Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Testifying in Court about Trauma: The Court Hearing
This tip sheet helps clinicians prepare to testify in court regarding trauma (PDF, 7 pages) and its impact on children. It provides insight into the different types of cases and tips on how to testify effectively.
Bureau of Justice Assistance: Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Initiative
The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Initiative includes training for law enforcement and communities to identify trafficking in persons and rescue victims by working with federal law enforcement and victims service providers and offering support and funding to task forces (in coordination with the Office for Victims of Crime and the Department of Health and Human Services) based on a sound strategy of collaboration among state and local enforcement, trafficking victim services providers, federal law enforcement, and U.S. Attorney Offices.
Bureau of Justice Assistance Training and Technical Assistance
This resource provides technical assistance to practitioners in state, local, and tribal justice systems.
Gang Resistance and Education Program
The G.R.E.A.T. Program is a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curriculum. With prevention as its primary objective, the program is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership.
National Reentry Resource Center
Funded by the Second Chance Act of 2008, and launched by the Council of State Governments Justice Center in 2009, the National Reentry Resource Center provides education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, non-profit organizations, and corrections institutions working on prisoner reentry.
Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents: Trauma Prevention Policy
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) created a policy, Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents. The policy, which reflects input from subject-matter experts and stakeholders, provides strategies for law enforcement to improve their procedures for interactions with children when a parent is arrested.
Why Youth Join Gangs
OJJDP, BJA, and the National Gang Center developed “Why Youth Join Gangs,” an online video that features (a) gang researchers and practitioners providing their perspectives on gang joining and (b) youth sharing their gang experiences. The video highlights risk factors that may play a role in a youth’s decision to join a gang and behaviors that might be observed when interacting with youth at high risk of joining a gang.
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2015
This report describes BJS activities to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act, 2010. The report summarizes BJS’s efforts in 2015 to:
-
Field a survey on the capabilities and caseloads of tribal court systems
-
Develop a survey of all state and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices serving Indian country
-
Study the handling of American Indian and Alaska Native juvenile and adult criminal cases in the federal justice system
-
Enhance current funding programs to support tribal participation in regional and national criminal justice databases
The report also summarizes tribal eligibility for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant awards from 2008 to 2015 and presents Uniform Crime Reporting Program statistics on offenses reported by tribal law enforcement agencies from 2008 to 2013.
Parents’ Guide to Gangs: Now Available in Spanish
NGC has published a Spanish version of the Parents' Guide to Gangs. This resource is designed to provide parents with answers to common questions about gangs and to help them recognize and prevent gang involvement.
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.
Video: Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Training
This training video shows children telling their own stories about how they were affected by the arrest of a parent, and demonstrates the core principles from the Model Policy for Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents (PDF, 38 pages), illustrating actions law enforcement officers can take to reduce trauma.
Resource: New BJA NTTAC Violent Crime Resource
This new website features violent crime training and technical assistance resources, including publications, national initiatives, trainings, technical assistance opportunities, and other materials identified by BJA’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC).
Resource: Tribal Access to Justice Innovation
This website helps tribal justice practitioners learn about emerging and promising justice-related programs in Indian Country. Visitors can learn what tribes are doing to address issues in their communities, access tribal program information, and collaborate and connect with tribal justice practitioners.
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: Redesigned National Gang Center Website
This redesigned website features new focus areas on criminal justice, communities and research, an inquiries section for quicker responses from staff, new forms to request technical assistance, the National Gang Center blog, and OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model tools. Communities can utilize these resources in their gang prevention, intervention, and suppression efforts.
Resource: Mentoring as a Component of Reentry
This resource (PDF, 45 pages), developed by the National Reentry Resource Center, provides recommendations to help community-based organizations integrate adult mentoring into existing reentry programming. This resource can also help organizations build effective partnerships with correctional agencies, learn about promising practices in adult mentoring, such as peer mentoring, and increase effective data collection and evaluation through stronger collaboration between reentry programs and research partners.
Resource: Leveraging the Every Student Succeeds Act to Improve Educational Services in Juvenile Justice Facilities
This policy brief (PDF, 12 pages), developed by the American Youth Policy Forum, the National Reentry Resource Center, and the Council of State Governments Justice Center, provides information to state and local policymakers as well as education and juvenile justice leaders about how to use requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act to improve education and workforce outcomes for youth in long-term juvenile justice facilities.
Upcoming Event: November is National Adoption Month
This observance aims to increase national awareness of the need for permanent families for children and youth in the foster care system. This year’s theme, “We Never Outgrow the Need for Family—Just Ask Us,” reflects a focus on the importance of identifying permanent families for the thousands of 15- to 18-year-olds in foster care who are currently less likely to be adopted or who may age out of the system without a stable home. A new tip sheet, Talking with Older Youth About Adoption (PDF, 2 pages) provides child welfare professionals with a framework for how to talk with older youth about permanency and includes suggestions for how to make these conversations more effective.
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Youth Indicators is a statistical compilation of data on the distribution of youth, their family structure, economic factors, school and extracurricular activities, health factors, and other elements that constitute the world of young people between the ages of 0-17 years. This report is created and published by Child Stats, a division of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
American Red Cross and FEMA: Helping Children Cope with Disaster
This booklet was created to assist parents and caregivers in helping youth cope with disasters and emergencies. The guide also provides information on preparing family emergency plans and discussing these plans with youth.
Bringing Youth Preparedness Education to the Forefront: A Literature Review and Recommendations
Recognizing the need for research to evaluate the current state of disaster preparedness education and research regarding youth, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) commissioned a review of the literature related to emergency preparedness education for youth. The objectives of this review were to identify research and evaluations of youth education interventions for emergency preparedness and to use the findings to develop recommendations that can be used to assess current programs and to enhance the provision of youth preparedness education programs.
Citizen Corps
Citizen Corps was created to help coordinate volunteer activities that will make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation. It provides opportunities for people to participate in a range of measures to make their families, homes, and communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds. Search for your local Citizen Corps Councils, Community Emergency Response Teams, Medical Reserve Corps, Fire Corps and Neighborhood Watch programs here.
Earthquake Preparation for Schools and Child Care Facilities
This pamphlet provides child care providers with information and strategies to better prepare for earthquakes in their facilities.
FEMA Preparedness Tips for School Administrators
The Preparedness Tips for School Administrators fact sheet is comprised of tips and suggestions on preparedness, as well as links to tools and resources specifically for school administrators. Resources are pulled from FEMA, the Department of Education, CDC, and practitioners in the field. This document can help school administrators answer the questions parents might have regarding emergency management planning and practices. The resource also provides tips for administrators to explain school and parent roles and responsibilities in preparing for and responding to emergencies.
FEMA Preparedness Tips for Parents and Guardians
This resource contains tailored, practical suggestions on preparedness and links to tools and resources for parents and guardians. Resources are pulled from FEMA, the Department of Education, CDC, and practitioners in the field. This resource helps parents and guardians better understand school emergency policies and will not only help parents and guardians recognize what safety measures are being offered in school, but it can also highlight areas where they can bolster their own emergency planning.