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- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
You For Youth
This site helps youth professionals connect and share resources with colleagues, provide professional development and technical assistance opportunities, and offer tools for program improvement. The site provides information focused on afterschool programs.
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Human Services
The Office of Human Services in the Bureau of Indian Affairs promotes the safety, financial security and social health of Indian communities and individual Indian people.
A Circle of Healing for Native Children Endangered by Drugs
“A Circle of Healing for Native Children Endangered by Drugs” is a seven-part video series that highlights best practices for meeting the needs of drug-endangered youth in tribal communities. Produced in collaboration with tribal and federal partners, the videos feature testimonials and examples of cultural practices that tribal communities can use to help traumatized children who are healing from drug endangerment.
Tribal Justice and Safety
The site features the latest announcements, press releases, speeches and information regarding Department of Justice initiatives in tribal communities. It also provides comprehensive resources available through the Office of Tribal Justice and the Department's grant-making divisions: the Office of Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office on Violence Against Women. Access to the Department's Combined Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) is also available on the Web site.
Child Trauma and its Effects: Implications for Police
This article describes child trauma and the negative impact it can have on development, and the implications this has for police, especially for those working in poor communities of color. The article also suggests police be trained on the high prevalence of severe childhood trauma in such communities, its effects on the developing child, and its impact on adolescent and adult functioning to increase their capacity to address this major public mental health issue.
OJJDP Releases Research on Youth's Mental Health Needs and Long-Term Outcomes after Detention
OJJDP released four research bulletins based on findings from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, which investigates the mental health needs and long-term outcomes of juvenile detainees:
- Detained Youth Processed in Juvenile and Adult Court: Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Needs (PDF, 16 pages)
- Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Detained Youth (PDF, 12 pages)
- Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention (PDF, 20 pages)
- Violent Death in Delinquent Youth After Detention (PDF, 14 pages)
Video: The Sobering Consequences of Underage Drinking
Supported by a grant from BJA, the Center for Public Safety Innovation and the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America released a video featuring a panel of experts discussing trends in underage drinking, consequences of underage drinking on adolescent health, and intervention and prevention strategies.
Resource: Engage, Involve, Empower: Family Engagement in Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts
This technical assistance brief provides recommendations for successful family engagement within a juvenile drug treatment court program. Prepared by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the brief also includes a self-assessment tool and descriptions of two juvenile drug treatment courts that demonstrate a strong commitment to family engagement. Professionals working in juvenile drug treatment courts can use this brief to assess their current levels of family engagement and enhance their efforts to engage families.
Resource: A Guide to the Guidelines: Practical Tips for Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts to Implement
This guide (PDF, 13 pages), developed by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, describes the objectives outlined in OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Guidelines (PDF, 60 pages) and provides suggested short-term and long-term actions related to each objective. Juvenile drug treatment courts (JDTC) can use this information to guide the implementation, operation, and evaluation of their practices.
Resource: Drug Courts
This article (PDF, 2 pages) provides an overview of the varying types of drug courts. Criminal defendants and offenders, family members, criminal justice practitioners, and drug treatment professionals can use this information to understand the purpose and function of drug courts and to find related research and resources.
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies Literature Review
This literature review (PDF, 9 pages) explores recent research on arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized youth. It describes the theoretical foundation that supports the use of these therapies, outcome evidence found in the literature, and model program descriptions. Youth-serving professionals can use this resource to learn about programs that have demonstrated positive impacts on youth. Researchers can use it to understand the current state of research on this topic and to explore how future studies can address how and in which optimal conditions the arts can directly impact youth.
Resource: Arts-Based Programs and Arts Therapies Webpage
This webpage from the Model Programs Guide provides summaries and ratings of arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved, and traumatized or victimized youth. Youth-serving professionals and organizations can use this information when looking for interventions to implement.
Resource: Strategies to Build Family and Youth Engagement to Keep Kids in School
This podcast series was produced by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice with OJJDP’s School-Justice Partnership Program. It explores the challenges that parents and other caregivers of youth with behavioral health needs face regarding school, and how effective family and youth engagement can help overcome these challenges.
Addressing the Problem of Juvenile Bullying
This brief provides child caretakers and educators with a definition of bullying and strategies for how to address and prevent it.
Aftercare Services
This Bulletin examines aftercare services that provide youth with comprehensive health, mental health, education, family, and vocational services upon their release from the juvenile justice system.
Comprehensive Community Initiatives Tools for Feds
cciToolsforFeds.org provides information to federal staff to help them design, implement and evaluate comprehensive community initiatives. This ToolKit aims to help federal staff align funding, management, evaluation, and technical assistance to ensure that the focus on systems change remains front and center as they partner with communities in the work of building healthy and capable children, youth, and families.
Growth of Youth Gang Problems in the United States: 1970-98
An OJDDP report on the growth of youth gang problems in the United States between 1970-1998.
Juvenile Justice Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1 (Mental Health Issue)
This issue discusses incarcerated youth with mental health issues, including challenges and solutions.
Make a Friend-Be a Peer Mentor
This Bulletin explains to youth how peer mentoring works, how to become a peer mentor, and how to create and maintain a strong peer mentor network.
Model Programs Guide
The Model Programs Guide (MPG) is designed to assist practitioners and communities in implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs that can make a difference in the lives of children and communities. The MPG database of evidence-based programs covers the entire continuum of youth services from prevention through sanctions to reentry. The MPG is a tool that offers a database of scientifically-proven programs that address a range of issues, including substance abuse, mental health, and education programs.
National Mentoring Resource Center
The goal of the National Mentoring Resource Center is to improve the quality and effectiveness of mentoring across the country by supporting youth mentoring practitioners.
PEPNet: Connecting Juvenile Offenders to Education and Employment
This factsheet discusses the process and criteria behind PEPnet, a practice-based system that identifies and promotes effective youth development and employment programs and maintains an extensive database resource.
Podcast Series: A National Conversation on Protecting Our Youth
This series offers strategies to address underage drinking and reduce youth access to alcohol. Experts, parents, researchers, youth groups, law enforcement officers, and others also discuss the health and safety issues associated with youth alcohol use. Learn more.
OJJDP Safe Start Center
The Safe Start communities are funded competitively through OJJDP, and work to coordinate the efforts of service providers in key areas, such as early childhood education, health, child welfare, substance abuse prevention and intervention, domestic violence, law enforcement, and the courts to address the needs of children exposed to violence.
Public/Private Ventures' Evaluation of Faith-Based Programs
This factsheet reports the initial findings of a demonstration project to observe faith-based organizations providing services to at-risk youth. The project hopes to foster better connections between these organizations and other institutions.