Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Policy Guidance: Girls and the Juvenile Justice System
This policy guidance outlines OJJDP’s commitment to addressing the needs of system-involved girls and young women of color through technical assistance, grants, research, and data collection. It also includes eight focus areas for states, tribes, and local communities to improve system and programmatic responses.
Resource: National Resource Center on School-Justice Partnerships Website
This website serves as a “one-stop-shop” of resources, training, and technical assistance to help school-justice partnerships implement positive school discipline reforms and reduce the school-to-juvenile justice pathway.
Report: Sexual Victimization in Prisons, Jails, and Juvenile Correctional Facilities
This report (PDF, 97 pages) presents the findings of the Review Panel on Prison Rape. The Panel gathered information on the practices of selected correctional institutions that had either a low or a high prevalence of inmate sexual victimization and made recommendations that aim to help eliminate sexual victimization in prisons, jails, and juvenile correctional facilities.
Report: Juveniles in Residential Placement, 2013
This report (PDF, 16 pages) presents information from the 2013 Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, a biennial survey of public and private juvenile residential facilities. The data provide a detailed picture of youth in residential placement, including their age, gender, race, offenses, and adjudication status.
Resource: OJJDP Updates Juvenile Homicide Data to Statistical Briefing Book
This resource now includes updated FAQs describing juvenile homicide victims and juvenile homicide offenders, among other updates to existing resources on juvenile justice.
Report: Impact of Domestic Violence Policies and Practices on Girls and Young Women
This summary report (PDF, 19 pages) by OJJDP’s National Girls Initiative explains the issues discussed during a roundtable event with advocates from the violence against women and juvenile justice reform for girls communities. The report describes a set of principles identified by participants; research gaps; and promising future federal, state, and local directions to ensure girls and young women are not criminalized for behaviors due to experiences of trauma, and can access services and supports.
Resource: Data Snapshot on Youth Residential Facilities
This resource (PDF, 1 page) uses data from OJJDP’s 2014 Juvenile Residential Facility Census to illustrate changes in facility populations, characteristics, and practices.
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.
Report: Co-Offending Among Adolescents in Violence Victimizations, 2004-13
This report presents estimates of nonfatal violence victimizations committed by adolescents during 2004-13 and compares the characteristics of victimizations committed by adolescents acting alone and with other young people. The data show adolescent offenders committed 22% of all violent victimizations during this period, and more violent victimizations were committed by adolescents who acted alone than those who acted with co-offenders.
Report: Developmentally Appropriate Criminal Justice Responses to Justice-Involved Young Adults
This report (PDF, 87 pages) presents findings of an environmental scan that identified programs addressing the developmental needs of young adults involved in the criminal justice system. It also discusses legislation with provisions sensitive to the developmental level and maturation of justice-involved young adults.
Report: Judicially-Led Responses to Eliminate School Pathways to the Juvenile Justice System
This report describes the findings from an evaluation of a judicially-led collaborative model to reduce referrals of youth to juvenile courts for school-based behaviors and disciplinary infractions.
Resource: Updated Model Indian Juvenile Code
This resource (PDF, 3 pages) serves as a framework to help tribes interested in creating or enhancing their own codes that focus on juvenile justice. This model code encourages the use of alternatives to detention and confinement while focusing on community-based, multi-disciplinary responses to juvenile delinquency, truancy, and child-in-need services.
Report: Defend Children: A Blueprint for Effective Juvenile Defender Services
This report (PDF, 60 pages) addresses the lack of access to qualified defense counsel for youth throughout the juvenile justice process. Developed by the National Juvenile Defender Center, the report provides recommendations to ensure youth have access to effective juvenile defense, illustrates racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile court, and highlights successful programs and practices that are improving youth access to counsel.
Resource: OJJDP Policy: Monitoring of State Compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
This revised policy informs states about what they must submit to demonstrate compliance with the four core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, and to receive Formula Grant awards administered by OJJDP. States can use this information when applying for funding from OJJDP or submitting compliance monitoring information and data.
Resource: Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines
This resource (PDF, 60 pages) describes research-based guidelines for juvenile drug treatment courts that serve youth with substance use disorders who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Juvenile drug treatment court staff can use these guidelines to inform their practice as they strive to improve outcomes for these youth.
Resource: Child Labor Trafficking
This literature review (PDF, 13 pages) provides an overview of child labor trafficking, including estimates of rates of trafficking, characteristics of survivors, anti-trafficking legislation, theoretical perspectives, and outcome evidence on prevention, prosecution, and treatment approaches. Released as part of OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide, this review can help policymakers and social service agencies as they respond to child labor trafficking issues and the needs of survivors.
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 Law Enforcement Official’s Guide to the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model
This guide (PDF, 4 pages) by the National Gang Center and Institute for Intergovernmental Research provides law enforcement with an overview of the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model, an evidence-based framework that offers strategies to help communities prevent and reduce gang violence. Law enforcement officers can use this guide to learn about the model's five core strategies, essential elements for implementing the model, advantages for using the model, and how they can introduce the model within their communities.
Report: Recommendations of the LGBT Subcommittee: Advancing the Reform Process for LGBQ/GNCT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
This report (PDF, 11 pages) summarizes the recommendations of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Subcommittee of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice to OJJDP on strategies to advance juvenile justice reform for lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/gender nonconforming, transgender (LGBQ/GNCT) youth. The recommendations are grouped into four categories:
- Policy and program development,
- Training and technical assistance,
- Data collection and research, and
- Federal LGBT juvenile justice coordination.
Resource: Updates to Statistical Briefing Book on Law Enforcement and Court Data
These updates to the Statistical Briefing Book include information on law enforcement and court data, such as juvenile court statistics, state and county juvenile court case counts, and frequently asked questions about juveniles in court and on probation. Policymakers, the media, and the general public can use this resource to gain quick and easy access to detailed statistics on these topics.
Report: Juvenile Court Statistics 2014
This report (PDF, 118 pages), released by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, describes delinquency cases and petitioned status offense cases handled between 2005 and 2014 by U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction.
Resource: Youths with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System
This literature review (PDF, 10 pages) summarizes research on intellectual and developmental disabilities of youths who are at risk of or who have come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Professionals working in juvenile justice settings can use this resource to better understand the challenges facing young people. Policymakers can also use the review to inform federal policies that pertain to the treatment of youths with disabilities in the juvenile justice system.
Report: Evaluations of OJJDP’s Juvenile Justice Reform and Reinvestment Initiative
These reports, released by the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, are based on the evaluation of OJJDP’s Juvenile Justice Reform and Reinvestment Initiative. This program was implemented in demonstration sites to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to juvenile justice decision-making and practice to reduce recidivism, make programs more cost effective, and improve existing services for justice-involved youth. The following reports are available for download:
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.