Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Meeting 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

810 Seventh Street NW. 

Washington, DC 20531 

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 

10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. ET 

SUMMARY 

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice (“Coordinating Council”) held a meeting on 

December 19, 2018. The meeting was hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Council members participated in person 

and via phone, and members of the public observed. 

Jeff Slowikowski, Designated Federal Official, along with other staff members provided staff 

support for the meeting. 

Caren Harp, OJJDP Administrator and Vice-Chair of the Coordinating Council, led and 

moderated the meeting, and offered an update on OJJDP activities. 

Matt M. Dummermuth, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice 

Programs (OJP), DOJ, offered welcoming remarks and expressed DOJ’s commitment to our 

nation’s youth. 

Jesse Panuccio, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General of the United States, DOJ, 

affirmed the Department’s commitment to helping at-risk youth and strengthening our nation’s 

juvenile justice system, and highlighted encouraging trends and complex challenges in the field. 

Federal partner Council members introduced themselves and shared their agencies’ 

programmatic support of at-risk children and youth and their families. Practitioner members 

described their experience, areas of interest, and activities. 

Curtis O. Porter, Special Assistant to the Associate Commissioner, Family and Youth Services 

Bureau (FYSB), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provided an overview 

of FYSB and the Runaway and Homeless Youth (RNY) Program. 

Jason Thompson, Assistant Director, Office of Justice Services (OJS), Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(BIA), U.S. Department of the Interior, shared BIA’s programs that support youth in Indian 

Country (IC). 

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WELCOME, OPENING REMARKS, INTRODUCTIONS 

Jeff Slowikowski, Designated Federal Official and Associate Administrator, OJJDP, U.S. 

Department of Justice (DOJ), welcomed everyone to the Coordinating Council meeting. He 

reviewed logistics and the agenda, and he noted that the meeting would be webcast and open to 

the public for observation. 

Mr. Slowikowski added that members of the public would be able to submit comments after the 

meeting to him at Jeff.Slowikowski@usdoj.gov; all comments would be posted to the OJJDP 

website within 90 days. 

Remarks by OJJDP Administrator Harp 

Caren Harp, OJJDP Administrator and Coordinating Council Vice Chair, welcomed the 

participants and expressed her appreciation for their attendance and commitment to the Council. 

She reminded the participants and observers that the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention Act created the Council to coordinate all juvenile delinquency prevention programs, 

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

programs relating to missing and exploited children. The Act dictates the Council’s structure, 

number of member federal agencies, selection process for practitioner members and Chair and 

Vice-Chair, and instructs the group to meet quarterly. 

Administrator Harp introduced Matt M. Dummermuth, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney 

General, OJP, DOJ, noting that he has a wealth of child protection experience and has served as 

a U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, where he prosecuted record numbers of child 

exploitation defendants and created an Internet predator warning program that reached more than 

42,000 students in 150 middle schools. In addition, he created the first human trafficking task 

force in Iowa, bringing together law enforcement agencies and victim assistance organizations to 

combat trafficking operations and provide services to trafficking survivors. Mr. Dummermuth’s 

previous positions in DOJ were Counsel and Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General 

for Civil Rights, and Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. 

Administrator Harp expressed her appreciation for Mr. Dummermuth. 

Remarks by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth 

Mr. Dummermuth echoed Administrator Harp’s welcome of and gratitude to the Council 

members, and he thanked her for her leadership of the Council and of OJJDP and expressed 

appreciation to be joined by DOJ’s third-ranking official, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney 

General Jesse Panuccio. 

Mr. Dummermuth commented that Administrator Harp − who brings a strong criminal and 

juvenile justice background as both prosecutor and defender − and her team are working very 

hard to build a strong juvenile justice infrastructure that both supports youths and helps protect 

communities. He added that the commitment to our nation’s youth extends to the highest levels 

of DOJ, as evidenced by Mr. Panuccio’s presence. 

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Mr. Dummermuth explained that he led aggressive prosecution of child exploitation offenders as 

U.S Attorney in Iowa in part because of the devastating impact violence exacts on youth – 

physical and emotional harm as well as damage to long-term development, including an 

increased risk of involvement in the juvenile and criminal justice systems later in life. He 

asserted the need to balance public safety demands with the rehabilitation of the juvenile justice 

system, and he affirmed that DOJ is committed to protecting children and communities. Mr. 

Dummermuth pledged that OJP will work closely with the Council to make the current 

Administration a strong ally of state, local, and tribal juvenile justice professionals. 

Mr. Dummermuth introduced Jesse Panuccio, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General of 

the United States, describing him as a seasoned litigator and dedicated public servant with a 

strong commitment to helping youth and protecting communities. He has been a steadfast 

supporter of the work of OJP, particularly its efforts to reduce crime and ensure justice on behalf 

of young people. 

Remarks by Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio 

Mr. Panuccio thanked Administrator Harp and Mr. Dummermuth for their leadership at DOJ on 

matters related to youth and juvenile justice, and he expressed appreciation to the OJJDP staff for 

organizing this meeting. On behalf of the Acting Attorney General, he affirmed the Department’s 

commitment to helping at-risk youth and strengthening our nation’s juvenile justice system. 

Mr. Panuccio believes we are at a crossroads in the history of juvenile justice in our country. On 

the one hand, trends for some important measures of juvenile justice involvement have been 

encouraging: 

• The residential placement rate for youth declined by more than half between 1997 and 

2015. Rates fell for practically all ethnic and racial groups, and rates for both males and 

females dipped to their lowest recorded levels. 

• Juvenile arrest rates have been dropping steadily for the last decade. 

However, these positive trends conceal less encouraging news: 

• Although placement rates have fallen for almost every racial and ethnic group, the rates 

for black, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaska Native youth are still considerably 

higher than those for white youth. 

• Although overall arrests are down, girls account for a growing share of those arrests – a 

troubling development. 

• There is a disturbing rise in the illegal use of opioids among teens. The Federal 

Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics reported that, in 2016, nearly 1 million 

Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 had misused prescription opioids in the 

previous 12 months. Given that prescription pain relievers are often a gateway to heroin 

and even more dangerous drugs – and encounters with the justice system – this is cause 

for serious concern. 

Mr. Panuccio asserted that these setbacks and caveats are reminders that progress, in the words 

of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is “neither automatic nor inevitable.” He acknowledged that 

juvenile justice professionals play a special role in the field of public safety that is not always 

easily defined. They walk a line between enforcement and empowerment, acting as both agents 

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of accountability and guides on the road to rehabilitation. Their job is to hold kids responsible for 

their behavior while helping to clear a path toward a brighter future. 

Young people who come into contact with the justice system do so at a defining moment in their 

lives; an encounter with a police officer or a juvenile court judge is a formative experience that 

can determine an individual’s life course. A positive experience can be a stepping stone to a 

productive, law-abiding life, while an adverse experience can set in motion a train of escalating 

delinquency and criminality. Mr. Panuccio emphasized that DOJ realizes that thousands of 

young lives depend on a juvenile justice system that is sound and effective and that puts the wellbeing of children and the safety of communities first. 

Mr. Panuccio highlighted that, in fiscal year (FY) 2018, OJJDP awarded $300 million in juvenile 

justice and child protection grants; about $43 million of that amount went to helping state and 

local jurisdictions improve justice system operations, and more than $83 million is being used to 

support services for at-risk youth. Almost $33 million in OJJDP funding is going toward drug 

courts, mentoring programs, and statewide strategic responses to the opioid crisis. 

The Department dedicated historic levels of funding – approximately $226 million – to tribes in 

FY 2018; much of that came out of DOJ’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), 

which allows tribes to apply for multiple grants by submitting a single application. 

CTAS is helping tribes do some promising work. One example of CTAS success is the Eight 

Northern Indian Pueblos Council Butterfly Healing Center, a residential and outpatient treatment 

facility for Native American youth ages 13 through 18. Before the center was constructed, no 

alternative sentencing options existed for tribal youth. The Butterfly Center now provides 

medical, psychological, and spiritual services that help young people get back on the right path 

and avoid formal processing through the court system. 

Progress is evident in the falling crime rates and smaller youth footprint in our criminal and 

juvenile justice systems. Mr. Panuccio believes that the resources DOJ has dedicated to tribal 

youth and those it has made available to support juvenile justice enhancements across the 

country are making a difference. He added that the Department remains committed to working 

with its federal colleagues to build on this positive momentum and to give state, local, and tribal 

partners the support they need to meet the complex challenges that lie ahead. The guidance and 

direction of the Council will inform that work. 

Mr. Panuccio expressed his gratitude for the leadership and commitment of every member of the 

Council and is eager to join in the vital work necessary to support youth, protect communities, 

and build a strong and effective juvenile justice system. 

Agency Introductions and Presentations 

Administrator Harp asked all agency and practitioner members to introduce themselves and to 

share their current juvenile-related work and any area on which they hoped to focus in 2019. 

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Also, she asked them to share any current partnerships and/or areas in which they hope to partner 

moving forward. 

Molly Conway, Department of Labor (DOL) 

Ms. Conway is the Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary R. Alexander Acosta and Acting Assistant 

Secretary to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). She explained that ETA 

manages all of DOL’s workforce development programs, a number of which help youth. Some 

examples are: 

• The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Program helps out-ofschool youth and low-income in-school youth overcome barriers to employment by 

providing them with services that prepare them for employment and post-secondary 

education. The program primarily serves out-of-school youth with a specific focus on 

work experience, runaway and homeless youth, and tribal youth. 

• The WIOA Section 166 Indian and Native American Program provides funds to 131 

federally recognized tribes for supplemental youth services that assist low-income Native 

American youth on or near reservations. 

• DOL also supports Job Corps, which offers free residential education and vocational 

training to young men and women ages 16 to 24. Currently, at least one Job Corps center 

exists in every state, and improvements to the program – including pilots of more 

programs serving this population – are forthcoming. 

• YouthBuild grants serve youth ages 16 to 24 with specific at-risk factors – including 

being an offender or the child of an incarcerated parent – who have dropped out of high 

school. ETA staff meet with representatives of organizations to discuss this program and 

brainstorm ways for developing effective grant applications. 

• ETA’s Reentry Employment Opportunity (REO) grants support programs for formerly 

incarcerated youth, young adults and adults (returning citizens). 

o One program under REO, Pathway to Justice Careers, provides mentoring and 

career exploration in the field of justice and emergency services personnel to 

youth ages 16 to 21 enrolled in public or alternative high school. 

Ms. Conway solicited offline feedback and suggestions regarding the above programs. DOL 

looks forward to working with its federal partners to support youth. 

Larke Huang, PhD, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

Director of the Office of Behavioral Health Equity and Justice, was in attendance on behalf of 

Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Elinore F. McCance-Katz, MD, 

PhD. Dr. Huang noted that the Assistant Secretary has prioritized this “transition age” group, an 

action supported by recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data showing 

vulnerability of late adolescence into young adulthood (ages 18 to 25) for the onset of serious 

mental health illnesses (including illicit drug use and psychosis). SAMHSA also funds drug 

treatment courts, and approximately one-half of enrollees are in this age group. 

SAMHSA supports the priority in the following ways: 

• In May 2018, SAMHSA held a meeting of experts to develop clinical guidance 

recommendations for youth and young adults; this guidance, to be released, includes key 

principles and frequently asked questions (FAQs) with links to resources. 

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• Two policy drivers support this work: 

• The Trauma Task Force, which will convene in February 2019, was 

established by law in the Support for Patients and Communities Act. It 

is tasked with: 

• Identifying, evaluation, and making recommendations 

regarding: 

o Best practices for children and youth, and their families 

as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of 

experiencing trauma; and 

o Ways in which federal agencies can better coordinate to 

improve the federal response to families impacted by 

substance use disorders and other forms of trauma. 

• The 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 mandated the development of the 

Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee 

(ISMICC). The ISMICC, which includes 14 appointed non-federal 

members and 10 federal agencies, has developed 49 recommendations 

in 5 key areas; these include: 

• Juvenile Justice: Screening for mental health and substance 

abuse disorders of every young person entering the juvenile 

justice system or detention; improvement of practices around 

competency assessment and restoration; improving practices 

for reentry to the community or transitioning from 

detention/incarceration; and 

• Youth and Young Adults: Prioritizing early identification and 

intervention for children, youth, and young adults; making 

screening and early intervention among children, youth, 

transition-age youth, and young adults a national expectation; 

and implementing effective systems of care for children, youth, 

and transition-age youth throughout the nation. 

• A workgroup specifically focuses on the recommendations, such as by screening all 

youth entering the juvenile justice system or detention for mental illness and 

substance use disorders, revisiting competency to stand trial in the juvenile justice 

system, and reviewing best practices around transitioning back to the community 

from incarceration or detention by youth and adult offenders. The DOJ Bureau of 

Justice Assistance (BJA) is very active in helping SAMHSA implement the 

Committee’s recommendations. 

• SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Resource Center: 

o Provides communities, clinicians, policymakers, and others in the field with 

information and tools they need to incorporate evidence-based practices into 

their communities or clinical settings; and 

o Contains a registry of evidence-based collection of science-based resources 

for a broad range of audiences, including treatment improvement protocols, 

toolkits, resource guides, and clinical practice guidelines. 

• Relevant SAMHSA funding opportunities are: 

o Project AWARE (this has evolved from a grant originally jointly issued with 

OJJDP) 

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• This project was established in 2014 following the Sandy Hook 

tragedy to increase awareness of mental health problems in young 

people and to improve access to mental health services in schools and 

in the community. 

o Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) 

• ReCAST focuses on at-risk youth living in communities recently 

impacted by civil unrest. 

• To date, ReCAST supports 12 communities across the U.S. 

o National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) 

• NCTSI raises awareness about the impact of trauma on children and 

adolescents as a behavioral health concern and develops 

treatments/interventions for different types of trauma and various 

settings, including juvenile justice. 

• NCTSI continues to support a very active juvenile justice workgroup, 

a key activity of which is ongoing dissemination of the Think Trauma 

curriculum, a staff training program specific to the juvenile justice 

population/setting. The training has been well received by staff and 

youth in settings across the country. 

o Youth Treatment Implementation and Youth and Family Treatment and 

Recovery Expansion/Enhancement Grants (35 total, 11 specific to tribes) 

• These programs provide comprehensive treatment and recovery 

support services to youth and young adults ages 12-25 with substance 

use disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, as 

well as services to their families/primary caretakers. 

o Healthy Transitions 

• The purpose of this program is to improve access to treatment and 

support services for youth and young adults ages 16-25 who have 

serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness. 

Dr. Huang noted that SAMHSA has an ongoing portfolio of adult drug treatment and family drug 

treatment courts. The agency is open to collaboration with OJJDP on any program or policy 

initiative. She would be happy to share the Evidence-Based Resource Center website with any 

interested federal partner. 

Karen Morgan, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) 

Ms. Morgan sat in for Ann Thomas Johnston, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for 

Military Community and Family Policy. DoD has been an affiliate member of the Council since 

2009 and is recognized for providing dynamic and successful support of youth. DoD is proud of 

its programs and services for more than 1 million children – youth ages 6 to 18 – of active duty 

and reserve service members. These programs and services are provided on military bases and in 

communities in the U.S. and around the world. 

• DoD offers positive, innovative alternative activities for youth during their out-of-school 

hours in partnership with other federal agencies and non-federal, local and national 

youth-serving organizations, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the USDA’s 4-H 

Clubs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and YMCAs. These organizations augment and offer a 

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variety of resources and enable the Department to offer a wealth of resources in a variety 

of domains. 

• DoD promotes core programming areas to support character and leadership, sound 

educational choices, healthy lifestyles, the arts, sports, fitness, and recreation. These 

programs help youth develop their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive abilities. 

Jake Horowitz, Director, Public Safety Performance Project, Pew Charitable Trusts 

Mr. Horowitz is the Director of the Pew Charitable Trusts Public Safety Performance Project. In 

coordination with OJJDP over the past several years and under the banner of the Comprehensive 

Strategy for Juvenile Justice Systems Improvement, Pew has provided highly intensive 

consultation and assistance to numerous states that want a better public safety return on 

investment in the juvenile justice system. Mr. Horowitz clarified that states want to take a fresh 

data-driven, nonpartisan look at their systems to determine if they are: 

• Focusing their resources in a way that research indicates will reduce recidivism; 

• Stewarding their taxpayer resources wisely; 

• Ensuring that families are kept together; and 

• Using the least restrictive settings appropriate and consistent with public safety. 

Mr. Horowitz shared documents focusing on the priority achievements of state leaders and on 

lessons learned from the states around juvenile justice system improvement; he noted two major 

takeaways: 

• Governors indicate that juvenile justice system improvement assistance was not just a 

priority but a legacy item of their administrations, pointing out that the shifts outlined 

below are large system realignments of policy and resources that helped: 

o Protect public safety; 

o Avoid lock-ups of lower-risk youth; 

o Positively impact children’s lives; and 

o Steward taxpayer resources more wisely. 

• The performance metrics – the results being early ones – of an entire system are 

beginning to move: 

o Youth arrests are continuing to fall; systems are focusing on more serious 

individuals. 

o The number of youth in out-of-home placements is dropping, which is generating 

savings. 

o A portion of these savings is being reinvested in recidivism-reduction 

interventions, including policies to advance restorative justice programs and 

resources for crime victims. 

Mr. Horowitz echoed Mr. Panuccio’s remarks noting the massive movement forward, with a 50 

percent reduction in the rate at which youth are committed to out-of-home placement and a 50 

percent reduction in the rate at which youth are arrested for violent crimes. However, there is 

much more to do; there are still unacceptable levels of recidivism in some areas and very 

troubling indicators in drug use and other crimes. 

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Mr. Horowitz explained that states want to further reduce crime and incarceration, along with 

their associated costs. Pew wants to assist the states with varying challenges through the proven 

process that it and OJJDP have co-created. 

Laura Rigas, Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS) 

Ms. Rigas, CNCS Deputy Chief of Staff for Partnerships, represented CEO Barbara Stewart. 

CNCS is an independent federal agency that provides grants to more than 3,000 state, local, and 

nonprofit organizations, and it has more than 220,000 SeniorCorps volunteers and 75,000 

AmeriCorps members. 

• The agency leverages public sector dollars through mandated matching in 50,000 

communities around the country to ensure sustainability and growth. 

• CNCS has partnerships with almost every federal agency and is looking to expand its 

partnerships with OJP and OJJDP. 

• The agency has significantly increased its investment in providing wraparound services 

to support recovering opioid users and fight the opioid epidemic. CNCS also focuses on 

workforce development opportunities for youth and serves several hundred tribal youth 

who work in their communities on reservations and tribal lands. 

Sean Addie, U.S. Department of Education (DoE) 

DoE has many programs that intersect with the juvenile justice field; they include: 

• A 2-year-old young adult diversion program in partnership with BJA in 16 states and 

localities that works with young adults ages 16 to 24. The program uses a diversionary 

model with career and technical education and special education; 

• A juvenile justice reentry education program working in juvenile justice facilities 

providing career and technical education and connecting youth with further educational 

opportunities, workforce development and training, and employment. Some grantees run 

apprenticeship programs; and 

• A formula grant program for state education agencies to provide education continuity 

opportunities for neglected, delinquent, and justice-involved children and youth in 

juvenile justice facilities. 

DoE wants to do more work around diversion, adjudication, sentencing, pre-apprenticeships, and 

apprenticeships with the juvenile justice population. 

Administrator Harp wants to discuss the reentry education program offline to inform OJJDP’s 

new partnership with the National Institute of Corrections and the Council of Juvenile Correction 

Administrators around training facility superintendents. 

Maria-Lana Queen, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 

Ms. Queen represented the HUD Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH). HUD is focused on 

working with the 38,000 public housing authorities across the country. Approximately 1.3 

million children and youth live in poverty and in low-income households, and HUD has a 

priority to use housing as a platform to improve outcomes for those young people. 

• PIH is focused on juvenile reentry and works closely with several federal agencies, 

including with DOJ on the Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program around expunging 

records to give youth a second or third chance to improve their outcomes so they have 

better access to housing, education, and employment opportunities. 

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• PHI focuses on education, helping some of the nation’s most vulnerable young people 

pursue post-secondary education. 

• PHI is focused on positive youth development (PYD) and meets children, young people, 

and families where they are. 

PHI continues to partner with federal agencies and is included in the Federal Agency Working 

Group on Youth Programs, another interagency effort to coordinate opportunities for this 

population. 

Bonita Williams, U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Ms. Williams is National Program Leader with 4-H National Headquarters, a sub-agency of the 

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). As a granting agency, NIFA 

consolidates all federally funded agricultural research, and is responsible for 4-H. 

4-H is a part of the land grant system, a community of more than 110 public universities across 

the U.S. and its territories. It serves Historically Black Colleges and Universities, tribal colleges, 

and Hispanic-Serving Institutions as well as other colleges and universities. The largest out-ofschool program in the nation, 4-H serves 6 million youth in every one of the country’s 3,000-plus 

counties. Its goals are to develop leadership, citizenship, and critical life skills in young people, 

based on research and a PYD approach. 

Ms. Williams highlighted the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk program. The program’s 

funding supports community-based initiatives designed to create positive outcome-based impacts 

on children, youth, and families who are placed at risk. 

Brenda Destro, HHS 

Ms. Destro, of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), 

explained that HHS and its health and human services agencies provide direct and indirect 

support to care for children identified by the justice system as being at risk of juvenile 

delinquency. HHS has a complex and broad commitment to fighting the opioid epidemic, 

beginning with its declaration of the epidemic as a public health emergency. The Secretary for 

Health has asked Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir to lead the HHS effort in this area, 

which falls across most of the Department’s agencies; that work includes the following: 

• Work is being done on payment models at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 

(CMS), as well as on workforce shortages and a safety net delivery system at the Health 

Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). 

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking the opioid problem. 

• The National Institutes of Health is conducting research, including brain injury research 

and studies at the National Institute of Mental Health. 

HHS’s tribal community work includes the following: 

• The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has the Administration for Native 

Americans, with the mission of promoting self-sufficiency for Native Americans. ACF 

also supports youth successfully transitioning out of the foster care system. 

• The Indian Health Service runs a multitude of programs for youth on reservations. 

• Through the Support Act, which prohibits states from terminating Medicaid for 

incarcerated juveniles, CMS restores coverage once a juvenile leaves incarceration. 

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• ASPE runs the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs in support of youth with 

incarcerated parents. There is a connection between being the child of an incarcerated 

parent and criminal justice system involvement. 

• Many minority health programs work in the youth space, including: 

o Minority Youth Violence Prevention supports approaches to reducing the 

prevalence and impact of youth violence among racial and ethnic minorities. 

o HRSA, through its strong health care services delivery system, interacts regularly 

with many of the youth being discussed. 

o Extended foster care programs can now extend support until age 21. 

HHS would be happy to prepare a handout to inform the Council on the full range of its at-risk 

and justice-involved youth-related programs. 

Deane Dougherty, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 

Ms. Dougherty is Deputy Assistant Director of the DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) Alternatives to Detention Division. The division has a very limited role with juveniles; 

however, youth in ICE custody transition to programs supported by other Council member 

organizations. 

• ICE’s highly specialized Juvenile and Family Residential Management Unit deals with 

children and families in immigration custody and beyond through the work of specialized 

federal staff and contractors. Field Office Juvenile Coordinators, who are in every field 

office, are required to attend a DHS annual training that includes a subject matter expert 

providing training on how to identify victims of trafficking and other abuse in order to 

get them connected to the services they need. 

• To support families going through immigration proceedings, ICE has three family 

residential centers. These are non-secure, open-movement centers that provide multiple 

services not available to other immigration detainees, such as education and 

comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health services. ICE’s Family Residential 

Services can be found on its website. 

• ICE’s primary collaborative efforts rest with the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement 

(ORR), as it works daily with border patrol agents to transport and transfer juveniles into 

ORR custody. 

• Throughout the year, ICE assists with placement of many thousands of juveniles in the 

least secure setting possible; ORR currently has 15,000 unaccompanied alien children in 

custody. 

• ICE and ORR work in partnership to secure sponsors who can ensure the safety and 

security of juveniles and young adults in ICE custody so they may be released. 

• ICE also works closely with ORR to post team plans for unaccompanied alien juveniles 

who age out of the ORR system. 

Jim St. Germain, New York, Practitioner Member 

Mr. St. Germain, who founded the PLOT (Preparing Leaders for Tomorrow) mentoring program, 

reported that New York City (NYC) and New York state are working to build on the progress 

that has been achieved over the last few years. They are trying to identify different measures to 

help young people and to keep them outside of the juvenile justice system, including working to 

dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and implementing restorative practices. They are using 

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teen courts to do this work. When teen courts can divert teens from the adult system, they can 

provide targeted services to the teens based on current brain science. In certain situations, NYC 

district attorneys will bring in the youth to work with victims so they can see the consequence of 

involvement in negative activities and how to stay away from them. They use mentoring, job 

services and employment opportunities, and full family involvement. 

In its school-to-prison pipeline work, PLOT leaders discovered that approximately 1.5 million 

young people were attending schools that had a police officer but no counselor; this was 

contributing to an increased number of youth entering the juvenile justice system. PLOT has 

been working to provide counseling and mental health services to the schools so that minor 

infractions do not lead to a precinct visit. It wants to build on this work and looks forward to 

continuing to promote positive, youth-friendly measures. 

Mr. St. Germain explained that the goal is both to help youth succeed and help communities stay 

safe. He noted that, in New York, more than 50 percent of juvenile justice-involved youth have 

traumatic brain injuries sustained from conflicts with other youth. 

Mr. St. Germain remarked that measurable progress has been made and encouraged the Council 

to continue its important work to ensure youth become productive members of society and to 

lessen the burden on taxpayers. 

Administrator Harp expressed her belief in the major benefits of mentoring and restorative 

justice. She added that developing a restorative justice working group is a goal of OJJDP for 

2019. 

Judge William Thorne, Utah Court of Appeals, Practitioner Member 

Judge Thorne is a Pomo-Coast Miwok Indian from Northern California who was appointed to 

the Council by the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. He served for 34 years as a judge, 

starting in tribal courts, where he worked with 30 different tribes in 12 states. Judge Thorne was 

a state trial court judge in Utah for 14 years and a state court of appeals judge for 13 years. In his 

retirement, he works primarily on tribal court and juvenile issues around the country. He has 

spent the last 4 years working with judges in Detroit and is supporting a tribe in Mississippi. 

Judge Thorne travels the country sharing best practices among tribes, and his primary interest is 

in breaking the school-to-prison pipeline, starting with education failures and moving into 

juvenile justice and then into the adult criminal justice system. He sees hopeful practices 

beginning; in Ann Arbor, MI, they are developing a resiliency court in order to go beyond safety 

and help kids become good parents when they grow up. Fifteen years ago in San Diego County, 

CA, 7 tribes had 380 kids in the foster care system; that number has dropped to just 20. 

Administrator Harp is talking with the National Institute of Justice about designing a research 

project around intergenerational criminal justice system involvement and identifying and 

implementing methods for breaking that cycle. She wants to see the resiliency court Judge 

Thorne mentioned in action. 

Judge David Tapp, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Practitioner Member 

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Judge Tapp oversees the education of all Kentucky circuit court judges – these include all 

general jurisdiction judges and family court judges. He also works on an intermittent basis with 

district judges who handle juvenile-related issues. Throughout the past few years, Judge Tapp 

has worked on adult and juvenile opioid issues as well. He was pleased to note that the state has 

made significant inroads over the course of the past few decades: 

• Kentucky passed landmark legislation that made substantial changes in how the state 

deals with juvenile offenders and, to some degree, status offenders. Remarkable changes 

have occurred due to these shifts: 

o The most dramatic change is that now fewer juveniles with misdemeanors are 

spending time away from their families; there has been a decrease of 15 percent 

since passage of Senate Bill 200, and the hope is that the positive impact will 

continue. 

o Due to the legislation, family accountability, intervention, and response teams 

were established in all 60 judicial districts; these teams are much more effective at 

diverting children from formal court proceedings. 

o The recidivism rates also have significantly declined: Sixty percent of 

successfully diverted youth have no further complaints filed against them within 3 

years, and 40 percent of youth who were unsuccessfully diverted still are having 

no further complaints filed against them within 3 years. 

• Other successes include: 

o A school-justice partnership, which currently is being piloted in four jurisdictions; 

o The advent of additional truancy diversion programs to deal with problems in 

school systems; and 

o Teen courts in 22 counties. 

• Significant challenges and barriers to success remain. These include: 

o Disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile justice system. Judge Tapp 

reported that Kentucky has done a much better job of identifying where those 

disparities exist and providing training and resources to address the issue more 

effectively; 

o Lack of funding for juvenile drug courts; 

o Transportation in rural areas, affecting adults and youth in need of treatment; and 

o Lack of access to long-term juvenile drug treatment facilities. 

Judge Tapp expressed excitement at DO and other organizations focusing on intervention and 

provision of counseling services for youth who have witnessed drug overdoses – severely 

traumatic events that occur every hour somewhere in the state. 

Maura Corrigan, Michigan, Practitioner Member 

Ms. Corrigan has been a member of the Council for several years and offered the following 

suggestions: 

• Schedule a longer meeting (during the next Coordinating Council meeting on March 14 

or otherwise) that allows time for practitioners to share their knowledge and assist DOJ 

and the other member agencies in moving forward to help all children live the American 

dream. 

• Find a way to bring together HHS, DOJ, and other departments in the budget process to 

leverage resources. Matt Weidinger—former deputy staff director of the House 

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Committee on Ways and Means and longtime staff director of its Subcommittee on 

Human Resources, with jurisdiction over safety-net programs—has joined the American 

Enterprise Institute and has a very large portfolio that could assist in consolidating 

efforts. 

FAMILY AND YOUTH SERVICES BUREAU OVERVIEW 

Curtis O. Porter, Special Assistant to the Associate Commissioner, FYSB, HHS 

Mr. Porter introduced himself, sharing that he was a juvenile probation officer prior to becoming 

Assistant Director of a statewide runaway and homeless youth program and serving as an 

appointee to state boards around juvenile justice. 

FYSB and the RHY Program 

Mr. Porter provided an overview of FYSB and RHY: 

• The mission of FYSB is to support the organizations and communities that work every 

day to put an end to youth homelessness, adolescent pregnancy, and domestic violence. 

The bureau is one of two in the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families within 

ACF and has two divisions: the Division of Adolescent Development and Support, and 

the Family Violence Prevention and Services Division. 

• The strategy of RHY, part of the Division of Adolescent Development, includes the three 

pillars of accountability, sustainability, and collaboration. The strategic priorities of 

FYSB include RHY interagency collaborations (DOE, HUD, SAMHSA, and OJJDP), 

community engagement, and collaboration with faith-based organizations. RHY funds 

programs from the federal level down to the local level. 

• The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act of 1974 created RHY’s Basic Center Program. In 

the 1980s, RHY added the Transitional Living Program and Maternity Group Homes, and 

the Street Outreach Program was created in the 1990s. 

• RHY program tenets are: 

o Young people are urgently in need of shelter/housing and services that are trauma 

informed, developmentally and age appropriate, and culturally sensitive. 

o Services to young people should be developed and provided using a PYD 

approach. 

o Services and linkages are needed for youth to make successful transitions to 

adulthood and obtain self-sufficiency. 

o Services include life skills, interpersonal skill building, educational advancement, 

job attainment skills, mental and physical health care, parenting skills, financial 

planning, and referrals to other needed services. 

• The four core outcomes of RHY are: 

o Wellbeing; 

o Safe and stable housing; 

o Education/employment; and 

o Permanent connections. 

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• The Basic Center Program, the first program to look at runaway and homeless youth, 

addresses the immediate needs of runaway and homeless youth under age 18 by 

providing an array of services including shelter, food, medical care, and counseling. 

o The number of current program grantees is 284. 

o Grant duration is three years, and all grants are competitive. 

o The average grant for a basic center is approximately $150,000; centers can use 

those funds to leverage other funding and support to meet young people’s needs. 

o FY 2018 grant funding was $48.6 million. 

• The Transitional Living Program (TLP) and Maternity Group Homes provide longerterms residential services to homeless youth ages 16 to 21 – including shelter, life skills, 

educational opportunities, and career counseling – to help them transitional toward 

independence. 

o The number of current program grantees is 227. 

o Grant duration is three years, and all grants are competitive. 

o The average TLP grant is under $200,000; centers can use funds to leverage other 

funding and support to meet young people’s needs. 

o FY 2018 grant funding was $42.4 million. 

o In 2017, close to 5,000 youth received longer-term shelter, counseling, and other 

services in TLPs. Of those youth, 481 were pregnant and/or parenting youth who 

received services in a maternity group home. 

• The Street Outreach Program provides street-based aid and prevention services to street 

youth who have been subjected to or are at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. 

o The number of current program grantees is 90. 

o Grant duration is three years, and all grants are competitive. 

o Estimated FY 2018 grant funding was $15.3 million. 

o Almost 32,000 young people came into contact with a street outreach worker in 

FY 2017. 

FYSB’s Anti-Trafficking Efforts 

FYSB’s anti-trafficking efforts are in alignment with grantees’ needs and the bureau’s programs 

framework. Examples of RHY efforts are: 

• Building RHY grantee capacity on human trafficking; 

• Providing tailored resources and technical support to funded programs to identify, 

intervene with, and provide services to at-risk youth and risk and trafficked youth; 

• Fostering collaboration efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to support RHY 

programs and their anti-trafficking work; 

• Focusing on a public health response to human trafficking; and 

• Identifying gaps and challenges related to the intersection of human trafficking and 

runaway and homeless youth. 

The National Runaway Safeline (NFS) 

• NFS, the federally designated national communication system for runaway and homeless 

youth, began as a local hotline headquartered in Chicago in the 1960s. 

• NFS relies on many volunteers and supports the mission of keeping American’s runaway, 

homeless, and at-risk youth safe and off the streets. 

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• 1-800-RUNAWAY is a confidential, toll-free, 24/7/365 information and referral service 

providing non-sectarian, non-judgmental, empowering support while utilizing a harmreduction and trauma-informed approach to providing solution-focused intervention. 

o NRS also includes live chat, email, and online forums. 

o NRS provides conference call and messaging services between youth and 

guardians. 

o NRS has a database of resources for youth in crisis. 

o Home Free is an NRS partnership with Greyhound and United Airlines for 

transporting young people home in some cases. 

o Throughout the past 10 years, the following shifts have occurred in who contacts 

NRS: 

• A 42 percent increase in youth who are still at home. 

• A 111 percent decrease in youth who are with the police. 

• A 42 percent increase in youth who are on the street. 

RHY Resources 

RHY provides the following resources to its grantees and encourages others to access them: 

• The National Clearinghouse on Homeless Youth & Families: 

https://rhyclearinghouse.acf.hhs.gov/ 

• The Runaway and Homeless Youth Training & Technical Assistance Center: 

www.rhyttac.net 

Administrator Harp acknowledged the tremendous value of NFS and vowed to get the word out 

about it through OJJDP’s state advisory groups and other contacts. 

SUPPORTING YOUTH IN INDIAN COUNTRY 

Jason Thompson, Assistant Director, OJS, BIA, U.S. Department of the Interior 

Prior to serving as BIA OJS Assistant Director, Mr. Thompson served as a police officer for a 

rural sheriff’s office in Oklahoma and with BIA as a uniformed patrolman, special agent, and 

chief of police. 

Mr. Thompson explained that native children are a small percentage of the overall youth 

population and make up one of the most vulnerable groups in the U.S. He shared the following 

findings: 

• More than 25 percent of native youth live in poverty, compared to 13 percent of the 

general youth population. 

• Native youth are exposed to violence and substance abuse at extremely high levels and 

are at a greater risk of experiencing trauma than their non-native peers. 

• According to DOJ’s Defending Childhood Initiative, exposure to violence causes major 

disruptions to cognitive, emotional, and brain functioning essential for optimal 

development. If that exposure to violence goes untreated, children are at a significantly 

higher risk than their peers for aggressive, disruptive behaviors; school failure; and 

alcohol and drug abuse. 

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BIA recognizes that the conventional juvenile justice system approach of simple incarceration is 

often ineffective and may actually increase delinquency rates, and it has long urged tribal 

policymakers to transition toward less punitive models of juvenile justice. 

BIA also encourages juvenile systems to offer solution-focused alternatives to incarceration and 

more restorative approaches and early intervention options for juveniles within IC. 

Mr. Thompson described the takeaway as this: Although some youth need to go to jail, 

incarceration should not be the norm. He asserted that relationships are the most important 

factor. Focused alternatives are needed to combat intergenerational delinquency, and some 

extremely effective initiatives exist. 

BIA OJS projects and initiatives include: 

• Regularly engaging in crime prevention and community involvement projects to connect 

with youth at the local level. 

o Examples include Los Angeles Law Enforcement Days, Toys for Tots, Shop with 

a Cop, and DARE. 

• Funding 16 full-time school resource officers in IC schools. 

o This is a fraction of the need; however, the resource officers do a great job of 

protecting youth, keeping them out of the justice system whenever possible, and 

diverting them through anti-bullying campaigns and education around stranger 

danger, gangs, and illegal drugs. 

• Conducting tribal court assessments across the U.S., including evaluating the challenges 

and successes of juvenile justice systems in IC. 

o Some tribes operate traditional courts, while some may involve elders or a peer 

group instead of a jury and may incorporate traditional, culturally based 

rehabilitation practices such as talking circles. Outcomes can vary dramatically 

and are culturally significant. 

o Nationwide assessments give tribes the ability to learn if they are following best 

practices. 

• Funding tribal juvenile-specific requests. 

o Examples include training for probation officers in juvenile issues (Pueblos of 

San Ildelfonso and San Felipe), hiring of juvenile probation officers (Rosebud 

Sioux Tribal Court), and hiring of a truancy prevention specialist (Lower Sioux 

Indian Community). 

• Funding public defender positions. 

o BIA has funded these positions in tribal courts to work specifically with juveniles 

in the justice system. 

o Examples include Healing to Wellness Courts (Bay Mills Indian Community, 

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska) 

and the Native Village of Barrow Juvenile Intake Program. 

When native youth come into contact with the juvenile justice system, BIA believes contact 

should be just and beneficial. In certain circumstances, incarceration may be appropriate; when 

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that is the case, BIA works to ensure that education and mental health counseling is available 

inside of the bureau and tribal jails to support youth. 

In BIA-run juvenile detention programs, OJS enters into commercial contracts to provide 

qualified teachers and education support. In 2018, OJS provided educational support to more 

than 250 juveniles from a variety of backgrounds. In many of these cases, youth with past 

records of aggressive and disruptive school behavior became active classroom participants with 

little to no discipline issues. Many of these students sought to study for the GED and HiSET 

exams. As the agency does not support juveniles on a long-term basis, it generally reaches back 

to youth’s own communities so support can continue. 

BIA, the Bureau of Indian Education, and HHS have entered into a memorandum of agreement 

to ensure that mental health counseling is available and effectively implemented in juvenile 

detention centers. Also, in conjunction with DOJ and OJJDP, BIA has developed a 

comprehensive model juvenile code designed to incorporate assessments; identify needs; and 

prescribe services and solutions to address those needs by working with HHS and incorporating 

all available services, including specialized traditional remedies that target these young people. 

This is a critical resource for tribes, as many tribal courts do not have a roadmap to deal with 

juvenile offenders. 

Mr. Thompson noted the need to address root causes around juvenile services: 

• If a tribe does not provide a particular service, a youth faces potential hours of transport. 

• Building trust with children in elementary school gives contact needed for prevention. 

• There is a deep need for mental health, substance abuse services, life skills, and 

vocational training in IC. 

• Many youth have parents who are involved in the adult criminal justice system; 

overcoming this is major hurdle. 

Mr. Thompson noted that BIA is committed to continuing its effort in early intervention to reach 

young people throughout IC and provide solution-focused, restorative approaches to address the 

root cause of this crisis and minimize repeated engagement with the justice system. The common 

goal is to improve the health, well-being, and proper placement of native youth. 

Mr. Thompson asserted the need for coordinating the successful programs of federal agencies 

and to share best practices with tribal and other communities. 

WRAP-UP AND ADJOURNMENT 

The next meeting will take place on March 14, and the Council will continue to meet every three 

months (in mid-June, mid-September, and early December). Specific dates will be forthcoming. 

Administrator Harp informed the Council that, starting with the March meeting, practitioner 

members will share their knowledge, and the Council will identify areas of collaboration to solve 

problems. Meetings among agencies around specific projects can take place between 

Coordinating Council sessions. 

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By soon after the first of year, Council members are asked to email Elizabeth Wolfe at 

Elizabeth.Wolfe@usdoj.gov with feedback and to share ideas for issues this group should tackle. 

Mr. Slowikowski requested comments to be submitted to him by the public by email at 

Jeff.Slowikowski@usdoj.gov. 

Administrator Harp encouraged members to reach out to OJJDP to share ideas at any time. 

The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m. 

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