Section 3

Preventing and Intervening in Juvenile Offending and Victimization

Overview

OJP provides targeted funding to enhance programs and collaborations that address juvenile offending and victimization through research and demonstration projects, training and technical assistance, and other information dissemination efforts.

Within OJP, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has primary responsibility for preventing and controlling juvenile delinquency, improving the juvenile justice system, and protecting children. Other OJP components also provide programming and research support for outreach to juveniles and their families.

OJP supports an array of activities that help states, tribal jurisdictions, and local governments meet the many juvenile justice challenges they face, including the following:

• holding juvenile offenders accountable for their unlawful actions;
• preparing juvenile offenders who are returning to their communities following release from secure correctional facilities;
• supporting evidence-based delinquency prevention programs and alternatives to detention;
• addressing juvenile gang activity and violence;
• addressing the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system;
• combating juvenile alcohol and drug abuse; and
• helping children victimized by crime and abuse.

OJP programming strives to divert young people from the juvenile justice system, improve community safety, protect children from sexual predators, strengthen the juvenile justice system, and respond to childhood abuse, neglect, and victimization. The ultimate goal is to support young people in their efforts to become productive, contributing members of their communities.

Discretionary Programs

Program Name Community-Based Violence Prevention Program
FY 2012 Funding $6,000,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Dennis Mondoro, (202)514-3913, Dennis.Mondoro@ usdoj.gov; Jeffrey Gersh, (202) 514-5535, Jeffrey.Gersh@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will fund new sites to replicate intervention programs, such as the Boston Gun Project, the Richmond Comprehensive Homicide Initiative, and the Chicago CeaseFire model, to reduce violence in targeted communities. Applicants must focus their proposed programs on the high-risk activities and behaviors of a small number of carefully selected members of the community who are likely to be involved in gun violence in the immediate future. The intervention with this target population should include improved coordination of existing resources and activities that support multiple, complementary anti-violence strategies.

Program Name Defending Childhood Task Force Recommendation Technical Assistance
FY 2012 Funding $2,400,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/task-force.html
Program Contact Will Bronson, (202)305-2427, Willie.Bronson@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will fund an organization or a consortium of organizations to provide resources and technical assistance to state and local governments to implement recommendations that the Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence will propose. The task force is presently conducting four public hearings around the country to gather testimony from experts, advocates, and impacted families and communities on the extent, nature, and consequences of children’s exposure to violence, abuse, and crime in the United States. The task force will issue a final report to the Attorney General late in 2012 that presents its findings and comprehensive policy recommendations.

Program Name Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program
FY 2012 Funding $2,700,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov/programs/ProgSummary.asp?pi=17&ti=&si=&kw=&PreviousPage=ProgResults
Program Contact Sharie Cantelon, (202) 616-3658, Sharie.Cantelon@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support discretionary grants and technical assistance under the EUDL program. The EUDL discretionary grant component supports several initiatives to help communities develop a comprehensive approach to address underage drinking. EUDL training and technical assistance supports communities and states in their efforts to enforce underage drinking laws.

Program Name Second Chance Act Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects
FY 2012 Funding $1,200,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.bja.gov/funding.aspx
Program Contact Thomas Murphy, (202) 353-8734, Thomas.Murphy@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP, in collaboration with BJA, 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.

Program Name Family Drug Court Programs
FY 2012 Funding $2,300,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov/
Program Contact Gwendolyn Williams, (202) 616-1611, Gwendolyn.Williams@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will implement and enhance family drug courts that serve substance-abusing adults, who are involved in the family dependency court system as a result of child abuse and neglect issues. Grantees must provide services to the children of the parents in the program, as well as to the parents.

Program Name Internet Crimes Against Children Commercial Child Sexual Exploitation
FY 2011 Funding $20,000,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov/
Program Contact Child Protection Division, (202) 616-3637
Program Description
OJJDP will support select law enforcement agencies in their development of strategies to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation. Grantees will improve training and coordination activities, develop policies and procedures to identify child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, investigate and prosecute cases against adults who sexually exploit children for commercial purposes, and provide essential services to victims, including cases where technology is used to facilitate the exploitation of the victim.

Program Name Multi-State Mentoring Programs
FY 2012 Funding $10,000,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Kerri Strug, (202) 305-0702, Kerri.Strug@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support organizations with mentoring programs in at least five states to enhance or expand mentoring services to high-risk populations that are underserved due to location; shortage of mentors; special physical or mental challenges of the targeted population; youth with a parent in the military, including a deployed parent; or other analogous situations that the community in need of mentoring services identifies.

Program Name National Mentoring Programs
FY 2012 Funding $50,000,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Jennifer Yeh, (202) 616-9135, Jennifer.Yeh2@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support national organizations to enhance or expand mentoring services to high-risk populations that are underserved due to location; shortage of mentors; special physical or mental challenges of the targeted population; youth with a parent in the military, including a deployed parent; or other analogous situations that the community in need of mentoring services identifies.

Program Name Multi-Site Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Project
FY 2012 Funding $4,000,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Jennifer Tyson, (202) 305-1598, Jennifer.Tyson@usdoj.gov; Michael Shader, (202) 616-2605, Michael.Shader@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support a Mentoring Enhancement Demonstration Project consisting of a multi-site mentoring enhancement implementation and an evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the mentoring enhancement. Grantees would provide enhanced mentoring services for approximately 100 youth at each of three to four sites. The evaluation component will then assess whether implementing this evidence-based enhancement improved the effectiveness of the services and the outcomes for youth.

Program Name National Intertribal Youth Summit
FY 2012 Funding $500,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact James Antal, (202) 514-1289, James.Antal@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support the 2012 National Intertribal Youth Summit that will develop and implement a culturally sensitive youth leadership agenda for at-risk American Indian and Alaska Native youth that focuses on critical issues in tribal communities. The conference will target leadership development and examine critical tribal youth issues, such as teen dating violence, substance abuse, suicide, delinquency, and gang involvement.

Training and Technical Assistance

Program Name National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Training and Technical Assistance
FY 2012 Funding $900,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact James Antal, (202) 514-1289, James.Antal@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will fund an organization or a consortium of organizations to provide training and technical assistance to the six cities (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas, and San Jose) participating in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. Created at the direction of the President, the forum is a working team of seven federal agencies (Justice; Education; Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control; Labor; Housing and Urban Development; and the Office of National Drug Control Policy). Participating localities share their challenges and promising strategies in fighting youth violence and gang activity and explore how federal agencies can better support local efforts to address these problems. Local stakeholders include public health officials and representatives from the mayor/city manager’s office, schools, law enforcement, and the local office of the U.S. Attorney.

Research and Statistical Programs

Program Name Mentoring Research Best Practices Program
FY 2012 Funding $2,700,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Jennifer Tyson, (202) 305-1598, Jennifer.Tyson@usdoj.gov; Michael Shader, (202) 616-2605, Michael.Shader@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will fund a program of research that seeks to enhance the understanding of mentoring as a prevention strategy for youth 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 and determine the effectiveness of mentoring as a delinquency prevention and intervention technique.

Program Name Tribal Youth Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program
FY 2011 Funding $1,000,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Barbara Kelley, (202) 616-9517, Barbara.Kelley@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will fund a field-initiated study to 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. Accordingly, OJJDP will seek applications addressing a broad range of research topics, such as the identification of risk factors for delinquent behavior and substance abuse, pathways to delinquency and desistance, and victimization experiences among tribal youth.

Program Name Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program
FY 2012 Funding $1,500,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Brecht Donoghue, (202) 305-1270, Brecht.Donoghue@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support multiple grant awards for research and evaluations of school-based practices, environment, and achievement that relate to reducing student victimization and the risk of delinquency. OJJDP will support research that investigates how to improve the level and quality of a juvenile’s participation in school. OJJDP is also interested in ways to improve school safety and climate. Additionally, OJJDP is looking for research on how to stem the "school-to-prison pipeline;" to increase accessibility of quality education for all youth, including juvenile offenders; and to advance use of positive discipline and learning policies and practices nationwide.

Program Name National Juvenile Court Data Archive
FY 2012 Funding $600,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/default.asp
Program Contact Brecht Donoghue, (202) 305-1270, Brecht.Donoghue@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, which provides the most detailed information available on the activities of the nation’s juvenile courts to juvenile justice professionals, policymakers, researchers, and the public. The Archive pursues three general goals: data collection and processing, data use and dissemination, and data improvement.

Program Name Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program
FY 2012 Funding $600,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Brecht Donoghue, (202) 305-1270, Brecht.Donoghue@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support field-initiated studies to understand the factors that influence the prevention of underage drinking, the enforcement of underage drinking laws, and individuals’ and communities’ attitudes and behaviors about underage drinking. Applicants must clearly indicate a central research question and propose a comprehensive and logical research methodology. Additionally, applicants should clearly articulate how the proposed study will fill a gap in the research on underage drinking prevention and/or enforcement and how the anticipated findings will inform state and local efforts to enforce underage drinking laws.

Program Name Community-Based Violence Prevention Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program
FY 2012 Funding $750,000
OJP Sponsor OJJDP
Web Link www.ojjdp.gov
Program Contact Brecht Donoghue, (202) 305-1270, Brecht.Donoghue@usdoj.gov
Program Description
OJJDP will support field-initiated studies to inform what is understood about how communities can prevent and reduce violence involving youth. OJJDP is looking to improve the available research about the factors that may influence youth violence and youth violence prevention efforts, assess the effectiveness and cost efficiency of existing community-based violence prevention programs, and identify and evaluate new or emerging community-based violence prevention models.

Program Name Research and Evaluation on Children Exposed to Violence
FY 2012 Funding $1,000,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.nij.gov/nij/funding/forthcoming.htm
Program Contact Dara Blachman-Demner, (202) 514-9528, Dara.Blachman-Demner@usdoj.gov
Program Description
NIJ seeks proposals for research related to childhood exposure to violence. In particular, NIJ seeks proposals that address resilience, poly-victimization, electronic aggression, or justice system responses to children identified as exposed to violence.

Program Name Evaluation of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention FY 2010 Second Chance Act Juvenile Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects
FY 2012 Funding $2,500,000
OJP Sponsor NIJ
Web Link www.nij.gov/nij/funding/forthcoming.htm
Program Contact Donna Davis, (202) 514-9331, Donna.Davis@usdoj.gov.
Program Description
NIJ seeks applications for a comprehensive evaluation of a subset of juvenile reentry demonstration projects funded under the Second Chance Chance Act of 2007. This solicitation seeks to award a grant in order to measure the processes, outcomes, costs, and impacts of the juvenile offender reentry programs that received funding under the Second Chance Act in FY2009 and FY2010 and to assess the effectiveness of the Second Chance Act in reducing recidivism among juvenile offenders.