[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37274-37293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17390]
[[Page 37273]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part III
Department of Justice
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
_______________________________________________________________________
Comprehensive Program Plan for Fiscal Year 1999; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 131 / Friday, July 9, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 37274]]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
[OJP(OJJDP)-1204f]
RIN 1121-ZB71
Comprehensive Program Plan for Fiscal Year 1999
AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, Justice.
ACTION: Notice of final program plan for fiscal year 1999.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is
publishing its Final Program Plan for fiscal year (FY) 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eileen M. Garry, Director, Information
Dissemination Unit, at 202-307-5911. [This is not a toll-free number.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice. Pursuant to the provisions
of Section 204(b)(5)(A) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq. (JJDP Act),
the Administrator of OJJDP published for public comment a Proposed
Comprehensive Plan describing the program activities that OJJDP
proposed to carry out during Fiscal Year (FY) 1999. The Proposed
Comprehensive Plan included activities authorized in Parts C and D of
Title II of the JJDP Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. 5651-5665a, 5667,
5667a. The public was invited to comment on the Proposed Plan by March
18, 1999. The Administrator analyzed the public comments received, and
the comments and OJJDP's responses are provided below. The
Administrator took these comments into consideration in developing this
Final Comprehensive Plan describing the particular program activities
that OJJDP intends to fund during FY 1999, using in whole or in part
funds appropriated under Parts C and D of Title II of the JJDP Act.
Notice of the official solicitation of grant or cooperative
agreement applications for competitive programs to be funded under the
Final Comprehensive Plan will be published at a later date in the
Federal Register. No proposals, concept papers, or other forms of
application should be submitted at this time.
Overview
After a steady climb in the rates of juvenile violent crime
arrests, resulting in an increase of 60 percent between 1988 and 1994,
the Nation experienced a substantial, 23 percent decline in the 3 years
between 1994 and 1997. More notable were the trends in the juvenile
arrest rate for murder, which, after doubling between 1987 and 1993,
dropped by more than 40 percent between 1993 and 1997. In addition, in
the discussion of trends, it is important to note that in any given
year less than \1/2\ of 1 percent of this country's juveniles ages 10
to 17 are arrested for violent crime. Even though rates have been
dropping, however, they are still more than 20 percent higher than the
average rate of the years between 1980 and 1988.
The serious concerns engendered by the increase in violent juvenile
crime in the 1980's led many States to enact legislation to address the
changing nature of juvenile delinquency and to use a more
accountability-based approach in dealing with serious violent juvenile
offenders. At the same time, a national dialog began over how best to
reform the juvenile justice system to make it more effective in
preventing and intervening with juvenile delinquency and victimization
and in protecting the public. In order to see this become a reality,
the positive achievements of recent years should lead not to
complacency, but to a renewed commitment to continue to pursue the
research-based, comprehensive approach to problems of delinquency,
violence, and victimization that OJJDP inaugurated with the publication
in December 1993 of its Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent,
and Chronic Juvenile Offenders.
It is encouraging that in recent years communities have begun to
take on this work and make the commitment needed to make a
comprehensive strategy a reality. More and more communities are coming
to the understanding that a long-term, consistent commitment will be
required to reduce juvenile delinquency, violence, and victimization
and to ensure public safety.
This Final Comprehensive Plan describes OJJDP's plans for funding
activities authorized under Part C (National Programs) and Part D
(Gang-Free Schools and Communities; Community-Based Gang Intervention)
of Title II of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP)
Act. The activities authorized under Parts C and D make up part of
OJJDP's overall responsibilities under the JJDP Act. These
responsibilities are outlined briefly below.
In 1974, the JJDP Act established OJJDP as the Federal agency
responsible for providing national leadership, coordination, and
resources to develop and implement effective methods to prevent and
reduce juvenile delinquency and improve the quality of juvenile justice
in the United States. OJJDP administers State Formula Grants under Part
B of Title II, State Challenge Grants under Part E of Title II, and
Community Prevention Grants under Title V of the JJDP Act to assist
States and territories to fund a range of delinquency prevention,
control, and juvenile justice system improvement activities. OJJDP
provides support activities for these and other programs under
statutory set-asides that are used to provide related research,
evaluation, statistics, demonstration, and training and technical
assistance services. OJJDP also funds Special Emphasis programs
authorized under Part C; school and community-based gang prevention,
intervention, and suppression programs under Part D; and mentoring
programs under Part G of Title II of the JJDP Act; funds numerous
research, evaluation, statistics, demonstration, training and technical
assistance, and information dissemination activities through its
National Institute for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention;
administers the Drug Prevention Program, the Underage Drinking Program,
the Safe Schools Initiative, a Native American discretionary grants
program, the Safe Start: Children Exposed to Violence Initiative, and
the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants program. OJJDP also
coordinates Federal activities related to juvenile justice and
delinquency prevention.
OJJDP serves as the staff agency for the Coordinating Council on
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, coordinates the
Concentration of Federal Efforts Program, and administers both the
Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program and programs under
the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 13001 et
seq.
OJJDP focuses its assistance on the development and implementation
of programs with the greatest potential for reducing juvenile
delinquency and improving the juvenile justice system by establishing
partnerships with State and local governments, American Indian and
Alaska Native jurisdictions, and public and private agencies and
organizations. OJJDP performs its role of national leadership in
juvenile justice and delinquency prevention through a cycle of
activities. These include
[[Page 37275]]
collecting data and statistics to determine the extent and nature of
issues affecting juveniles; funding research that can lead to
demonstrations funded by discretionary grants; evaluating demonstration
projects; sharing lessons learned from the field with practitioners
through a range of information dissemination vehicles; providing seed
money to States through formula and block grants to implement projects
or reform efforts; and providing training and technical assistance to
assist States and local governments to implement programs effectively
and to maintain the integrity of model programs as they are being
replicated.
It is important to note that OJJDP emphasizes coordination with
other Office of Justice Program (OJP) components and other Federal
agencies whenever possible to concentrate Federal resources to achieve
maximum results from its programs and initiatives. This coordination,
which is evidenced in many of the program descriptions that follow,
includes joint funding, interagency agreements, and partnerships to
develop, implement, and evaluate projects. More important, it is
critical that the reader become familiar with the program activities of
the other OJP Bureaus and Offices as reflected in the Office of Justice
Programs Fiscal Year 1999 Program Plan. The work undertaken in OJP in
many instances cuts across components and areas of practice; therefore,
the work undertaken by OJJDP should be viewed as part of a larger OJP
composite.
Considering all the factors discussed above, OJJDP has prepared
this Final Comprehensive Plan for FY 1999 for activities authorized
under Part C (National Programs) and Part D (Gang-Free Schools and
Communities; Community-Based Gang Intervention) of Title II of the JJDP
Act, as described in the following pages.
Fiscal Year 1999 Program Planning Activities
The OJJDP program planning process for FY 1999 was coordinated with
the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and
all OJP components. The program planning process involved the following
steps:
Internal review of existing programs by OJJDP staff.
Internal review of proposed programs by OJP bureaus and
Department of Justice components.
Review of information and data from OJJDP grantees and
contractors.
Review of information contained in State comprehensive
plans.
Review of comments from youth service providers, juvenile
justice practitioners, and researchers who provided input in proposed
new program areas.
Consideration of suggestions made by juvenile justice
policymakers concerning State and local needs.
Consideration of all comments received during the period
of public comment on the Proposed Comprehensive Plan.
Discretionary Program Activities
Discretionary Grant Continuation Policy
OJJDP has listed on the following pages continuation projects
currently funded in whole or in part with Part C and Part D funds and
eligible for continuation funding in FY 1999, either within an existing
project period or through an extension for an additional project
period. A grantee's eligibility for continued funding for an additional
budget period within an existing project period depends on the
grantee's compliance with funding eligibility requirements and
achievement of the prior year's objectives. The amount of award is
based on prior projections, demonstrated need, and fund availability.
The only projects described in this Final Program Plan are those
that will receive Part C or Part D FY 1999 continuation funding under
project period or discretionary continuation assistance awards and new
programs that OJJDP intends to fund in FY 1999. Readers should note
that they will not find descriptions of other OJJDP programs, including
mentoring programs under Part G of Title II of the JJDP Act, the Drug
Prevention Program, the Underage Drinking Program, the Safe Schools
Initiative, the Native American discretionary grants program, the Safe
Start: Children Exposed to Violence Initiative, and the Juvenile
Accountability Incentive Block Grants program. When appropriate,
separate solicitations are issued for applications for funding for
programs that are not authorized under Parts C and D.
Consideration for continuation funding for an additional project
period for previously funded discretionary grant programs was based
upon several factors, including the following:
The extent to which the project responds to the applicable
requirements of the JJDP Act.
Responsiveness to OJJDP and Department of Justice FY 1999
program priorities.
Compliance with performance requirements of prior grant
years.
Compliance with fiscal and regulatory requirements.
Compliance with any special conditions of the award.
Availability of funds (based on appropriations and program
priority determinations).
In accordance with section 262 (d)(1)(B) of the JJDP Act, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. 5665a, the competitive process for the award of Part
C funds is not required if the Administrator makes a written
determination waiving the competitive process:
1. With respect to programs to be carried out in areas in which the
President declares under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act codified at 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. that a
major disaster or emergency exists, or
2. With respect to a particular program described in Part C that is
uniquely qualified.
Program Goals
The three goals listed below constitute the major elements of a
sound policy that ensures public safety and security while establishing
effective juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs.
Underlying each of the goals is the overarching premise that their
achievement is vital to protecting the long-term safety of the public
from juvenile delinquency and violence.
Delinquency Prevention and Early Intervention. OJJDP
promotes delinquency prevention and early intervention efforts that
reduce the flow of juvenile offenders into the juvenile justice system,
the numbers of serious and violent offenders, and the development of
chronic delinquent careers. While removing serious and violent juvenile
offenders from the street serves to protect the public, long-term
solutions lie primarily in taking aggressive steps to stop delinquency
before it starts or becomes a pattern of behavior.
Improvement of the Juvenile Justice System. OJJDP seeks to
improve the juvenile justice system and the response of the system to
juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and dependent, neglected, and
abused children.
Corrections, Detention, and Community-Based Alternatives.
OJJDP supports efforts to preserve the public safety through the
appropriate development and best use of secure detention and
corrections options, while at the same time fostering the use of
community-based programs for juvenile offenders.
In pursuing these broad goals, OJJDP divides its programs into four
categories: public safety and law enforcement; strengthening the
juvenile
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justice system; delinquency prevention and intervention; and child
abuse and neglect and dependency courts. A fifth category, overarching
programs, contains programs that have significant elements common to
more than one of the other four categories. Following the summary of
public comments and the introductory section below, the continuation
programs that OJJDP will fund in FY 1999 are listed and summarized
within these five categories. New programs are described in the
introductory section.
Summary of Public Comments on the Proposed Comprehensive Plan for
Fiscal Year 1999
OJJDP published its Proposed Comprehensive Plan for FY 1999 in the
Federal Register (Vol. 64, No. 20) on February 1, 1999, for a 45-day
public comment period. OJJDP received 17 letters commenting on the
Proposed Plan. (Each letter had one signature.) All comments have been
considered in the development of OJJDP's Final Comprehensive Plan for
Fiscal Year 1999.
Comment: Eight letters suggested that OJJDP should include career
academies in its program plan. Originally established in inner-city
Philadelphia in the late 1960's, high school career academies are
designed to restructure high schools to support students academically
while providing them with marketable skills, work-based learning
experiences, and clearer pathways to postsecondary education and
productive employment. Support for including career academies in the
program plan came from the president of the National Career Academy
Coalition, two high school principals, the executive director of the
American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and a person
associated with the ASPA Philadelphia Regional Chapter, two career
academy coordinators, and the professional standards officer for the
Law Enforcement Training Board of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
Response: OJJDP is a strong supporter of the career academy concept
and is working with LAWNET, the National Career Academy Coalition's
collaborative initiative to link law-related career academies with
police departments and communities across the country. The U.S.
Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice have
provided funding and personnel support to two academies (Academy for
Law, Justice, and Security and the Public Service Academy) in Anacostia
Senior High School in Washington, D.C. OJJDP has also long supported
the Communities in Schools program, which has facilitated a number of
career academies. [Note: At the time this response was sent to the
commenters, OJJDP was considering working with LAWNET; however, this
effort was not chosen to be part of the final program plan.]
Comment: One writer, a State juvenile justice specialist, made four
comments and one request. The comments concerned: (1) Mental health
issues and education for system professionals in recognizing signs of
mental illness, (2) technical assistance to Title V and the need to
increase the capacity of States to conduct the training without
entailing a high cost for training materials, (3) the need for an
annual report of products developed by the various projects, and (4)
the survey of juvenile probation and inclusion of social service and
community placements. The fifth item was a request for additional
information about funds earmarked for the National Association of State
Fire Marshals.
Response: OJJDP's responses are presented in order below.
1. Concerning mental health issues, the joint funding efforts OJJDP
is engaged in with the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS),
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA),
encompasses work with the education system. The U.S. Department of
Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is also a
partner in this effort. The program that CMHS funds is designed to
support the development of a system of care for children and youth
across the developmental spectrum. Forty-five sites are currently
funded to create this system of care. OJJDP's funds support training
and technical assistance to assist with the greater inclusion of the
juvenile justice system in the sites' efforts to develop a
comprehensive system of care, and the OSEP funds support the same for
the education system.
OJJDP funds that were transferred for the system of care on Native
American reservations under a program called Circles of Care are being
used to fund an additional site. These Native American recipients will
be planning for the development and implementation of a system of care
for youth on the reservation, including the school system.
OJJDP has also transferred funds to the National Institute of
Mental Health to support studies of attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder and a study of mental health issues among a school population.
Both of these studies will be of assistance to schools and communities
in future efforts to address the mental health needs of children and
youth.
2. The answer to the comment about the technical assistance to
Title V is that the contractor will work with OJJDP's Formula Grants
Program technical assistance contractor to develop a community planning
curriculum for delinquency prevention planning and implementation
activities and use it to train groups of trainers in different States.
OJJDP intends to expand the pool of in-State trainers and to encourage
wide use of training materials, thereby making Title V training and
technical assistance accessible to a large number of communities.
3. The suggestion for a single annual report of the products
developed by the various projects certainly has some merit, but at this
time, OJJDP does not have any plans for such a publication. Although
OJJDP does not issue the type of report the writer described, the
Office does publish a wealth of information about the latest promising
and effective programs, an annual report that gives an overview of
OJJDP's major accomplishments, and various program-specific reports
such as the annual report to Congress on Title V and last year's report
to Congress on OJJDP's Juvenile Mentoring Program. The commenter is on
OJJDP's mailing list to receive all these publications.
4. In regard to the Survey of Juvenile Probation, the writer asked
if this effort to determine the number of juveniles under some form of
community supervision includes social service placements and community
placements of youth in the custody of the State correctional system.
The answer is yes. OJJDP will endeavor to enumerate those juveniles who
are under supervision as part of an official juvenile court sanction.
Therefore, all those not currently in a residential placement will be
enumerated. However, at this stage in the development of the project,
OJJDP reserves the right not to cover particular parts of the system
for practical or theoretical reasons. To make the survey consistent
across jurisdictions, if OJJDP chooses to exclude or include particular
populations in one jurisdiction, those populations will be excluded or
included in all jurisdictions.
5. In response to the request for more information about the
earmarked funds for the National Association of State Fire Marshals
(NASFM), the following information was provided. NASFM was awarded
$382,640 to implement the Juvenile Fire-Setter Intervention Project.
NASFM will develop a national juvenile fire-setting intervention
mobilization plan that will facilitate and promote the
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establishment of juvenile fire-setter intervention programs, based on
existing valid models at the State and local levels.
NASFM also plans to provide the first comprehensive study that will
look at the problem of juvenile fire-setting through an examination of
the best of what has been done to date and the best of what might be
done in the future. This study will serve as the basis of a strategic
plan to better coordinate existing public and private resources needed
to reduce the severity and incidence of fires started by children.
Through this study, NASFM plans to develop a consensus statement on the
nature, dynamics, and scope of children's involvement with fire;
present an analytical summary of public and private sector initiatives
addressing juvenile fire-setting; recommend how best to use existing
public and private resources to reduce the severity and incidence of
fires started by children; and establish a clearinghouse to create
linkages among fire services, educational, product safety, and child
welfare professionals addressing juvenile fire-setting issues.
Experts nationwide will analyze the issues and techniques that have
been key to effective intervention programs and recommend national
standardized approaches that have acceptance from both professional and
peer groups.
Comment: One writer, director of a university training resource
center, affirmed the ``importance of addressing the educational issues
related to youth in the juvenile justice system'' and indicated support
for the OJJDP proposal to ``establish with the Department of Education
a Center for Students with Learning Disabilities in the Juvenile
Justice System.''
Response: OJJDP appreciates the words of support for a cooperative
effort between OJJDP and the U.S. Department of Education to establish
a Center for Students with Learning Disabilities in the Juvenile
Justice System. The commenter was sent an information copy of the
announcement of a new U.S. Department of Education grant for
establishing this center. The application deadline was April 23, 1999.
OJJDP agrees that it is important to address educational issues
related to youth in the juvenile justice system. Most of OJJDP's
funding is not provided under Parts C and D but is distributed to the
States and territories through Formula Grants, Challenge, and Title V
(Community Prevention) programs and education-related concerns can be
addressed through these programs. Two of the Challenge Grant
activities, for example, refer to ``appropriate education services,
including special education, for youth in the juvenile justice system''
and comprehensive education services as part of aftercare programs.
Comment: A second writer, executive director of the National
Juvenile Detention Association, also applauded the proposed
collaboration with the Department of Education in developing the Center
for Students with Learning Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System.
This commenter also expressed appreciation for OJJDP's ``continued
support in funding projects to improve systemic and programmatic issues
within the juvenile justice system and more specifically the juvenile
detention and corrections field.''
Response: OJJDP appreciates the words of approval for its funding
of projects to improve systemic and programmatic juvenile justice
issues, specifically in the field of detention and corrections. In
response to the comments in support of the Center for Students with
Learning Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System, OJJDP sent the
writer an information copy of the announcement of a new U.S. Department
of Education grant for establishing this center. The application
deadline was April 23, 1999.
Comment: One commenter, the associate legislative director of the
National Association of Counties, expressed concern that the plan
``fails to address the county role in the partnership'' between State
legislators and State and local leaders. The writer offered to work
with OJJDP in building a county policymaker component in the plan.
Response: OJJDP recognizes the important role counties play in the
overall effort to effectively deal with juvenile justice issues. During
the past year, OJJDP officials have met with the writer and other
representatives of the National Association of Counties and the
National Organization of Black County Officials to discuss development
of a long-term approach to improving the juvenile justice system at all
levels'national, State, county, and community. OJJDP plans to continue
to work with and encourage representatives of the various levels of
government to identify and agree on ways to collaborate to prevent and
reduce juvenile crime and victimization throughout the country.
Comment: Another writer, president of a State council on crime and
delinquency, also suggested that the program of Technical Assistance
for State Legislatures should be more focused on county officials. The
writer also commented on two other areas: field-initiated research and
the Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) Project. The response
concerning the need for more focus on counties was essentially the same
as the response provided to the preceding comment. The other two
comments are noted and addressed below.
1. Field-Initiated Research. The writer asked that funding for
field-initiated research be included in the Final Program Plan. OJJDP
has added a field-initiated program of general research to the plan.
2. BARJ. The writer praised this project and recommended increased
funding to expand its training and technical component to jurisdictions
throughout the United States. Although OJJDP's grant support for the
Project is modest, the Office shares the commenter's enthusiasm for the
BARJ Project. OJJDP views the BARJ Project as an evolving, not a
static, venture to improve juvenile justice systems and expects to see
further growth and development of the BARJ Project and further positive
outcomes for juvenile justice from it.
Comment: One writer, a juvenile prosecutor in a county attorney's
office, objected to money or attention going to anything titled
``balanced and restorative justice,'' which he referred to as an
oxymoron. He wrote that a balanced approach is ``balanced between
fixing the kid, protecting the community, and restoring the victim''
and that restorative justice ``focuses primarily on restoring the
victim.'' The writer praised OJJDP's December 1998 teleconference on
Juveniles and the Criminal Justice System.
Response: OJJDP grant support for the BARJ Project is quite modest.
The BARJ Project was deliberately organized to merge the concepts and
practices of the ``balanced approach'' and ``restorative justice.''
OJJDP determined that the goals of community safety, victim reparation,
and offender rehabilitation are best achieved if the offender is
directed to engage in restorative activities. These activities are
structured to foster the offender's sense of accountability and hands-
on competency to pursue constructive rather than destructive life
styles. One of the main authors of the balanced approach concept
(Dennis Maloney) is a senior associate of the BARJ Project and assists
the Project in joining not only the theoretical and programmatic
elements of the balanced approach and restorative justice, but of
``community justice'' as well. OJJDP views the BARJ Project as an
evolving, not a static, venture to improve juvenile justice systems.
Its roots are in effective juvenile restitution
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programs, which by definition are ``restorative.'' Besides evidence
from other sources, the effectiveness of these programs was determined
by a study in the writer's own State of Utah (please see OJJDP Update
on Research: Restitution and Juvenile Recidivism by Jeffrey A. Butts
and Howard N. Snyder, September 1992). OJJDP incorporated lessons
learned from the best restitution programs into the BARJ Project and
expects to see further growth and development of the BARJ Project and
further positive outcomes for juvenile justice from it.
Comment: The director-designate of a State department of juvenile
justice wrote to support OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious,
Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders and the plan's emphasis on
delinquency prevention. Of the areas that OJJDP is considering for new
programs, the writer specifically expressed support for five: community
justice and balanced and restorative justice, risk and needs assessment
instruments, education programs for students in the juvenile justice
system, and programs for abused and neglected children within the
juvenile justice system.
Response: OJJDP appreciates the writer's support for the
Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile
Offenders and for the emphasis on delinquency prevention. It is also
helpful to know which of the proposed broad priority areas the writer
believes should be given major consideration.
Comment: The president of a private program to combat juvenile
delinquency commended the programs OJJDP proposed to fund this fiscal
year. In addition, the writer stated that there is need for reform in
how adults view and deal with young people.
Response: OJJDP appreciates the writer's support for the Proposed
Program Plan. In regard to the issue of ``how adults view and deal with
young people,'' OJJDP notes that the programs it supports all involve
an element of respect for the young people they serve. As the Proposed
Comprehensive Plan points out, the foundation of OJJDP's work is its
Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile
Offenders. The Comprehensive Strategy provides a strategic planning
framework for States and communities to increase their ability to
effectively combat juvenile delinquency and victimization and provide
for public safety. Based on three decades of research on what causes
juvenile delinquency and what works to address it, the Comprehensive
Strategy emphasizes six key principles. The first two principles touch
on the writer's concern about respect for youth:
1. Strengthening families as their children's first and primary
teachers and role models.
2. Supporting core social institutions such as schools, religious
institutions, and community organizations in their efforts to develop
youth who will lead productive and law-abiding lives.
An example of a specific OJJDP program that helps to build mutual
respect between youth and adults is the Juvenile Mentoring Program
(JUMP), which provides one-on-one mentoring for youth at-risk of
delinquency, gang involvement, educational failure, or dropping out of
school. The adults who volunteer as mentors give their time and talents
to try to make a difference in the lives of these young people. Initial
evaluation findings from 93 JUMP sites across the county show that
youth in the program reported that mentoring helped them stay away from
alcohol and drugs, keep away from gangs, and avoid using guns and
knives.
Comment: A writer with a background in paralegal and security work
stressed the importance of early prevention, parent involvement,
mentoring, and other programs that reduce the risk of involvement in
delinquency and described positive results that her community has
achieved through collaboration among business, schools, mentoring
groups, and government.
Response: OJJDP's proposals for FY 1999 reflect a similar
commitment to prevention activities.
Introduction to Fiscal Year 1999 Program Plan
Since 1993, when it published the Comprehensive Strategy for
Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders, OJJDP has been
advocating that States, local governments, and communities adopt this
research-based comprehensive strategy approach to address the problems
of juvenile crime and victimization. OJJDP has synthesized decades of
research and practice from practitioners and established a framework
for implementing an effective juvenile justice system. Through support
of research, demonstration programs, and training and technical
assistance, OJJDP encourages States, local governments, and communities
to use the Comprehensive Strategy to develop coordinated, communitywide
approaches to preventing and intervening with juvenile delinquency and
victimization. OJJDP focuses its support on programs and initiatives
that further one or more of the basic principles of the Comprehensive
Strategy:
Strengthen families in their role of guiding,
disciplining, and instilling sound values in their children.
Support core social institutions and their role in
supporting families and helping children develop to their maximum
potential.
Promote prevention strategies and activities that reduce
the impact of negative (risk) factors and enhance the influence of
positive (protective) factors in the lives of youth at greatest risk of
delinquency.
Intervene immediately and appropriately at the first signs
of trouble in a child's life and establish a system of graduated
sanctions and a continuum of services to respond appropriately to the
needs of each juvenile offender.
Protect the public from the most serious, violent, and
chronic juvenile offenders by providing for their incapacitation while
at the same time addressing their treatment needs.
For the fourth consecutive year, OJJDP has developed a Program Plan
rooted in its Comprehensive Strategy. The Plan also supports the
Coordinating Council's National Juvenile Justice Action Plan released
in 1996. This Action Plan, which grew out of the Comprehensive
Strategy, provides eight objectives to reduce juvenile violence and
describes ways to meet these objectives. OJJDP will continue to support
development and refinement of the Comprehensive Strategy and training
and technical assistance to help jurisdictions begin to implement it by
developing a continuum of care to deal with both juvenile offenders and
juveniles at risk of becoming offenders. Development, dissemination,
and support of the Comprehensive Strategy and the Action Plan are prime
examples of how OJJDP's national leadership is instrumental in moving
the field from innovation to infrastructure.
OJJDP-funded programs that emphasize early prevention and family
involve a variety of approaches, including strengthening the dependency
court, parent training, nurse-based home visitation for at-risk first-
time mothers, problem solving, parent support groups led by parents
themselves, multisystemic therapy, and training and technical
assistance for replicating exemplary programs. Other prevention
programs reach out to youth in the schools and the community. They
include youth development, conflict resolution, mentoring, career
preparation, truancy reduction, drug prevention, violence prevention,
and antigang outreach programs.
[[Page 37279]]
Efforts involving intervention, accountability, and sanctions
include dissemination of the principles of balanced and restorative
justice, emphasis on reducing overcrowding and disproportionate
minority confinement in secure facilities, gender-specific services
targeted to female juvenile offenders, intensive aftercare services,
services for chemically involved young people, and a communitywide
approach to preventing and suppressing gangs. Funds are also provided
for collaborations between police and health services agencies and for
appropriate training for legislators, prosecutors, and line staff in
secure facilities.
Research and evaluation can assure policymakers, practitioners, and
the public that juvenile justice is moving in the right direction and
that programs being supported do indeed work. OJJDP will continue
supporting a range of research studies, including its landmark study of
the causes and correlates of delinquency; studies of very young
offenders and of the origins of and pathways to youth violence; a cost-
benefit analysis of juvenile justice programs; analyses of a range of
juvenile justice data; development of a juvenile sex offender typology;
studies of risk reduction for delinquency, substance abuse, and school
failure in school children and of delinquency and attention deficit/
hyperactivity disorder; and censuses and surveys related to confinement
and probation. Continued support will be provided for evaluations of
the SafeFutures initiative, Safe Kids/Safe Streets, Partnerships To
Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence, Intensive Community-Based Aftercare, teen
court training and technical assistance, and several gang-related
programs.
New Programs
OJJDP will also support new programs in several areas related to
emerging issues facing the juvenile justice system. These programs are
described below. The availability of funding for new competitive
programs will be announced in the next few months in the Federal
Register and posted on OJJDP's Web site at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org under
Grants and Funding.
Three new programs fall in the area of information dissemination.
The first, the Children's Court Communications Project, will help to
publicize the centennial of the juvenile court. Jointly designed by the
Justice Policy Institute, a project of the Center on Juvenile and
Criminal Justice, and the Children and Family Justice Center at
Northwestern University School of Law, this project is designed to
humanize juvenile court ``graduates,'' highlight their successes, and
publicize lessons learned and best practices of the juvenile justice
system. OJJDP funds will enable the project to disseminate stories
about successful former juvenile court clients through a combined
effort involving television, radio, and print public service
announcements; a summary publication; and electronic and print media
interviews, stories, and talk shows. In funding this effort, OJJDP is
engaging in a public-private partnership with the MacArthur Foundation
and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The project will expand public
knowledge and dialog about the juvenile court during its centennial and
open the door for professionals, advocates, and community-based
entities to learn about best practices and successes in the system.
Education on Gun Violence and Safety is the second new program
focusing on disseminating information and educating the public. OJJDP
will partner with the Bureau of Justice Assistance to support Education
on Gun Violence and Safety. This project seeks to educate gunowners and
parents about how to safely use and store guns and how to protect
children from gun violence. Through a coordinated communications,
education, grassroots, and media campaign, the project will reach
gunowners and other caring adults with important information on
preventing youth's illegal access to and unlawful use of guns. In FY
1999, critical communications research with gunowners will determine
their perceptions, attitudes, habits, and inclinations and thereby
inform the communications strategy.
OJJDP will participate in a joint Department of Justice/Federal
Trade Commission Study of the Marketing of Media Violence, which will
examine whether the motion picture, television, music, and video game
industries market adult-rated material to young people. This study will
analyze the degree to which violent entertainment is targeted at the
very people who should not be exposed to it. The year-long study will
also examine whether entertainment industries require, monitor, or
encourage enforcement of the rating systems in stores and movie
theaters.
As described in the Proposed Program Plan, OJJDP is planning a
joint initiative with the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, to establish a
Center for Students With Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System.
The Secretary of Education and the Attorney General expect this project
to have a significant impact on services for students with disabilities
in the juvenile justice system. Improvements in these services will be
based on a combination of research, training, and technical assistance.
To meet the challenges of serving this population of students, positive
changes must occur in the following areas: prevention, educational
programming, and reintegration/transition. The Center for Students With
Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System will provide guidance and
assistance to States, schools, justice programs, families, and
communities to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive
educational programs based on research-validated practices for students
with disabilities within the juvenile justice system.
A new school-related prevention program is the School and Classroom
Management Demonstration Project. OJJDP will support this North
Carolina pilot initiative designed to improve classroom management and
to assist in the creation of safe learning environments. Funds will be
awarded to the Center for the Study of School Violence to manage the
initial pilot in partnership with the University of North Carolina and
the North Carolina State Board of Education. The State of North
Carolina has made a commitment to support full implementation of the
program. The purpose of the pilot program is to increase the ability of
teachers and administrators to model and use sound conflict resolution
practices by integrating skills training into preservice curriculums at
North Carolina schools of education and by working with the North
Carolina State Board of Education to change curriculum requirements to
include conflict resolution skills training in the context of effective
classroom management.
OJJDP plans to partner with the U.S. Department of Education's Safe
and Drug-Free Schools Program to fund Training and Technical Assistance
for Sharing Information, a program on information sharing across
disciplines. Protecting children, preventing delinquency, maintaining
safe schools and communities, and ensuring accountability for juvenile
offenders all require effective information sharing across the agencies
responsible for these outcomes. Educators who see warning signs of
delinquency can, by sharing information with justice and other youth-
serving agencies, develop effective intervention strategies. At the
other end of the spectrum, when the juvenile justice system is about to
send an adjudicated offender back into the regular school system,
justice officials
[[Page 37280]]
need to notify the school so it can provide needed support services to
help the student succeed. These are just two examples of circumstances
in which it is both appropriate and necessary to share information to
ensure public safety.
This new training and technical assistance program would provide
guidance to school, court, police, probation and parole, child
protective services, and health and social service agencies on
opportunities, barriers, and legislation regarding sharing information
on juveniles. The training would expand on guidance provided in Sharing
Information: A Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
and Participation in Juvenile Justice Programs (OJJDP Program Report,
1997) to assist professionals interested in developing a range of
interagency information sharing agreements. Training sessions would
provide instruction on the legal, ethical, and institutional barriers
to information sharing between/among parties with ``legitimate
interests.'' Technical assistance would facilitate planning and
implementing a practical system of information exchange that meets
legal, ethical, and institutional requirements locally through
collaborative decisionmaking and negotiation among agencies. The
program would also support the development of interagency agreements
and protocols for sharing information and data that reflect mutually
agreeable policies and procedures.
Two programs, in addition to the Circles of Care Program described
in the Proposed Program Plan, address mental health issues as they
relate to juvenile justice. These programs will further the overall
goal of OJJDP's mental health strategy: to increase understanding of
the mental health needs of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders,
improve the quality of services and treatment they receive, and prevent
their future involvement in the juvenile justice system. (Readers
should note that, besides the programs funded under Parts C and D of
Title II of the JJDP Act, funding for mental health programs related to
juvenile justice is also available under the Juvenile Accountability
Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG) Program administered by OJJDP.
Information about JAIBG funding opportunities is available from the
Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-8736 and from OJJDP's Web
site at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.)
In FY 1999, support for an update of the 1992 report Responding to
the Mental Health Needs of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System will
provide important information as to current trends and prevalence of
mental health disorders and approaches and programs for dealing with
this population. Systems interactions and legal issues affecting
mentally disordered youth in the juvenile justice system are likely to
be other topics covered by Responding to the Mental Health Needs of
Youth in the Juvenile Justice System--Part II. Of particular importance
is the need to address the issue of youth of color and their under
representation in services. The GAINS Center on Co-occurring Disorders
will provide oversight and technical review of individual chapters by
knowledgeable researchers and practitioners.
Another mental health project is Technical Assistance Support for
the Comprehensive Children and Families Mental Health Projects. For the
past several years, OJJDP has been participating in the Federal
Partnership for Children's Mental Health, which was organized by the
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration. In addition to OJJDP, this task
group includes agencies within the U.S. Departments of Education and
Health and Human Services. An outgrowth of this task group has been the
development of interagency agreements between OJJDP and CMHS for OJJDP
to support training and technical assistance for the 45 Comprehensive
Children and Families Mental Health sites. The funds transferred to
CMHS have supported training and technical assistance for the past 2
years to the sites on strategies for greater inclusion of juvenile-
justice-involved youth in the continuum of care being developed under
these grants. OJJDP will continue this support in FY 1999 as CMHS
rebids its training and technical assistance contract. CMHS's 45 sites,
with their developing comprehensive mental health services for children
and families, present an excellent opportunity to improve mental health
services for all children, including juvenile offenders.
In a project called Helping Communities To Promote Youth
Development, OJJDP will provide support to the Institute of Medicine/
National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, to establish a
committee that will review and synthesize existing evidence regarding
the effectiveness of community-level interventions and service programs
designed to promote positive youth development. The committee will also
assess the strengths and limitations of measurement and methodologies
that have been used to evaluate these interventions and address the
policy and programmatic implications of this research. The committee
will be composed of an interdisciplinary group of individuals with
expertise in a range of fields (child and adolescent development,
sociology, psychology, statistics and evaluation, youth service, and
other relevant areas). The committee will meet periodically and will
convene two workshops and commission background papers to inform the
field. In addition to a final report that will synthesize the work of
the committee, brief summary fact sheets will be widely disseminated to
policymakers, local decisionmakers, program administrators, service
providers, researchers, community organizers, and other key
stakeholders.
Three new efforts will be undertaken in the research area. The
first, Field-Initiated Program of General Research, is part of OJJDP's
larger Field-Initiated Research and Evaluation Program, which will
combine general research with three additional topical areas (at-risk
girls, Native Americans, and juvenile justice system interventions).
Although most of the research funded by OJJDP derives from
congressional mandates or addresses statutory priority areas that are
narrowly defined, many innovative and important research ideas
deserving support arise outside the Federal Government. The Field-
Initiated Program of General Research allows OJJDP to provide flexible
funding for creative and rigorous research that supports its mission.
The ideal field-initiated project not only will increase the knowledge
base regarding juvenile delinquency, but will have practical
implications for juvenile justice policies and practices. In past
years, OJJDP has supported field-initiated research on such topics as
gangs in correctional institutions, mental health issues in the
juvenile justice system, and juvenile sex offending. Investigators
applying for FY 1999 funding may wish to consider (but are not limited
to) projects in the following areas: serious and violent juvenile
offenders, risk versus protective factors for juvenile offending,
development of risk and needs assessment tools for courts and
correctional facilities, impact of juvenile transfers to adult court,
causes of early-onset offending, causes of desistance from offending,
characteristics and needs of very young offenders, and development of
innovative intervention programs for specific subgroups of juvenile
offenders.
In another research program, Pornography on the Internet, OJJDP
will provide funds to the National Academy of Sciences for a 2-year
study that will
[[Page 37281]]
address the capabilities of today's technologies for controlling
electronic transmission of pornographic images, identify what is needed
to develop more effective and practical control technology for such
material, analyze the inherent limitations of such technology, and
identify operational policies or management techniques needed to ensure
the effectiveness of technologies for controlling transmission of
pornographic images. The results of this study will be used in the
context of possible options for action by legislators, law enforcement,
regulators, industry groups, online service providers, educators, and
parents.
In collaboration with the National Institute of Justice's Crime
Mapping Research Center, OJJDP will support the research and
development of mapping software that will allow State and local
communities to use geographic data to facilitate and strengthen
planning and implementation of programmatic activities, assessment of
conditions and trends, and development of comprehensive plans. The
Crime and Data Mapping Project will create a software package that will
map geospatial data and be useful for immediate strategic planning
needs within a local community. It will also provide a geographic
information system (GIS) program platform for bringing together
multiple data elements and sources for more thorough strategic
planning. The software developed will provide not only the ability to
map GIS-coded data that includes crime data, but also a tool for
analyzing the multiple data variables. This funding will provide
initial support to a technologically appropriate organization for the
development of software.
With the endorsement of the Drug-Free Communities Advisory
Commission, OJJDP has decided to provide additional resources to
support the strengthening of the training and technical assistance
component of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program. This support
will directly supplement the Office of National Drug Control Policy's
training and technical assistance budget, which currently funds the
Centers for the Application of Prevention Technologies through an
interagency agreement with the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
This funding will provide additional support and customized assistance
to the Drug-Free Communities Support Program grantees.
Finally, in FY 1999, OJJDP is considering enhancing its assistance
to the field in the area of community-based gang intervention,
consistent with the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model, and in the area of
school-centered antigang efforts. Work currently being conducted under
OJJDP's Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang Prevention,
Intervention, and Suppression and OJJDP's Rural Gang Initiative has
resulted in lessons learned that will be helpful to various types of
jurisdictions around the country as they develop comprehensive gang
programs. No applications are currently being solicited. Separate
solicitations for these programs (both community-based gang
intervention and school-centered antigang efforts) may be issued at a
later date.
Together, the programs in this Comprehensive Plan constitute a
practical, multifaceted, and comprehensive approach to effectively
preventing juvenile delinquency and victimization.
Fiscal Year 1999 Programs
The following are brief summaries of each of the new and
continuation programs projected to receive Part C and Part D funding in
FY 1999. As indicated above, the program categories are public safety
and law enforcement; strengthening the juvenile justice system;
delinquency prevention and intervention; and child abuse and neglect
and dependency courts. However, because many programs have significant
elements of more than one of these program categories or generally
support all of OJJDP's programs, they are listed in an initial program
category, called overarching programs. With regard to implementation
sites and other descriptive data and information, program priorities
within each category will be determined based on grantee performance,
application quality, fund availability, and other factors. Programs are
listed alphabetically within each category.
A number of OJJDP programs have been identified for funding
consideration by Congress with regard to the grantee(s), the amount of
funds, or both. These programs, which are listed below, are not
included in the program descriptions that follow.
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Teens, Crime, and the Community
Parents Anonymous, Inc.
Juvenile Offender Transition Program
Suffolk University Center for Juvenile Justice
Center for Crimes and Violence Against Children
Metro Denver Gang Coalition
L.A. Best Youth
Intensive Services for Juveniles and Families
Delancy Street
Juvenile Justice Program in Alaska
National Association of State Fire Marshals
Syracuse-Onondaga County Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission
Law-Related Education
Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence
In addition, OJJDP has been directed to examine each of the
following, provide assistance if warranted, and report to the
Committees on Appropriations of both the House and the Senate on its
intention for each proposal:
Low Country Children's Center
Center for Prevention of Juvenile Crime and Delinquency at Prairie
View University
Project O.A.S.I.S.
Consortium on Children, Families, and Law
Women of Vision Program for Youthful Female Offenders
Violence Institute of New Jersey
L.A. Bridges Youth Programs
Compton Youth Intervention Center for AfterSchool Programs
Kids With a Promise Program
Operation Quality Time
Achievable Dream Program
Secure School Pilot Program
Youth Advocates Program
Camden Urban Science Enrichment Program
Juvenile Crime Reduction Strategies Pilot Program
School Security Technology Center
New Mexico Cooperative Service Extension 4-H Youth Development
Program
Adolescent Residential Treatment Program
Coalition for Drug-Free Lanai
Youth Courts in Alaska
Sioux Falls, South Dakota School District for Youth Programs
South Dakota Unified Judicial System
Nebraska Commission for Law Enforcement for Youth Programs
Chicago Public Schools Substance Abuse Program
Minnehaha, South Dakota, County Sheriff's Office for Youth Programs
Essex Teen Center and other Vermont Coalition for Teen Center's
Members
Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Initiative in
Gainesville
Multistate Youth Violence Prevention Network
State of Hawaii to combat teen prostitution
Safe Places for Kids
The FY 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Conference agreement also urges
OJJDP to work with the Head Start Bureau and other Federal agencies to
coordinate an effort to increase public/private partnerships, such as
Free to Grow, aimed at strengthening families and communities in their
efforts to reduce the negative effect of substance abuse and use on the
development of young children.
Fiscal Year 1999 Program Listing
Overarching
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Juvenile Justice Programs
Evaluation of SafeFutures
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Insular Area Support
Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior Project
Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse
Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development
OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract
OJJDP Technical Assistance Support Contract--Juvenile Justice
Resource Center
Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency
SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency
Study Group on Very Young Offenders
Technical Assistance for State Legislatures
Telecommunications Assistance
Training and Technical Assistance Coordination for the SafeFutures
and Safe Kids/Safe Streets Initiatives
Public Safety and Law Enforcement
The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention
Child Development-Community-Oriented Policing (CD-CP)
Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang Prevention,
Intervention, and Suppression Program
Evaluation of the Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang
Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Program
Evaluation of the Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence
Program
Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach (Boys & Girls Clubs)
National Youth Gang Center
Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence
Survey of School-Based Gang Prevention and Intervention Programs
Training and Technical Assistance for the Rural Gang Initiative
Delinquency Prevention and Intervention
Advertising Campaign--Investing in Youth for a Safer Future
Assessing Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Disorders
The CETARY Project
Communities in Schools--Federal Interagency Partnership
Community Anti-Drug Abuse Technical Assistance Voucher Project
The Congress of National Black Churches: National Anti-Drug Abuse/
Violence Campaign (NADVC)
A Demonstration Afterschool Program
Diffusion of State Risk-and Protective-Factor Focused
Prevention
Hate Crime
Home Visitation
Multisite, Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
National Center for Conflict Resolution Education
No Hope in Dope Project
Partnerships for Preventing Violence
Proactive Youth Program
Risk Reduction Via Promotion of Youth Development
The SAGE Project and PRIDE Center Afterschool Program
Strengthening Services for Chemically Involved Children, Youth, and
Families
Technical Assistance to Title V
Training and Technical Assistance for Family Strengthening Programs
Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System
Balanced and Restorative Justice Project (BARJ)
Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Training and Technical
Assistance
Building Blocks for Youth
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
Circles of Care Program
Development of the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and
Chronic Juvenile Offenders
Evaluation of the Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Program
Evaluation of Teen Courts
Gender-Specific Programming for Female Juvenile Offenders
Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical
Assistance Program
Intensive Treatment Family Programs (ITF)
The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Unit
Juvenile Residential Facility Census
Juvenile Sex Offender Typology
Juvenile Transfers to Criminal Court Studies
Linking Balanced and Restorative Justice and Adolescents (LIBRA)
National Academy of Sciences Study of Juvenile Justice
National Juvenile Justice Program Directory
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97
Performance-Based Standards for Juvenile Correction and Detention
Facilities
Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP) Evaluation
Survey of Juvenile Probation
Technical Assistance to Juvenile Corrections and Detention (The
James E. Gould Memorial Program)
Technical Assistance to Native Americans
TeenSupreme Career Preparation Initiative
Training and Technical Assistance for National Innovations To Reduce
Disproportionate Minority Confinement (The Deborah Ann Wysinger
Memorial Program)
Training and Technical Support for State and Local Jurisdictional
Teams To Focus on Juvenile Corrections and Detention Overcrowding
Child Abuse and Neglect and Dependency Courts
National Evaluation of the Safe Kids/Safe Streets Program
Safe Kids/Safe Streets: Community Approaches to Reducing Abuse and
Neglect and Preventing Delinquency
Overarching
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
This project supports the Coalition in its efforts to meet the
statutory mandates through the development of a technical assistance
capability that provides training, technical assistance, and
information to the State Juvenile Justice Advisory Groups. This will be
accomplished through a series of regional training and information
workshops and a national conference designed to address the needs of
the membership of the Coalition.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Coalition for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Juvenile Justice Programs
The University of Texas and the Dallas County Juvenile Department
are working together to perform a substantive cost-benefit analysis of
juvenile adjudications in the county to explore the extent to which the
method can provide better answers to increasingly urgent questions by
decisionmakers. The work, funded under an FY 1997 competitive grant, is
examining several important methodological and practical issues,
including methods of determining alternative measures for and the
extent of beneficial program effects and estimating and allocating unit
costs-benefit relationships of different programs. Through the process
of addressing these and related matters under the guidance of an
advisory board composed of individuals directly engaged in the juvenile
justice field at the local and State level, the project will also show
how the method can be made immediately useful to decisionmakers.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
University of Texas--Dallas. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Evaluation of SafeFutures
A national evaluation competitively awarded with FY 1995 funds is
being conducted by the Urban Institute to determine the success of the
SafeFutures initiative in creating a comprehensive continuum of care
for youth in six participating sites (Boston, Massachusetts; Contra
Costa County and Imperial County, California; Fort Belknap, Montana;
Seattle, Washington; and St. Louis, Missouri). The evaluation addresses
the program implementation process and measures performance outcomes
and lessons learned about the challenges and accomplishments across the
six sites. A cross-site report will document the process of program
implementation and community outcomes for use by other funding agencies
or communities that want to develop and implement a comprehensive
community-based strategy to address serious, violent, and chronic
delinquency.
The evaluation will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Urban
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Institute. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Insular Area Support
The purpose of this statutorily required program is to provide
support to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Funds are available to
address the special needs and problems of juvenile delinquency in these
insular areas, as specified by Section 261(e) of the JJDP Act of 1974,
as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5665(e).
Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior Project
The purpose of this project is to expand on the Rochester Youth
Development Study by examining the development of antisocial behavior
and delinquency in the children of the original Rochester, New York,
subjects of OJJDP's Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of
Delinquency. By age 21, 40 percent of the original Rochester subjects
were parents. This provides a unique opportunity to examine and track
the development of delinquent behavior across three generations in a
particularly high-risk sample. Results of the study should provide
useful findings with policy implications for prevention programs. The
program is being funded under an FY 1998 interagency agreement between
OJJDP and the National Institute of Mental Health.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, SUNY
Research Foundation. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse
A component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service
(NCJRS), the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC) collects,
synthesizes, and disseminates information on all aspects of juvenile
justice. OJJDP established the Clearinghouse in 1979 to serve the
juvenile justice community, legislators, the media, and the public. JJC
offers toll-free telephone access to information; prepares specialized
responses to information requests; produces, warehouses, and
distributes OJJDP publications; exhibits at national conferences;
maintains a comprehensive juvenile justice library and database; and
administers several electronic information resources. NCJRS is
administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) under a
competitively awarded contract to Aspen Systems Corporation.
This program will be implemented by the current contractor, Aspen
Systems Corporation. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development
The Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development (SSD)
program was competitively awarded in FY 1990 to the National Center for
Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) to improve national, State, and local
statistics on juveniles as victims and offenders. The project has
focused on three major tasks: (1) Assessing how current information
needs are being met with existing data collection efforts and
recommending options for improving national level statistics; (2)
analyzing data and disseminating information gathered from existing
Federal statistical series and national studies; and (3) providing
training and technical assistance tools for local agencies in
developing or enhancing management information systems.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, NCJJ. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract
This contract was competitively awarded in FY 1995 for a period of
3 years to provide OJJDP with an expert resource to perform independent
program evaluations and assist in implementing evaluation activities.
Evaluations may be conducted on OJJDP-funded programs and on other
programs designed to prevent and treat juvenile delinquency. The time
and cost of each evaluation depends on program complexity, availability
of data, and purpose of the evaluation. Because the purpose of many
evaluations is to inform management decisions, the completion of an
evaluation and submission of a report may be required in a specific
and, often, short time period.
This contract will be implemented by the current contractor,
Caliber Associates. However, a new competitive contract solicitation
will also be issued and a new contract awarded in FY 1999.
OJJDP Technical Assistance Support Contract--Juvenile Justice Resource
Center
This contract has been competitively awarded since the mid-1980's
when OJJDP identified the need for technical assistance support in
carrying out its mission. The Juvenile Justice Resource Center (JJRC)
provides technical assistance and support to OJJDP, its grantees, and
the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
in the areas of program development, evaluation, training, and
research. With assistance from expert consultants, JJRC coordinates the
peer review process for OJJDP grant applications and grantee reports,
conducts research and prepares reports on current juvenile justice
issues, plans meetings and conferences, and provides administrative
support to various Federal councils and boards.
This contract will be implemented by the current contractor, Aspen
Systems Corporation. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency
Since 1986, this longitudinal study has addressed a variety of
issues related to juvenile violence and delinquency and has produced a
massive amount of information on the causes and correlates of
delinquent behavior. Three project sites participate: Institute of
Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder; Western
Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh; and
Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, University at Albany, State
University of New York. The sites pursue both collaborative research
efforts and site-specific research. Results from the study have been
used extensively in the field of juvenile justice and contributed
significantly to the development of OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for
Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders and other program
initiatives.
This program will be implemented by the current grantees. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency
Since FY 1995, this 5-year project has awarded grants of up to $1.4
million annually to each of six communities (Boston, Massachusetts;
Contra Costa County and Imperial County, California; Fort Belknap,
Montana; Seattle, Washington; and St. Louis, Missouri) to assist in
implementing comprehensive community programs designed to reduce youth
violence, delinquency, and victimization through the creation of a
continuum of care in communities. This continuum enables communities to
respond to the needs of youth at critical stages of their development
through a range of prevention, intervention, treatment, and sanctions
programs.
SafeFutures activities will be carried out by the current grantees.
No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
[[Page 37284]]
Study Group on Very Young Offenders
Modeled after the OJJDP Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile
Offenders, this program is exploring what is known about the prevalence
and frequency of very young (under the age of 13) offending. In FY
1998, OJJDP supplemented a grant to the University of Pittsburgh, the
grantee for the Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders.
The Study Group on Very Young Offenders is examining whether such
offending predicts future delinquent or criminal careers, how these
youth are handled by various systems including juvenile justice, mental
health, and social services; and what methods are best for preventing
very young offending and persistence of offending. This project will
disseminate the results of its research to the public, policymakers,
and practitioners. The Study Group is also assisting OJJDP in
formulating a 5-year research agenda for OJJDP and the juvenile justice
field.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of
Pittsburgh. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Technical Assistance for State Legislatures
Since FY 1995, OJJDP has awarded annual grants to the National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to provide relevant, timely
information on comprehensive approaches in juvenile justice to aid
State legislators in improving State juvenile justice systems. Nearly
every State has enacted, or is considering, statutory changes affecting
the juvenile justice system. This project has helped policymakers
understand the ramifications and nuances of juvenile justice reform.
The grant has improved capacity for the delivery of information
services to legislatures. The project also supports increased
communication between State legislators and State and local leaders who
influence decisionmaking regarding juvenile justice issues.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, NCSL. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Telecommunications Assistance
OJJDP uses information technology and distance training to
facilitate access to information and training for juvenile justice
professionals. This cost-effective medium enhances OJJDP's ability to
share with the field salient elements of the most effective or
promising approaches to various juvenile justice issues. In FY 1995,
OJJDP awarded a competitive grant to Eastern Kentucky University (EKU)
to produce live satellite teleconferences. In FY 1998, OJJDP continued
the cooperative agreement with EKU to provide program support and
technical assistance for a variety of information technologies. The
grantee also explored linkages with key constituent groups to advance
mutual information goals and objectives. During the past year, EKU has
experimented with cybercasting ``live'' satellite videoconferences on
the Internet.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, EKU. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Training and Technical Assistance Coordination for the SafeFutures and
Safe Kids/Safe Streets Initiatives
OJJDP will provide funding for long-term training and technical
assistance to the SafeFutures and Safe Kids/Safe Streets initiatives.
This coordination effort builds local capacity for implementing and
sustaining effective continuum of care and systems change approaches in
six SafeFutures and five Safe Kids/Safe Streets sites. Project
activities include assessment, identification, and coordination of the
implementation of training and technical assistance needs at each of
the sites and administration of cross-site training.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, Patricia
Donahue. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Public Safety and Law Enforcement
The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention
The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention is a citywide, long-
term effort to reduce violence. Objectives include reductions in
homicide, physical injury, disability and emotional harm from assault,
domestic abuse, sexual abuse and rape, and child abuse and neglect. A
partnership among the Chicago Department of Public Health, the Illinois
Council for the Prevention of Violence, the University of Illinois, and
Chicago communities, the project began in 1995 with joint funding from
OJJDP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The project provides technical assistance to a variety of community-
based and citywide organizations involved in violence prevention
planning.
The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention will be implemented by
the current grantee, the University of Illinois, School of Public
Health. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Child Development-Community-Oriented Policing (CD-CP)
The Child Development-Community-Oriented Policing (CD-CP) program
is an innovative partnership between the New Haven Department of Police
Services and the Child Study Center at the Yale University School of
Medicine that addresses the psychological burdens on children,
families, and the broader community of children witnessing increasing
levels of community violence. In FY 1993, OJJDP provided support to
document Yale--New Haven's child-centered, community-oriented policing
model. The model consists of interrelated training of police officers,
consultation, and teaming mental health clinicians with law enforcement
in intervening onsite with children and families who witness violence.
OJJDP, with first-year support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance,
funded a 3-year replication of the model in Buffalo, New York;
Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon.
Other OJP components joined OJJDP in funding an expansion of CD-CP in
FY 1998. This expansion moved the project into school-based activities
and the area of addressing exposure to violence in domestic violence
settings and will continue to do so in FY 1999.
This project will be continued by the current grantee, the Yale
University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the New Haven
Department of Police Services. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang Prevention, Intervention,
and Suppression Program
This program supports implementation of a comprehensive gang
program model in five jurisdictions (Bloomington, Illinois; Mesa,
Arizona; Riverside, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Tucson,
Arizona). OJJDP will continue funding for the program, which was
competitively awarded with FY 1994 funds. The demonstration sites are
implementing a model developed by the University of Chicago with OJJDP
funding support. Implementation requires the mobilization of the
community to address gang-related violence by making available and
coordinating social interventions, providing social/academic/vocational
[[Page 37285]]
and other opportunities, and supporting gang suppression through law
enforcement, probation, and other community control mechanisms. Each
site has established a multidisciplinary team to coordinate the
services that project youth receive. Included in the service mix is
accountability or social control. Demonstration sites also receive
training and technical assistance.
This project will be implemented by the current demonstration
sites. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Evaluation of the Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang
Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Program
OJJDP will continue funding this evaluation. Under a 4-year
competitive cooperative agreement awarded in FY 1995, the evaluation
grantee assisted the five program sites (Bloomington, Illinois; Mesa,
Arizona; Riverside, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Tucson,
Arizona) in establishing realistic and measurable objectives,
documenting program implementation, and measuring the impact of this
comprehensive approach. It has also provided interim feedback to the
program implementors and trained the local site interviewers. The
grantee will continue to gather and analyze data required to evaluate
the program; monitor and oversee the quality control of data; provide
assistance for completion of interviews; and provide ongoing feedback
to project sites.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Evaluation of the Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence Program
This 3-year project began with a competitive award in FY 1997 to
document and evaluate the process of community mobilization, planning,
and collaboration needed to develop a comprehensive, collaborative
approach to reducing gun violence involving juveniles. The Partnerships
to Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence Program is being implemented in four
sites: Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Louisiana; Oakland, California: and
Syracuse, New York. In addition to working with these sites, the
grantee will also identify additional promising or effective programs
underway in communities across the country and evaluate a select number
of these programs. An expanded base of youth gun violence programs
offers greater opportunity to identify sites that are employing similar
strategies with different populations.
This evaluation will be implemented by the current grantee, COSMOS
Corporation. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach (Boys and Girls Clubs)
The purpose of this program is to enable local Boys & Girls Clubs
to prevent youth from entering gangs, intervene with gang members in
the early stages of gang involvement, and divert youth from gang
activities into more constructive programs. This program reflects the
ongoing pattern of cooperation between OJJDP and the Boys & Girls Clubs
to reduce problems of juvenile delinquency and violence. The Boys &
Girls Clubs of America provides training and technical assistance to
local gang prevention and intervention sites, including some at
SafeFutures and OJJDP Comprehensive Gang sites. The project includes
funds for local clubs to implement the Targeted Outreach program. A
national evaluation of this program is being implemented by Public/
Private Ventures.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the Boys &
Girls Clubs of America. No additional applications will be solicited in
FY 1999.
National Youth Gang Center
The proliferation of gang problems over the past two decades led
OJJDP to develop a comprehensive, coordinated response to America's
gang problem. This response involved five program components, one of
which was implementation and operation of the National Youth Gang
Center (NYGC), competitively funded with FY 1994 funds, to expand and
maintain the body of critical knowledge about youth gangs and effective
responses to them. NYGC provides support services to the National Youth
Gang Consortium, composed of Federal agencies with responsibilities in
this area. NYGC is also providing technical assistance for the Rural
Gang Initiative planning and assessment phase. OJJDP will extend the
NYGC project an additional year and provide FY 1999 funds to NYGC to
conduct more indepth analyses of the National Youth Gang Survey results
that track changes in gang membership and gang-related crime, produce
timely information on the nature and scope of the youth gang problem,
and continue its efforts to foster integration of gang-related items
into other relevant surveys and national data collection efforts.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Institute for Intergovernmental Research. No additional applications
will be solicited in FY 1999.
Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence
OJJDP will award continuation grants to each of three competitively
selected communities that initially received funds in FY 1997 to
increase the effectiveness of existing youth gun violence reduction
strategies by enhancing and coordinating prevention, intervention, and
suppression strategies and strengthening linkages between community
residents, law enforcement, and the juvenile justice system. Baton
Rouge, Louisiana; Oakland, California: and Syracuse, New York, were
selected to receive 3-year awards. The goals of this initiative are to
reduce juveniles' illegal access to guns and address the reasons they
carry and use guns in violent exchanges. A national evaluation
currently underway will document the process of community mobilization,
planning, and collaboration needed to develop a comprehensive,
collaborative approach to reducing juvenile gun violence.
The Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence program will be
carried out by the three current grantees. No additional applications
will be solicited in FY 1999.
Survey of School-Based Gang Prevention and Intervention Programs
Under a competitively awarded FY 1997 grant, this project is
classifying and describing approaches used by schools to prevent or
reduce gang involvement among students in a large sample of urban,
suburban, and rural schools. In addition, a search and review of
activities undertaken by States to identify and evaluate school-based
gang prevention and intervention programs will be completed. Based on a
review of programs identified in a national survey currently under way,
a small number of promising programs will be examined more closely and
described. Technical reports will describe the full range of gang
prevention and intervention currently being implemented in the United
States, and they will compare program types and quality of
implementation across different school levels and locations. A report
will highlight promising programs and practices and include guidelines
on program development.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee,
Gottfredson Associates, Inc. No additional
[[Page 37286]]
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Training and Technical Assistance for the Rural Gang Initiative
In FY 1998, OJJDP provided supplemental funding support to the
National Youth Gang Center to provide training and technical assistance
to demonstration sites under OJJDP's Rural Gang Initiative. In FY 1999,
training and technical assistance will continue to be provided to those
sites chosen to implement the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang model. Training
and technical assistance will focus on adapting the OJJDP model to
rural jurisdictions and on implementing the model in a theoretically
sound manner. Assistance will be delivered through onsite visits,
conferences, meetings, and other means such as telephone and electronic
media.
This initiative will be implemented by the current grantee, the
National Youth Gang Center. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Delinquency Prevention and Intervention
Advertising Campaign--Investing in Youth for a Safer Future
OJJDP will continue its support, which began in FY 1997, of the
National Crime Prevention Council's (NCPC's) ad campaign, ``Investing
in Youth for A Safer Future,'' through the transfer of funds to the
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under an Intra-agency Agreement.
OJJDP and BJA are working with the NCPC Media Unit to produce,
disseminate, and support effective public service advertising and
related media to inform the public of effective solutions to juvenile
crime and to motivate young people and adults to get involved and
support these solutions. The featured solutions include effective
prevention programs and intervention strategies.
The program will be administered by BJA through its existing grant
to NCPC. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Assessing Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Disorders
This project supplements an ongoing National Institute of Mental
Health study assessing alcohol, drug, and mental health disorders among
juveniles in detention in Cook County, Illinois. The project has three
primary goals: (1) To determine how alcohol, drug, and mental disorders
develop over time among juvenile detainees; (2) to investigate whether
juvenile detainees receive needed psychiatric services after their
cases reach disposition (and they are back in the community or serving
sentences); and (3) to study the development of dangerous and risky
behaviors. The study will investigate how violence, drug use, and HIV/
AIDS risk behaviors develop over time, what the antecedents of these
behaviors are, and how these behaviors are interrelated. This project
is unique because the sample is so large: it includes 1,833 youth from
Chicago who were arrested and interviewed between 1996 and 1998. The
sample is stratified by gender, race (African American, non-Hispanic
white, Hispanic), age (10-13, 14-17), and severity of charge. The
investigators will reinterview subjects whether they are back in the
community or incarcerated. Because the sample is so large, there will
be sufficient statistical power to study rarer disorders (especially
comorbidity), patterns of drug use, and risky, life-threatening
behaviors. OJJDP funding for this project began in FY 1998.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee,
Northwestern University. No additional applications will be solicited
in FY 1999.
The CETARY Project
The goals of this project are to provide 20 second-time juvenile
offenders, up to age 18, an opportunity to enroll in an intense and
structured culinary arts training program; develop and maintain linkage
and employment opportunities for the youth; and place a minimum of 18
youth in an accredited continuing education program and/or in the
workplace with full-time employment. Funded in FY 1998, the project
also provides a counseling specialist who helps the youth establish job
readiness and who coordinates placement between career development and
employment. General educational development (GED) classes are also
offered. Continuous progress evaluations and needs assessments are
implemented and enforced for each youth.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Johnson &
Wales University. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Communities In Schools--Federal Interagency Partnership
This program will continue an ongoing national school dropout
prevention model developed and implemented by Communities In Schools,
Inc. (CIS). CIS, Inc., provides training and technical assistance in
adapting and implementing the CIS model in States and local
communities. The model brings social, employment, mental health, drug
prevention, entrepreneurship, and other resources to high-risk youth
and their families in the school setting. Where they exist, CIS State
organizations assume primary responsibility for local program
replication during the Federal Interagency Partnership. The Partnership
is based on enhancing (1) CIS, Inc., training and technical assistance
capabilities; (2) its capability to introduce selected initiatives to
youth at the local level; (3) its information dissemination capability;
and (4) its capability to network with Federal agencies on behalf of
State and local CIS programs.
The program will be implemented by the current grantee, Communities
In Schools, Inc. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Community Anti-Drug Abuse Technical Assistance Voucher Project
Through the Community Anti-Drug Abuse Technical Assistance Voucher
Project, the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (NCNE) has
been awarding vouchers for several years to grassroots organizations to
purchase technical assistance and training to effectively address the
problem of juvenile drug abuse. NCNE has established a clearinghouse
featuring more than 1,200 promising and proven anti-drug programs. The
impact of technical assistance vouchers includes enhanced
organizational visibility, larger grant awards for indigenous groups,
and expanded and increased services resulting from technical assistance
in program development and staff training. In addition to awarding
vouchers for technical assistance, NCNE provides technical assistance
to applicants regarding the development of their mission, goals, and
objectives.
The Community Anti-Drug Abuse Technical Assistance Voucher Project
will be implemented by the current grantee, the National Center for
Neighborhood Enterprise. No additional applications will be solicited
in FY 1999.
The Congress of National Black Churches: National Anti-Drug Abuse/
Violence Campaign (NADVC)
The Congress of National Black Churches (CNBC) addresses the
problems of juvenile drug abuse, violence, and hate crime through its
national public awareness and mobilization strategy. The strategy
coordinates the black religious leadership, in cooperation with the
U.S. Department of Justice and other Federal agencies and
organizations, to mobilize
[[Page 37287]]
community residents to combat juvenile drug abuse and drug-related
violence. The CNBC National Anti-Drug Abuse/Violence Campaign (NADVC)
is a partner in the Education Development Center's (EDC) Juvenile Hate
Crime Initiative. NADVC's training and technical assistance have helped
sites leverage funds from public and private sources. The NADVC model
for the development of prevention programs is easily tailored to the
local community's assessment of its drug, delinquency, violence, and
hate crime problems.
The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Congress of National Black Churches. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
A Demonstration Afterschool Program
This project, known as Estrella, is using FY 1998 funds to design
and evaluate a pilot afterschool program to reduce juvenile delinquency
and increase educational retention at Gadsden Independent School
District in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Through a curriculum of hands-
on science and reading projects and supervised recreation, Estrella is
providing a constructive alternative to afternoons of unsupervised free
time. New Mexico Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (NM
MESA) will provide the academic component of the program. Middle school
students will mentor elementary students in a highly interactive
learning environment developed through the use of the nationally
recognized MESA curriculums. The New Mexico Police Athletic League
(PAL) will provide a sports component to round out the program. The
University of New Mexico's Institute for Social Research will evaluate
the program using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
University of New Mexico--Regents. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Diffusion of State Risk- and Protective-Factor Focused Prevention
Since FY 1997, OJJDP has provided funds to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse, through an interagency agreement, to support this 5-year
study of the public health approach to prevention, focusing on risk and
protective factors for substance abuse at the State and community
levels. The study will identify factors that influence the adoption of
the public health approach and assess the association between this
approach and the levels of risk and protective factors and substance
abuse among adolescents. The study will also examine State substance
abuse data gathered from 1988 through 2001 and use interviews to
describe the process of implementing the epidemiological risk-and
protective-factor approach in Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Maine,
Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the Social
Development Research Group at the University of Washington School of
Social Work. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Hate Crime
Under an OJJDP grant competitively awarded in FY 1993, the
Education Development Center (EDC) developed Healing the Hate, a
multipurpose curriculum for hate crime prevention in middle schools and
other classroom settings. OJJDP expanded this grant to allow EDC to
provide training and technical assistance to youth, educators, juvenile
justice and law enforcement professionals, and representatives of local
public/private community agencies and organizations and the faith
community. In FY 1999, EDC will expand its training and technical
assistance to new sites and further disseminate the products through
the education and juvenile justice networks. In addition, EDC will
provide onsite, short-term technical assistance to practitioners
interested in hate crime issues. EDC will also assist State juvenile
justice agencies to formulate hate crime prevention components for
their juvenile delinquency prevention plans.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, Education
Development Center. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Home Visitation
This program integrates prenatal and early childhood nurse home
visitation into five sites of Operation Weed and Seed (Clearwater,
Florida; Fresno, Los Angeles, and Oakland, CA; and Oklahoma City, OK)
and one SafeFutures site (St. Louis, MO). Operation Weed and Seed is a
national initiative to make communities safe through law enforcement
activities and to rebuild the community through social services and
economic redevelopment in crime-ridden communities across the country.
SafeFutures is an initiative to assist in implementing comprehensive
community programs designed to reduce youth violence, delinquency, and
victimization through the creation of a continuum of care in
communities. The nurse home visitation program addresses three major
goals: (1) Preparation of clear, comprehensive home visitation
materials to facilitate dissemination and accurate replication of the
program; (2) dissemination of the program to the six sites and
provision of technical support and training to local staff; and (3) an
evaluation of the program with a significant research focus on the
dissemination process.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
University of Colorado Health Services Center. No additional
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Multisite, Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
OJJDP will transfer funds under an interagency agreement with the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to support this research,
funded principally by NIMH. In 1992, NIMH began a study of the long-
term efficacy of stimulant medication and intensive behavioral and
educational treatment for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). Although ADHD is classified as a childhood disorder,
up to 70 percent of afflicted children continue to experience symptoms
in adolescence and adulthood. The study will continue through 2000 and
will follow the original families and a comparison group. OJJDP's
participation, which began in FY 1998, will allow for investigation
into the subjects' delinquent behavior and contact with the legal
system, including arrests and court referrals.
OJJDP will support this study through an interagency agreement with
NIMH. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
National Center for Conflict Resolution Education
Funded under a competitively awarded cooperative agreement in FY
1995, the National Center for Conflict Resolution Education works to
integrate conflict resolution education (CRE) programming into all
levels of education in schools, juvenile facilities, and youth-serving
organizations. In FY 1998, OJJDP entered into a partnership with the
U.S. Department of Education to expand and enhance this project. The
grantee provides training and technical assistance through onsite
training and consultation for teams from schools, communities, and
juvenile facilities; by providing resource materials including the
guide to implementing conflict resolution programs; and by partnering
with State-level agencies to establish
[[Page 37288]]
State training institutes and otherwise build local capacity to
implement successful CRE programs for youth. The Center also
facilitates peer-to-peer mentoring.
Additionally, the National Center for Conflict Resolution Education
has developed the interactive portion of a CD-ROM that is part of an
MTV campaign against violence. Through its Juvenile Justice
Clearinghouse, OJJDP is making available to MTV viewers 1 million free
copies of the CD-ROM/Action Guide package. The CD-ROM presents real-
life situations that confront young people and gives them the skills
needed to resolve conflicts peacefully. Besides OJJDP, the Bureau of
Justice Assistance and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program of the
U.S. Department of Education are providing funding for this MTV
project.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, Illinois
Institute for Dispute Resolution. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
No Hope in Dope Project
The goal of the No Hope in Dope (NHID) program, funded under an FY
1998 OJJDP grant, is to prevent, reduce, or delay the onset of
substance abuse in elementary, intermediate, and high school students
in Hawaii's Windward Oaho area. This goal will be accomplished by using
a community-based approach that makes antidrug norms clear, salient,
and useful as guides for behavior. The program uses opinion-leading
student athletes, the No Hope in Dope seminar, and the Officer Honolulu
Safety Program. NHID is a program of Project Hope in coordination with
the Kahuku and Castle School complexes of the Windward Oahu School
District and the Honolulu Police Department. The program will be
evaluated with a pre/post intervention design that will allow
conclusions about the effectiveness of this community-and school-level
intervention.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Operation
Hope. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Partnerships for Preventing Violence
This program will continue for a second year in a multiple funding
agreement among OJJDP, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to provide support for distance
training using satellite videconferencing as the medium. The project,
funded under a 3-year grant, consists of a series of six live,
interactive satellite training broadcasts that focus on violence
prevention programs and strategies that have proven promising or
effective. The training is targeted to school and community violence
prevention personnel, health care providers, law enforcement officials,
and other service providers representing a variety of community-based
and youth-serving organizations. To date, two events have been held;
the third telecast is scheduled for April 16, 1999.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, Harvard
University School of Public Health. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Proactive Youth Program
The New Mexico Police Activities League (PAL) is implementing a
statewide prevention project consisting of recreational, educational,
and cultural activities for families and youth between the ages of 5
and 18, but focused on at-risk youth and their families. The
Albuquerque PAL will provide the initial model for the organization and
implementation of the New Mexico PAL project. Local PAL programs will
be initiated in at least 12 other New Mexico communities. Schedules for
core programs will be coordinated, and a system of regional and
statewide activities will be established. The overall goal of the
project, which received an FY 1998 OJJDP grant, is to reduce negative
behavior and promote healthy behavioral patterns among New Mexico's
youth by providing activities that unite youth with law enforcement
officers, educators, and other positive adult role models.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
University of New Mexico--Regents. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Risk Reduction Via Promotion of Youth Development
This program, also known as Early Alliance, is a large-scale
prevention study involving hundreds of African-American and Caucasian
children in several elementary schools in lower socioeconomic
neighborhoods of Columbia, SC. This project is designed to promote
coping-competence and reduce risk for conduct problems, aggression,
substance use, delinquency and violence, and school failure beginning
in early elementary school. Children are being followed longitudinally
throughout the 5 years of the project. The program is funded through an
interagency agreement with the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH). NIMH's grantee is the University of South Carolina. Funding has
also been provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Funded initially in FY 1997 through a fund transfer to NIMH under
an interagency agreement, support will be continued for an additional 3
years. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
The SAGE Project and PRIDE Center Afterschool Program
The SAGE project is continuing development of a project to prevent
and reduce juvenile delinquency and school violence. The long-term goal
of the PRIDE Center is to provide a comprehensive, year-round juvenile
delinquency prevention and intervention program that supports the youth
objectives of the SAGE Secondary School and the youth and community
objectives of the SAGE project as a whole. Under an FY 1998 grant, the
project is providing the collaborating organizations with the means to
(1) Expand and enhance adult-mentored and supervised, structured
educational opportunities to court-involved and high-risk youth; (2)
involve additional city agencies and community-based organizations
through the PRIDE Center; and (3) continue to evaluate and disseminate
findings on the project's success for replication in other urban areas.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee,
Springfield College. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Strengthening Services for Chemically Involved Children, Youth, and
Families
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS)
provide services to children affected by parental substance use or
abuse. OJJDP administers this training and technical assistance
program, which began in FY 1998, with funds transferred to OJJDP by
HHS's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
through a cooperative agreement to the Child Welfare League of America
(CWLA), a nonprofit organization. CWLA is assisting child welfare
personnel to provide appropriate intervention services for children
impacted by the abuse of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and for their
caregivers. CWLA is producing a s comprehensive assessment tool and
decisionmaking guidelines for child welfare workers and supervisors.
CWLA training and technical assistance will help to develop innovative
and effective approaches to meeting the needs of children in the
[[Page 37289]]
child welfare system whose parents are AOD abusers.
This jointly funded project will be implemented by CWLA. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Technical Assistance to Title V
The purpose of this continuation contract is to provide OJJDP with
training support for the Title V program. This training, which the
grantee has developed and refined over several years, will continue to
introduce key community leaders to data-based risk-and resiliency-
focused delinquency prevention strategies and provide localities with
the knowledge and skills to assess risk factors and resources in their
communities. This contract will also increase the capacity of States to
conduct data-based risk and resiliency focused training without Federal
support.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee,
Developmental Research and Programs, Inc. No additional applications
will be solicited in FY 1999.
Training and Technical Assistance for Family Strengthening Programs
OJJDP will continue funding a cooperative agreement competitively
awarded in FY 1995 to the University of Utah's Department of Health
Education (DHE) to provide training and technical assistance to
communities interested in establishing or enhancing a continuum of
family strengthening efforts. After a literature review, the grantee
convened regional training conferences to showcase selected exemplary
and promising family strengthening programs; developed a process for
sites to receive followup training on specific program models;
conducted program-specific workshops; produced and then updated user
and training-of-trainers guides; and distributed videos of several
family strengthening workshops. The grantee's technical assistance
delivery system and the overall impact of the project are being
assessed. In FY 1999, this program will expand its surveys and research
on effective practices and assist in replication of identified
programs.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
University of Utah's DHE. No additional applications will be solicited
in FY 1999.
Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System
Balanced and Restorative Justice Project (BARJ)
OJJDP has supported development and improvement of juvenile
restitution programs since 1977. The purpose of the BARJ project is to
enhance the development of restitution programs as part of systemwide
juvenile justice improvement using balanced approach concepts and
restorative justice principles. The BARJ program model was first
described in a 1994 OJJDP Program Summary, Balanced and Restorative
Justice, which became a reference source for BARJ training. The BARJ
project has provided intensive training, technical assistance, and
guideline materials to three selected sites (Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania; Dakota County, Minnesota; and West Palm Beach County,
Florida), which have been implementing major systemic change in
accordance with the BARJ model. The BARJ Project also offers technical
assistance and training to other jurisdictions nationwide.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Florida
Atlantic University. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Training and Technical Assistance
OJJDP will continue to fund an FY 1998 cooperative agreement with
the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the
University of Colorado. Under this grant, CSPV provides intensive
training and technical assistance to community organizations and units
of local government to replicate 10 ``Blueprint'' model programs. These
are programs that CSPV identified as meeting a rigorous scientific
standard of proven program effectiveness and replicability for reducing
adolescent violence, crime, and substance abuse. CSPV will help
communities determine the feasibility of program development and also
monitor and assist in the replication of these Blueprint programs for 2
years.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, CSPV. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Building Blocks for Youth
The goals of this initiative are to protect minority youth in the
justice system and promote rational and effective juvenile justice
policies. These goals are accomplished by the following components: (1)
Conducting research on issues such as the impact on minority youth of
new State laws and the implications of privatization of juvenile
facilities by profit-making corporations; (2) undertaking an analysis
of decisionmaking in the justice system and development of model
decisionmaking criteria that reduce or eliminate disproportionate
impact of the system on minority youth; (3) building a constituency for
change at the national, State, and local levels; and (4) developing
communication strategies for dissemination of information. A fifth
component, direct advocacy for minority youth is funded by other
sources, not by OJJDP. Funding by OJJDP began in FY 1998.
This initiative will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Youth Law Center. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
In FY 1998, the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP)
replaced the biennial Census of Public and Private Juvenile Detention,
Correctional, and Shelter Facilities, known as the Children in Custody
census. CJRP collects detailed information on the population of
juveniles who are in juvenile residential placement facilities as a
result of contact with the juvenile justice system. New methods
developed for CJRP are expected to produce more accurate, timely, and
useful data on the juvenile population, with less reporting burden for
facility respondents.
This program will be implemented through an existing interagency
agreement with the Bureau of the Census. No additional applications
will be solicited in FY 1999.
Circles of Care Program
In FY 1998, OJJDP and the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
entered into an interagency agreement to have OJJDP provide support to
the Circles of Care Program, which CMHS had developed. OJJDP
transferred funds to CMHS to support the funding of an additional site.
The Circles of Care Program is designed to facilitate the planning and
implementation of a continuum of care for Native American youth at risk
of mental health, substance abuse, and delinquency problems. CMHS
funded nine sites in FY 1998 and will continue these sites in FY 1999,
based on availability of funds and project performance. OJJDP will
transfer additional funds in FY 1999 to continue support for this
program.
The currently funded projects will continue in FY 1999. No new
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Development of the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and
Chronic Juvenile Offenders
OJJDP has been providing support for development of its
Comprehensive Strategy for several years. This project will complete
ongoing strategic
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planning efforts in six States and expand to two additional States,
Oregon and Wisconsin. In each State, up to six jurisdictions have been
identified to receive Comprehensive Strategy planning training and
technical assistance. OJJDP internal technical assistance capacity will
be developed during this time to further assist States through training
and technical assistance, including States planning on developing a
Comprehensive Strategy planning framework. Implementation support will
be developed and provided to the six States and one pilot site
scheduled to complete Comprehensive Strategy plans in 1999. Further
development and updates of the Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive
Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders will also
occur in FY 1999.
This project will be implemented by the current grantees, the
National Council on Crime and Delinquency and Developmental Research
and Programs, Inc. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Evaluation of the Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Program
In FY 1995, OJJDP competitively awarded a grant to the National
Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) to perform a process evaluation
and design an outcome evaluation of the Intensive Community-Based
Aftercare Demonstration and Technical Assistance program. In FY 1998,
the project was supplemented and extended for an additional 2 years to
continue the outcome evaluation. The outcome evaluation seeks to
determine the extent of the differences between the Intensive
Community-Based Aftercare Program (IAP) participants and the
``regular'' parolees, the supervision and services provided to both
groups, and the cost-effectiveness of IAP. Data collection is being
accomplished using several methods including searches of State police
records to measure recidivism and analyzing State agency and juvenile
court data to estimate costs.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, NCCD. No
additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Evaluation of Teen Courts
This project, which OJJDP began in FY 1997, is measuring the effect
of handling young, relatively nonserious law violators in teen courts
rather than in traditional juvenile or family courts. Researchers are
collecting data on several dimensions of program outcomes, including
postprogram recidivism, changes in teens' perceptions of justice, and
their ability to make more mature judgements. Analyses of these
dimensions will be used to compare youth handled in at least three
separate teen court programs with those processed by the traditional
juvenile justice system. In addition, the study will conduct a process
evaluation of the teen court programs, exploring legal, administrative,
and case processing factors that affect the ability of the programs to
achieve their goals.
This evaluation will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Urban Institute. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Gender-Specific Programming for Female Juvenile Offenders
Using a FY 1995 competitive OJJDP grant, Cook County has built a
network of support for juvenile female offenders. The county has
developed gender-specific needs, strengths, and risk assessments for
juvenile female offenders; provided training in implementing gender-
appropriate programming; and designed a pilot program with a community-
based continuum of care and a unique case management system. In FY
1998, OJJDP provided continuation funding to the Cook County gender-
specific program and began providing funding to the State of
Connecticut to develop specialized programs for girls from prevention
to detention. Connecticut's objectives and activities also include
planning, implementing, and demonstrating a program that will develop a
hierarchy of sanctions with specific emphasis on females up to age 18
and incorporating systemic changes. The primary emphasis of the
Connecticut program is on the needs of pregnant girls and those who are
mothers. Technical assistance is being provided to both Cook County and
the State of Connecticut by Greene, Peters, and Associates, OJJDP's
gender-specific training and technical assistance grantee.
The project will be implemented, in partnership with the Bureau of
Justice Assistance, by the current grantee, the Cook County Bureau of
Public Safety and Judicial Coordination, and by the State of
Connecticut's Office of Alternative Sanctions. No additional
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical
Assistance Program
This initiative supports implementation, training and technical
assistance, and an independent evaluation of an intensive community-
based aftercare model in three competitively selected demonstration
sites. The overall goal of the intensive aftercare model is to identify
and assist high-risk juvenile offenders to make a gradual transition
from secure confinement back into the community. The Intensive
Aftercare Program (IAP) model has three distinct, yet overlapping
segments: (1) Prerelease and preparatory planning activities during
incarceration; (2) structured transitioning involving the participation
of institutional and aftercare staffs both prior to and following
community reentry; and (3) long-term reintegrative activities to ensure
adequate service delivery and the required level of social control. The
grantee provides continuing training and technical assistance to
administrators, managers, and line staff at the intensive community-
based aftercare sites. The grant was competitively awarded in FY 1995.
The IAP project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Johns Hopkins University. No additional applications will be solicited
in FY 1999.
Intensive Treatment Family Programs (ITF)
The purpose of KidsPeace is to provide individualized foster care
(IFC) to seriously disturbed children and adolescents in a therapeutic
family setting. KidsPeace will expand its program to additional sites,
with the assistance of OJJDP's funding, first provided in FY 1997.
KidsPeace has established four sites (Union, New Jersey; Orchard Park
and Albany, New York; and Muncie, Indiana). A fifth site is currently
under development.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, KidsPeace
National Centers for Kids in Crisis of North America. No additional
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Unit
Under an FY 1996 OJJDP grant, the American Prosecutors Research
Institute, the research and technical assistance affiliate of the
National District Attorneys Association, established the Juvenile
Justice Prosecution Unit (JJPU) to promote prosecutor training. JJPU
holds workshops on juvenile-related policy, leadership, and management
for chief prosecutors and juvenile unit chiefs and also provides
prosecutors with background information on juvenile justice issues,
programs, training, and technical assistance. The project solicits
planning and other advisory input from prosecutors familiar with
juvenile
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justice system and prosecutor needs. It draws on the expertise of
working groups of elected or appointed prosecutors and juvenile unit
chiefs to support project staff in providing technical assistance,
juvenile justice-related research, program information, and training to
practitioners nationwide.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
American Prosecutors Research Institute. No additional applications
will be solicited in FY 1999.
Juvenile Residential Facility Census
As part of a long-term relationship with the Bureau of the Census,
OJJDP will continue to fund the development and testing of a new census
of juvenile residential facilities. This census will focus on those
facilities that are authorized to hold juveniles based on contact with
the juvenile justice system. From interviews with facility
administrators and staff at 20 locations, project staff have produced a
detailed report discussing how best to capture information on
education, mental health and substance abuse treatment, health
services, conditions of custody, staffing, and facility capacity.
Project staff have also drafted and tested a questionnaire based on the
interview results. The questionnaire will be finalized in 1999. The
first full implementation will take place in October 2000.
This project will be conducted through an interagency agreement
with the Bureau of the Census, Governments Division and Statistical
Research Division. No new applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Juvenile Sex Offender Typology
In FY 1998, OJJDP competitively funded two feasibility studies in
an effort to develop a juvenile sex offender typology. One study is
being conducted by the University of Illinois-Springfield, the other by
Health Related Research. Efforts to effectively address issues related
to juvenile sex offenders' dangerousness, the most appropriate level of
placement restrictiveness, the potential for rehabilitation, assessment
requirements, and intervention needs have been hampered by the lack of
an empirically based system for classifying this heterogeneous
population into meaningful subgroups. These initial studies will
determine specific methodologies best suited to generate an empirically
validated typology of the juvenile sex offender. Based on the results
of these initial studies, OJJDP will determine the feasibility of
developing a juvenile sex offender typology or the desirability of
continuing in the specific directions suggested by Phase I of this
work.
An expansion of this work will be implemented by one or both of the
current grantees, University of Illinois-Springfield and Health Related
Research. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Juvenile Transfers to Criminal Court Studies
This study explores the impact of the 1994 changes in Florida law
by contrasting transfer policies and practices and sentences received
for 1993 with those for 1995. Postsentencing recidivism of the 400
transferred youth in 1993 will be examined. Detailed data on the role
of the offender in the commission of the offense; the involvement of
gangs, guns, and drugs; and prior offense histories will be used in
analyzing sentencing outcomes and postrelease offending. Predictions
will be made on rearrest and time to failure in multivariate models
with variables reflecting characteristics of offenses, offenders, and
offense histories. Cross-group recidivism analyses are planned to
compare the recidivism of youth transferred to adult court with that of
those retained in the juvenile justice system.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, the Florida
Juvenile Justice Accountability Board. No additional applications will
be solicited in FY 1999.
Linking Balanced and Restorative Justice and Adolescents (LIBRA)
The goal of this program is to continue development of a
comprehensive, integrated, balanced and restorative system of justice
for youthful offenders that holds them accountable to victims, protects
the community, builds offender skills and competencies, and offers
opportunities for positive connections to community members. OJJDP
funding for the program began in FY 1998. To hold youth accountable,
the project will establish a network of accountability boards. The
project will also pilot Community Justice Centers, which will
demonstrate that the community is the core of the justice process and
recognizes youth as a vital part of the community.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. No additional
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
National Academy of Sciences Study of Juvenile Justice
In FY 1997, OJJDP initiated support for a 2-year study by the
National Academy of Sciences to draw upon expertise from relevant
disciplines in the scientific and practitioner communities to develop a
synthesis of the relevant scientific research and expert opinion
regarding the prevention, treatment, and control of juvenile crime.
Following an examination of empirical and clinical research relevant to
the origin of and pathways to youth violence and justice system
treatment of juveniles, the review will be supplemented by two
workshops and site visits to selected programs. These activities will
help to identify (1) the elements of settings, with a particular
emphasis on family and school, that inhibit or contribute to the ways
in which serious delinquency develops; (2) juvenile and criminal
justice system concerns regarding the shifts in youth crime prevention
and control policies; and (3) juvenile violence and policing practices
in public and federally assisted housing. The study will identify key
elements of current efforts and policies that appear to either
contribute to or inhibit the development of effective interventions and
control mechanisms for youth violence and delinquency. The project is
also being supported by the U.S. Department of Education.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
National Academy of Sciences. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
National Juvenile Justice Program Directory
In FY 1995, OJJDP initiated development of this program directory.
To conduct its statistical functions, OJJDP must maintain a current and
accurate list of all entities surveyed either in the various censuses
or in surveys. This list currently entails a complete list of juvenile
residential facilities and a list of juvenile probation offices. As
OJJDP expands its statistical work, it will need to expand this listing
as well. The list needs to contain contact information for the various
facilities or agencies and appropriate information for sampling.
This project will be conducted through an interagency agreement
with the Bureau of the Census, Governments Division. No additional
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
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The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97
OJJDP will continue supporting the second round of data collection
under the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 (NLSY97) through an
interagency agreement with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). OJJDP
funding began in FY 1997. NLSY97 is studying school-to-work transition
in a nationally representative sample of 8,700 youth ages 12 to 16
years old. BLS is also collecting data on the involvement of these
youth in antisocial and other behavior that may affect their transition
to productive work careers. This survey provides information about risk
and protective factors related to the initiation, persistence, and
desistance of delinquent and criminal behavior and provides an
opportunity to determine the generalizability of findings from OJJDP's
Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency and
other longitudinal studies across a nationally representative
population of youth.
The program will be implemented by the BLS under an interagency
agreement. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Performance-Based Standards for Juvenile Correction and Detention
Facilities
This program, which began with a competitive OJJDP cooperative
agreement awarded in FY 1995, is in its third phase. Goals for this
phase are to (1) introduce concepts, tools, and principles of
performance-based standards and accountability in 25 to 30 facilities
nationwide; (2) complete the collection of baseline measures of
performance on 22 standards covering six critical areas of facility
operations in all participating facilities using uniform data
collection instruments and protocols; (3) assist the management team in
developing appropriate strategies to respond to problem areas based on
the performance data; (4) facilitate access to OJJDP/OJP resources for
training and technical assistance and related support services needed
to carry out the facility improvement plan; (5) monitor results of
interventions through reassessment and analysis of progress; and (6)
refine the measurement processes and build database performance
benchmarks.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, Council of
Juvenile Correctional Administrators. No additional applications will
be solicited in FY 1999.
Quantum Opportunities Program (QOP) Evaluation
OJJDP will continue funding an impact evaluation of the Quantum
Opportunities Program (QOP) through an interagency fund transfer to the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). OJJDP began funding this evaluation in
FY 1997. QOP, designed by the Ford Foundation and Opportunities
Industrialization Centers of America, is a career enrichment program
using a model providing basic education, personal and cultural
development, community service, and mentoring. The evaluation will
determine whether QOP reduces the likelihood that inner-city youth at
educational risk will enter the criminal or juvenile justice system.
Outcomes to be examined include academic achievement in high school;
misbehavior in school; self-esteem and sense of control over one's
life; educational and career goals; and personal decisions such as
teenage parenthood, substance abuse, and criminal activity. Data on
criminal activity are being collected from individual student
interviews.
This program will be implemented through an interagency agreement
with the U.S. Department of Labor. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Survey of Juvenile Probation
OJJDP will continue to support development of a survey of juvenile
probation offices in an effort to determine the number of juveniles
under some form of community supervision. The exact nature and extent
of this survey depends greatly on the results of various development
efforts OJJDP is pursuing currently. This project will fund the Bureau
of the Census to establish standard procedures for the implementation
of this survey. Funding for this project began in FY 1996.
This project will be conducted through an interagency agreement
with the Bureau of the Census, Governments Division. No new
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Technical Assistance to Juvenile Corrections and Detention (The James
E. Gould Memorial Program)
The primary purpose of this program is to provide specialized
technical assistance to juvenile corrections, detention, and community
residential service providers. The grantee also plans and convenes an
annual Juvenile Corrections and Detention Forum, which provides an
opportunity for juvenile corrections and detention leaders to meet and
discuss issues, problems, and solutions to emerging corrections and
detention problems. The grantee also provides workshops and conferences
on current and emerging national issues in the field of juvenile
corrections and detention, conducts surveys, and offers technical
assistance through document dissemination. OJJDP will continue this
program, which began in FY 1995 under competitive grant for a 3-year
period.
The project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
American Correctional Association. No additional applications will be
solicited in FY 1999.
Technical Assistance to Native Americans
The goal of this program is to build the capacity of the Gila River
Indian community, the Pueblo of Jemez, the Navajo Nation, the Red Band
of Chippewa Indians, other Native American and Alaskan Native
communities, and urban jurisdictions where tribal people reside to
address Indian youth crime, delinquency, violence and victimization.
Project funds support the development of comprehensive, systemwide
responses to these problems in tribal communities. In FY 1999, OJJDP
will continue to provide technical assistance to Native Americans to
enable tribes to further develop alternatives to detention,
specifically targeting juveniles who are first or nonviolent offenders;
design guidebooks for the tribal peacemaking process to be used in
addressing juvenile delinquency issues that are reported to Family
District Court systems; design and implement juvenile justice needs
assessments to assist tribes in responding to juvenile detention and
alternatives to detention needs; develop protocols to implement State
Children's Code provisions that affect Native American Children; and
establish sustainable, comprehensive community-based planning processes
that focus on the needs of tribal youth. In FY 1997, American Indian
Development Associates (AIDA) was selected to implement OJJDP's
national technical assistance program for tribes and urban tribal
programs across the country for a 3-year period.
This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the
American Indian Development Associates. No additional applications will
be solicited in FY 1999.
TeenSupreme Career Preparation Initiative
In FY 1998, OJJDP, in partnership with the U.S. Department of
Labor's
[[Page 37293]]
(DOL's) Employment and Training Administration, provided funding
support to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for demonstration and
evaluation of the TeenSupreme Career Preparation Initiative. This
initiative provides employment training and other related services to
at-risk youth through local Boys & Girls Clubs with TeenSupreme
Centers. In FY 1998, DOL funds supported program staffing in the
existing 41 TeenSupreme Centers, provided intensive training and
technical assistance to each site, and provided administrative and
staffing support to this program from the national office. OJJDP funds
supported the evaluation component of the program, which is to be
implemented by an independent evaluator.
This jointly funded Department of Labor and OJJDP initiative will
be implemented by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. No additional
applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Training and Technical Assistance for National Innovations To Reduce
Disproportionate Minority Confinement (The Deborah Ann Wysinger
Memorial Program)
In FY 1997, recognizing the continued need to improve the ability
of States and local jurisdictions to address disproportionate
confinement of minority juveniles, OJJDP awarded a competitive grant to
Cygnus Corporation to implement a 3-year national training, technical
assistance, and information dissemination initiative. Since the 1988
reauthorization of the JJDP Act, State Formula Grants program plans
have addressed disproportionate minority confinement (DMC). OJJDP's DMC
funding efforts have included a competitive award to demonstrate model
approaches in five State pilot sites (Arizona, Florida, Iowa, North
Carolina, and Oregon) and an award to a national contractor to provide
technical assistance to the pilot sites and other States. In addition,
OJJDP made funds available to nonpilot States that had completed data
gathering and assessment to use for innovative DMC projects.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Cygnus
Corporation, Inc. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Training and Technical Support for State and Local Jurisdictional Teams
To Focus on Juvenile Corrections and Detention Overcrowding
Through systemic change within local juvenile detention systems or
statewide juvenile corrections systems, this project seeks to reduce
overcrowding in facilities where juveniles are held. Competitively
awarded in FY 1994 to the National Juvenile Detention Association
(NJDA), in partnership with the San Francisco Youth Law Center, the
project provides training and technical assistance materials for use by
State and local jurisdictional teams. NJDA selected three jurisdictions
(Camden, New Jersey; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Rhode Island
Juvenile Corrections System) for onsite development, implementation,
and testing of procedures to reduce crowding. Of the original sites
selected, Oklahoma City has completed its work. The grantee is
exploring additional sites for comprehensive training and technical
assistance in FY 1999.
This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the
National Juvenile Detention Association. No additional applications
will be solicited in FY 1999.
Child Abuse and Neglect and Dependency Courts
National Evaluation of the Safe Kids/Safe Streets Program
OJJDP will continue funding the grant competitively awarded in FY
1997 to Westat, Inc., Rockville, MD, for a national evaluation to
document and explicate the process of community mobilization, planning,
and collaboration that has taken place before and during the Safe Kids/
Safe Streets awards; to inform program staff of performance levels on
an ongoing basis; and to determine the effectiveness of the implemented
programs in achieving the goals of the Safe Kids/Safe Streets program.
The initial 18-month grant began a process evaluation and determined
the feasibility of an impact evaluation.
This evaluation will be implemented by the current grantee, Westat,
Inc. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 1999.
Safe Kids/Safe Streets: Community Approaches to Reducing Abuse and
Neglect and Preventing Delinquency
This 5\1/2\ year demonstration program is designed to foster
coordinated community responses to child abuse and neglect. Several
components of the Office of Justice Programs joined in FY 1996 to
develop this coordinated program response to break the cycle of early
childhood victimization and later criminality and to reduce child abuse
and neglect and resulting child fatalities. OJJDP awarded competitive
cooperative agreements in FY 1997 to five sites (National Children's
Advocacy Center, Huntsville, Alabama; the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Heart of America United
Way, Kansas City, Missouri; Toledo Hospital Children's Medical Center,
Toledo, Ohio; and the Community Network for Children, Youth and Family
Services, Chittenden County, Vermont). Funds were provided by OJJDP,
the Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and the Violence Against Women
Grants Office.
In FY 1999, continuation awards will be made to each of the current
demonstration sites. No additional applications will be solicited in FY
1999.
Dated: June 29, 1999.
Shay Bilchik,
Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
[FR Doc. 99-17390 Filed 7-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P