how community

collaboration can impact truancy

reduction and lead to systemic reform;

and (2) assist OJJDP in the development

of a community collaborative truancy

reduction program model and identify

the essential elements of that model. To

that end, CFFC will continue to assist

project sites during this second year to

identify and document the nature of the

truancy problem in their communities,

enhance the process of effective truancy

reduction planning and collaboration,

and incorporate that process into the

implementation of the Truancy

Reduction Demonstration Program at

each site. In addition, CFFC is assisting

sites in collecting information on truant

youth and documenting services. The

project is scheduled to last 31⁄2 years.

This project will be implemented by

the current grantee, the Colorado

Foundation for Families and Children.

No additional applications will be

solicited in FY 2001.

Intergenerational Transmission of

Antisocial Behavior

The purpose of this study, started in

FY 1998, is to examine the development

of childhood antisocial behavior in a

three-generation prospective panel

study, by making the children of the

current participants in the OJJDPsponsored Rochester Youth

Development Study the focal subjects of

a new long-term study. By the age of 21,

40 percent of the original Rochester

participants were parents. The study

will combine data obtained from the

original study on the participants and

their parents, with data from this new

project collected on the children of the

original participants. This provides the

unique opportunity to examine and

track the development of delinquent

behavior across three generations in a

particularly high-risk sample. Such a

cohort is rare in social science research.

The results of the study should provide

very useful findings that should have

policy implications for prevention

programs. In the second year of this 5-

year commitment, the program will

continue data collection.

The project will be implemented

under an interagency agreement with

the National Institute of Mental Health

by the current grantee, the University at

Albany, State University of New York.

No additional applications will be

solicited in FY 2001.

Investing in Youth for a Safer Future—

A Public Education Campaign

OJJDP is proposing to continue its

support of the National Crime

Prevention Council’s (NCPC’s) ‘‘Invest

in Youth for a Safer Future’’ advertising

campaign through the transfer of funds

to the Bureau of Justice Assistance

(BJA). OJJDP and BJA are working with

NCPC to produce, disseminate, and

support effective public service

advertising and related media to inform

the public of effective solutions to

juvenile crime and to motivate young

people and adults to get involved and

support these solutions. The featured

solutions include effective prevention

programs and intervention strategies.

The program would be implemented

under an interagency agreement with

the Bureau of Justice Assistance by the

current grantee, the National Crime

Prevention Council. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Multisite, Multimodal Treatment Study

of Children With Attention Deficit/

Hyperactivity Disorder

OJJDP will transfer funds under a 5-

year interagency agreement with the

National Institute of Mental Health

(NIMH) to support this research, funded

principally by NIMH. In 1992, NIMH

began a study of the long-term efficacy

of stimulant medication and intensive

behavioral and educational treatment

for children with attention deficit/

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Although ADHD is classified as a

childhood disorder, up to 70 percent of

afflicted children continue to

experience symptoms in adolescence

and adulthood. The study will continue

through 2001 and will follow the

original families and a comparison

group. OJJDP’s participation, which

began in FY 1998, supports continued

investigations into the subjects’

delinquent behavior and contact with

the legal system, including arrests and

court referrals.

This program will be implemented

through an interagency agreement with

the National Institute of Mental Health.

No additional applications will be

solicited in FY 2001.

Risk Reduction Via Promotion of Youth

Development

Also known as Early Alliance, this

program, begun in FY 1997, is a largescale prevention study involving

hundreds of children in several

elementary schools in lower

socioeconomic neighborhoods of

Columbia, SC. This project is designed

to promote coping competence and

reduce risk for conduct problems,

aggression, substance use, delinquency

and violence, and school failure

beginning in early elementary school.

The interventions begin in the first

grade, and children are followed

longitudinally throughout the 5 years of

the project. A major goal of the project

is to reduce the development of conduct

problems, aggression, and subsequent

delinquency and violence. The project

also seeks to alter home and school

climates in order to reduce risk for

adverse outcomes and to promote

positive youth development. This

project is in the final year of a 5-year

project period.

This project will be implemented

under an interagency agreement with

the National Institute of Mental Health

by the current grantee, the University of

South Carolina. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Strengthening Services for Chemically

Involved Children, Youth, and Families

The U.S. Departments of Justice and

Health and Human Services (HHS)

provide services to children affected by

parental substance use or abuse. OJJDP

administers this training and technical

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57925

assistance program, which began in FY

1998. HHS’s Substance Abuse and

Mental Health Services Administration

has partnered with OJJDP to fund a

cooperative agreement with the Child

Welfare League of America (CWLA), a

nonprofit organization. CWLA is

assisting child welfare personnel to

provide appropriate intervention

services for children impacted by the

abuse of alcohol and other drugs (AOD)

and for their caregivers. CWLA is

producing a comprehensive assessment

tool and decisionmaking guidelines for

child welfare workers and supervisors.

CWLA training and technical assistance

will help to develop innovative and

effective approaches to meeting the

needs of children in the child welfare

system whose parents are AOD abusers.

Previously, the grantee developed a

curriculum based on the Substance

Affected Families Environmental and

Strengths Assessment, drafted a training

outline, edited design materials, and

provided ongoing support to CWLA

national training staff. In FY 2001,

CWLA would continue the development

and online dissemination of resource

materials, training, and technical

assistance to improve the ability of child

welfare and juvenile justice direct

service professionals to prepare youth in

out-of-home care for adulthood,

promote their positive development,

and support them in avoiding high-risk

behaviors.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, the Child

Welfare League of America. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Study of the Marketing of Age-Restricted

Violent Entertainment to Children

This study, announced on June 1,

1999, is being conducted by the Federal

Trade Commission (FTC), with financial

support from OJJDP. The study will

report on whether, and to what extent,

movies, video and computer games, and

music recordings that are age-restricted

because of their violent content are

marketed or are available to children.

The FTC has completed the four major

tasks of this program: developed basic

background information on the three

industries and developed the study plan

and procedures, surveyed industries to

determine age groups being targeted in

industry promotions, surveyed juveniles

and parents to determine attitudes

toward ratings, and conducted a survey

to determine the degree of compliance

with existing industry ratings. Data are

now being analyzed and the final report

being written. Additional funding in FY

2001 would be used to disseminate

study results to parents, children, and

other OJJDP constituent groups.

This project would be implemented

by the Federal Trade Commission under

an extension to an interagency fund

transfer agreement. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Technical Assistance for Community

Prevention Programs—Title V

The purpose of this FY 2000 contract

is to provide OJJDP with the capacity to

provide communities with training and

technical assistance support for

implementation of the Title V—

Community Prevention Grants program.

The contractor will continue to provide

nationwide training and technical

assistance for State and local

jurisdictions on developing and

implementing comprehensive

communitywide, data-based

delinquency prevention strategies.

Through training and technical

assistance, community representatives

develop the knowledge and skills

necessary to assess risk and protective

factors for delinquency prevention.

Community leaders will be trained to

identify and direct community

resources to address identified risk

factors.

This project will be implemented by

the current contractor, Development

Services Group. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Truancy Reduction Demonstration

Program

In FY 1998, OJJDP, the Office of

Justice Programs’ Executive Office of

Weed and Seed, and the U.S.

Department of Education jointly

engaged in a grant program to address

truancy. This program specifically

outlines four major comprehensive

components: (1) system reform and

accountability, (2) a service continuum

to address the needs of children and

adolescents who are truant, (3) data

collection and evaluation, and (4) a

community education and awareness

program from kindergarten through

grade 12 that addresses the need to

prevent truancy and to intervene with

youth who are truant. The goals of this

program are to develop and implement

or expand and strengthen

comprehensive truancy programs that

pool education, justice system, law

enforcement, social services, and

community resources to (1) identify

truant youth; (2) cooperatively design

and implement comprehensive,

systemwide programs to meet the needs

of truants; and (3) design and maintain

systems for tracking truant youth. OJJDP

has awarded funds for this program to

seven sites: three non-Weed-and-Seed

sites (Honolulu, HI; Jacksonville, FL;

and King County, WA) and four Weed

and Seed sites (Houston, TX; Martinez,

CA; Tacoma, WA; and Yaphank, NY).

All sites are currently involved in

program development and

implementation of plans that link youth

and adolescents who are truant with

community-based services and

programs. They are also involved in full

implementation of the community’s

comprehensive systemwide plan to

prevent and intervene with the problem

of truancy. This program is currently

being evaluated by the Colorado

Foundation for Families and Children

(CFFC), which is conducting a process

evaluation that will help to identify key

elements of an effective truancy

program.

This program will be implemented by

the current grantees, Honolulu, HI;

Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; King

County, WA; Martinez, CA; Tacoma,

WA; and Yaphank, NY. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Strengthening the Juvenile Justice

System

Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ)

Training Project

The goal of the BARJ project is to help

control juvenile delinquency through

increased use of restitution, community

service, and other innovative programs

as part of a jurisdictionwide juvenile

justice change from traditional

retributive or rehabilitative system

models to balanced and restorative

justice orientation and procedures. The

specific steps for achieving this goal

involve preparing materials, training

personnel interested in BARJ, and

providing onsite technical assistance to

selected State and local jurisdictions

committed to implementing BARJ.

Materials development in FY 2001, year

3 of a 3-year project period, will include

documents on restorative justice

programs, practices, and policy

directions. The materials will be useful

for training juvenile justice system

practitioners and managers on the BARJ

model and for providing onsite

technical assistance. The training and

technical assistance will be delivered at

regional and national roundtables,

juvenile justice conferences, and

specialized workshops. ‘‘Training of

trainers’’ programs will also be offered.

There will be some concentration of

BARJ technical assistance at the State

level and on advancing judges’ and

prosecutors’ leadership in the area of

restorative justice. Further, there will be

57926 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

an effort to involve corporations and

foundations in BARJ implementation

and initial exploration of introducing

BARJ in higher education.

Over recent years, the BARJ Project

has reached justice system managers

and practitioners in every State, and

there is now some restorative justice

activity going on in every State. The

project has developed both basic and

advanced BARJ training curriculums (in

cooperation with the National Institute

of Corrections); BARJ resource

documents, such as an implementation

guide, and a soon-to-be-published

restorative justice inventory. In

addition, numerous articles in

professional periodicals have been

published by project staff and

consultants.

During the past 12 months, BARJ staff

and consultants presented more than 25

key training and technical assistance

events. Notable among these were a

number of roundtables for judges,

Native American juvenile justice

administrators, and (regionally)

representatives of States interested in

implementing BARJ. The roundtables

typically draw from 30 to 40 local

juvenile justice leaders. BARJ staff also

held Forums on Changing Roles for

Juvenile Probation, Prosecutor

Involvement in Restorative Justice, and

Strength-Based Rehabilitation and

Competency Development. Further,

intensive training and onsite technical

assistance were provided to nine

‘‘special emphasis States.’’ In addition,

BARJ staff and consultants delivered

two ‘‘train the trainer’’ courses and a

Basic BARJ Principles course (in

cooperation with the Juvenile

Accountability Incentive Block Grants

program and with the National Institute

of Corrections). Since 1998, the project

has organized or made presentations at

more than 100 events. Over 10,000

juvenile justice and related practitioners

have participated in these events. Seven

BARJ publications are currently in

various stages of production.

This project will be implemented by

the current grantee, Florida Atlantic

University. No additional applications

will be solicited in FY 2001.

Blueprints for Violence Prevention:

Training and Technical Assistance

In FY 1998, OJJDP funded a

cooperative agreement with the Center

for the Study and Prevention of

Violence (CSPV) at the University of

Colorado. Under this agreement, CSPV

provides intensive training and

technical assistance to community

organizations and units of local

government to replicate 10 ‘‘Blueprint’’

model programs. These are programs

that CSPV identified as meeting a

rigorous scientific standard of proven

program effectiveness and replicability

for reducing adolescent violence, crime,

and substance abuse. CSPV will help

communities determine the feasibility of

program development and also monitor

and assist in the replication of these

Blueprint programs for a period of 2

years.

The model programs being replicated

under this award include Multisystemic

Therapy (MST), Promoting Alternative

Thinking Strategies (PATHS), Nurse

Home Visitation, Multidimensional

Treatment Foster Care (MTFC),

Quantum Opportunities Program,

Bullying Prevention Program,

Functional Family Therapy (FFT), and

the Big Brothers/Big Sister (BBBS)

Mentoring Program.

To date, 40 sites are participating in

the program. Overall, 594 individuals

have been trained, for a total of 158 days

of training.

CSPV has completed process

evaluation visits with all 40 sites. A

total of 3,078 individuals have been

served through the Blueprints initiative.

MST and BBBS clients have completed

their first year of implementation. Total

clients served to date include the

following: Bullying Prevention (2,303),

PATHS (581), FFT (30), MTFC (7), MST

(119); and BBBS (38). In FY 2001, the

final year of a 2-year project period, the

grantee will continue to provide overall

guidance to the program and monitor

the integrity of each implementation.

CSPV will also conduct process

evaluation site visits, provide phone

consultation, and provide training and

technical assistance.

This project will be implemented by

the current grantee, the Regents of the

University of Colorado. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Building Blocks for Youth

The goals of this initiative are to

protect minority youth in the justice

system and promote rational and

effective juvenile justice policies. These

goals are accomplished by the following

components: (1) conducting research on

issues such as the impact on minority

youth of new State laws and the

implications of privatization of juvenile

facilities by profit-making corporations;

(2) undertaking an analysis of

decisionmaking in the justice system

and development of model

decisionmaking criteria that reduce or

eliminate disproportionate impact of the

system on minority youth; (3) building

a constituency for change at the

national, State, and local levels; and (4)

developing communication strategies

for dissemination of information. A fifth

component, direct advocacy for

minority youth, is funded by sources

other than OJJDP. Funding by OJJDP

began in FY 1998.

The grantee, Youth Law Center (YLC),

has undertaken a number of tasks to

move this initiative forward. The

grantee is preparing a comprehensive

report on the disparate impact on

minority youth by the justice system at

critical decision points. YLC is also

supporting a wide range of national and

local advocacy organizations to work for

needed juvenile justice reforms. The

grantee continues to build a

constituency for change at the national,

State, and local levels with this effort

being informed by development of

communications strategies based upon

the results of a series of national focus

groups that survey public opinion and

perceptions of juvenile crime. YLC has

released two publications, The Color of

Justice and And Justice for Some, which

drew attention and raised the interest

levels of various public officials and

special interest groups. Several new

publications are under development in

FY 2001.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, Youth Law

Center. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Census of Juveniles in Residential

Placement

The Census of Juveniles in Residential

Placement (CJRP) collects individuallevel data on all juveniles in residential

placement on a specific reference day

(the fourth Wednesday in October). The

data elements collected include age, sex,

race, placing agency, legal status, and

most serious offense. Because this

project is a census, it allows for Statelevel reporting of juveniles in

residential placement or custody. The

census is mailed to all facilities that can

and do hold juvenile offenders. Facility

personnel report on all offenders under

21 residing in their facilities on the

specific reference day. The facilities also

provide some basic information on any

other persons who do not fit these

criteria. The CJRP was first conducted in

October 1997 and then again in October

1999. Data from the 1997 CJRP are

available on the Internet in tabular form

at OJJDP’s Web site

(www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org). Data from the

1999 CJRP will be available for public

use by December 2000. The CJRP would

be conducted a third time in October

2001, with data available by December

2002.

This program would be continued

through the extension of an interagency

agreement with the Bureau of the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57927

Census. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Center for Students With Disabilities in

the Juvenile Justice System

During FY 1999, OJJDP undertook a

joint initiative with the Office of Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services,

U.S. Department of Education, to

establish a Center for Students with

Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice

System. It is expected that this project

will have a significant impact on the

improvement of juvenile justice system

services for students with disabilities.

Improvements in the areas of

prevention, educational services, and

reintegration based on a combination of

research, training, and technical

assistance will lead to improved results

for children and youth with disabilities.

The Center for Students with

Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice

System will provide guidance and

assistance to States, schools, justice

programs, families, and communities to

design, implement, and evaluate

comprehensive educational programs,

based on research-validated practices,

for students with disabilities in the

juvenile justice system.

This program will be implemented

under an existing 5-year interagency

agreement with the U.S. Department of

Education by the current grantee, the

University of Maryland. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

Comprehensive Children and Families

Mental Health Training and Technical

Assistance

OJJDP, under a 3-year interagency

agreement, transferred funds to the

Center for Mental Health Services

(CMHS) in FY 1999 and FY 2000 to

supplement a contract for training and

technical assistance to the CMHSfunded Comprehensive Mental Health

sites. The grantee has established the

training and technical assistance center

in Washington, DC, and has hired staff

with juvenile justice and mental health

experience to coordinate training and

technical assistance to the 42 funded

sites. This training and technical

assistance is designed to enhance the

involvement of the juvenile justice

system in the systems of care being

developed in each of the CMHS-funded

sites. The juvenile justice coordinator

has been working with program sites

requesting assistance in engaging their

juvenile justice systems through onsite

and telephone technical assistance. The

coordinator has also established

linkages with key juvenile justice

associations, such as the National

Council of Juvenile and Family Court

Judges, to foster their involvement.

Additionally, the coordinator is

developing a resource guide for the

sites. Funds will be transferred to CMHS

in FY 2001 for the final year of the 3-

year interagency agreement.

This initiative will be implemented

through an interagency agreement with

the Center for Mental Health Services.

No additional applications will be

solicited in FY 2001.

Connecticut/Cook County (IL) Girls

Collaborative

A national collaboration between the

State of Connecticut and Cook County,

IL, has been forged around the needs of

court-involved girls. The primary goal of

this collaboration is the creation of a

replicable model of systems change for

court-involved girls, including girls who

are pregnant and/or young mothers.

Since this project began in FY 1997, the

sites have shared lessons learned and

have taken action to improve services to

court-involved girls. Specific

accomplishments include conducting

comprehensive studies of the

Connecticut female juvenile offender

population, convening a statewide

‘‘Gender Responsiveness’’ conference,

providing training to juvenile justice

staff on gender responsiveness, and

developing a case management system

for girls and a risk and needs assessment

instrument. The project has begun to

implement a pilot program and test

gender-specific services.

OJJDP would support this national

collaboration in FY 2001 in order to

continue to develop innovative

responses to the female offender

population and girls at-risk of entering

the juvenile justice system.

The program would be implemented

by the current grantees, Cook County

Board of Commissioners and

Connecticut Judicial Branch. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Development of the Comprehensive

Strategy for Serious, Violent, and

Chronic Juvenile Offenders

This continuation grant would enable

OJJDP to provide communities with

training and technical assistance

support for development of strategic

plans and implementation of those

plans that are based on the research

foundation of the Comprehensive

Strategy for Serious, Violent, and

Chronic Juvenile Offenders. The

grantees would continue to provide

training and technical assistance for

State and local jurisdictions on

developing and implementing

comprehensive strategic plans that are

designed to reduce juvenile

delinquency. Through training and

technical assistance, communities

would develop the knowledge and skills

necessary to assess risk and protective

factors, develop and implement

research-based programs and prevention

and graduated sanctions services, and

more effectively address juvenile crime

in their communities.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantees, Developmental

Research and Programs, Inc. and the

National Council on Crime and

Delinquency. No additional applications

would be solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Department of Labor’s

Education and Training for Youthful

Offenders Initiative

This evaluation, initially funded in

FY 1999, has documented the activities

undertaken by two States awarded

grants under the U.S. Department of

Labor’s (DOL’s) Education and Training

for Youthful Offenders Initiative. Each

DOL grantee will provide

comprehensive school-to-work

education and training within a juvenile

correctional facility and followup and

job placement services as youth return

to the community. It is intended that the

comprehensive services developed

under these grants will serve as models

for other juvenile correctional facilities

across the country.

The OJJDP-sponsored evaluation of

these projects is being conducted in two

phases. During Phase I, a process

evaluation is under way at each site to

document the extent to which

educational, job training, and aftercare

services were enhanced with DOL

funding. Also, the feasibility of

conducting an impact evaluation at each

site is being determined during Phase I.

Phase II will entail conducting an

impact evaluation at one or both sites.

For those sites where a rigorous impact

evaluation can be conducted, the effects

of the program on job-related skills,

employment, earnings, academic

performance, and recidivism will be

measured. The FY 2001 funds would be

used to support the impact evaluation,

if a feasible research design is accepted

by OJJDP and the DOL.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, the National

Council on Crime and Delinquency. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Performance-Based

Standards Project

To enhance the impact of the

Performance-Based Standards (PBS)

Project, OJJDP has entered into an

interagency agreement with the U.S.

Department of Commerce to support a

57928 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

formative evaluation of the project. This

evaluation, which is being conducted by

the National Academy for Public

Administration (NAPA), provides

continuous, objective assessments of the

projects implementation nationally and

within the participating sites. Currently,

the Performance-Based Standards

Project has 59 participating facilities

and agencies. The evaluation, which has

been ongoing since 1998, provides

continuous feedback to the project team

at the Council of Juvenile Corrections

Administrators (CJCA) and Abt

Associates. In the initial phases of the

project, the NAPA evaluation team

conducted surveys of the participating

sites to learn about the facilities’

perceptions of the project. This survey

led directly to the PBS project setting up

a sophisticated monitoring system that

will more closely track the sites’

development and implementation of

their facility improvement plans. The

monitoring system will assist project

staff in determining what technical

assistance the facilities require and at

what points. The surveys also indicated

a need for ongoing technical assistance

in the sites because of staff turnover and

job changes. In the coming year, the

evaluation would continue the

formative evaluation of PBS as more

demonstration facilities are brought into

the process. The evaluation would also

focus on issues of privacy and would

conduct site visits to gain objective

views of the progress of PBS at the

facility level.

This program would be funded in FY

2001 under an interagency agreement

with the Department of Commerce and

implemented by the current grantee, the

National Academy for Public

Administration. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Evaluation of SafeFutures

A national evaluation competitively

awarded with FY 1995 funds is being

conducted by the Urban Institute to

determine the success of the

SafeFutures initiative in creating a

comprehensive continuum of care for

youth in six participating sites (Boston,

MA; Contra Costa County and Imperial

County, CA; Fort Belknap, MT; Seattle,

WA; and St. Louis, Missouri). The

evaluation addresses the program

implementation process and measures

performance outcomes and lessons

learned about the challenges and

accomplishments across the six sites. A

cross-site report will document the

process of program implementation and

community outcomes for use by other

funding agencies or communities that

want to develop and implement a

comprehensive community-based

strategy to address serious, violent, and

chronic delinquency. FY 2001 is the

final year of the 6-year project period.

The evaluation will be implemented

by the current grantee, the Urban

Institute. No additional applications

will be solicited in FY 2001.

Juvenile Defender Training, Technical

Assistance, and Resource Center

The Juvenile Defender Training,

Technical Assistance, and Resource

Center (Juvenile Defender Center), now

in its second year of funding under a 5-

year project period grant, was

competitively awarded to the American

Bar Association (ABA) in FY 1999. The

Juvenile Defender Center fills a major

gap in resources and support for

juvenile defenders in the United States

by providing training and technical

assistance services. Nationally focused

training and technical assistance for

juvenile defenders did not exist before

OJJDP funded the original Due Process

Advocacy project from 1993 to 1999.

Building on the Due Process Advocacy

project, the Juvenile Defender Center

project is designed to facilitate the

development of a permanent training

and technical assistance capability for

juvenile defenders in the United States.

Improving the capabilities and skills of

juvenile defenders will strengthen the

juvenile justice system and provide

greater assurance that juveniles charged

with delinquency will receive the due

process and adequate representation

they are guaranteed under the U.S.

Constitution.

Over the past year, the ABA and its

project partners (the Juvenile Law

Center and the Youth Law Center) have

completed planning for the

implementation of the program, held the

third National Juvenile Defenders

Summit at Georgetown University Law

School in Washington, DC, and

participated in the planning and

implementation of the Office of Justice

Programs’ National Defenders

Conference in June 2000. In accordance

with grant timelines, the ABA

competitively selected and funded eight

Regional Juvenile Defender Centers,

designed to provide services to the

juvenile defense bar on a regional level.

The ABA also organized and held

forums on representing female juvenile

offenders and on representing juveniles

who have mental health problems. The

ABA and its project partners are

planning the fourth Juvenile Defender

Summit, which will take place in

Houston, TX, in October 2000. The ABA

also continues to provide national

technical assistance and materials to

assist juvenile defenders with their

cases. A unique funding mechanism,

used for the first time with this grant

program, provides incentive funds to

the ABA to the extent it can raise

additional funds in the private sector or

obtain in-kind services. The ABA and

its partners have been highly successful

in raising funds and obtaining donated

resources. The success of these efforts

underscores the importance of the

juvenile defense issue to the private

funding community.

This project will be continued in FY

2001 by the current grantee, the

American Bar Association. No

additional applications will be solicited

in FY 2001.

Juvenile Justice Prosecution Unit

The goal of this project, first funded

in FY 1995, is to increase and improve

prosecutor involvement in juvenile

justice. FY 2001 is the final year of the

project period. The grantee, the

American Prosecutors Research Institute

(APRI), the training and technical

assistance arm of the National District

Attorneys Association, identifies

prosecutor training and technical

assistance needs in the juvenile justice

area through ongoing assessment by a

working group of experienced

prosecutors. The project designs and

presents specialized training events for

elected and appointed district attorneys

and juvenile unit chiefs. The training

deals with prosecutor leadership roles

in the juvenile justice system and with

the clarification or resolution of

important juvenile justice issues. Such

issues include juvenile policy, code

revisions, resource allocation, charging,

transfer to criminal court, alternative

juvenile programs, confinement, record

confidentiality, and collaboration with

other agencies. Training also addresses

the role of other areas in juvenile

justice, such as community prosecution,

community justice, restorative justice,

community assessment centers, and

mental health concerns. In addition,

APRI develops training and reference

materials pertaining to significant

juvenile justice topics.

The project has developed workshop

and training materials and a

‘‘Compendium of Programs’’ operated or

supported by prosecutor offices. The

grantee presents six or more training

events each year, including special

issues seminars dealing with

delinquency prevention, crime on

campus, and other topics of interest to

prosecutors. The project advisory group,

made up of both chief and deputy

prosecutors, advises APRI staff on

training topics and also serves as

training faculty.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57929

Recent APRI training topics and

workshops have included a ‘‘train the

trainer’’ course; a Juvenile Justice

Leadership Summit; a Juvenile Justice

Track (a number of seminars) at the

annual National District Attorneys

Association conference and a Juvenile

Justice Prosecution Track (a number of

seminars) at the National Conference on

Juvenile Justice; a Juvenile Justice

Prosecution course with a distance

learning component; and several

additional workshops in conjunction

with the Juvenile Accountability

Incentive Block Grants Jumpstart

program. Two special issues workshops

are currently under development. Over

the past year, APRI has trained more

than 600 juvenile justice prosecutors.

The APRI Juvenile Justice project also

provides technical assistance, usually in

the form of responses to requests for

information on subjects related to

juvenile justice.

This project will be implemented by

the current grantee, the American

Prosecutors Research Institute. No

additional applications will be solicited

in FY 2001.

Juvenile Residential Facility Census

OJJDP designed this new census to

collect important information on facility

characteristics, services provided in

juvenile facilities, and conditions

within those facilities. It provides a

biennial census of residential facilities

used by the juvenile justice system to

hold youth accused of or adjudicated for

an offense. The data collection forms

will be mailed to each facility for

completion by facility personnel. The

Juvenile Residential Facility Census

(JRFC) will collect information on

health care services, mental health

counseling or treatment, substance

abuse treatment, and education. The

questions in the census will also

determine whether youth in the facility

have access to the specific services (the

methods used in the census cannot

make evaluative statements on the

quality of those services). The JRFC will

also ask specific questions about the

nature of the facility itself. It contains a

series of questions that get at conditions

of confinement. A series of questions on

the number of beds used (including

makeshift beds) permit some analysis of

whether the facility (or part of the

facility) is crowded. Other questions ask

about the use of isolation or restraints.

Finally, the JRFC will collect

information on any deaths in custody.

The census was tested in October 1998.

The first full JRFC will be conducted in

October 2000, and the data collected

will be available for public use by

December 2001.

This project would be implemented

through the extension of an existing

interagency agreement with the Bureau

of the Census, Governments Division

and Statistical Research Division. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Longitudinal Study To Examine the

Development of Conduct Disorder in

Girls

The purpose of this project, which

began in FY 1998, is to examine the

development of conduct disorder in a

sample of 2,500 inner-city girls who

were ages 6 to 8 at the beginning of the

study. The study is following the girls

annually for 5 years and will provide

information that is critical to the

understanding of the etiology,

comorbidity, and prognosis of conduct

disorder in girls. This project is

important because delinquency in girls

has been steadily increasing over the

past decade and a better understanding

of the developmental processes in girls

will help in identifying effective means

of prevention and provide direction for

juvenile justice responses to delinquent

girls. In the upcoming year, the program

will continue data collection.

The project will be implemented

under an interagency agreement with

the National Institute of Mental Health

by the current NIMH grantee, the

University of Pittsburgh. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis

Project

In FY 1999, the National Juvenile

Justice Data Analysis Project (NJJDAP)

was funded to provide research and

analysis into a wide variety of juvenile

justice issues including juvenile

placement, custody, arrests,

victimization, and juvenile offending.

However, the topics of interest to

juvenile professionals are not limited to

these typical justice topics. As research

expands, the field is learning more and

more about the intersection of between

delinquency and other problems such as

mental health disorders, education

needs, and physical injury. Information

about these problems can help in the

design of effective prevention or

intervention measures and also indicate

what problems the justice system will

face in dealing with delinquent youth.

NJJDAP will examine issues of concern

through cooperating with experts in

related fields of interest and by using

data collected in those fields. This

project produces quick, unique analyses

of these issues for publication by OJJDP.

The intent is not to develop a unique

research design for the individual

questions. Rather, it is to address the

individual questions within the context

of existing data. Frequently, different

data sets can be brought to bear on

specific topics, giving a wider

perspective on the particular topic at

hand.

In the coming year—the third year of

a 3-year project period, NJJDAP will

expand its roster of available

consultants who can provide either data

analysis expertise or knowledge on

particular aspects of adolescent

development, juvenile delinquency, or

the justice system. The NJJDAP will also

broaden its reach for innovative data

sets to State and local levels. Currently,

the project has focused its energy on

national data; however, as questions

arise concerning school victimization or

recidivism, it is apparent that only

State-level data sets are suitable for such

analyses.

This project will be implemented by

the current grantee, the National Center

for Juvenile Justice. No additional

applications will be solicited in FY

2001.

National Juvenile Justice Program

Directory

To conduct statistical projects, OJJDP

and the Census Bureau require a

support infrastructure that enables the

necessary survey tasks to be performed

efficiently and effectively. This

infrastructure includes as a basic

component the maintenance of a list or

frame of all survey or sampling units.

For example, the surveying of

residential facilities could not take place

without a list of such facilities. Indeed,

as OJJDP moves toward surveying these

facilities once a year, this list must be

maintained continuously. Also, as the

Office moves toward surveying juvenile

probation offices, OJJDP and the Census

Bureau will need a current list of all

such offices in the United States. Other

areas of interest might include juvenile

courts, police departments, State

agencies, etc. The maintenance of the

lists includes contacting various key

State and local officials or practitioners

who can provide the names of agencies

or facilities associated with their

respective agencies. It also requires

maintaining current contact information

for these agencies or facilities. Finally,

it requires developing and updating a

database of these facilities that contains

information necessary for sampling or

stratification purposes. This ongoing

project fills the need for lists of juvenile

agencies, programs, and facilities.

This project would be conducted

under an extension to an existing

interagency agreement with the Bureau

of the Census, Governments Division.

57930 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

No additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

The National Longitudinal Survey of

Youth 97

OJJDP proposes to continue to support

the third round of data collection, begun

in FY 1997, by the National

Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97

(NLSY97) under an interagency

agreement with the Bureau of Labor

Statistics (BLS). The NLSY97 is

studying school-to-work transition in a

nationally representative sample of

8,700 youth ages 12 to 16 years old. BLS

is also collecting data on the

involvement of these youth in antisocial

and other behavior that may affect their

transition to productive work careers.

The survey will provide information

about risk and protective factors related

to the initiation, persistence, and

desistance of delinquent and criminal

behavior and provides an opportunity to

determine the generalizability of

findings from OJJDP’s Program of

Research on the Causes and Correlates

of Delinquency and other longitudinal

studies to a nationally representative

population of youth.

The program would be implemented

through the extension of an existing

interagency agreement with the Bureau

of Labor Statistics. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Performance-Based Standards for

Juvenile Correction and Detention

Facilities

Performance-Based Standards for

Juvenile Correction and Detention

Facilities, a program that began with a

competitive OJJDP cooperative

agreement awarded to the Council of

Juvenile Correctional Administrators

(CJCA) in FY 1995, has developed a

performance management system for

juvenile correctional facilities. The

system provides tools for monitoring

and improving outcomes in six critical

facility functions: providing security,

safety, order, health care, educational,

and mental health programming within

a context that protects individual rights.

In 1999, 32 facilities, including 2 State

systems, began the implementation

process, which consists of the collection

and analysis of baseline data; the

development of an initial facility

improvement plan, which may include

financial support to make

improvements; and reassessment and

revision of the facility improvement

plan.

During FY 2000, the program

underwent refinements to improve

management of the process for the

facilities. In addition, approximately 26

new sites began the process, using

streamlined data collection and new

diagnostic tools. In addition to working

with the participating facilities during

the past year, the project finalized the

implementation model; revised

instruments, as needed; and developed

criteria for determining full

implementation, including the testing of

community release measures. Where

appropriate, the project has established

performance benchmarks and developed

analytical reports regarding facility and

system change that occurred in the test

sites. Additionally the project has

produced an interactive Web site for

secure entry of data and receipt of

feedback in the form of Site Reports and

access to the diagnostic pages of the

development of Facility Improvement

Plans.

FY 2001 funding would provide the

resources needed for full onsite training,

technical and financial assistance, and

data quality assurance assessments for

the additional facilities currently

receiving only limited support and

continued support of two additional

rounds of reporting for all sites. The

performance measures and data

collection tools for the community

reintegration component would be field

tested and incorporated into the Site

Reports and Facility Improvement

Plans. Additional technical and

financial assistance would be provided

for the development or modification of

State Agency management information

systems to accommodate reporting

requirements for more fluid integration

with online management reporting. The

project would also complete the

revisions of staff and youth interview

protocols and related data collection

and reporting components so that they

are compatible with the final design of

OJJDP’s new Survey of Youth in

Residential Placement instrument. This

will allow for future comparison of

results from the sites participating in

this project with a national sample of

youth facilities. Also, a series of

research summaries regarding

performance trends and improvements

in various domains will be developed to

inform the field about promising

practices in improving specific

outcomes.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, the Council of

Juvenile Correctional Administrators.

No additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Study Group on Very Young Offenders

Modeled after the OJJDP Study Group

on Serious and Violent Juvenile

Offenders, this project is exploring what

is known about the prevalence and

frequency of very young (under the age

of 13) offending. In FY 1998, OJJDP

supplemented a grant to the University

of Pittsburgh, the grantee for the Study

Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile

Offenders. The Study Group on Very

Young Offenders is examining whether

such offending predicts future

delinquent or criminal careers, how

these youth are handled by various

systems including juvenile justice,

mental health, and social services; and

what methods are best for preventing

very young offending and persistence of

offending. In FY 2001, the project would

disseminate the results of its research to

the public, policymakers, and

practitioners.

This program would be implemented

by the current grantee, the Western

Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the

University of Pittsburgh. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Systems Improvement Training and

Technical Assistance

In FY 1999, OJJDP competitively

awarded funds to the Institute for

Educational Leadership (IEL) to provide

training and technical assistance to

strengthen and sustain the capacity of

SafeFutures and Safe Kids/Safe Streets

demonstration sites in order to assist

them with systems change activities.

The project seeks to help sites (1)

address their system goals and

effectively address challenges, (2)

educate and inform other communities

and the juvenile justice field about how

they can more effectively pursue

community-based systems reform, (3)

enhance the skills of community and

staff leadership so they are better able to

sort through the complexities of systems

reform, and (4) build the overall

capacity of the selected sites to engage

in strategic planning, develop policies

and programs, and build community

collaboratives to address specific

substantive challenges and achieve

measurable results.

Since the project was awarded, IEL

has established a pool of consultants

with expertise in areas related to

systems improvement activities;

developed resources useful to

communities addressing issues critical

to systems improvement, including

using data effectively, achieving

sustainability, and building consumer

capacity and cultural competence; and

provided assistance to Safe Kids/Safe

Streets sites.

In FY 2001, OJJDP would continue to

fund the project in order to further

provide assistance to selected OJJDP

grantee communities interested in

systems reform and change and to begin

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices 57931

disseminating ‘‘lessons learned’’ to

other communities.

This project would be implemented

by the current grantee, Institute for

Educational Leadership. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Survey of Juvenile Probation

This project will design a survey

instrument and survey methodology

that OJJDP can use to routinely monitor

the number and types of juveniles on

probation. Probation has been an

understudied segment of the juvenile

justice system, yet it has been described

as the workhorse of that system. OJJDP

began this project in 1997 through an

interagency agreement with the U.S.

Census Bureau. The project has several

phases. The first phase includes openended structured interviews with

probation officers at the State and local

levels in 10 States. Based on these

interviews, the Census Bureau and

OJJDP will develop a draft instrument

designed to collect contact information

for each office as well as stratifying

information (e.g., number of youth

supervised, number of officers, etc.).

Phase II will include both cognitive

interviews to test this first instrument

(intended to be a census of probation

offices) and structured interviews for

the development of the probation

survey. Based on these interviews, the

Center for Survey Methods Research

and the Governments Division of the

Census Bureau will develop a feasibility

test. This test will examine how well the

forms work in collecting the necessary

information from a small number of

States. Phase III will include the

development of the survey instrument

and cognitive tests of this instrument in

a number of probation offices. The final

phase, Phase IV, will consist of a

feasibility test of the final survey

instrument. The Center for Survey

Methods Research has completed Phase

I of this project and will deliver to

OJJDP a draft instrument in early 2001.

Phase II of the project will start shortly

after that point. OJJDP anticipates the

first Survey of Juvenile Probation will

take place in calendar year 2002.

This project would be conducted

through an interagency agreement with

the Bureau of the Census. No additional

applications would be solicited in FY

2001.

Technical Assistance to Native

American Tribes and Alaskan Native

Communities

The Technical Assistance to Native

American Tribes and Alaskan Native

Communities project is designed to

equip tribal governments with the

necessary information and tools to

enhance or develop comprehensive,

systemwide approaches to reduce

juvenile delinquency, violence, and

victimization and increase the safety of

their communities. In FY 1997, OJJDP

awarded a 3-year cooperative agreement

to American Indian Development

Associates (AIDA) to provide training

and technical assistance to Indian

nations seeking to improve juvenile

justice services to children, youth, and

families.

Throughout FY’s 1998 and 1999,

AIDA continued to provide technical

assistance to Indian nations and

developed information materials for

Indian juvenile justice practitioners,

administrators, and policymakers. Topic

areas covered Indian youth gangs;

personnel competency building, such as

conducting effective preadjudication

investigations and preparing reports;

developing protocols to implement

Tribal Children’s Code provisions that

affect Native American children;

establishing sustainable, comprehensive

community-based planning processes

that focus on the needs of tribal youth;

and developing and implementing

culturally relevant policies, programs,

and practices. The technical assistance

and materials also addressed the

overlapping roles and jurisdiction of

Federal, State, and tribal justice

systems, particularly in understanding

the laws and public policies applicable

to or effective in Indian communities.

AIDA recorded 74 training and

technical assistance events in FY 2000,

including 33 workshops. Technical

assistance provided to the Indian

nations included juvenile justice

systems planning development, early

intervention program training,

application of indigenous justice and

restorative justice practices, focus group

processes and methodology, needs

assessment development, and data

collection. Three of the completed

projects had multiregional

representation, and five of the

completed projects had a wider tribal

representation. The Indian nations were

from 6 regions: Midwest (8); Northwest

(2), South Central (3), Southeast (2), and

Southwest (10). Some projects featured

collaboration with State and Federal

organizations, bureaus, and agencies.

In FY 2001, AIDA would provide

continuing training and technical

assistance to tribes seeking to develop

and enhance their juvenile justice

systems with emphasis in the following

areas: developing a community-based

secondary prevention program,

developing a tribal justice probation

system, developing multidisciplinary

approaches to youth gang violence

prevention, establishing risk assessment

and classification systems, developing

comprehensive strategies to handle

offenders, expanding referral and

service delivery systems, developing

cooperative interagency and

intergovernmental relationships, and

developing technology to improve

systems and increased access to juvenile

justice information.

A new solicitation would be issued

and a grant awarded through a

competitive process in FY 2001.

TeenSupreme Career Preparation

Initiative

In FY 1998, OJJDP, in partnership

with the U.S. Department of Labor’s

(DOL’s) Employment and Training

Administration, provided funding

support to the Boys & Girls Clubs of

America to demonstrate and evaluate

the TeenSupreme Career Preparation

Initiative. This initiative provides

employment training and other related

services to at-risk youth through local

Boys & Girls Clubs with TeenSupreme

Centers. In FY 2001, DOL will transfer

funds to OJJDP to support program

staffing in 41 existing TeenSupreme

Centers. These 41 clubs have hired

employment specialists to work with up

to 120 youth. Boys & Girls Clubs of

America provides intensive training and

technical assistance to each site and

administrative and staffing support to

the program from its national office.

OJJDP funds support the process and

impact evaluation component of the

program, which is being implemented

by an independent evaluator. In FY

2001, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America,

with DOL funds, will select new career

preparation sites. OJJDP would continue

supporting the evaluation component.

This TeenSupreme initiative would

be implemented by the current grantee,

the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. No

additional applications would be

solicited in FY 2001.

Child Abuse and Neglect and

Dependency Courts

National Evaluation of the Safe Kids/

Safe Streets Program

OJJDP will continue funding the grant

competitively awarded in FY 1997 to

Westat, Inc., Rockville, MD, for the

National Evaluation of the Safe Kids/

Safe Streets Program. The evaluation

has three main goals: to document and

explicate the process of community

mobilization, planning, and

collaboration taking place before and

during the Safe Kids/Safe Streets award;

to inform program staff of performance

levels on an ongoing basis; and to

determine the effectiveness of the

57932 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 187 / Tuesday, September 26, 2000 / Notices

implemented programs in achieving the

goals of the Safe Kids/Safe Streets

program. The initial 18-month grant

began a process evaluation and a

feasibility study for a future impact

evaluation. In FY 2001—the fifth year of

a 5-year project period, Westat will

continue the process evaluation, which

will focus on tracking the

implementation efforts at each of the

sites, and will continue working with

local evaluators to develop their skills

and capacity for program evaluation.

Westat has recently submitted a plan for

the impact evaluation, which includes a

pilot study of their proposed case

tracking procedure.

This evaluation will be implemented

by the current grantee, Westat, Inc. No

additional applications will be solicited

in FY 2001.

Safe Kids/Safe Streets: Community

Approaches To Reducing Abuse and

Neglect and Preventing Delinquency

This 5-year demonstration is designed

to break the cycle of early childhood

victimization and later delinquency and

criminality by reducing child and

adolescent maltreatment and fatalities.

Several components of the Office of

Justice Programs joined in FY 1996 to

develop this coordinated community

response program. These components

provide fiscal and technical support for

local efforts to restructure and

strengthen the justice system and the

child welfare, family services,

education, health, and related systems

to be more comprehensive and proactive

in helping children, adolescents, and

their families. Safe Kids requires the

five funded sites to develop, implement,

and/or expand cross-agency strategies

and to partner with natural networks in

their communities. OJJDP awarded

competitive cooperative agreements in

FY 1997 to five sites (Chittenden

County, VT; Huntsville, AL; Kansas

City, MO; the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of

Chippewa Indians, MI; and Toledo,

OH). Funds were provided by OJJDP,

the Executive Office for Weed and Seed,

and the Violence Against Women

Office. FY 2001 is the fourth year of a

5-year project period.

This demonstration will continue to

be implemented in FY 2001 by the

current grantees: Chittenden County,

VT; Huntsville, AL; Kansas City, MO;

the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa

Indians, MI; and Toledo, OH. No

additional applications will be solicited

in FY 2001.

Dated: September 21, 2000.

John J. Wilson,

Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile

Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

[FR Doc. 00–24699 Filed 9–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P