Chapter 5
Addressing Youth Crime
Overview
After a 60 percent increase in juvenile arrests for violent crime between 1988 and 1994, the rate has finally begun to decline over the past several years. Between 1994 and 1997, juvenile violent crime arrests decreased by 23 percent. Most notable are trends in the juvenile arrest rate for murder. After doubling between 1987 and 1993, juvenile arrests for murder dropped by more than 40 percent between 1993 and 1997. Yet, rarely a day goes by without a dramatic news story about another episode of youth violence. And last year's spate of school shootings reminds us that much remains to be done to prevent young people from resorting to violence and to ensure that violent juveniles receive appropriate interventions.
While about 5 percent of youth with a juvenile record are chronic and violent offenders, most juvenile offenders are simply kids with too much idle time, too little positive adult supervision, and too few healthy role models. Add to this the ready availability of guns and drugs, the more than a million cases of child abuse and neglect each year, parents without parenting skills, and inadequate attention to children with special education and mental health needs, and we can begin to understand some of the factors that contribute to juvenile crime.
With so many risk factors for young people today, we know that there is no magic formula that will cure the problem of juvenile crime overnight. But experience and research are pointing to a number of effective responses to reduce youth crime, starting with the earliest stages of life: good prenatal care, nurse home visitation programs for newborns at risk of abuse and neglect, steps to strengthen parents' skills for dealing with crises, and initiatives to prepare children for school. These initiatives build the foundation for law-abiding lives for children and interrupt the cycle of violence that can turn abused or neglected children into delinquents.
We also know what works to prevent crime among older children. Studies show that more than 50 percent of violent juvenile crime occurs afterschool--between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Providing activities for youth in the afterschool hours and on weekends can reduce youth crime. Boys and Girls Clubs and well-designed mentoring programs, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, can reduce juvenile alcohol and drug use, improve school performance, and prevent youth from getting involved in crime and violent behavior.
At the same time, we need to couple these effective prevention programs with a juvenile justice system that takes quick, effective steps with young people as soon as they come to the attention of police, juvenile courts, or social service agencies. A strong juvenile justice system assesses the danger youth pose, determines what can help pull them back from the edge of a life of crime, delivers appropriate treatment, and "sticks with" these kids when they return to the community to keep them on course. A strong system also appropriately identifies those juveniles beyond its reach and ensures their criminal prosecution and incapacitation.
Yet too many young people are falling through the cracks. Programs designed to serve children, families, and communities too often lack the resources to get involved early enough to successfully intervene with youth heading down the wrong path. Low levels of funding allow service providers and juvenile justice practitioners only to react to kids in crisis, and not address the underlying symptoms in a thoughtful, consistent, and sustained manner that will make a real difference.
Despite these problems, significant progress in addressing juvenile crime is being made. Many states have enacted legislation to address serious youth crime and violence using an accountability-based approach to deal with these young offenders. In addition, with OJJDP assistance, many communities are implementing OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders, to pull together all the resources in a community to address this problem. All sectors--families, communities, public and private organizations, and government at every level--increasingly recognize that they have a role and a stake in helping youth become productive members of our society. And although the tragedy of school shootings is overwhelming, our nation has responded by initiating a serious dialogue about how best to strengthen the juvenile justice system and make it more effective in preventing youth violence, intervening with serious juvenile offenders, responding to victims, and, perhaps most importantly, protecting the public.
Preventing delinquency and reducing youth violence continues to be a high priority for the Attorney General and for OJP. As the juvenile justice system in this country celebrates its 100th anniversary in 1999, the OJP bureaus and offices will continue to work in partnership with state and local officials, national youth-serving organizations, and others to respond to this tremendous challenge.
Continuation Programs
The following projects will be conducted by current and already designated grantees. No new applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
The
Chicago Project for Violence Prevention
Grantee: University of Illinois School of Public Health
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
Project Description: The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention is a citywide, long-term effort to reduce violence. Objectives include reductions in homicide, physical injury, disability, and emotional harm from assault, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, rape, and child abuse and neglect. A partnership among the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Illinois Council for the Prevention of Violence, the University of Illinois, and Chicago communities, the project began in 1995 with joint funding from OJJDP, BJA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The project provides technical assistance to a variety of community-based and citywide organizations involved in violence prevention planning.
Home Visitation
Grantee: University of Colorado Health Services Center
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: This program provides nurse home visitation to expectant mothers and mothers of preschool children in five Operation Weed and Seed sites and one SafeFutures site. The program has three major goals: (1) to prepare clear, comprehensive home visitation materials to facilitate dissemination of the program; (2) to demonstrate the program in the six sites and provide technical support and training to local staff; and (3) evaluate the program, focusing on the dissemination process.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (earmark)
Grantee: Boys & Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA)
FY99
Funding: $40 million
OJP Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Project Description: Targeting areas where children are most disadvantaged, B&GCA provides at-risk boys and girls with a full and fair opportunity to lead productive and meaningful lives. Clubs accomplish this core objective by providing a safe haven from the negative influences of the street; providing guidance, discipline, and values modeled on caring adult leaders; constructive youth development activities and programs in supervised supportive environments; access to comprehensive, coordinated services that meet the complex needs of at-risk youth; educational support, increased awareness of career options, and goal-setting skills; comprehensive violence prevention initiatives; and by providing youth a vision of what life beyond public housing and other bleak circumstances may hold.
TeenSupreme
Career Preparation Initiative
Grantee: Boys & Girls Clubs of
America
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
(in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and
Training Administration)
Project Description: This initiative provides employment training and other related services to at-risk youth through local Boys & Girls Clubs with TeenSupreme Centers. In FY 1998, Department of Labor funds supported program staffing in the existing 41 TeenSupreme Centers, provided intensive training and technical assistance to each site, and provided administrative and staffing support to this program from the national office. OJJDP funds supported the evaluation component of the program, which is to be implemented by an independent evaluator.
Proactive Youth Program
Grantee: University of New Mexico Regents
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The New Mexico Police Activities League (PAL) is implementing a statewide prevention project consisting of recreational, educational, and cultural activities for at-risk youth between the ages of 5 and 18 and their families. The Albuquerque PAL will provide the initial model for the organization and implementation of the New Mexico PAL project. Local PAL programs will be initiated in at least 12 other New Mexico communities. The overall goal of the project is to reduce negative behavior and promote healthy behavioral patterns among New Mexico's youth by providing activities that unite youth with law enforcement officers, educators, and other positive adult role models.
A Demonstration Afterschool
Program
Grantee:
University of New Mexico Regents
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP
Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: Known as Estrella, this project is designing and evaluating a pilot afterschool program to reduce juvenile delinquency and increase educational retention at Gadsden Independent School District in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Through a curriculum of hands-on science and reading projects and supervised recreation, Estrella will provide a constructive alternative to afternoons of unsupervised free time. New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (NM MESA) will provide the academic component of the program. Middle school students will mentor elementary students in a highly interactive learning environment developed through the use of the nationally recognized MESA curriculums. The New Mexico Police Athletic League (PAL) will provide a sports component to round out the program, and the University of New Mexico's Institute for Social Research will evaluate it.
The SAGE Project and PRIDE
Center Afterschool Program
Grantee: Springfield College
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The SAGE project is continuing a program to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency and school violence. The long-term goal of the PRIDE Center is to provide a comprehensive year-round juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention program that supports the SAGE project as a whole. This project enables the collaborating organizations to: 1) expand and enhance adult-mentored and supervised, structured educational opportunities for court-involved and high-risk youth; 2) involve additional city agencies and community-based organizations through the PRIDE Center; and 3) continue to evaluate and disseminate findings on the project's success for replication in other urban areas.
Building Blocks for Youth
Grantee:
Youth Law Center.
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor:
OJJDP
Project Description: The goals of this initiative are to protect minority youth in the justice system and promote rational and effective juvenile justice policies. These goals are accomplished by: (1) conducting research on issues such as the impact of new state laws on minority youth and the implications of privatization of juvenile facilities by profit-making corporations; (2) undertaking an analysis of decision-making in the justice system and development of model decision-making criteria that reduce or eliminate disproportionate impact on minority youth; (3) building a constituency for change at the national, state, and local levels; and (4) developing communication strategies to disseminate information. A fifth component--direct advocacy for minority youth--is funded by other sources, not by OJJDP.
Intensive Treatment Family Programs
Grantee: KidsPeace National Centers for Kids in Crisis of North
America
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: KidsPeace provides individualized foster care to
seriously disturbed children and adolescents in a therapeutic family
setting. With OJJDP funding, KidsPeace is expanding its program to
additional sites. KidsPeace has established four sites (Union, New Jersey;
Orchard Park and Albany, New York; and Muncie, Indiana) and a fifth site
is currently under development.
Insular Area Support
Grantees: U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: This statutorily required program provides support to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to address the special needs and problems of juvenile delinquency in these insular areas, as provided by Section 261(e) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended [42 U.S.C. § 5665(e)].
Operation
Weed and Seed
Grantee:
State and local governments and nonprofit organizations
FY99 Funding:
$33.5 million, with an additional $6.5 million from surplus asset
forfeiture funds
OJP Sponsor: Executive Office for Weed and Seed
(EOWS)
Project Description: Several elements of Operation Weed and Seed (described in Chapter 2) have a youth focus. For example, all Weed and Seed sites are required to have one or more safe havens to provide after-school tutoring and recreation. Weed and Seed sites are encouraged to apply for funding under Weed and Seed Special Emphasis Initiatives in areas with a youth focus, including: truancy prevention, conflict resolution, justice innovations, jobs for at-risk youth, anti-gang programs, prevention through the arts, and mentoring. Sites are also given the option of implementing a Drug Education For Youth (DEFY) program-a 1-week summer camp followed by mentoring over the following year. DEFY is a collaborative effort involving the U.S. Attorney's Office and a military partner. In addition, EOWS and OJJDP will continue to work together to implement joint projects, such as Safe Kids/Safe Streets, Home Visitation, and Truancy Prevention. For a full description of Operation Weed and Seed, see Chapter 2.
New Programs
Funding for the
following programs will be available as noted. For information about
individual program solicitations or application kits, check OJP's Website
at www.ojp.usdoj.gov
or call the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) at
1-800/851-3420 to be added to the mailing list.
Diversion and Mediation Services
(earmark)
Grantee: Lincoln-Lancaster
Mediation Center
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: BJA
Project Description: At the request of Congress, BJA will consider
funding a project that provides diversion services to youth offenders and
mediation services for offenders and victims of crime.
Developing Mentors for Safety
Grantee: Peace Games
FY99 Funding: $90,000
OJP Sponsor: BJA
Project Description: Peace Games, Inc., a nonprofit organization, will give young adults the opportunity to become actively involved in public safety and public service efforts by training them to mentor at-risk youth. By providing these mentors with the knowledge and skills to incorporate peace and justice into their instruction, interaction, and values, both the mentors and at-risk youth are more likely to strive for peace and justice inside and outside the classroom.
New OJJDP Programs
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act requires OJJDP to publish for public comment a Proposed Comprehensive Plan describing the programs it proposes to conduct each year, and then, taking into consideration the comments received, publish a Final Comprehensive Plan. For FY 1999, OJJDP is considering funding competitive programs in the following broad topic areas: information dissemination; training and technical assistance in the area of jobs and vocational training for juveniles involved in the justice system; effective use of information sharing and design and implementation of management information systems by juvenile justice practitioners; child abuse and neglect and dependency courts (transitions from foster care to independent adult living, capacity-building to enable community-based organizations to respond appropriately to abused and neglected children, and evaluation of children's advocacy centers); a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education to sponsor a center for students with learning disabilities in the juvenile justice system; community justice and balanced and restorative justice approaches to enhance the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system; mental health issues (general and managed mental health care for juvenile justice system-involved juveniles and increased knowledge of risk factors involved in suicide by juveniles in custody); risk and needs assessments; positive growth experiences for youth (e.g., arts programs in detention, afterschool programs targeted at high risk youth, and model recreation and parks programs); the Interstate Compact on Juveniles; and research and demonstration programs focusing on the needs of at-risk female juveniles and girls involved in the juvenile justice system. More definitive information on FY 1999 OJJDP programs will be published in its Final Comprehensive Plan after public comments have been received and considered.
A Final OJJDP Program Plan describing FY 1999 initiatives will be published in the Federal Register and will be available from OJJDP's Website at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org or by calling the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 1-800/638-8736.
Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity-Building Programs
The following describes both current and new initiatives.
Partnerships for Preventing Violence
Grantee: Harvard University School of Public Health
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP (with the
Departments of Education and Health and Human Services)
Project Description: This program continues an interagency agreement to provide support for long-distance training using satellite videoconferencing. The project supports a series of six live, interactive satellite training broadcasts that focus on violence prevention programs and strategies that have proven promising or effective. The training is targeted to school and community violence prevention personnel, health care providers, law enforcement officials, and other service providers representing a variety of community-based and youth-serving organizations. To date, two events have been held; the third telecast is scheduled for April 16, 1999. For further information, contact Frank Porpotage at OJJDP at 202/616-3634 or via E-mail at Frank@ojp.usdoj.gov.
Hate Crime Prevention
Grantee: Education Development Center
FY99 Funding: To Be
Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP (in partnership with the U.S.
Department of Education)
Project Description: Under an OJJDP grant, the Education Development Center (EDC) developed Healing the Hate, a multipurpose curriculum for hate crime prevention in middle schools and other classroom settings. OJJDP expanded this grant to allow EDC to provide training and technical assistance to youth, educators, juvenile justice and law enforcement professionals, representatives of local public/private community agencies and organizations, and the faith community. EDC will expand its training and technical assistance to new sites and further disseminate the products through the education and juvenile justice networks. In addition, EDC will provide onsite, short-term technical assistance to practitioners interested in hate crime issues and assist state juvenile justice agencies to formulate hate crime prevention components for their juvenile delinquency prevention plans. For more information, contact Karen McLaughlin at 617/969-7100 or by E-mail at KarenM@EDC.org.
National Center for Conflict
Resolution Education
Grantee: Illinois Institute
for Dispute Resolution
FY99 Funding: To
Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP (with the Department of
Education)
Project Description: The center works to integrate conflict resolution education (CRE) programming into all levels of education in schools, juvenile facilities, and youth-serving organizations. In FY 1998, OJJDP entered into a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education to expand and enhance this project. The grantee provides training and technical assistance through onsite training and consultation for teams from schools, communities, and juvenile facilities; by providing resource materials, including the guide to implementing conflict resolution programs; and by partnering with state-level agencies to establish state training institutes and otherwise build local capacity to implement successful CRE programs for youth. The center also facilitates peer-to-peer mentoring. For further information, contact Donna Crawford at 217/384-4118 or via E-mail at IIDR@aol.com.
Communities
In Schools (CIS)--Federal Interagency Partnership
Grantee: Communities In Schools, Inc.
FY99 Funding: To Be
Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: CIS, Inc. will continue to provide training and technical assistance to help states and local communities implement its national school dropout prevention model. The model provides social, employment, mental health, drug prevention, entrepreneurship, and other resources for high-risk youth and their families in the school setting. Where they exist, CIS state organizations assume primary responsibility for local program replication under the Federal Interagency Partnership. For further information, contact Peter Bankson at 703/519-8999 or by E-mail at CIS@cisnet.org. CIS also has a Website at www.cisnet.org.
National
Youth Gang Center
Grantee: Institute for Intergovernmental Research
FY99 Funding:
To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The National Youth Gang Center (NYGC) provides support services to the National Youth Gang Consortium, which is composed of several federal agencies. NYGC also works to expand and maintain the body of critical knowledge about youth gangs and effective responses for dealing with gang activity, and provides technical assistance for OJJDP's Rural Gang Initiative. With FY 1999 funding, NYGC will conduct more in-depth analyses of the National Youth Gang Survey results that track changes in the nature and scope of the youth gang problem and continue its efforts to foster integration of gang-related questions into relevant surveys and national data collection efforts. For more information, access the NYGC Website at www.iir.com/nygc or call toll-free at 1-800/466-0912.
Gang Prevention Through
Targeted Outreach
Grantee:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The Boys and Girls Clubs of America will continue to provide training and technical assistance to local gang prevention and intervention sites, including some at SafeFutures and OJJDP Comprehensive Gang sites. The project includes funds for local clubs to implement the Targeted Outreach program. A national evaluation of this program also is being conducted by Public/Private Ventures.
Training and Technical Assistance for the Rural Gang
Initiative
Grantee: National Youth Gang
Center
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The National Youth Gang Center provides training and technical assistance to demonstration sites under OJJDP's Rural Gang Initiative. In FY 1999, training and technical assistance will continue to be provided to those sites chosen to implement the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang model. Training and technical assistance will focus on adapting the OJJDP model to rural jurisdictions and on implementing the model in a theoretically sound manner. Assistance will be delivered through onsite visits, conferences, meetings, and other means, such as telephone and electronic media.
Technical
Assistance for State Legislatures
Grantee:
Training
and Technical Assistance for Family Strengthening Programs
Grantee: University of Utah Department of Health Education
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: Under this cooperative agreement, the University of Utah Department of Health Education (DHE) will continue to provide training and technical assistance to communities interested in establishing or enhancing a continuum of family strengthening efforts. After a literature review, the grantee convened regional training conferences to showcase selected exemplary and promising family strengthening programs; developed a process for sites to receive follow-up training on specific program models; conducted program-specific workshops; produced and then updated user and training-of-trainers guides; and distributed videos of several family strengthening workshops. The grantee's technical assistance delivery system and the overall impact of the project are being assessed. In FY 1999, this program will expand its surveys and research on effective practices and assist in replication of identified programs.
Title V Technical Assistance
Contractor:
Developmental Research and Programs, Inc.
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: This contract provides training to help states implement OJJDP's Title V Community Prevention Grants program. The training provides information to key community leaders on data-based effective delinquency prevention strategies and ways to assess risk factors and resources in their communities. The project also seeks to increase the capacity of states to conduct data-based risk and resiliency focused training after federal support ends.
Telecommunications
Assistance
Grantee:
Eastern Kentucky University
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP
Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: OJJDP uses
information technology and long-distance training to facilitate access to
information and training for juvenile justice professionals. This
cost-effective medium enhances OJJDP's ability to share with the field
salient elements of the most effective or promising approaches to various
juvenile justice issues. In FY 1995, OJJDP awarded a competitive grant to
Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) to produce live satellite
teleconferences. EKU will continue to provide program support and
technical assistance through a variety of information technologies,
including cybercasting "live" satellite videoconferences on the
Internet.
Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse
Contractor: Aspen Systems Corporation
FY99 Funding: To Be
Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: A component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC) collects, synthesizes, and disseminates information on all aspects of juvenile justice. JJC serves the juvenile justice community, legislators, the media, and the public. JJC offers toll-free telephone access to information; prepares specialized responses to information requests; produces, warehouses, and distributes OJJDP publications; exhibits at national conferences; maintains a comprehensive juvenile justice library and data base; and administers several electronic information resources. JJC can be reached by calling toll-free at 1-800/638-8736 or through the NCJRS Website at www.ncjrs.org.
Juvenile Justice
Resource Center
Contractor: Aspen Systems
Corporation
FY99 Funding: To Be
Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: Through this
contract, Aspen Systems Corporation provides technical assistance and
support to OJJDP, its grantees, and the Coordinating Council on Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the areas of program development,
evaluation, training, and research. With assistance from expert
consultants, the Juvenile Justice Resource Center (JJRC) coordinates the
peer review process for OJJDP grant applications and grantee reports,
conducts research and prepares reports on current juvenile justice issues,
plans meetings and conferences, and provides administrative support to
various federal councils and boards. JJRC also assists OJJDP with research
to prepare congressionally mandated studies and other reports.
Safe Gun Storage Media
Campaign
Grantee: National Crime Prevention Council
FY99 Funding: $350,000
OJP Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Assistance
(BJA) and OJJDP
Project Description: The National Crime Prevention Council, working in
conjunction with BJA, OJJDP, the Department, and The Advertising Council,
Inc., will work to develop new programs in at least 200 communities to
teach gun owners about responsible ownership and keeping illegal guns out
of the hands of juveniles. BJA and OJJDP will provide funding ($175,000
each) to initiate research for the development of a Safe Gun Storage
public service advertising media campaign. This air and print media
campaign will promote personal responsibility among gun owners by showing
them that reasonable measures can and should be taken to secure weapons in
the home. The projected release date for the media campaign is April-May
2000.
Youth As Resources Program
Grantee: Chicago Area Project
FY99 Funding: $150,000
OJP
Sponsor: BJA
Project Description: This award will support the expansion of the Chicago Area Project's Youth As Resources program. BJA funds will be used to develop and sustain local partnerships with community organizations, local law enforcement, and juvenile courts; to provide technical assistance to other jurisdictions; and to create a Youth As Resources implementation guide for public housing communities.
Research and Statistical Programs
The following describes both current and new initiatives.
Program of Research on the
Causes and Correlates of Delinquency
Grantee: Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at
Boulder; Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of
Pittsburgh; and Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, State
University of New York-Albany
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP
Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: Since 1986, this longitudinal study has addressed a variety of issues related to juvenile violence and delinquency and has produced a wealth of information on the causes and correlates of delinquent behavior. The three grantees pursue both collaborative research efforts and site-specific research. Results from the study have been used extensively in the field of juvenile justice and contributed significantly to the development of OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders and other program initiatives.
National
Academy of Sciences Study of Juvenile Justice
Grantee: National Academy of Sciences
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP (with the U.S.
Department of Education)
Project Description: The National Academy
of Sciences is drawing upon expertise in the scientific and practitioner
communities to synthesize scientific research and expert opinion regarding
the prevention, treatment, and control of juvenile crime. Following an
examination of empirical and clinical research on the origin of and
pathways to youth violence and justice system treatment of juveniles, the
review will be supplemented by two workshops and site visits to selected
programs. These activities will help to identify: 1) the elements of
settings, with a particular emphasis on family and school, that inhibit or
contribute to the ways in which serious delinquency develops; 2) juvenile
and criminal justice system concerns regarding the shifts in youth crime
prevention and control policies; and 3) juvenile violence and policing
practices in public and federally assisted housing. The study will
identify key elements of current efforts and policies that appear to
either contribute to or inhibit the development of effective interventions
and control mechanisms for youth violence and delinquency.
Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior
Project
Grantee:
SUNY Research Foundation
FY99 Funding:
To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP (with the National Institute of
Mental Health)
Project Description: The project is examining the development of
antisocial behavior and delinquency in children who were the subject of
research under the Rochester Youth Development Study. The Rochester study
was a part of OJJDP's Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of
Delinquency. By age 21, 40 percent of the original Rochester subjects were
parents. This project provides a unique opportunity to examine and track
the development of delinquent behavior across three generations in a
particularly high-risk sample.
Multi-site, Multi-modal
Treatment Study of Children With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Grantee:
Interagency Agreement with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: In 1992, NIMH began a study of the long-term efficacy of stimulant medication and intensive behavioral and educational treatment for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although ADHD is classified as a childhood disorder, up to 70 percent of affected children continue to experience symptoms in adolescence and adulthood. The study will continue through 2000 and will follow the original families and a comparison group. OJJDP's participation will allow for investigation into the subjects' delinquent behavior and contact with the legal system, including arrests and court referrals.
The National Longitudinal
Survey of Youth
Grantee: Interagency Agreement with the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS)
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: This project supports the second round of data collection under the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97, a study of school-to-work transition in a nationally representative sample of 8,700 youth ages 12 to 16 years old. BLS is also collecting data on the involvement of these youth in antisocial and other behavior that may affect their transition to productive work careers. This survey provides information about risk and protective factors related to the initiation, persistence, and desistance of delinquent and criminal behavior.
Risk
Reduction Via Promotion of Youth Development
Grantee: Interagency Agreement with the National Institute of Mental
Health
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP (with
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute
on Drug Abuse)
Project Description: Also known as Early
Alliance, this program is a large-scale prevention study involving
hundreds of children in several elementary schools in lower socio-economic
neighborhoods in Columbia, South Carolina. The project is designed to
promote coping-competence and reduce risk for conduct problems,
aggression, substance use, delinquency and violence, and school failure
beginning in early elementary school. Children are being followed
longitudinally throughout the five years of the project. The program is
conducted through an NIMH grant to the University of South Carolina.
Study Group on Very Young Offenders
Grantee: University of Pittsburgh
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic
FY99 Funding: To Be
Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: This program is exploring what is known about the prevalence and frequency of very young (under the age of 13) offending. The University of Pittsburgh is examining whether such offending predicts future delinquent or criminal careers; how these youth are handled by various systems including juvenile justice, mental health, and social services; and what methods are best for preventing very young offending and persistence of offending.
Dreams, Drugs, and Gangs: The
Interplay Between Adolescent Violence and Immigration in a New York City
Neighborhood
Grantee: Vera Institute of
Justice
FY99 Funding: $48,786
OJP Sponsor: National Institute of
Justice (NIJ)
Project Description: This project is studying 25 first- and second-generation immigrant youth in a Dominican neighborhood in New York City. The goal of the project is to document how the immigrant experience affects the amount of violence youth encounter as witnesses, victims, and perpetrators. Data obtained through participant observation, field notes, and youth and parent interviews will be analyzed using qualitative methods to identify themes pertaining to danger, safety, and crime, as well as patterns of violence and ways in which these are related to family and neighborhood organization. The relationship between immigration and youth violence will be explored, including phenomena, such as circular migration, levels of acculturation, and coping strategies. In addition, the project will examine geo-coded crime data from this community and compare them with participants' perceptions of safe and dangerous neighborhoods.
Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Evaluation
Grantee: University of Nebraska-Omaha
FY99 Funding: $125,000
OJP Sponsor: NIJ
Project Description: This project will continue to support the longitudinal evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The evaluation will assess the instruction of GREAT officers and the effectiveness of GREAT in terms of attitudinal and behavioral consequences on students. There will be onsite observation of officer training programs and administration of questionnaires to students, parent/caretakers, and school and police personnel. There also will be site-specific reports, including case studies of program implementation.
Survey of School-Based Gang
Prevention and Intervention Programs
Grantee:
Gottfredson Associates, Inc.
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: This project is classifying and describing approaches used by schools to prevent or reduce gang involvement among students in a large sample of urban, suburban, and rural schools. In addition, a search and review of activities undertaken by states to identify and evaluate school-based gang prevention and intervention programs will be completed. Based on a review of programs identified in a national survey currently under way, a small number of promising programs will be examined more closely and described. Technical reports will describe the full range of gang prevention and intervention efforts currently being implemented in the United States, and will compare program types and quality of implementation across different school levels and locations. A report will highlight promising programs and practices and include guidelines on program development.
Safe Schools/Healthy Students Research and Evaluation
Grantee: Competitive
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP
Sponsor: NIJ with other federal agencies
Project Description: NIJ will seek proposals to identify effective, promising, or innovative strategies for preventing school violence and improving the school environment. This effort will emphasize identification of risk and protective factors and the role of law enforcement officers in school violence prevention. NIJ will also seek proposals to evaluate innovative strategies for creating and maintaining safe schools.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Juvenile
Justice Programs
Grantee:
University of Texas-Dallas
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The University of Texas and the Dallas County Juvenile Department are working together to perform a cost-benefit analysis of juvenile adjudication in the county to explore the extent to which the method can provide better answers to increasingly urgent questions. The project is examining methods to measure the impact of various programs and the cost-benefit relationships of different programs. The project is guided by an Advisory Board composed of state and local practitioners.
Impact of the 1997 Juvenile Justice Sentencing Guidelines
Grantee: University of Utah
FY99 Funding: $200,000
OJP Sponsors: NIJ and OJJDP
Project Description: The project is assessing the effectiveness of the juvenile sentencing guidelines and early intervention mandates passed by the Utah legislature in 1997 to prevent young delinquents from becoming serious offenders. This project will assess the ability of a state to implement guidelines and to determine which early intervention programs developed and administered by the Juvenile Court in conjunction with the state's youth corrections agency can successfully deter youth from delinquent activity.
Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Program
(JAIBG) National Evaluation
Grantee: Abt Associates,
Inc.
FY99 Funding:
499,875
OJP Sponsor: NIJ and
OJJDP
Project Description: This is a continuation of the 24-month national process evaluation of the JAIBG program to document: 1) how the program is administered; 2) how the JAIBG grants have been used by state and local recipients; 3) what practitioners' and policy makers' attitudes have been regarding the JAIBG program; and 4) the extent to which states are progressing in implementing five JAIBG initiatives. Abt is conducting mail surveys of state and local practitioners and policy makers in the 56 jurisdictions eligible for JAIBG funding and site visits to six jurisdictions.
Quantum
Opportunities Program (QOP) Evaluation
Grantee: Interagency Agreement with the
U.S. Department of Labor
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP
Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: Designed by the Ford Foundation and Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, QOP is a career enrichment program that provides basic education, personal and cultural development, community service, and mentoring. The evaluation will determine whether QOP reduces the likelihood that inner-city youth at educational risk will enter the criminal or juvenile justice system. Outcomes to be examined include academic achievement in high school, misbehavior in school, self-esteem and sense of control over one's life, educational and career goals, and personal decisions such as teenage parenthood, substance abuse, and criminal activity. Data on criminal activity are being collected from individual student interviews.
Juvenile Justice Statistics
and Systems Development
Grantee: National Center for Juvenile Justice
FY99 Funding: To
Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: The Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development program works to improve national, state, and local statistics on juveniles as victims and offenders. The project focuses on three major tasks: 1) assessing how current information needs are being met with existing data collection efforts and recommending options for improving national level statistics; 2) analyzing data and disseminating information gathered from existing federal statistical series and national studies; and 3) providing training and technical assistance tools for local agencies in developing or enhancing management information systems.
State Justice Statistics Program for
Statistical Analysis Centers
Grantee:
Competitive among state Statistical Analysis Centers (SAC)s
FY99
Funding: To Be Determined
OJP
Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and OJJDP
Project Description: The State Justice Statistics Program provides support to state Statistical Analysis Centers to carry out data collection and analysis of criminal justice themes/issues of significant interest to criminal justice decision-makers. These themes are identified each year by BJS in conjunction with other OJP components to reflect issues of current concern and significance to criminal justice practitioners. During the last couple years, BJS has partnered with OJJDP to provide funds to SACs to examine critical juvenile justice issues. Other areas of research and analyses include criminal history record and sex offender registry information (see Chapter 8) and incident-based crime data. Further information on the FY 1999 program and selected topics/issues will be announced in the State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers: Program Application Guidelines, Fiscal Year 1999, expected for release in early 1999. To obtain a copy, access the BJS Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ or call the BJS Clearinghouse toll-free at 1-800/732-3277.
National
Juvenile Justice Program Directory
Grantee: Bureau of the Census
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor: OJJDP
Project Description: To conduct its statistical functions, OJJDP must maintain a current and accurate list of all entities surveyed in its various censuses or surveys. This requires obtaining accurate lists of all juvenile residential facilities and juvenile probation offices, including contact information for the various facilities or agencies and other appropriate information needed for sampling. The Bureau of the Census will continue to develop these listings for OJJDP.
OJJDP Management Evaluation
Contract
Grantee:
Caliber Associates
FY99 Funding: To Be Determined
OJP Sponsor:
OJJDP
Project Description: This contract provides OJJDP with an expert resource to perform independent program evaluations and assist in implementing evaluation activities. Evaluations are conducted on OJJDP-funded programs and on other programs designed to prevent and treat juvenile delinquency.
For More Information
BJA's Byrne Formula Grant Program authorizes
states to fund youth crime programs under several purpose areas, including
prosecution, law enforcement, prevention, and specialized defender
initiatives. For example, Byrne funds can be used to develop bindover
systems to prosecute violent juvenile offenders, and for enforcement and
prevention programs targeting at-risk youth and gang activity, including
gang task forces and specialized gang prosecutors. In
addition, BJA's Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG)
program provides funds to local jurisdictions for security in and
around schools, school resource officers, and juvenile crime prevention
programs. These programs, as well as OJJDP's Juvenile
Accountability Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG) program,
are described in Chapter 1.
Also see the other chapters of the Program Plan for juvenile-related programs in specific areas. For example, Chapter 2 describes comprehensive, community-based delinquency prevention and juvenile justice programs, Chapter 6 describes juvenile correctional initiatives, and Chapter 12 describes adjudication projects for juveniles. Additional OJJDP training and technical assistance is described in Chapter 13.
In addition, see OJJDP's Website for information about its programs and publications and links to OJJDP grantees. The Web address is www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.
A number of other federal agencies also have responsibility for preventing juvenile delinquency and improving justice for juveniles. These federal agencies are: the Corporation for National Service, Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Treasury, and Transportation. These federal agencies are all members of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. For a link to these federal Websites, see OJJDP's Website at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/council/.