6512 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention

[OJP (OJJDP)–1259]

RIN 1121–ZB93

Mental Health and Juvenile Justice:

Building a Model for Effective Service

Delivery

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs,

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, Justice.

ACTION: Announcement of Discretionary

Competitive Assistance Grant

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, pursuant to

Public Law 105–277, October 19, 1998,

the Omnibus Consolidated and

Emergency Supplemental Appropriation

Act of 1999, is issuing a solicitation for

applications from public or private

agencies or organizations to engage in a

variety of interrelated research activities

designed to (1) improve knowledge

about the nature and prevalence of

mental health and co-occurring

substance abuse disorders among youth

in the juvenile justice system and (2)

support the development of a

comprehensive model for the provision

of mental health services to this

population.

DATES: Applications must be received

no later than 5 p.m. ET on April 10,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested applicants must

obtain an application kit from the

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800–

638–8736. The application kit is also

available at OJJDP’s Web site at

www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/grants/about/

html#kit.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen Stern, Program Manager,

Research and Program Development

Division, Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention (phone: 202–

514–9395; e-mail:

sternk@opj.usdoj.gov). Douglas Dodge,

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Juvenile

Justice and Delinquency Prevention

(phone: 202–616–3652; e-mail:

doug@ojp.usdoj.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose

The purpose of this initiative is to

substantially improve knowledge about

the nature and prevalence of mental

health and co-occurring substance abuse

disorders among youth in the juvenile

justice system and to develop and test

a service delivery model based on

theoretical and empirical information

regarding best practices for meeting the

needs of this population.

Overview

With this program announcement, the

Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

initiates an effort to build on existing

research and knowledge in the area of

mental health and juvenile justice. This

multi year research and development

effort will examine current research and

theoretical literature on mental health

and related substance abuse issues

among juvenile offenders; the

relationship between mental health and

juvenile delinquency; and best practices

in the delivery of mental health

treatment to the juvenile offender

population. This initiative will also

examine the prevalence of mental health

disorders among youth who enter the

juvenile justice system, particularly

those in detention and secure

corrections. Although juvenile justice

administrators and practitioners

typically—and understandably—

concern themselves with the most

severely disordered youth, the intention

of this initiative is to address the needs

of youth with a broad range of mental

disorders. This includes conditions,

such as conduct disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that

are common in the juvenile justice

population, but it also includes less

frequently recognized conditions such

as anxiety and depression. It is

important to keep in mind that mild and

easily treated conditions may evolve

into severe and intractable disorders if

left untreated. Although the focus of this

initiative is on mental disorders, OJJDP

recognizes that mental health and

substance abuse disorders frequently cooccur, particularly in the delinquent

population (Cocozza, 1992; Neighbors,

Kempton, and Forehand, 1992).

Therefore, information will also be

obtained on the prevalence of substance

abuse disorders that co-occur with

mental health diagnoses. When the

initial survey work has been completed,

OJJDP will fund multiple demonstration

sites to implement and evaluate a

service delivery model derived from

current theory and best practices. The

demonstration program will be

evaluated using an experimental design.

This program announcement seeks

applications for the first phase of this

effort and will fund an organization that

can effectively conduct the literature

review described above, a survey of

mental health and related substance

abuse needs among juvenile justice

youth in several jurisdictions, and a

survey of selected juvenile justice

system responses to meet those needs.

The organization will then use the

information gathered through these

three strategies to develop a model of

mental health service delivery for youth

in the juvenile justice system. The

information gathered during this

process will be used to support a

subsequent program announcement that

will solicit sites for model

demonstration and evaluation. The

successful applicant for the first phase

will also assist with the development of

a research design for the demonstration

sites.

Background

After increasing for a number of years,

the juvenile crime rate has been

declining since 1995. ‘‘Although the

juvenile violent crime arrest rate

increased more than 60 percent between

1988 and 1994, it decreased 23 percent

between 1994 and 1997. Similarly, the

juvenile homicide arrest rate increased

substantially between 1988 and 1993

but declined 39 percent between 1993

and 1997’’ (1998 OJJDP Annual Report,

1999, p. 3). Although these trends are

encouraging, juvenile offending

continues to occur at a very high rate.

A substantial portion of youth who are

brought before the juvenile court are

detained or placed in secure corrections.

In 1996, 58 percent (983,100) of the

youth referred to juvenile court were

adjudicated delinquent. Twenty-eight

percent (275,000) of these youth were

sent to residential placement, an

increase of 51 percent between 1987 and

1996. OJJDP’s Census of Juveniles in

Residential Placement (OJJDP, 1997)

reported that on October 29, 1997, there

were 105,790 juveniles committed by

the court to out-of-home placements.

Very little is known about the mental

health needs of these youth. There has

been no large-scale national

investigation of mental disorders among

juvenile offenders and the lack of

methodological consistency across

smaller prevalence studies often

produces inconsistent results. A review

of studies (Cocozza, 1992) found that

between 14 percent and 20 percent of

youth in the general population suffer

from a diagnosable mental disorder at

any given time. It is likely that the

prevalence rates among the

approximately 1.8 million youth who

enter the juvenile justice system each

year are even higher. In adult studies,

the presence of both substance abuse

and mental health problems increases

the likelihood that an individual will

engage in criminal and violent behavior.

Although this correlation has not been

clearly demonstrated in youth, many of

the causes and correlates of juvenile

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices 6513

delinquency are similar to risk factors

for developing mental health and

substance abuse disorders.

Since the mid-1990’s, OJJDP has

recognized the critical role that mental

health problems play in the lives of

youth caught up in the juvenile justice

system. As a result, OJJDP has been

working for several years on a number

of efforts to increase knowledge and

improve services in this area.

OJJDP is supporting the GAINS Center

on Co-Occurring Disorders in preparing

an update of Cocozza’s 1992 monograph

Responding to the Mental Health Needs

of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System.

This update will provide important

information on rates and trends of

mental health and substance abuse

disorders in the juvenile justice

population, and identify programs and

strategies for addressing these issues.

OJJDP is also supporting the GAINS

Center’s efforts to provide training and

technical assistance to States and

localities on juveniles with comorbid

substance abuse and mental health

disorders through an interagency

agreement with the National Institute of

Corrections.

OJJDP is providing support for two

studies of mental health disorders in the

juvenile justice population. Linda

Teplin’s longitudinal study of 1,800

detained youth in the Cook County

(Chicago) Juvenile Detention Center is

yielding important information on the

prevalence and severity of mental health

and substance abuse disorders among

detained juveniles. Gail Wasserman is

working with incarcerated youth in

Illinois and New Jersey to test the utility

of a self-administered assessment

instrument for identifying mental health

disorders among youth in correctional

settings.

For the past 2 years, OJJDP has

explored the potential value of the

Community Assessment Center (CAC)

concept. CAC’s provide a 24-hour

centralized point of intake and

assessment for juveniles entering the

juvenile justice system. Early

identification of mental health and

substance abuse disorders can enhance

placement and treatment decisions for

youth at the ‘‘front end’’ of the juvenile

justice system.

As part of OJJDP’s Performance-Based

Standards Demonstration Program,

health/mental health standards and

outcomes have been developed for the

use of participating sites. The overall

goal of the standards is to identify and

effectively respond to the health and

mental health needs of juveniles in

confinement, using appropriate

diagnostic, treatment, and prevention

protocols.

For several years, OJJDP has been

working closely with other agencies in

the Federal Government to increase

capacity for meeting the mental health

needs of juvenile offenders. OJJDP has

been active in the Federal Partnership

for Children’s Mental Health, organized

by the Center for Mental Health Services

(CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and

Mental Health Services Administration

(SAMHSA) in the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services. For the

past 2 years, through an interagency

agreement with CMHS, OJJDP has

supported the provision of training and

technical assistance to the

Comprehensive Community Mental

Health Services for Children and Their

Families sites. The goal of this training

is to assist the sites in ensuring that

their comprehensive systems of care

include youth in the juvenile justice

system. OJJDP continued this support in

FY 1999 as CMHS rebid its training and

technical assistance contract. CMHS’ 45

sites, dedicated to developing

comprehensive mental health services

for seriously emotionally disturbed

youth and their families, present an

excellent opportunity for improving

mental health service delivery to all

children, including delinquent and atrisk youth.

If there is a gap in the continuum of

services being delivered under current

programs funded by CMHS and others,

it is the lack of mental health

programming for juvenile offenders,

particularly those in detention and

secure corrections. In addition, for these

incarcerated juveniles, the lack of

aftercare or reentry programming is of

particular concern. Although the lack of

services may be most acute for juveniles

in detention, secure corrections, and

aftercare, OJJDP believes that the best

strategy for closing these gaps is to

develop a comprehensive model that

will address the mental health needs of

youth at every point in the juvenile

justice system. To that end, OJJDP

proposes to address these gaps by

developing a research and

demonstration effort that will (1) review

what is known about theory and best

practices in this area, (2) examine the

prevalence of mental health and cooccurring substance abuse disorders in

a sample of youth in the juvenile justice

system, (3) document what services are

available to meet the needs of this

population, and (4) develop a model

that incorporates existing theory and

best practices to provide comprehensive

mental health services to youth in the

juvenile justice system. The model

developed under this initiative will

subsequently be used in a

demonstration and evaluation project

that will replicate and evaluate the

model at several sites. The model will

be evaluated using a variety of outcome

measures to determine whether services

are being provided in an appropriate,

effective, and cost-efficient manner.

Goal

The goal of this initiative is to

improve knowledge about the nature

and prevalence of mental health and cooccurring substance abuse disorders

among youth in the juvenile justice

system and to develop a model for the

exemplary provision of mental health

services for this population. The model

will incorporate both current theory and

best practices in the areas of screening,

assessment, service provision, and

quality assurance. The model should

include youth at all stages of the

juvenile justice system, including, but

not limited to, arrest, intake,

adjudication, detention, secure

corrections, probation, and communitybased treatment. Ideally, this model will

be used in a subsequent demonstration

and evaluation project, which will

replicate the model at two to five sites.

Objectives

The objectives of this initiative are:

• To explore the research and

theoretical literature related to the

delivery of mental health services to

youth in the juvenile justice system.

• To enhance the understanding of

mental health service needs of youth

involved in the juvenile justice system,

including gender-specific differences in

service needs.

• To increase the knowledge base

regarding existing mental health service

delivery systems in different parts of the

country.

• To improve access to mental health

services for youth in the juvenile justice

system and to improve the quality and

coordination of the services provided.

• To identify or create a model for the

delivery of comprehensive mental

health services to youth in the juvenile

justice system.

• To identify model approaches to

service delivery that will overcome

interdisciplinary differences by

fostering true collaboration between

mental health and juvenile justice

professionals.

• To increase the quality and costeffectiveness of organizational

structures for providing mental health

services to youth at all levels of the

juvenile justice system.

Program Strategy

Melton and Pagliocca (1992) note that

emotionally disturbed youth in the

6514 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices

juvenile justice system have many of the

same mental health needs as

emotionally disturbed youth in the

general population. However, the

identification of needs and the delivery

of services to meet those needs pose

unique challenges for the juvenile

justice system. When designing and

selecting programs for youth, juvenile

justice administrators must consider a

host of goals, including community

safety, accountability, incapacitation,

and retribution. Some of these goals

may complicate or even conflict with

the more traditional goals of mental

health and substance abuse service

delivery. For example, even if a

juvenile’s mental health needs might be

better served by a community-based

program, a judge may consider only

residential options because of the

severity of the youth’s offense.

In addition, treatment decisions may

be inextricably linked to decisions about

such weighty matters as diversion,

incarceration, and juvenile transfer. It is

also clear that processing by the juvenile

justice system can be a traumatizing

experience in and of itself. Some youth

with no previous history of mental

health problems may experience anxiety

and depressive symptoms severe

enough to require treatment as a result

of detention or incarceration.

Although ‘‘the treatment needs of

youth do not become magically

transformed when they walk through

the courthouse door’’ (Melton and

Pagliocca, 1992, p. 107), meeting those

needs will require changes in the ways

that both mental health and juvenile

justice systems operate. Treatment and

sanctions will need to be combined into

a seamless system that provides both

support and accountability. True

interagency collaboration will be

essential; these youth do not ‘‘belong’’

to one agency or another but are the

shared responsibility of juvenile justice,

mental health, education, child welfare,

and any other institutions that serve the

needs of children. Both mental health

and juvenile justice practitioners will

require training and assistance to

understand and accept each other’s

views, goals, and practices.

With this initiative, OJJDP will

provide support to a grantee willing to

engage in far-reaching efforts to gather

empirical and theoretical information

with the goal of developing an

exemplary model of service delivery.

The model ultimately created should

encompass a wide variety of services,

including, but not limited to, the

following: psychological and psychiatric

evaluation, psychotherapy, medication

management, treatment planning,

intensive case management, home-based

treatment, family support services, day

treatment, crisis intervention services,

acute inpatient and residential

psychiatric care, therapeutic group

homes or foster care, and respite care.

Ongoing quality assurance measures

should be incorporated. The successful

applicant will also need to address the

issue of cultural sensitivity in both

assessment and treatment. Assessments

and treatments that are not performed in

a culturally competent manner can

produce misdiagnoses and lead to

ineffective service provision.

The system should be designed with

the ultimate goal of reintegrating

youthful offenders into the community.

Successful reintegration will require

that youth who leave the juvenile justice

system continue to receive any

necessary services (e.g., mental health,

special education, vocational).

Therefore, the model will need to

address the design of linkages between

the juvenile justice system and essential

aftercare components. An important

aspect of these linkages is how sensitive

information can be transferred in a

manner that fosters continuity of care

while maintaining the youth’s right to

confidentiality. In addition, meeting the

goal of effective reintegration will

require high levels of family

involvement. Family support—or its

absence—contributes strongly to a

youth’s success or failure once he or she

returns from incarceration.

An applicant seeking funding under

this initiative must address in the

application and be willing to undertake,

at a minimum, the tasks described

below. Specific tasks may be contracted

by the applicant to other agencies or

individuals, but only with the express

approval of OJJDP. An applicant that

plans to use contractors in this manner

should (1) clearly spell out the terms of

the contract in the application and (2)

address the qualifications of the

contractor(s) selected to perform each

task.

Task I: Literature Review

The applicant must review the

relevant literature from the fields of

juvenile justice and mental health and

any related fields such as substance

abuse, criminology, sociology, etc. The

purpose of this review is to identify and

evaluate both research and theoretical

publications related to the mental health

needs of youth in the juvenile justice

system. Articles addressing the

provision of mental health and related

substance abuse services to this

population are especially pertinent. The

applicant may also want to consult

literature from the educational and

child welfare fields. Like juvenile

justice, these fields have also struggled

to recognize and address the mental

health needs of children and

adolescents. Because of the over

representation of minority youth in the

juvenile justice system, the literature

review will also need to address the

issue of cultural sensitivity in providing

services to this population.

Additionally, because of the different

needs of females in the juvenile justice

system, the literature review should also

address the issue of gender-specific

services.

The applicant should provide a

report, suitable for publication as an

OJJDP Bulletin, that synthesizes the

relevant literature. Emphasis should be

placed on any publications that can

contribute to the development of a

service delivery model. Gaps in the

existing literature should also be

identified.

Task II: Survey of Mental Health Needs

and Services

Although many researchers have

speculated that youth in the juvenile

justice system are an under served

population with a high level of need,

few studies have provided hard data to

support or contradict this contention.

Linda Teplin in Chicago and Gail

Wasserman in New York are currently

studying this issue. However, their data

are limited to populations in large urban

centers. Several States, including

Colorado and Virginia, have gathered

additional data during brief (1 week),

intensive surveys, with the goal of

informing State policy and legislation.

For the purposes of this initiative, the

applicant should be prepared to conduct

three similar surveys in the

understudied areas of the South,

Southwest, and rural Northwest.

Surveys should be conducted within

some naturally occurring boundary such

as a State, county, district, or parish.

Surveys should involve a variety of

juvenile justice facilities within that

boundary; at a minimum, a juvenile

detention center, a secure correctional

facility, and a community-based

program. For each facility, the applicant

will examine (1) the mental health

status of youth in the facility, (2) the

mental health and related substance

abuse services available to these youth,

and (3) the number of youth actually

receiving these services. The applicant

should also explore the continuity of

care provided. For example: Do youth

who receive psychological assessment

also receive treatment based on

identified needs? Do those receiving

therapy within the institution also have

written plans for aftercare? The

applicant may also wish to examine

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices 6515

youth and family satisfaction with the

services received.

To obtain this information, the

applicant will need to review both

individual and facility records.

However, as noted in Mental Health

Needs of Youth in Virginia’s Juvenile

Detention Centers (U.S. Department of

Justice, 1994), information contained in

detention center records is often

‘‘abysmally weak,’’ underestimating

both the number of youth in need of

services as well as the number of youth

who have previously received services.

Therefore, in assessing a youth’s mental

health status, the applicant will want to

consider the use of structured

interviews or self-administered

diagnostic inventories. Given financial

and time constraints, it is understood

that in-depth psychiatric interviews or

psychological assessments may not be

possible. For an example of a wellconstructed study of this nature, the

applicant is encouraged to obtain a copy

of the Virginia report from the National

Criminal Justice Reference Service at

800–851–3420.

For the purposes of the application,

the applicant should identify and

discuss the following: (1) Where the

surveys will be conducted; (2) what

methods will be used to collect data

(e.g., self-report inventories, interviews,

record reviews); and (3) what

information will be obtained. Copies of

all instruments or recording forms that

will be used to collect data should be

included in the application. The

applicant should justify the selection of

particular sites and the choice of

instruments. If the applicant decides to

create its own instruments for the site

visits, a detailed description of the

instrument development process should

be included.

The applicant should also be prepared

to document the research results in a

report suitable for publication as an

OJJDP Bulletin.

Task III: Identification of Best Practices

The applicant should be prepared to

make between six and nine site visits to

localities that are focusing their efforts

on meeting the mental health needs of

youth in the juvenile justice system.

Locations might include CMHS

Comprehensive Community Mental

Health Services for Children and Their

Families Program sites such as

‘‘WrapAround Milwaukee’’, which

incorporates delinquent youth into its

system of care. Alternatively, the

applicant could visit one of the three

juvenile sites under the Center for

Substance Abuse Treatment’s Criminal

Justice Treatment Networks, a program

which seeks to forge a seamless system

of juvenile justice, substance abuse,

mental health, health, and human

services. The applicant should also

consider visiting sites that are not part

of a Federal demonstration project but

have mobilized State and local

resources in innovative and effective

ways.

OJJDP recommends that the applicant

visit a combination of large and small

sites, preferably in several different

areas of the country. It is possible that

some appropriate sites may be identified

through the literature review described

in Task I. Therefore, the applicant may

choose to provide only a partial list of

sites in the initial application. If the

applicant chooses this approach, it

should clearly specify the criteria that

will be used to select additional sites. A

final list of sites should be submitted to

OJJDP for approval within 3 months of

receipt of the grant award.

In addition to the list of sites, the

application should include a site visit

protocol. The protocol should identify

individuals who will be interviewed

(e.g., agency directors, program

directors, key program staff, juvenile

court judges, probation officers, family

members, etc.) and the type of

information that will be obtained.

Consideration should be given to tours

of facilities and collection of written

program materials. Areas which should

be explored include, but are not limited

to, history of the program; legislation

that has positively or adversely affected

the program; interdisciplinary barriers

that were identified and overcome;

program goals and objectives; program

structure, components, and operations;

program implementation; characteristics

of youth (and families) served by the

program; costs and funding sources;

information-sharing protocols;

management information system (MIS)

support; quality assurance measures;

outcome data; barriers to full and

effective implementation; keys to

program success; and future planning

efforts.

The purpose of these site visits is to

identify extant models for delivering

mental health and related substance

abuse services to youth in the juvenile

justice system. The applicant should

provide a report of the site visit results,

highlighting the strengths and

weaknesses of the service systems

reviewed.

The applicant should also be prepared

to document the site visit results in a

report suitable for publication as an

OJJDP Bulletin.

Task IV: Model Development

Using the information gathered during

Tasks I, II, and III, the applicant will

construct a detailed, comprehensive

model for delivering a broad array of

mental health services to youth in the

juvenile justice system. The model

should be flexible enough to be readily

adapted to a variety of sites. However,

any limitations on the model’s

adaptability should be identified. (For

example, the model may not be

applicable to very young offenders, i.e.,

those under 12 years old.)

Applicants should consider the

delivery of services at various key

points in the juvenile justice system,

including (but not necessarily limited

to) arrest, detention, adjudication,

disposition, secure corrections,

community placement, and probation.

Applicants should outline the steps

necessary to implement the model,

giving some consideration to issues of

resource acquisition, development, and

maintenance; collaboration among

existing agencies, institutions, and

programs; and the need for political

support. Applicants should present

possible strategies for sustaining the

model under changing political or

financial conditions. Relevant

legislation that might promote or inhibit

implementation of the model should be

cited.

The model ideally will involve a high

degree of coordination and integration,

so that the needs of youth are

appropriately met as they move through

the different levels of the juvenile

justice system. In order to accomplish

this goal, it may be necessary for

sensitive information to be shared

among various service providers. The

applicant should address how

confidentiality will be appropriately

maintained throughout this process.

One traditional way of coordinating care

is to assign an intensive case manager

who will follow the youth throughout

his or her time in the juvenile justice

system. However, there may be other,

equally effective ways of accomplishing

the same purpose, and applicants are

encouraged to think creatively.

It should be kept in mind that the

ultimate goal of providing services is to

reintegrate the youth back into the

community and ensure that he or she

becomes a healthy, productive, and

successful member of society. Therefore,

the model should address how

continuity will be maintained between

services provided within the juvenile

justice system and those provided once

a youth is no longer involved with the

system. In linking services within and

outside the juvenile justice system, it

will also be important to consider how

the confidentiality of the youth and

family can be maintained without

6516 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices

unnecessarily impeding the continuity

of treatment.

Task V: Expert Panel and Model

Refinement

Once an initial draft of the model has

been prepared, the applicant will

convene a panel of relevant subject

matter experts to review and evaluate

the model. The applicant should

include a proposed list of experts in the

application. In addition to subject

matter experts, the panel should include

at least one youth who has been

involved in the juvenile justice system

and family members of youth in the

juvenile justice system. If possible,

re

 ́

sume ́s of agreement from the proposed

panelists should be included in an

appendix. All panel members must be

approved by OJJDP, and the agency may

recommend additional panel members

at the time of the grant award. The

applicant will need to include in the

budget the costs associated with

convening the expert panel.

Based on the recommendations of the

expert panel, the applicant will revise

the model as necessary. The final

version of the model will be presented

in a report suitable for OJJDP

publication.

Products

The grantee will produce the

following deliverables, as described in

Tasks I, II, III, and V, above, all of which

must be suitable for publication by

OJJDP:

• A report that synthesizes the

relevant literature from the fields of

juvenile justice and mental health and

any related fields such as substance

abuse, criminology, sociology, etc. (Task

I)

• A report that documents the results

of the surveys described in Task II. In

addition, this report should compare the

data obtained from this project with

similar data reported in the literature.

(Task II)

• A report that documents the results

of the site visits described in Task III.

This report should highlight the

strengths and weaknesses of the service

systems visited. (Task III)

• A report that describes in detail the

comprehensive model for delivery of

mental health and substance abuse

services to youth in the juvenile justice

system. This report should also describe

how the work of Tasks I through V

contributed to the development of the

model. In addition, any

recommendations or concerns regarding

the implementation of the model should

be clearly spelled out.

The application should contain a

description of all products that will

derive from the project, including, but

not necessarily limited to, the reports

described above. The grantee should

also be prepared to produce a final

report that provides an overview of the

entire project. Applicants are also

strongly encouraged to consider

submitting their results for publication

in refereed journals.

Eligibility Requirements

OJJDP invites applications from

public or private agencies or

organizations with a demonstrated

capacity to carry out the requirements of

this initiative. Private, for-profit

organizations must agree to waive any

profit or fee. The organization must

have demonstrated experience in

conducting extensive literature reviews,

conducting in-depth sample surveys of

juvenile or criminal justice offenders

and facilities, carrying out research and

program development, and writing

reports. Funding will not be provided at

this stage for demonstration sites or for

sites whose primary function is the

provision of mental health and

substance abuse services. In the case of

joint applications, one applicant must

be clearly indicated as primary (for

correspondence and award purposes)

and the other(s) listed as coapplicants.

If contractors will be used for specific

project tasks, evidence of their

qualifications and willingness to

undertake the specified task(s) should

be provided.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated and

rated by a peer review panel according

to the criteria outlined below. In

addition, the extent to which the project

narrative makes clear and logical

connections among the components

listed below will be considered in

assessing a project’s merits.

Problem(s) To Be Addressed (10 points)

Applicants must include in the

project narrative a clear description of

the problem(s) to be addressed by the

development of a comprehensive model

for mental health service delivery

within the juvenile justice system.

Applicants should provide a discussion

of any previous or current efforts in this

area and any relevant research.

Goals and Objectives (10 points)

The application must include goals

and objectives that are clear, concrete,

and relevant to the field of juvenile

justice. Goals should derive directly

from the problems to be addressed.

Objectives should consist of clearly

defined, measurable tasks that will

enable the applicant to achieve the goals

of the project.

Project Design (20 points)

The application should present in

detail the design and methodology of

the project. Design elements should

follow directly from the project’s goals

and objectives. Applicants should

address the requirements of the

solicitation, particularly Tasks I through

V as described under ‘‘Program

Strategy.’’ Applicants should also

describe how the work undertaken in

the various tasks fits together and

contributes to the overall goals of the

project.

Where data collection is anticipated,

the applicant should describe in detail

the research strategy, demonstrating

adequate understanding of reliability

and validity issues.

Project Implementation Plan (20 points)

The application must include a

detailed time/task outline that indicates

when specific tasks will be initiated and

completed. This time line must include,

at a minimum, significant milestones in

the project and product due dates. The

time line should be referenced as

appropriate in the narrative but should

also be placed in appendix A of the

application.

Project Management (15 points)

Applicants must demonstrate the

existence of a management structure

that will support the achievement of the

project’s goals and objectives in an

efficient and cost-effective manner. In

particular, applicants must ensure that

the tasks delineated in the project time

line (see ‘‘Project Implementation,’’

above) are adequately staffed.

Applicants must also demonstrate that

staff members have sufficient

substantive expertise and technical

experience to perform the tasks

associated with the project.

Re ́sume ́s for key staff members,

including any contractors, should be

included in appendix B.

Organizational Capability (15 points)

Applicants should also demonstrate

the organizational capacity to complete

the work described in the ‘‘Project

Design’’ section. The applicant should

include a description of any similar

projects it has undertaken previously.

Applicants should also demonstrate

knowledge and experience related to

juvenile justice and mental health

issues. In addition, applicants should

provide evidence of their ability to work

collaboratively with juvenile justice

system practitioners and service

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2000 / Notices 6517

providers, ideally in the context of

research investigations. Any applicable

letters of cooperation or support should

be included in appendix C.

Budget (10 points)

Applicants must provide a proposed

budget that is complete, detailed,

reasonable, allowable, and cost-effective

in relation to the activities to be

undertaken. All budgeted costs should

be directly related to the achievement of

project goals and objectives. A brief

budget narrative should be included in

this section.

Award Period

The project period and budget period

will be 18 months.

Award Amount

Up to $1 million is available for an

18-month award to one grantee to

develop a model of mental health

service delivery for youth in the

juvenile justice system. The applicant

selected for this award will not be

eligible to compete for any subsequent

demonstration and evaluation grants

associated with implementation of the

model.

Format

Applicants must submit a program

narrative of no more than 30 pages. This

page limit does not include the abstract,

budget narrative, appendixes,

application forms, or assurances.

Appendix A should contain the

project’s time line with dates for

initiation and completion of critical

project tasks. Appendix B should

contain the re ́sume ́s for the principal

investigator and key staff members.

Appendix C should include all

necessary letters of cooperation or

support.

The narrative portion of the

application must be submitted on 81⁄2-

by 11-inch paper using a standard 12-

point font. The application should be

double spaced and printed on one side

of the paper only. Single-spaced (or 11⁄2-

spaced) applications will not be

accepted. Margins should be at least 1

inch on the top, bottom, and sides of

each page. The narrative should be

preceded by an abstract with a

maximum length of 400 words.

These requirements are necessary to

maintain a fair and uniform set of

standards among all applicants. If the

application fails to conform to these

standards, it will be rejected without

further review.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

(CFDA) Number

The CFDA number, required on Standard

Form 424, ‘‘Application for Federal

Assistance,’’ is 16.542. Standard Form 424 is

included in OJJDP’s Application Kit, which

can be obtained by contacting the Juvenile

Justice Clearinghouse at 800–638–8736 or

sending an e-mail request to

puborder@ncjrs.org. The Application Kit is

also available online at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/

grants/about.html#kit.

Coordination of Federal Efforts

To encourage better coordination

among Federal agencies in addressing

State and local needs, the U.S.

Department of Justice is requesting

applicants to provide information on the

following: (1) Active Federal grant

awards supporting this project or related

efforts, including other awards from the

Department of Justice; (2) any pending

applications for Federal funds for this or

related efforts; and (3) plans for

coordinating any funds described in

items (1) and (2) with the funding

requested in this application. For each

Federal award, applicants must include

the program or project title, the Federal

granting agency, the amount of the

award, and a brief description of its

purpose.

‘‘Related efforts’’ is defined for these

purposes as one of the following:

• Efforts for the same purpose (i.e.,

the proposed project would supplement,

expand, complement, or continue

activities funded with other Federal

grants).

• Another phase or component of the

same program or project (e.g., to

implement a planning effort funded by

other Federal monies or to provide a

substance abuse treatment or

educational component within an

existing juvenile justice project).

• Services of some kind (e.g.,

technical assistance, research, or

evaluation) to the program or project

described in the application.

Delivery Instructions

All application packages should be

mailed or delivered to the Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention, c/o Juvenile Justice

Resource Center, 2277 Research

Boulevard, Mail Stop 2K, Rockville, MD

20850; 301–519–5535. Note: In the

lower left-hand corner of the envelope,

the applicant must clearly write

‘‘Mental Health and Juvenile Justice:

Building a Model for Service Delivery.’’

Due Date

Applicants are responsible for

ensuring that the original and five

copies of the application package are

received by 5 p.m. ET on April 10, 2000.

Contact

For further information, call Karen

Stern, Program Manager, Research and

Program Development Division, 202–

514–9395 or send an e-mail inquiry to

STERNK@ojp.usdoj.gov. Alternatively,

you may contact Douglas Dodge, Senior

Policy Advisor, 202–616–3652, or send

an e-mail inquiry to

DOUG@ojp.usdoj.gov.

References

Cocozza, J. J., ed. 1992. Responding to the

Mental Health Needs of Youth in the Juvenile

Justice System. Seattle, WA: The National

Coalition for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal

Justice System.

Melton, G.B., and Pagliocca, P.M. 1992.

Treatment in the juvenile justice system:

Directions for policy and practice. In

Responding to the Mental Health Needs of

Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, edited

by J.J. Cocozza. Seattle, WA: The National

Coalition for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal

Justice System.

Neighbors, B., Kempton, T., Forehand, R.

1992. Co-Occurrence of substance abuse with

conduct, anxiety and depression disorders in

juvenile delinquents. Addictive Behaviors

17:379–386.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention. 1998. Census of Juveniles in

Residential Placement 1997. Washington,

DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of

Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention. 1999. OJJDP Annual Report

[1998]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of

Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Report of the Policy Design Team. 1994.

Mental Health Needs of Youth in Virginia’s

Juvenile Detention Centers. Washington, DC:

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice

Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Dated: February 2, 2000.

Shay Bilchik,

Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention.

[FR Doc. 00–2927 Filed 2–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–19–P