[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 97 (Thursday, May 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28287-28294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12092]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

[OJP (OJJDP) Docket No. 1521]


Final Plan for Fiscal Year 2010

AGENCY: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office 
of Justice Programs, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice of Final Plan for Fiscal Year 2010.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is 
publishing this notice of its Final Plan for fiscal year (FY) 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention at 202-307-5911. [This is not a toll-free 
number.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is a component of the Office of Justice 
Programs (OJP) in the U.S. Department of Justice. Provisions within 
Section 204(b)(5)(A) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq. (JJDP Act), direct the 
OJJDP Administrator to publish for public comment a Proposed Plan 
describing the program activities that OJJDP proposes to carry out 
during FY 2010 under Parts D and E of Title II of the JJDP Act, 
codified at 42 U.S.C. 5651-5665a, 5667, 5667a. Because the Office's 
discretionary activities extend beyond Parts D and E, the Acting 
Administrator of OJJDP published a proposed plan outlining a more 
comprehensive listing of the Office's programs. OJJDP invited the 
public to comment on the Proposed Plan for FY 2010, which was published 
in the Federal Register on December 1, 2009 (74 FR 62821). The deadline 
for submitting comments on the Proposed Plan was January 15, 2010.
    The Acting Administrator reviewed and analyzed the public comments 
that OJJDP received, and a summary of OJJDP activities since the 
comment period ended appears later in this document. The Acting 
Administrator took these comments into consideration in developing this 
Final Plan, which describes the program activities that OJJDP intends 
to fund during FY 2010.
    Since early in 2010, OJJDP has posted on its Web site (http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov) solicitations for competitive programs to be 
funded under the Final Plan for FY 2010. These funding opportunities 
are announced via OJJDP's JUVJUST listserv and other methods of 
electronic notification. To obtain information about OJJDP and other 
OJP funding opportunities, visit Grants.gov's ``Find Grant 
Opportunities'' Web page at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp. No proposals, concept papers, or other forms 
of application should be submitted in response to this Final Plan.
    Department Priorities: OJJDP has structured this plan to reflect 
the high priority that the Administration and the Department have 
placed on addressing youth violence and victimization and improving 
protections for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. The 
programs presented here represent OJJDP's current thinking on how to 
advance the Department's priorities during this fiscal year. This Final 
Plan also incorporates feedback from OJJDP's ongoing outreach to the 
field seeking ideas on program areas and the most promising approaches 
for those types of areas.
    OJJDP's Purpose: Congress established OJJDP through the JJDP Act of 
1974 to help States and communities prevent and control delinquency and 
strengthen their juvenile justice systems and to coordinate and 
administer national policy in this area.
    Although States, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) 
communities,\1\ and other localities retain primary responsibility for 
administering juvenile justice and preventing juvenile delinquency, 
OJJDP supports and supplements the efforts of public and private 
organizations at all levels through program funding via formula, block, 
and discretionary grants; administration of congressional earmark 
programs; research; training and technical assistance; funding of 
demonstration projects; and dissemination of information. OJJDP also 
helps administer Federal policy related to juvenile justice and 
delinquency prevention through its leadership role in the Coordinating 
Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
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    \1\ In this plan, the terms ``tribes'' and ``tribal 
jurisdictions'' refer to both American Indian and Alaska Native 
communities.
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    OJJDP's Vision: OJJDP strives to be the recognized authority and 
national leader dedicated to the future, safety, and well-being of 
children and youth in, or at risk of entering, the juvenile justice 
system and to serving children, families, and community organizations 
that protect children from harm and exploitation.
    OJJDP's Mission: OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, 
and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and 
victimization by supporting States, tribal jurisdictions, and 
communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective 
coordinated prevention and intervention programs and improve the 
juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety, holds 
offenders accountable, and provides treatment and rehabilitation 
services tailored to the needs of juveniles and their families.
    Guiding Principles for OJJDP's National Leadership: OJJDP provides 
targeted funding, sponsors research and demonstration programs, offers 
training and technical assistance, disseminates information, and uses 
technology to enhance programs and collaboration in exercising its 
national leadership role. In all of these efforts, the following four 
principles guide OJJDP:
    (1) Empower communities and engage youth and families.
    (2) Promote evidence-based practices.
    (3) Require accountability.
    (4) Enhance collaboration.
    1. Empower communities and engage youth and families. Families and 
communities play an essential role in any effort to prevent delinquency 
and protect children from victimization. Communities must reach beyond 
the formal systems of justice, social services, and law enforcement to 
tap into the wisdom and energies of many others--including business 
leaders, the media, neighborhood associations, block leaders, elected 
officials, tribal leaders, clergy, faith-based organizations, and 
especially families and young people themselves--who have a stake in 
helping local youth become productive, law-abiding citizens. In 
particular, OJJDP must engage families and youth in developing 
solutions to delinquency and victimization. Their strengths, 
experiences, and aspirations provide an important perspective in 
developing those solutions.
    To be effective, collaboration among community stakeholders must be 
grounded in up-to-date information. With Federal assistance that OJJDP 
provides, community members can partner to gather data, assess local 
conditions, and make decisions to ensure resources are targeted for 
maximum impact.
    2. Promote evidence-based practices. To make the best use of public 
resources, OJJDP must identify ``what works'' in delinquency prevention 
and juvenile justice. OJJDP is the only Federal agency with a specific 
mission to develop and disseminate knowledge about what works in this 
field. Drawing on this knowledge, OJJDP helps communities replicate 
proven programs and improve their existing programs. OJJDP helps 
communities match program models to their specific needs and supports 
interventions that respond

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to the developmental, cultural, and gender needs of the youth and 
families they will serve.
    3. Require accountability. OJJDP requires the national, State, 
tribal, and local entities whose programs OJJDP supports to explain how 
they use program resources, determine and report on how effective the 
programs are in alleviating the problems they are intended to address, 
and propose plans for remediation of performance that does not meet 
standards. OJJDP has established mandatory performance measures for all 
its programs and reports on those measures to the Office of Management 
and Budget. OJJDP requires its grantees and applicants to report on 
these performance measures, set up systems to gather the data necessary 
to monitor those performance measures, and use this information to 
continuously assess progress and fine-tune the programs.
    4. Enhance collaboration. Juvenile justice agencies and programs 
are just one part of a larger set of systems that encompasses the many 
agencies and programs that work with at-risk youth and their families. 
For delinquency prevention and child protection efforts to be 
effective, they must be coordinated at the local, tribal, State, and 
Federal levels with law enforcement, social services, child welfare, 
public health, mental health, school, and other systems that address 
family strengthening and youth development. One way to achieve this 
coordination is to establish broad-based coalitions to create consensus 
on service priorities and to build support for a coordinated approach. 
With this consensus as a foundation, participating agencies and 
departments can then build mechanisms to link service providers at the 
program level--including procedures for sharing information across 
systems.
    OJJDP took its guidance in the development of this Final Plan from 
the priorities that the Attorney General has set forth for the 
Department. At the same time, OJJDP drew upon its Strategic Plan for 
2009-2011. The four primary goals at the heart of OJJDP's Strategic 
Plan echo the Attorney General's priorities. Those goals are: prevent 
and respond to delinquency, strengthen the juvenile justice system, 
prevent and reduce the victimization of children, and prevent and 
reduce youth violence to create safer neighborhoods.

OJJDP's Summary of Public Comments on the FY 2010 Proposed Plan

    OJJDP published its Proposed Plan for FY 2010 in the Federal 
Register (74 FR 62821) on December 1, 2009. During the subsequent 45-
day public comment period, OJJDP received 150 submissions. Since the 
close of public comment, OJJDP has carefully reviewed and considered 
each of the submissions in its development of the Final Plan for FY 
2010.
    Comments addressed many of the program areas and activities in 
which OJJDP is currently engaged. Far and away, detention and 
corrections reform was the single topic that elicited the most 
responses. More than a third of the comments dealt with some aspect of 
detention and corrections reform. In keeping with U.S. Department of 
Justice priorities, OJJDP will sponsor several detention and 
corrections reform programs in FY 2010. They include the National 
Training and Technical Assistance Center for Youth in Custody, which 
will provide education, training, and technical assistance for State, 
local, and tribal departments of juvenile justice and corrections, 
service providers, and private organizations that operate juvenile 
facilities. OJJDP will also partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation 
to expand its Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.
    Other areas that drew frequent or substantive comments were 
reauthorization of the JJDP Act, disproportionate minority contact, 
mentoring, gender-specific issues, and family violence.
    OJJDP looks to the field for guidance on emerging juvenile justice 
needs and issues of concern, and targets its allocation of funding and 
resources, based, in part, on the feedback the Office receives from 
policymakers and practitioners through such vehicles as the Proposed 
Plan. OJJDP wishes to note that in the interim period between 
publication of the Proposed Plan in December and this Final Plan, 
Congress identified the Office's funding streams for FY 2010 and OJJDP 
adjusted its funding priorities accordingly. As a result, OJJDP will 
not fund in 2010 some programs that appeared in the Proposed Plan, and 
OJJDP also has added new programs. Comments the Office received on the 
Proposed Plan, Administration priorities, and available funds informed 
these decisions.
    Many respondents expressed their appreciation for being given the 
opportunity to review and comment on the Proposed Plan. OJJDP is 
encouraged by the volume and quality of the comments that the Office 
received for the 2010 Proposed Plan and looks forward to continued 
communication and collaboration with the juvenile justice field.

OJJDP Final Plan for Fiscal Year 2010

    Each year OJJDP receives formula and block grant funding as well as 
discretionary funds for certain program areas. Based on the 2010 
budget, OJJDP offers the following 2010 Final Plan for its 
discretionary funding. Programs are organized according to Department 
priorities and traditional OJJDP focus areas.

Department and OJJDP Priorities

    OJJDP administers grant programs authorized by the Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended. OJJDP also 
administers programs under other legislative authority and through 
partnerships with other Federal agencies. In keeping with OJJDP's 
mission, these programs are designed to help strengthen the juvenile 
justice system, prevent juvenile delinquency and violence, and protect 
and safeguard the nation's youth. The Administration and the Attorney 
General have identified children's exposure to violence, gang and 
community violence, and racial disparities within the juvenile justice 
system as focus areas for the Department.

Programs To Address and Treat Children Exposed to Violence

    The Attorney General's Initiative on Children Exposed to Violence 
Program: Phase I will support community-based strategic planning to 
prevent and reduce the impact of children's exposure to violence in 
their homes, schools, and communities. Within the Department, a 
committee comprising OJJDP, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office 
on Violence Against Women, the National Institute of Justice, Community 
Oriented Policing Services, and the Executive Office of United States 
Attorneys jointly manages and supports this project. Through strategic 
planning, communities will improve access to, delivery of, and quality 
of services for children and families and respond to their needs at any 
point of entry into the legal, social services, medical, law 
enforcement, and community-based support systems. This program will 
expand existing partnerships among municipal and tribal leadership; 
education; health, including public health and mental health; family 
support and strengthening; social services; early childhood education 
and development; domestic violence advocacy and services; victim 
support; substance abuse prevention and treatment; crisis intervention; 
child welfare; courts; legal services; and law

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enforcement at the tribal, local, State, and Federal levels.
    Within OJJDP, Safe Start projects enhance the accessibility, 
delivery, and quality of services provided young children who have been 
exposed to violence or who are at high risk. These programs focus on 
practice innovation, research and evaluation, training and technical 
assistance, and resource development and public awareness. In 2010, 
OJJDP efforts to address children exposed to violence include:
    <bullet> The Safe Start Promising Approaches Project will develop 
and support practice enhancements and innovations to prevent and reduce 
the impact of children's exposure to violence in their homes and 
communities. The two components of this project are: (1) ``Strategic 
Enhancement,'' which improves an ongoing evidence-based model, or (2) 
``Practice Innovation,'' which implements a strategy/intervention based 
on sound theory and evaluative literature, which has yet to be 
evaluated rigorously. OJJDP will also conduct a national evaluation of 
the project beginning in 2010.
    <bullet> OJJDP will fund a 12- month, full-time fellow position 
located at OJJDP to focus on children's exposure to violence 
programming. The position is funded via a grant to the fellow's home 
institution in the amount of their salary and benefit costs for the 
duration of the fellowship.
    OJJDP will conduct a second wave of the National Survey of Children 
Exposed to Violence to capture trend data and compare it to the results 
of the first survey. This project will document changes in the 
incidence and prevalence of children's exposure to a broad array of 
violence, crime, and abuse experiences.

Community-Based Violence Prevention Demonstration Program

    Under this program, communities will develop multi-strategy, multi-
disciplinary approaches to reduce gun violence. These programs will 
target the high-risk activities and behaviors of a small number of 
carefully selected members of the community who are likely to be 
involved in violent activities, specifically gun violence, in the 
immediate future. These programs will be closely coordinated with a 
broader administration initiative. These demonstration programs will 
support Federal, State, and local partnerships to replicate proven 
strategies to reduce violence, such as CeaseFire, which is widely 
credited with significantly reducing shootings and homicides in 
targeted Chicago communities. CeaseFire, which employs a public health 
approach, interrupts the cycle of violence and changes norms about 
behavior. OJJDP will consider for grant support under this program 
other community-based violence reduction models that are evidence-
based. This demonstration program includes programs of research and 
evaluation and technical assistance. These programs are coordinated 
with the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Disproportionate Minority Contact

    Section 223(a)(22) of the JJDP Act of 1974, as amended, requires 
States to address delinquency prevention and system improvement efforts 
to reduce, without establishing or requiring numerical standards or 
quotas, the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into 
contact with the juvenile justice system. States fund these activities 
primarily through their Title II Formula and Title V Delinquency 
Prevention Grants funds. OJJDP continues to enhance the annual training 
and technical assistance it provides to the States to support their 
development of direct services (diversion, alternatives to secure 
confinement, advocacy, cultural competency training, etc.); legislative 
reforms; administrative, policy, and procedural changes; structured 
decisionmaking (detention screening, risk assessment, needs assessment 
instruments, etc.), and other activities. OJJDP staff will continue to 
conduct annual site visits to the States to monitor progress toward 
system change goals and to provide guidance. Additionally, OJJDP 
recently reorganized and added a new full-time DMC Coordinator, who 
will assist the States in their efforts to address and reduce DMC.

Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention Program

    OJJDP will award grants to sites that replicate selected promising 
or effective secondary gang prevention and intervention programs in 
targeted communities as part of an existing community-based 
comprehensive anti-gang initiative. Sites will replicate one of the 
following programs: Aggression Replacement Training, Boys and Girls 
Clubs (BGCA) Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach, BGCA Gang 
Intervention Through Targeted Outreach, Broader Urban Involvement and 
Leadership Development Detention Program, and Movimiento Ascendencia.

Tribal Youth

    Since 1998, Congress has appropriated more than $120 million for 
programs addressing tribal youth. OJJDP administers most of its tribal 
initiatives through the Tribal Youth Program (TYP). These programs fund 
initiatives, training and technical assistance, and research and 
evaluation projects designed to improve juvenile justice systems and 
delinquency-prevention efforts among federally recognized American 
Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Since 1999, 10 percent of the TYP 
appropriation has been used for research and evaluation activities and 
2 percent has been used for training and technical assistance.

U.S. Department of Justice Coordinated Tribal Assistance

    In response to concerns that tribes voiced during recent public 
listening sessions, DOJ developed the Coordinated Tribal Assistance 
Solicitation (CTAS) in 2010 that combined all of its existing 
competitive tribal solicitations into one document. The CTAS 
solicitation is posted on the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Web page 
at http://www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov/docs/ctassolicitation.pdf. 
Following are the OJJDP solicitations within the CTAS:
    <bullet> Tribal Youth Program supports and enhances tribal efforts 
to prevent and control delinquency and improve their juvenile justice 
systems. Grantees develop and implement delinquency prevention 
programs, interventions for court-involved youth, improvements to the 
juvenile justice system, alcohol and substance abuse prevention 
programs, and emotional/behavioral program services.
    <bullet> Tribal Youth Reconnection Program engages tribal youth who 
are chronically truant or at risk of dropping out of school in 
activities centered on cultural preservation, land reclamation, or 
green/sustainable tribal traditions.
    <bullet> Tribal Youth Resiliency Program will support tribal 
efforts to develop and implement interventions that address the effects 
and issues of childhood trauma.
    <bullet> Strengthening Initiative for Native Girls Program teaches 
native girls culturally appropriate skills to resist substance abuse, 
prevent teen pregnancy, prevent sexual abuse, foster positive 
relationships with peers and adults, learn self-advocacy, and build 
prosocial skills.
    <bullet> Tribal Juvenile Detention Reentry Program provides 
services for youth residing within tribal juvenile detention centers or 
soon to be released from such a center. Services include risk and needs 
assessments, educational and vocational programs, mental health 
services, substance abuse programs,

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family strengthening, recreational activities, and extended reentry 
aftercare to help them successfully reintegrate into the tribal 
community.

Tribal Youth Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Programs

    These field-initiated studies will further what is understood 
regarding the experiences, strengths, and needs of tribal youth, their 
families, and communities and what works to reduce their risks for 
delinquency and victimization. This initiative is especially interested 
in evaluations that identify effective and promising delinquency 
prevention, intervention, and treatment programs for tribal youth, 
including those that assist tribal youth in enhancing their own 
cultural knowledge and awareness.

Child Protection Programs in Tribal Communities

    This program will provide resources and technical assistance to 
Native American communities to help them address child abduction and 
child exploitation. Under this program, the grantee will expand the 
critical services, best practices, tools, and other resources of the 
AMBER Alert and Internet Crimes Against Children programs to protect 
children ages 0 to 18 in tribal communities at risk for exploitation.

Tribal Youth National Mentoring Program

    This national initiative will support the development, maturation, 
and expansion of mentoring services for tribal youth on tribal 
reservations that are underserved due to location, shortage of mentors, 
emotional or behavioral challenges of the targeted population, or other 
situations.

Juvenile Justice System Reform

    OJJDP recognizes the need for States to have effective and 
efficient juvenile justice systems and for the Office to assist them in 
identifying and implementing promising and evidence-based practices. 
Reforming juvenile justice and improving systems across the country is 
a priority for OJJDP. Components of the juvenile justice system that 
OJJDP will focus on in 2010 include detention and corrections reform, 
juvenile indigent defense, and youth transitioning back to their 
communities from a detention and corrections facility.
    To improve juvenile detention and corrections in FY 2010, OJJDP 
will work with communities through a multidisciplinary and 
comprehensive approach that focuses on youth to assess their risks and 
needs and assure they receive effective services and programs that do 
not compromise public safety.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative

    In FY 2010, OJJDP will partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation 
to jointly fund an expansion of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives 
Initiative (JDAI) that will provide training and technical assistance 
to States and communities implementing the initiative. In 1992, the 
Casey Foundation launched JDAI, in which sites across the country 
created and tested new alternatives to detention.
    At its essence, JDAI demonstrates that jurisdictions can safely 
reduce their reliance on secure detention. JDAI communities also test 
the hypothesis that detention reforms will equip juvenile justice 
systems with values, skills, and policies that will improve results in 
other components of the system.
    The objectives of JDAI sites are to:
    <bullet> Eliminate the inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure 
detention;
    <bullet> Minimize re-arrest and failure-to-appear rates pending 
adjudication;
    <bullet> Ensure appropriate conditions of confinement in secure 
facilities;
    <bullet> Redirect public finances to sustain successful reforms;
    <bullet> Reduce racial and ethnic disparities.

National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Youth in Custody

    Through this program, OJJDP will establish the National Training 
and Technical Assistance Center for Youth in Custody (the Center) to 
provide education, training, and technical assistance for State, local, 
and tribal departments of juvenile justice and corrections, service 
providers, and private organizations that operate juvenile facilities. 
The Center will emphasize the rehabilitative goals of the juvenile 
justice system and provide comprehensive training, technical 
assistance, and resources directly to justice facilities that detain or 
confine youth. The Center will also update and contribute to the 
knowledge base of best practices in detaining or confining youth.

Juvenile Indigent Defense National Clearinghouse

    OJJDP is developing and will implement a model national 
clearinghouse for juvenile defense attorneys to provide publications 
and resources, policy development and leadership opportunities, 
training, and technical assistance around indigent defense issues. This 
program will improve the overall level of systemic advocacy, enhance 
the quality of juvenile indigent defense representation, and ensure 
professional and ongoing technical support to the juvenile indigent 
defense bar.

Second Chance Act Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Demonstration 
Projects

    OJJDP, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, will 
support additional demonstration projects under the Second Chance Act 
Youth Offender Reentry Initiative, a comprehensive response to the 
increasing number of people who are released from prison, jail, and 
juvenile facilities each year and are returning to their communities. 
The goal of this initiative is to reduce the rate of recidivism for 
offenders released from a juvenile residential facility and increase 
public safety. Demonstration projects provide necessary services to 
youth while in confinement and following their release into the 
community. The initiative will focus on addressing the unique needs of 
girls reentering their communities.

Girls' Delinquency

    According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from 
1991 to 2000, arrest rates of girls increased more, or decreased less, 
than those of boys for the same offenses. By 2004, girls accounted for 
30 percent of juvenile arrests. This apparent trend raises a number of 
questions, including whether it reflects an increase in girls' 
delinquency or changes in society's responses to girls' behavior. While 
OJJDP's Girls Study Group helped expand what is known about what 
works--and what does not--in preventing and intervening in girls' 
delinquency, the field lacks adequate information about evidence-based 
programs that effectively address girls' delinquency. In FY 2010, OJJDP 
is supporting research and evaluation to identify effective delinquency 
prevention, intervention, and treatment programs for girls. OJJDP will 
also provide training and technical assistance to the field on 
effective delinquency programming for girls.

Evaluations of Girls' Delinquency Programs

    These evaluations will measure the effectiveness of delinquency 
prevention, intervention, and/or treatment programs to prevent and 
reduce girls' risk behavior and offending. Over the past two decades, 
the number of girls entering the juvenile justice system has 
dramatically increased. This trend

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raised a number of questions for OJJDP, including whether this 
reflected an increase in girls' delinquency or changes in society's 
responses to girls' behavior. OJJDP's Girls Study Group recently 
completed a review of evaluations of girls' delinquency programs and 
found that most programs have not been evaluated, thereby limiting 
knowledge about the most appropriate and effective programs for girls.

National Girls Institute

    The National Girls Institute will evaluate promising and innovative 
prevention, intervention, treatment, education, detention, and 
aftercare services for delinquent and at-risk girls. The Institute will 
translate the information learned through the Girls Study Group and 
other research and expert knowledge for practitioners and policymakers. 
The Institute will serve as OJJDP's national training and technical 
assistance provider for promising and evidence-based practices in 
girls' delinquency prevention, intervention, and treatment. The 
Institute will also provide information dissemination, collaboration, 
policy development, and other leadership functions.

Research, Evaluation, and Data Collection

    OJJDP supports and promotes research, vigorous and informative 
evaluations of demonstration programs, and collection and analysis of 
statistical data. The goal of these activities is to generate credible 
and useful information to improve decisionmaking in the juvenile 
justice system. OJJDP sponsors research that has the greatest potential 
to improve the nation's understanding of juvenile delinquency and 
victimization and of ways to develop effective prevention and 
intervention programs to respond to it.

Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program

    The 2010 Field Initiated Research and Evaluation program will 
support multiple grant awards for research and evaluations of programs 
and initiatives that focus on the juvenile justice system's response to 
delinquency and system improvement. The goal of the research questions 
posed will be to inform policy and lead to recommendations for juvenile 
justice system improvement.

Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center

    This program will provide training and technical assistance to 
State, tribal, local, and non-profit entities that work in the juvenile 
justice and victimization field on how to prepare for and carry out an 
evaluation of their activities. The Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center 
will develop easily accessible tools and resources for the field and 
assist these agencies in developing evidence-based strategies and 
programs.

National Juvenile Justice Data Collection Program

    OJJDP supports several key national juvenile data collection 
programs, some of which have existed for several years, and others that 
are new. These include:
    <bullet> Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, which 
collects information about all youth residing in facilities who are 
awaiting or have been adjudicated for a status or delinquent offense.
    <bullet> Juvenile Residential Facility Census, which collects 
information about the security and services of facilities that hold 
youth for delinquent offenses, pre- and post-adjudication.
    <bullet> Census of Juveniles on Probation, which collects a 1-day 
count of all youth on formal probation, including demographic 
characteristics and the offense for which they are being supervised.
    <bullet> Census of Juvenile Probation Supervision Offices, which 
collects information about the offices that oversee youth who are on 
probation in the United States.

National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Program

    This program will support the juvenile justice community's need for 
current, high-quality data and statistical information. The grantee 
will maintain and update OJJDP's Statistical Briefing Book and its Easy 
Access data tools, conduct original research, produce publications, 
respond to information requests, and work with OJJDP to develop new 
data resources that respond to the needs of the juvenile justice field.

Substance Abuse and Treatment

    OJJDP, often in partnership with other Federal agencies and private 
organizations, develops programs, research, or other initiatives to 
address juvenile use and abuse of illegal, prescription, and 
nonprescription drugs and alcohol. OJJDP's substance abuse efforts 
include control, prevention, and treatment programs.

Family and Juvenile Drug Court Programs

    OJJDP will implement and enhance family drug courts that serve 
substance-abusing adults who are involved in the family dependency 
court system. The Center for Children and Family Futures will provide 
training and technical assistance to family drug courts. The Juvenile 
Drug Courts Mentoring and Support Services Initiative will build the 
capacity of States, State courts, local courts, units of local 
government, and tribal governments to develop and establish 
comprehensive support services that include mentoring, educational 
services, health services, employment services, community services, 
recreational activities, parenting programs, housing assistance to 
serve substance-abusing youth who are assigned to the juvenile drug 
court program.
    OJJDP and the Department of Health and Human Services' Center for 
Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) will continue joint funding to 
integrate and implement the juvenile drug court and Reclaiming Futures 
program models. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court 
Judges provides training and technical assistance.

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program

    The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program supports 
States' efforts to reduce drinking by juveniles through its four 
components: Block grants to the 50 States, the 5 territories, and the 
District of Columbia; discretionary grants; technical assistance; and 
research and evaluation. Under the block grant component, each State, 
the District of Columbia, and the territories receive approximately 
$360,000 annually to support law enforcement activities, media 
campaigns, and coalition building. The EUDL discretionary grant 
component supports several diverse initiatives to help communities 
develop promising approaches to address underage drinking. EUDL 
training and technical assistance supports communities and States in 
their efforts to enforce underage drinking laws. EUDL funds and Federal 
partnerships also support evaluations of community initiatives within 
the EUDL discretionary grant component.

Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Assessment, Strategic Planning, and 
Implementation Initiative

    Under this discretionary component of the Enforcing Underage 
Drinking Laws program, States will implement an assessment and 
strategic planning process to develop targeted, effective activities to 
reduce underage access and consumption of alcohol. Grantees will assess 
local conditions and design a long-term strategic plan; implement 
selected and approved actions of that plan; collect, analyze, and 
report data;

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and evaluate how the State responded to the recommendations, crafted 
its strategic plan, and implemented portions of the plan with the 
remaining funds.

Mentoring

    OJJDP supports mentoring programs for youth at risk of failing in 
school, dropping out of school, or becoming involved in delinquent 
behavior, including gang activity and substance abuse. The goals of the 
programs are to reduce juvenile delinquency and gang participation, 
improve academic performance, and reduce the school dropout rate. 
Mentoring funds support mentoring programs that provide general 
guidance and support; promote personal and social responsibility; 
increase participation in education; support juvenile offenders 
returning to their communities after confinement in a residential 
facility; discourage use of illegal drugs and firearms; discourage 
involvement in gangs, violence and other delinquent activity; and 
encourage participation in community service activities. OJJDP will 
also sponsor several research projects that will evaluate mentoring 
programs or approaches and the effectiveness of specific mentoring 
practices.

Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Initiative

    The Second Chance Act Juvenile Mentoring Initiative will provide 
grants for mentoring and other transitional services to reintegrate 
juvenile offenders into their communities. The grants will be used to 
mentor juvenile offenders during confinement, through transition back 
to the community, and post-release; to provide transitional services to 
assist them in their reintegration into the community; and to support 
training in offender and victims issues. The initiative's goals are to 
reduce recidivism among juvenile ex-offenders, enhance community 
safety, and enhance the capacity of local partnerships to address the 
needs of juvenile ex-offenders returning to their communities.

Group Mentoring Research and Evaluation Program

    OJJDP seeks to expand what is known about nontraditional mentoring 
programs as a prevention and intervention strategy for juvenile 
delinquency. OJJDP will evaluate the effectiveness of select group 
mentoring programs supported by local Boys and Girls Clubs. Increasing 
knowledge regarding the use of group and site-based mentoring programs 
is a primary goal for this evaluation.

Mentoring Research Program

    This program seeks to enhance the understanding of mentoring as a 
prevention strategy for youth who are at risk of involvement or already 
involved in the juvenile justice system. While mentoring appears to be 
a promising intervention for youth, more evaluation work is needed to 
further highlight the components of a mentoring program that are most 
effective. It is expected that the results of this effort will 
encourage a more effective utilization of resources as well as enhance 
the implementation of evidence-based best practices for juvenile 
mentoring.

Mentoring for Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiatives

    The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiatives are a joint effort by 
the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and 
Justice to support schools in creating safer and healthier learning 
environments. Under this initiative current Safe Schools/Healthy 
Student sites will develop and implement community-based mentoring 
programs in conjunction with their overall comprehensive communitywide 
plan. Safe Schools supports the reduction of negative behavior in 
elementary and middle school youth (e.g., truancy, bullying) and 
enhances positive behavior and connection to their families, school 
personnel, and other community members through evidence-based mentoring 
initiatives.

National and Multi-State Mentoring Programs

    These programs support national organizations and organizations 
with mentoring programs in at least five States to enhance or expand 
community programs that provide mentoring services to high-risk 
populations that are underserved due to location, shortage of mentors, 
special physical or mental challenges of the targeted population, or 
other analogous situations that the community in need of mentoring 
services identifies.

Strategic Enhancement to Mentoring Programs

    Strategic Enhancement to Mentoring Programs focus on enhancing 
existing mentoring programs. The three enhancements include: (1) 
Involving the parents in activities or services, (2) providing 
structured activities and programs for the mentoring matches, and (3) 
developing and implementing ongoing training and support for mentors.

Child Victimization

    Since its inception, OJJDP has consistently strived to safeguard 
children from victimization by supporting research, training, and 
community programs that emphasize prevention and early intervention. A 
commitment to children's safety is written into the Office's 
legislative mandate, which includes the Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, the Missing Children's Assistance 
Act of 1984, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. OJJDP 
continues to improve the responses of the justice system and related 
systems, increase public awareness, and promote model programs for 
addressing child victimization in States and communities across the 
country.

Children's Advocacy Centers

    OJJDP will continue funding for programs that improve the 
coordinated investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. These 
programs include a national subgrant program for local children's 
advocacy centers, a membership and accreditation program, regional 
children's advocacy centers, and specialized technical assistance and 
training programs for child abuse professionals and prosecutors. Local 
Children's Advocacy Centers utilize multidisciplinary teams of 
professionals to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and 
prosecution of child abuse cases.

Court Appointed Special Advocate Programs

    OJJDP will continue funding for Court Appointed Special Advocates 
(CASA) programs that provide children in the foster care system or at 
risk of entering the dependency system with high-quality, timely, 
effective, and sensitive representation before the court. CASA programs 
train and support volunteers who advocate for the best interests of the 
child in dependency proceedings. OJJDP funds a national CASA training 
and technical assistance provider and a national membership and 
accreditation organization to support State and local CASA 
organizations' efforts to recruit volunteer advocates, including 
minority volunteers, and to provide training and technical assistance 
to these organizations and to stakeholders in the child welfare system.

Missing Children

    Authorized through the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984, 
as amended, these programs enhance the national response of State, 
local, and Federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and 
nongovernmental

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organizations to missing and exploited children. These programs serve 
as the primary vehicle for building a national infrastructure to 
support efforts to prevent the abduction and exploitation of our 
nation's children.

Missing and Exploited Children Program Support

    OJJDP will continue funding for a national membership organization 
for nonprofit organizations serving the families of missing children 
and to assist in identifying and promulgating best practices in serving 
these children and families.
    In FY 2010, OJJDP also will support programs that:
    <bullet> Provide training and technical assistance to local, State, 
and tribal law enforcement agencies and other organizations charged 
with responding to missing children cases.
    <bullet> Design and implement the AMBER Alert National Conference.
    <bullet> Improve responses to child abductions across borders.
    <bullet> Conduct research on children characterized as lost, 
injured, or missing to improve community responses to these cases.
    <bullet> Conduct a national study of the incidence of missing 
children.

Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance 
Program

    This program will support training in areas such as child abuse 
investigations, child fatality investigations, and child sexual 
exploitation investigations. Authorized by the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act, this program will help State and local law enforcement, 
child protection, prosecutors, medical providers, and child advocacy 
center professionals develop an effective response to child 
victimization cases.

Child Exploitation

    The increasing number of children and teens using the Internet, the 
proliferation of child pornography, and the increasing number of sexual 
predators who use the Internet and other electronic media to prey on 
children present both a significant threat to the health and safety of 
young people and a formidable challenge for law enforcement. OJJDP took 
the lead early on in addressing this problem. More than a decade ago, 
the Office established the Internet Crimes Against Children task force 
program. In FY 2010, OJJDP will launch the Youth with Sexual Behavior 
Problems Program to support localities in the development and 
implementation of treatment programs for youth ages 10 to 14 who have 
exhibited inappropriate sexual behaviors against another child and for 
their victims. The program will specifically address interfamilial and/
or co-residential sexual misconduct for youth and provide adjunctive 
support services to child victims and families who have been 
victimized.

Internet Crimes Against Children Program

    OJJDP will continue funding to support the operations of the 61 
Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. The ICAC Task 
Force Program helps State and local law enforcement agencies develop an 
effective response to sexual predators who prey upon juveniles via the 
Internet and other electronic devices and child pornography cases. This 
program encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and 
technical assistance, victim services, and community education.
    The ICAC Task Force Strategies for Protecting Children at High Risk 
for Commercial Sexual Exploitation Program will support select law 
enforcement agencies as they
    <bullet> Improve training and coordination.
    <bullet> Develop policies and procedures to identify commercial 
sexual exploitation victims.
    <bullet> Investigate and prosecute cases against adults who 
sexually exploit children for commercial purposes.
    <bullet> Adopt practices to intervene appropriately with and 
compassionately serve victims, including providing essential services 
in cases where technology is used to facilitate the exploitation of the 
victim.
    In addition, OJJDP is supporting related ICAC activities and 
programs, including:
    <bullet> Designing and implementing the 2011 ICAC National Training 
Conference.
    <bullet> Research on Internet and other technology-facilitated 
crimes against children.
    <bullet> Training for ICAC officers, prosecutors, judges, and other 
stakeholders.
    <bullet> Technical assistance to support implementation of the ICAC 
program.

Youth With Sexual Behavior Problems Program

    This program will assist localities in responding to instances of 
child sexual victimization by perpetrators who are younger than 18 
years old, with a specific emphasis on interfamilial child victims and 
offenders. The program will develop communities' capacity to utilize a 
multidisciplinary approach when working with children who have been 
sexually abused by other children and adolescents. The program will 
also build communities' capacity to provide treatment and supervision 
resources to youthful perpetrators of sexual abuse against children. 
This program will be coordinated with OJP's Sex Offender Sentencing, 
Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) Office.

Juvenile Justice System Improvement

    OJJDP works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the 
juvenile justice system. A major component of these efforts is the 
provision of training and technical assistance (TTA) resources that 
address the needs of juvenile justice practitioners and support State 
and local efforts to build capacity and expand the use of evidence-
based practices. Training and technical assistance is the planning, 
development, delivery, and evaluation of activities to achieve specific 
learning objectives, resolve problems, and foster the application of 
innovative approaches to juvenile delinquency and victimization. OJJDP 
has developed a network of providers to provide targeted training and 
technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners.

Child Abuse Training for Judicial and Court Personnel

    OJJDP will continue funding for programs that provide targeted 
training and technical assistance to judicial and court personnel who 
work within the dependency system. The purpose of this initiative is to 
improve the juvenile and family courts' handling of child abuse and 
neglect cases and ensure timely decisionmaking in permanency planning 
for abused and neglected children. The initiative also aims to reduce 
and eventually eliminate racial disproportionality and disparate 
treatment in the dependency system.

Engaging Law Enforcement To Reduce Juvenile Crime, Victimization, and 
Delinquency

    This program supports the enhancement or expansion of approaches 
that engage Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement in 
reducing juvenile crime, victimization, and delinquency by providing 
them with comprehensive training, technical assistance, and research 
findings. The initiative will examine how police can address priority 
issues more effectively using evidence-based strategies that enhance 
their effectiveness in policing situations involving youth. Key issues 
may include disproportionate minority contact, responses to adolescent 
girls,

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school safety, and unsafe and inappropriate use of electronic 
communication. This initiative will engage law enforcement leaders and 
front-line officers through classroom and Web-based instruction, online 
resources, peer-to-peer networking and interaction, and geospatial 
information system technology.

State Advisory Group Training and Technical Assistance Project

    Under this project, OJJDP provides training and technical 
assistance to State advisory groups (SAGs) appointed under the Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP Act) 1974, as amended. The 
training and technical assistance that SAG members receive serve two 
broad purposes. It enables them to: (1) Better understand the juvenile 
justice system in their respective States or territories and (2) become 
more familiar with all programs and facilities serving youth. Trained 
SAG members will more effectively carry out their roles and 
responsibilities to ensure and enhance a responsive juvenile justice 
system within their jurisdictions.

General

Support for Conferences on Juvenile Justice

    OJJDP will support conferences that address juvenile justice and 
the prevention of delinquency. This support would provide community 
prevention leaders, treatment professionals, juvenile justice 
officials, researchers, and practitioners with information on best 
practices and research-based models to support State, local government, 
and community efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency.

    Dated: May 17, 2010.
Jeff Slowikowski,
Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2010-12092 Filed 5-19-10; 8:45 am]
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