Federal Resources

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.

The Ad Council and FEMA launched a public service advertisement (PSA) as part of a series of videos that illustrate how people with disabilities can take charge to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies. The new PSA, which will be available on the Ad Council’s and FEMA’s YouTube channels, as well as in the FEMA media library, emphasizes the Ready.gov campaign’s four building blocks of preparedness: Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved. 

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.

As featured on the OJJDP website, the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative has released a Discipline Disparities Briefing Paper Series, which consists of three briefing papers on policy, practice, and research related to disparities in school discipline. 

This issue discusses incarcerated youth with mental health issues, including challenges and solutions.

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.

Developed by the Department of Justice as part of the ongoing Beyond Detention series, this bulletin analyzes data from the Northwestern Juvenile project, a longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago. The prevalence of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seen among the juveniles studied is discussed, as well as the tendency for PTSD and other psychiatric disorders to co-occur in this population. 

The Bulletin summarizes the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and analyzes their relevance to the juvenile justice process-from intake and initial interview to institutional placement and secure confinement.

This bulletin provides an overview of the Northwestern Juvenile Project, the first large-scale, prospective longitudinal study of drug, alcohol, and psychiatric disorders in a diverse sample of juvenile detainees.

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:

1. Detained Youth Processed in Juvenile and Adult Court: Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Needs (PDF, 16 pages)
2. Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Detained Youth (PDF, 12 pages)
3. Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention (PDF, 20 pages)
4. Violent Death in Delinquent Youth After Detention (PDF, 14 pages)

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. 

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.

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. 

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.