Federal Resources

“AMBER Alert Best Practices,” published by the Department of Justice, discusses the most effective strategies that AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) partners have provided for recovering missing children. It explains the history of the system, the role each partner plays in child recovery and how to use the resources provided as best as possible. 

CrimeSolutions.gov uses rigorous research to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services

This report describes the describes the annual activity, workloads, and outcomes associated with the federal criminal justice system from arrest to imprisonment, using data from the U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 

This resource is particularly useful for new applicants in navigating the challenges of a highly competitive application and grant award process. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has posted a number of current solicitations on OJJDP's Funding Opportunities Web page. Additional funding opportunities from other OJP components may be found on OJP's Open Solicitations Web page.

OVCTTAC has developed three new modules for its online Sexual Assault Advocate/Counselor Training. This training is designed to teach advocates how to provide competent, effective crisis intervention services to victims and survivors of sexual assault. 

OJJDP has released a fact sheet on delinquency cases derived from data presented in the report, Juvenile Court Statistics 2011:

• Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2011 (PDF, 4 pages): presents statistics on delinquency cases that courts with juvenile jurisdiction processed for public order, person, and property offenses and drug law violations between 1985 and 2011

OJJDP has released a fact sheet on delinquency cases derived from data presented in the report, Juvenile Court Statistics 2011:

• Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 2011 (PDF, 4 pages): presents statistics on petitioned delinquency cases waived to criminal court between 1985 and 2011

Bulletins from OJJDP’s Pathways to Desistance series are now available in EPUB and MOBI formats. The bulletins present findings from a study of more than 1,300 adolescent offenders over seven years. 

OJP’s Program Plan for 2015 is now available online. This searchable online document contains current funding opportunities for initiatives within the OJP. The plan includes funding opportunities for juvenile justice programs on juvenile re-entry, tribal and other minority youth, children’s exposure to violence, juvenile drug courts, at-risk or system-involved girls, cross-over/dual-system youth, and youth violence prevention.

In this interview, Dr. Peggy Giordano of Bowling Green State University describes her research on teen dating violence and how it changes over time. Dr. Giordana conducted a longitudinal study following 1,200 youth from age 13 into young adulthood and found conflict in key areas of a relationship can increase the risk of violence. 

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.

This bulletin examines policies that affect young offenders who cross over from the juvenile to the criminal justice system, with a focus on adolescence and early adulthood.

. The OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book added new features to its National Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) DatabookThis application presents the national DMC data for the juvenile justice system and their Relative Rate Index Matrices that quantify levels of racial disparity introduced at various decision points within the system. This update provides data through 2013 and makes available new features, including DMC tables for combinations of gender and race for juvenile court stages, and tables comparing males to females for juvenile arrest and court stages. 

The May/June 2015 issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance includes a top story and video message from OJJDP Administrator Robert L. Listenbee that highlight OJJDP’s efforts to address and prevent youth violence and victimization. The issue also includes features on National Missing Children’s Day, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice Conference, and the OJJDP-sponsored National Law Enforcement Training in Child Exploitation. 

Prepared by the Council of Juvenile Correction Administrators (CJCA) with support from OJJDP through the Center for Coordinated Assistance to the States, this toolkit presents an overview of the issue of isolation in correctional and detention facilities (PDF, 33 pages). It also includes a summary of the research on the negative impacts of isolation and guidance for reducing the use of isolation. 

SMART released “Prosecution, Transfer, and Registration of Serious Juvenile Sex Offenders” (PDF, 31 pages), a report that examines the systems of charging, adjudication, disposition, transfer, and/or sentencing that might apply to a serious juvenile sex offender. 

OJJDP's Model Programs Guide, an online resource of evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs, added three new literature reviews that address:

1. Alcohol and Drug Prevention Treatment/Therapy
2. Implementation Science
3. Status Offenders

OJJDP released “Studying Deterrence Among High-Risk Adolescents,” (PDF, 16 pages) the latest bulletin in the Pathways to Desistance series. This bulletin examines the link between perceptions of the threat of sanctions and deterrence from crime among high-risk adolescents. The authors’ findings show that severe punishment, such as correctional placement or a longer stay in correctional placement, does not meaningfully reduce juvenile offending or arrests among these youth. 

This bulletin proposes new institutional methods and processes for young adult justice. The authors’ primary recommendation is that the age of juvenile court jurisdiction be raised to 21, with additional, gradually-diminishing protections for young adults up to age 24 or 25. 

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 report provides an overview of a project in which NCJFCJ visited OJJDP-funded mentoring programs at 10 juvenile treatment drug court sites and conducted a focus group to discuss youth’s strengths and challenges. 

This report draws on data from the National Juvenile Court Data Archive to describe delinquency cases handled between 1985 and 2013 and petitioned status offense cases handled between 1995 and 2013 by United States courts with juvenile jurisdiction. 

OJJDP updated the Statistical Briefing Book to include data resources from the 2013 Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement. 

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.

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.