[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79674-79696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32094]



[[Page 79673]]

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Part IV





Department of Justice





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Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention



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Comprehensive Program Plan for Fiscal Year 2001; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65 , No. 244 / Tuesday, December 19, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 79674]]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

[OJP (OJJDP)-1297]


Comprehensive Program Plan for Fiscal Year 2001

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of final program plan for fiscal year 2001.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is 
publishing this notice of its Final Program Plan for fiscal year (FY) 
2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eileen M. Garry, Acting Deputy 
Administrator, State, Local, and Tribal Grants and Child Protection 
Division/Director, Information Dissemination and Planning Unit, at 202-
307-0751. [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 Acting 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) 2001 under 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 
(published on September 26, 2000, at 65 FR 57912) by November 13, 2000. 
The Acting Administrator analyzed the public comments received, and the 
comments and OJJDP's responses are provided below. The Acting 
Administrator took these comments into consideration in developing this 
Final Comprehensive Plan describing the particular program activities 
that OJJDP intends to fund during FY 2001, using in whole or in part 
funds appropriated under Parts C and D of Title II of the JJDP Act.
    OJJDP acknowledged in the Proposed Plan that at the time of 
publication its FY 2001 appropriation was not yet final. OJJDP 
indicated that depending on the outcome of these legislative actions, 
it might alter how its programs are structured and make any necessary 
modifications in the Final Plan following the public comment period. 
This Final Plan responds to and is consistent with the public comments 
on the Proposed Plan.
    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.

Background

    In developing its program plan for Parts C and D each year, OJJDP 
takes into consideration the latest available data on U.S. juvenile 
crime and victimization and views these statistics in relation to those 
of recent years. In 1999, the Nation experienced its fifth consecutive 
year of an unprecedented drop in the rate of juvenile arrests for a 
violent offense. Violent offenses include murder, forcible rape, 
robbery, and aggravated assault. These offenses constitute the FBI's 
Violent Crime Index offenses. The rate of juvenile arrests for these 
offenses in 1999 was at its lowest level since 1988-36 percent below 
the peak year of 1994 (compare 339 arrests per 100,000 youth in 1999 
versus 512 in 1994 and 327 in 1988). (For more information, see the 
OJJDP Bulletin Juvenile Arrests 1999 (in press) by Howard N. Snyder. 
Copies of this publication and others cited in this Final Program Plan 
are available from OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-
8736 or online at OJJDP's Web site at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.)
    The rate of youth victimization has followed similar patterns as 
that of youth offending. From 1973 (when the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics began collecting victimization statistics) to 1988, the 
victimization rate for all persons remained fairly stable. Starting in 
1988, the rate of victimization for youth ages 12 to 15 and ages 16 to 
19 began an unprecedented increase. In that year, the rate for 12- to 
15-year-olds was 83.7 per 100,000, and for 16- to 19-year-olds, it was 
98.2 per 100,000. By 1994, when the rates peaked, it was 118.6 per 
100,000 for 12- to 15-year-olds and 123.9 per 100,00 for 16- to 19-
year-olds. In the following 5 years, however, both rates began a 
precipitous decline, resulting in rates comparable to those of the 
early 1980's. In 1999, the rate for the younger age group (12-15) was 
74.5 per 100,000 and for older juveniles (16-19) was 77.6 per 100,000.
    The social conditions facing youth have also changed. According to 
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2000, a 
publication of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family 
Statistics, the poverty rate of children dropped to 18 percent in 1998 
from its high of 22 percent in 1993. Deaths among adolescents age 15 to 
19 continued to decline. In 1997, the mortality rate of this age group 
was 75 per 100,000, compared with the high of 89 per 100,000 seen in 
1991. Declines in deaths from firearm injuries between 1994 and 1997 
contributed to this drop. Since 1993, the rate of juvenile violent 
victimization has decreased from 44 victims per 1,000 juveniles ages 
12-17 to 25 per 1,000. This decrease was present for virtually every 
demographic category.
    On the other hand, many negative social indicators have remained at 
high levels. From 1980 to 1998, the percent of young adults ages 18 to 
24 who had completed high school remained relatively flat at 85 
percent. The prevalence of heavy drinking among adolescents has 
remained constant as has the prevalence of regular cigarette smoking. 
Illegal drug use among 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students has not 
changed from 1998 to 1999. In fact, although drug use among 12th 
graders had declined in the 1980's, since 1992, illicit drug use has 
increased among this population. (For more information, see America's 
Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2000.)
    Although the arrest rates for juveniles have dropped, the juvenile 
justice system still must deal with a very heavy caseload of juvenile 
offenders. In 1997, the juvenile justice system held 105,790 
individuals for offenses in residential facilities throughout the 
country. Although not strictly comparable to past numbers (because of 
different data collection methods), this number indicates an increase 
over the approximately 94,500 offenders held in residential placement 
in 1995. The Nation's juvenile courts handled 1.76 million delinquency 
cases in 1997. While this number had remained stable since 1996, it 
represented a 48-percent increase over the 1988 caseload. In 1997, 
juvenile courts sentenced 179,800 youth to out-of-home placement and 
another 645,600 to probation. The proportion of all cases in the courts 
receiving such dispositions did not change much from 1988 to 1997 
(fluctuating mildly in the intervening years). However, by 1997 
juvenile courts were sentencing more youth than ever to these 
dispositions because of the increase in the total number of cases 
handled. The benefits of a decreased arrest rate have yet to filter 
through the system to decrease rates of incarceration or probation.
    Because of the dramatic changes in juvenile arrests and the state 
of youth in

[[Page 79675]]

the country, concerns about the juvenile justice system have shifted 
over the past decade. While at the beginning of the 1990's some 
predicted a plague of violence caused by juveniles, the Nation now 
faces quite a different situation as a new millennium dawns. Today the 
challenge is to find solutions to a different set of related issues 
such as drug dependency, mental health care, and a large residential 
population of juvenile offenders. The decrease in juvenile arrests is 
not a signal to become lax in attending to the problems of youth. 
Instead, it should be considered a sign of encouragement to continue 
emphasizing the beneficial programs and the effective intervention 
efforts currently under way.
    The causes of the downward trends in juvenile violence are complex. 
Current research cannot yet say with certainty what combination of 
programs and social factors led to this decline. However, national 
statistics and research point to community policing, gun violence 
prevention programs, gang intervention, school safety efforts, and 
prevention programs such as mentoring as effective factors in reducing 
juvenile violence and victimization. OJJDP will continue support of 
innovative programs, evaluation of these and other programs, research, 
and national data collection. With the results of these efforts, 
policymakers and practitioners will be in a better position to make 
informed choices in their mix of programs and approaches to best serve 
their communities. Their efforts will help to reinforce the existing 
trends away from juvenile violence and delinquency, and OJJDP is 
committed to continuing to support their work.
    OJJDP's Final Program Plan for Fiscal Year 2001 focuses on 
solidifying the gains achieved in reducing the rate of juvenile 
arrests. It continues to emphasize programs that provide an environment 
for youth that encourages prosocial development. The Final Program Plan 
contains research and program evaluation projects that expand an 
understanding of why the final years of the 1990's were so beneficial 
for youth. It expands efforts to enhance the capacity of the juvenile 
justice system as a whole to make the right decisions for youth.
    In this Final Comprehensive Plan, OJJDP describes its priorities 
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 
constitute part, but not all, of OJJDP's overall responsibilities, 
which 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.
    Under Part C of Title II of the JJDP Act, OJJDP funds Special 
Emphasis programs and--through its National Institute for Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention--numerous research, evaluation, 
statistics, demonstration, training and technical assistance, and 
information dissemination activities. OJJDP funds 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. 
OJJDP also coordinates Federal activities related to juvenile justice 
and delinquency prevention through the Concentration of Federal Efforts 
Program and serves as the staff agency for the Coordinating Council on 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; both of these activities 
are authorized in Part A of Title II of the JJDP Act. Another OJJDP 
responsibility under the JJDP Act is to administer the Title IV Missing 
and Exploited Children's Program.
    Other programs administered by OJJDP include the Drug Prevention 
Program, the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Program, the Safe Schools 
Initiative, the Tribal Youth Program, the Safe Start: Children Exposed 
to Violence Initiative, and the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block 
Grants program. OJJDP also administers programs under the Victims of 
Child Abuse Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 13001 et seq.
    OJJDP focuses its funding and support activities 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 collecting data and statistics to determine 
the extent and nature of issues affecting juveniles; supporting 
research studies that can lead to program demonstrations; testing and 
evaluating demonstration projects; sharing lessons learned from the 
field with practitioners through a range of information dissemination 
vehicles; providing seed money to States and local governments through 
formula and block grants to implement programs, 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.
    As noted previously, OJJDP is a component of the Office of Justice 
Programs (OJP). This Department of Justice agency emphasizes the 
importance of coordination among its components and with other Federal 
agencies whenever possible in order to obtain maximum results from OJP 
programs and initiatives. OJJDP's coordination efforts include joint 
funding, interagency agreements, and partnerships to develop, 
implement, and evaluate projects. This Final Program Plan reflects 
OJJDP's coordination efforts. For a more complete picture of OJP 
program activities that affect the field of juvenile justice, readers 
are encouraged to review the Office of Justice Programs Fiscal Year 
2001 Program Plan when it becomes available. (Readers should check the 
OJP Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov periodically for an announcement of 
the availability of the OJP Program Plan.)

Fiscal Year 2001 Program Planning Activities

    The OJJDP program planning process for FY 2001 was coordinated with 
the Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, 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.

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     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 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 2001, either within an existing 
project period or through an extension for an additional project or 
budget 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 are expected to receive Part C or Part D FY 2001 continuation 
funding under project period or discretionary continuation assistance 
awards. The Final Program Plan also describes new program areas that 
OJJDP is considering for new awards under Part C or Part D in FY 2001. 
This plan does not include descriptions of other OJJDP programs, 
including mentoring programs under Part G of Title II of the JJDP Act, 
the Drug Prevention Program, the Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws 
Program, the Safe Schools Initiative, the Tribal Youth Program, the 
Safe Start: Children Exposed to Violence Initiative, and the Juvenile 
Accountability Incentive Block Grants program. When appropriate, OJJDP 
issues separate solicitations for applications for funding for these or 
other programs that are not authorized under Parts C and D. Readers 
interested in learning about all OJJDP funding opportunities are 
encouraged to call OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-
8736 or visit OJJDP's Web site at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org and click on 
``Grants & Funding.''
    Consideration for continuation funding for an additional project 
period for previously funded discretionary grant programs will be based 
on 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 2001 
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. Sec. 5665a, the competitive process for the award of 
Part C funds is not required if the (Acting) 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. Sec. 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.

Summary of Public Comments on the Proposed Comprehensive Plan for 
Fiscal Year 2001

    OJJDP published its Proposed Comprehensive Plan for FY 2001 in the 
Federal Register (Vol. 65, No. 187) on September 26, 2000, for a 45-day 
public comment period. OJJDP received six letters commenting on the 
Proposed Plan. Each letter had just one signature. These comments have 
been considered in the development of OJJDP's Final Comprehensive Plan 
for Fiscal Year 2001.
    All comments received are summarized below together with OJJDP's 
responses. To avoid needless repetition in this summary, all comments 
on a particular program or area of programming are summarized in one 
comment paragraph and followed by a single OJJDP response, which 
applies to all the comments on that topic.
    Comment: Two individuals commented on the sixth area of new 
programming (``Studying Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol 
Effects (FAE)'') in the Proposed Program Plan. One writer, a scientist 
associated with a school of medicine, endorsed OJJDP's proposal to 
support studies to assess the rate of FAS and FAE in youth in the 
juvenile justice system, to determine what services are available, to 
develop screening and individualized case management, and to plan to 
better serve youth affected by FAS/FAE. He stressed the importance of 
this issue, stating that ``it is not yet clear how these deficits may 
affect an individual's disposition to delinquency and other high risk 
behaviors.'' The writer, who has spent more than 16 years studying 
fetal alcohol effects, indicated that there is need for an objective 
and comprehensive assessment of this situation. The second commenter, a 
university professor with more than 20 years' experience in research on 
FAS, referred to the ``devastating effects'' of prenatal alcohol 
exposure and the importance and timeliness of efforts to determine the 
influence of prenatal alcohol on the juvenile justice system.
    Response: OJJDP appreciates the writers' thoughtful comments on the 
issues involved in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol 
Effects (FAE) and their support for OJJDP's proposal to include 
research in this area as part of its new programming for FY 2001. As 
the first writer noted, although the deficits associated with FAS and 
FAE would appear to predispose individuals to delinquent and criminal 
behavior, the relevant data to support this connection do not yet 
exist. The best research in this area is perhaps the work of Anne 
Streissguth, who followed 415 individuals with FAS or FAE for over 20 
years. Fourteen percent of her subjects between the ages of 6 and 11 
and 61 percent of adolescents had been in trouble with the law at least 
once. It is also correct, as one writer noted, that traditional 
juvenile justice system programs are not designed to serve this 
population. If it is, in fact, determined that a significant number of 
youth with FAS/FAE are involved with the juvenile justice system, OJJDP 
will need to conduct subsequent studies to discover what intervention 
and treatment strategies are most appropriate and effective for this 
population.
    Comment: A policy analyst wrote to comment on the third new program 
area (``Preparing Juvenile Offenders for Reentry Into Their 
Communities'') in the Proposed Program Plan. She suggested that OJJDP 
should consider including youth with developmental and learning 
disabilities in addition to youth with mental illness and substance 
abuse in the reference to OJJDP's ``proposing to expand its work on 
juvenile aftercare services to target specialized populations such as 
adolescent female offenders, minority youth, and juvenile offenders 
with mental health and substance abuse problems * * *'' She also 
recommended that OJJDP include an

[[Page 79677]]

evaluation of each of this new program area's three components 
(computer networking instruction, model correctional education program, 
and expansion of aftercare services).
    Response: In the third area for possible new programming in fiscal 
year 2001, ``Preparing Juvenile Offenders for Reentry Into Their 
Communities,'' OJJDP proposed, among other actions, to expand its work 
on aftercare services ``to target specialized populations such as 
adolescent female offenders, minority youth, and juvenile offenders 
with mental health and substance abuse problems.'' The writer suggests 
that OJJDP consider including youth with developmental and learning 
disabilities, whom she described as being ``at risk for dropping out of 
school, unemployment, and other indicators of unsuccessful community 
reentry.'' OJJDP agrees that these youth constitute a specialized 
population that also needs additional aftercare/reentry resources. 
Therefore, the list of specialized populations in the third area under 
``New Programs'' now includes ``youth with disabilities.'' Another new 
population, ``juvenile sex offenders,'' has also been added to the 
list.
    OJJDP is currently supporting development of a clearinghouse for 
disseminating information about aftercare/reentry services and a 
consultant pool to provide training and technical assistance to 
juvenile justice practitioners throughout the country under a grant 
with the Johns Hopkins University, Institute for Policy Studies. In 
addition, OJJDP is collaborating with the U.S. Department of 
Education's Office of Special Education in a 5-year initiative to 
develop and support a National Center on Education, Disability, and 
Juvenile Justice. This center is a collaborative research, training, 
technical assistance, and dissemination program designed to develop 
more effective responses to the needs of youth with disabilities in the 
juvenile justice system or those at risk for involvement with the 
juvenile justice system. The current grantee is the University of 
Maryland at College Park, with partners at American Institutes of 
Research, Arizona State University, the PACER Parent Advocacy Center, 
and the University of Kentucky. More information about the center is 
available on its Web site at www.edjj.org.
    The writer also suggested that OJJDP evaluate each component of 
this proposed new program area. Although OJJDP has not yet identified 
specific programs and evaluations to be funded in FY 2001, an 
evaluation component is built into each new demonstration initiative, 
whenever feasible. OJJDP is committed to identifying and ultimately 
supporting programs that are effective in reducing and preventing 
delinquency. Without well-designed evaluations, it is impossible to 
identify objectively what works and what programs merit OJJDP's funding 
support.
    Comment: The principal in a not-for-profit technical assistance 
group focusing on juvenile justice programming issues praised the 
breadth of innovation in the ``New Programs'' priority areas, such as 
juvenile sex offending, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and assistance to 
families navigating the juvenile justice system. The writer also 
recommended that OJJDP ``look closely at Illinois and the programs of 
its community-based organizations for excellent models'' of ``best 
practices'' approaches to the needs of status offenders. In addition, 
she proposed a concept for engaging community-based organizations in 
the delivery of services.
    Response: OJJDP appreciates the writer's recognition of the 
innovation in the proposed new program areas. In regard to the concept 
of engaging community-based organizations in the delivery of services 
for the serious offender, OJJDP finds it a sound idea that holds great 
promise and may be appropriate for many youth in lieu of out-of-home 
placement and for those who are returning to their communities after 
being placed in secure facilities.
    At a recent meeting in Austin, TX, the Case Foundation brought 
together leaders of more than two dozen community youth-serving 
agencies that are part of a growing movement to provide the kind of 
support to juvenile offenders that the writer described. OJJDP staff 
participated in the meeting in an effort to learn as much as possible 
about how best to link the broad range of services such as those 
referred to in this letter of public comment.
    Although the Program Plan does not include a specific program such 
as the writer suggested, OJJDP hopes that resources will permit funding 
a field-initiated demonstration program. Under this program, a 
community-based organization could apply for funds to support such an 
effort. An evaluation component would be required in any such proposal.
    Comment: The writer, director of a State juvenile justice agency, 
wrote in support of the 12 new program areas in the Proposed Program 
Plan, particularly the focus on family advocacy as the top priority. 
She recommended that OJJDP raise the priority for the ninth proposed 
new program area, ``Increasing the Capacity and Effectiveness of 
Juvenile Probation.'' The writer also observed that ``probation 
officers must function as case managers in the sense of developing 
plans for services that align juveniles and families with resources to 
meet their diverse needs' and suggested that any curriculum developed 
for in-service training cover this area of responsibility.
    Response: OJJDP appreciates the writer's support for the proposed 
new program areas. OJJDP agrees that the proposed new program area that 
addresses the capacity and effectiveness of juvenile probation is of 
great importance and concurs in the writer's observation that, because 
``probation officers must function as case managers in the sense of 
developing plans for services that align juveniles and families with 
resources to meet their diverse needs,'' any curriculum developed for 
in-service training should cover this area of responsibility.
    Comment: An official of the American Psychological Association 
(APA) wrote to support the overall Proposed Program Plan and 
specifically to commend the emphasis on prevention and early 
intervention and on areas such as special needs populations, bullying 
prevention, cultural sensitivity and competency, and family 
strengthening and support. He also praised OJJDP's ``recognition that 
one of today's most significant challenges is finding ways to address 
mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system.'' The 
commenter identified four of OJJDP's 12 proposed new program areas as 
priorities: Addressing the Problem of Juvenile Sex Offenders; Helping 
Youth and Families Prevent Violence; Supporting Field-Initiated 
Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Programs; and Integrating 
Culturally Sensitive and Culturally Competent Strategies To Prevent 
Disproportionate Minority Confinement. He then provided several 
suggestions for text to be inserted in the Final Program Plan.
    Response: OJJDP appreciates the APA's support for the plan in 
general and for specific parts of the plan. In regard to mental health 
issues, OJJDP has been actively engaged for several years in 
identifying and addressing the pressing mental health needs of 
juveniles in the justice system. It is, however, obvious that much more 
work is needed. That is why the Program Plan for FY 2001 reflects a 
serious commitment to that aspect of delinquency prevention and 
treatment. In deciding on new programs for funding in FY 2001, OJJDP 
will give careful consideration to APA's choice of the top four 
priorities for new program areas.

[[Page 79678]]

    OJJDP has summarized each of the writer's suggestions for specific 
new text and provided our responses below. (Page numbers at the end of 
each comment refer to the Federal Register of September 26, 2000.)
    Suggestion: Add ``including those with mental health needs'' at the 
end of the second goal (p. 57914).
    Response: The goal as stated is meant to include all ``juvenile 
delinquents, status offenders, and dependent, neglected, and abused 
children.'' Adding one specific category would imply exclusion of other 
categories. Therefore, this change was not made.
    Suggestion: Add ``that provide developmentally appropriate, 
culturally competent mental health and other critical services'' to the 
end of the third goal (p. 57914).
    Response: OJJDP agrees with the thrust of this statement but again 
believes that it is unnecessary to be this specific in the goal 
statement.
    Suggestion: Add ``mental health and other'' after the words ``meet 
the'' on line 7 of the fourth goal (p. 57914).
    Response: OJJDP agrees that the mental health and other needs of 
dependent, neglected, and abused children should be met but prefers to 
keep the statement broad (``meet the needs'') rather than prioritizing 
one need over others.
    Suggestion: Add ``including educational and mental health needs'' 
directly after ``child's needs'' in line 8 of new program area 1 (p. 
57915).
    Response: OJJDP agrees that educational and mental health needs are 
important but, again, prefers to keep the statement broad.
    Suggestion: Add ``appropriate'' before ``services'' in line 8 of 
new program area 1 (p. 57915).
    Response: As written, the ``services'' are described as those 
``that can assist children and their families meet their needs.'' The 
word ``appropriate'' is unnecessary, since presumably only appropriate 
services would ``assist children and their families meet their needs.''
    Suggestion: Add ``youth with disabilities and gay, lesbian, and 
bisexual youth'' to the targeted specialized population in line 26 of 
new program area 3 (p. 57915).
    Response: OJJDP has added ``youth with disabilities'' and also 
added ``juvenile sex offenders,'' based on an internal OJJDP 
recommendation. OJJDP recognizes, however, that there may be additional 
specialized populations that need to be targeted by juvenile aftercare 
services. The groups listed in the Proposed Program Plan--plus those 
added to this Final Plan--are ones whose needs have been widely noted 
or documented. As written in the Proposed Program Plan, the text read: 
``OJJDP is also proposing to expand its work on juvenile aftercare 
services to target specialized populations such as [italics added] 
adolescent female offenders, minority youth, and juvenile offenders 
with mental health and substance abuse problems * * *'' The Final Plan 
includes ``youth with disabilities'' and ``juvenile sex offenders.'' It 
is possible that other special populations could be added to this list 
in the future.
    Suggestion: Add ``and they may be displaying early signs of 
behavioral disorders'' directly after ``behavior'' in line 11 of new 
program area 5 (p. 57915).
    Response: OJJDP has inserted the recommended language in this Final 
Plan.
    Suggestion: Add ``and evaluation of'' directly after 
``development'' in the phrase ``development of a probation officer 
curriculum'' in line 11 of new program area 9 (p. 57916).
    Response: All training curriculums funded by OJJDP must meet the 
evaluation protocols established by its Training and Technical 
Assistance Division. These evaluation criteria include assessments of 
participant learning related to training outcomes and performance 
objectives, the effectiveness of the training design, and the 
effectiveness of training delivery. Thus, there is no need to add ``and 
evaluation of'' to the text of new program area 9, ``Increasing the 
Capacity and Effectiveness of Juvenile Probation.''

Introduction to Fiscal Year 2001 Program Plan

    In administering the discretionary grants program under Parts C and 
D of Title II, OJJDP has identified four goals as the major elements of 
a sound policy that ensures public safety and security while 
establishing effective juvenile justice and delinquency prevention 
programs. Achieving these goals, which are discussed below, is vital to 
protecting the long-term safety of the public from juvenile delinquency 
and violence.
     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.
     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.
     OJJDP supports efforts in the area of corrections, 
detention, and community-based alternatives to preserve the public 
safety in a manner that serves 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.
     OJJDP seeks to support law enforcement, public safety, and 
other justice agency efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency, intervene 
in the development of chronic delinquent careers, and collaborate with 
the juvenile justice system to meet the needs of dependent, neglected, 
and abused children.
    In 1993, OJJDP published its Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, 
Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders, which set forth a research-
based comprehensive approach for addressing the problems of juvenile 
crime and victimization and for achieving its program goals. The 
Comprehensive Strategy was developed to assist States and local 
communities in preventing at-risk youth from becoming serious, violent, 
and chronic juvenile offenders and in crafting a practical response to 
those who do. Since 1995, OJJDP has utilized the Guide for Implementing 
the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile 
Offenders, developed in partnership with consultant experts in the 
fields of prevention and graduated sanctions, which has been the 
blueprint for providing training and technical assistance to over 40 
local communities in 8 States in the development of local strategic 
plans based on the Comprehensive Strategy. This comprehensive strategic 
planning process involves a systematic method that utilizes data and 
research-based best practices and programs to fill identified gaps in 
services to youth and families. The desired product of this planning 
effort is a 5-year strategic plan supported by all the stakeholders 
within that community. The lessons learned from the Federal, State, and 
local partnerships developed through the Comprehensive Strategy 
Training and Technical Assistance Initiative are currently enhancing 
the well-being of the children and families in many of those 
communities and are assisting OJJDP in providing guidance and direction 
to many other State agencies

[[Page 79679]]

and local jurisdictions seeking assistance in the development of this 
strategic planning approach designed to prevent, reduce, and control 
juvenile delinquency.
    This Final Plan also supports the Coordinating Council's 1996 
National Juvenile Justice Action Plan, which grew out of the 
Comprehensive Strategy. This Action Plan, which the Coordinating 
Council is currently updating, provides eight objectives designed to 
reduce juvenile violence and describes ways to meet these objectives. 
Together, the Comprehensive Strategy and the Action Plan constitute a 
sound strategy for translating innovation and research findings to 
infrastructure.

Continuation Programs

    OJJDP organizes its programs under four broad categories that 
reflect its program goals and the principles of the Comprehensive 
Strategy. These categories are Public Safety and Law Enforcement, 
Delinquency Prevention and Intervention, Strengthening the Juvenile 
Justice System, and Child Abuse and Neglect and Dependency Courts. An 
additional category (Overarching) contains programs with significant 
elements common to more than one of the other four categories. 
Descriptions of the specific programs in each of the five categories 
appear after the discussion of new programs below.

New Programs

    Because the FY 2001 Proposed Comprehensive Plan was published prior 
to the enactment of the FY 2001 appropriation, possible new programs in 
12 broad subject areas were outlined. The public was asked to comment 
on the proposed new programs, which are described briefly below, and to 
suggest additional priority areas for funding consideration.
1. Helping Families Navigate the Juvenile Justice System
    OJJDP proposes to support a range of advocacy services for families 
designed to help them understand and navigate the juvenile justice 
system, learning how they can appropriately and productively interact 
with the various entities in the system to meet their child's needs. 
Referral to services that can assist children and their families meet 
their needs would also be an important component of this effort. 
Possible approaches to be considered include support to private 
organizations that have experience in working with non-English-speaking 
families or providing advocacy and support for parenting networks in 
the community.
2. Addressing the Problem of Juvenile Sex Offending
    This program area was identified in the FY 2000 Program Plan and 
was included again in the Proposed FY 2001 Program Plan because of the 
many requests from the juvenile justice field and the public for 
information on effective sex offender treatment programs and model 
community responses to prevent sexual victimization. OJJDP is 
considering support for evaluations of treatment models for juvenile 
sex offenders that are currently in use. In addition, OJJDP is 
considering a study that examines the effects of State registration and 
notification legislation on juvenile sex offenders. This work would 
build upon the development of a juvenile sex offender typology 
currently being funded by OJJDP. It will also respond to the needs of 
practitioners and policymakers by increasing the accessibility and 
strategic use of accurate information about the nature, extent, and 
impact of juvenile sex offending through a training, technical 
assistance, and information dissemination program to be funded in FY 
2001.
3. Preparing Juvenile Offenders for Reentry Into Their Communities
    OJJDP proposes to develop several programs designed to facilitate 
juvenile offenders' reentry into the community from out-of-home 
placements. Two of these would focus specifically on improving 
education and training resources within correctional facilities. The 
first would teach juveniles to design, build, and maintain computer 
networks through Cisco Systems' Cisco Networking Academy Program. The 
second would develop and implement a pilot demonstration of a model 
correctional education program in both a juvenile detention facility 
and a correctional facility. The latter project would be an extension 
of prior work funded by OJJDP to provide assistance in addressing the 
literacy needs of juvenile offenders. OJJDP is also proposing to expand 
its work on juvenile aftercare services to target specialized 
populations such as adolescent female offenders, minority youth, 
juvenile offenders with mental health and substance abuse problems, 
youth with disabilities, and juvenile sex offenders and to assess the 
lessons learned about institutional programming for serious and violent 
juvenile offenders.
4. Helping Youth and Families Prevent Violence
    OJJDP proposes to expand its violence prevention activities by 
focusing on children who can be taught peaceful ways of resolving 
problems, families who can be counseled regarding violence prevention, 
and teachers who must effectively manage their classrooms. One proposed 
project would develop violence prevention protocols for pediatricians 
similar to those developed around unintentional injuries such as motor 
vehicle accidents. This project would respond to the need to address 
homicide and other injuries caused by interpersonal violence. Children 
must also be taught to avoid violence, and OJJDP proposes to expand its 
work on bullying prevention by providing training and technical 
assistance to schools to implement the highly successful and proven 
program of Dr. Dan Olweus, the Principal Investigator who developed, 
refined, and systematically evaluated the Bullying Prevention Program 
in Norway. The program is one of the Blueprints for Violence Prevention 
(see the Blueprints program description below, under the Strengthening 
the Juvenile Justice System category of programs). OJJDP is also 
considering expanding training and technical assistance resources to 
new teachers in effective classroom and conflict management. From 
lessons learned in North Carolina, OJJDP would focus on changing 
practices in colleges of education and State boards of education, which 
have responsibility to create and manage the training of new teachers.
5. Assessing and Meeting the Needs of Status Offenders and Other Youth 
Upon Initial Contact With the Juvenile Justice System
    OJJDP is proposing to fund a program that would identify the best 
practices and programs from around the country that are effective in 
dealing with such status offenses as truancy, running away, curfew 
violations, alcohol possession and use, and incorrigibility. Juveniles 
who commit status offenses may be taking a first step into the juvenile 
justice system that will escalate into delinquent behavior and they may 
be displaying early signs of behavioral disorders. Prevention and 
treatment through early intervention at this stage have proven to be 
less expensive and more effective than efforts to change subsequent 
delinquent behavior.
    OJJDP is also considering expanded support for two existing 
programs that address the needs of youth when they

[[Page 79680]]

first come to the attention of law enforcement. One program would 
provide guidelines, materials, training, and technical assistance to 
the two currently funded Community Assessment Centers. These Centers 
operate as a single point of entry into the juvenile justice and the 
youth services systems, provide immediate and comprehensive assessment 
and integrated case management, and operate an appropriate management 
information system (MIS). OJJDP is also proposing to expand support for 
the Child Development-Community Policing model to support program 
implementation in the current replication sites. These ongoing 
collaborations between law enforcement and mental health professionals 
are designed to better address children's exposure to violence, which 
has been shown to be a risk factor for future problem behaviors.
6. Studying Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects 
(FAE) as Risk Factors for Delinquency
    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) are 
associated with a specific set of neurobehavioral deficits that 
predispose affected individuals to delinquent and other high-risk 
behaviors. A significant percentage of youth in detention and secure 
corrections may be affected by undiagnosed FAS/FAE. Traditional 
juvenile justice system programs are not designed to serve this 
population, and youth with FAS/FAE, once involved with the juvenile 
justice system, are likely to experience a high rate of recidivism. 
OJJDP proposes to support a study to assess the rate of FAS/FAE youth 
within the juvenile justice system, determine what services are 
available, and develop screening and individualized case management and 
planning to better serve youth affected by FAS/FAE.
7. Supporting Field-Initiated Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation 
Programs
    OJJDP proposes to support field-initiated research, demonstration, 
and evaluation projects that have the potential to provide valuable 
information to policymakers and practitioners, complement the new and 
current programs outlined in this Program Plan, and support OJJDP's 
mission in significant and creative ways. Topics explored in past 
OJJDP-funded field-initiated research include mental health issues in 
the juvenile justice system; juvenile justice system operations, 
sanctions, and treatments; programs for at-risk and female juvenile 
offenders; and delinquency prevention.
8. Expanding the Use of Cost-Benefit Analyses
    OJJDP is interested in expanding the uses of cost-benefit analyses 
in juvenile justice. Up to now, their use has been limited to select 
States or localities. As a first step to promoting the greater use of 
this method for assessing programs, OJJDP would convene a group of 
experts in the fields of policy analysis, economics, and juvenile 
justice to determine how cost-benefit analyses can best be used for 
juvenile justice policy analysis. Following the development of a set of 
recommended analyses, OJDDP would support the development of a guide 
containing information on methodology, data collection instruments, and 
a set of standard cost estimates.
9. Increasing the Capacity and Effectiveness of Juvenile Probation
    Despite the acknowledgment that probation is the ``workhorse'' of 
the juvenile justice system and many courts are dependent upon 
probation officers to assist them by recommending appropriate 
dispositions in juvenile cases, probation officers often receive only 
limited training before assuming their important roles and scant in-
service training opportunities. OJJDP proposes to fund the development 
of a probation officer curriculum and to provide limited technical 
assistance to juvenile probation officers and their agencies. One 
training curriculum would be for supervisory staff, a second one for 
field officers.
10. Understanding Youth Gangs in Chronic Gang Cities
    OJJDP proposes to combine multiple state-of-the-art methods for 
understanding youth gangs through a single coordinated research project 
in two or more large population, chronic gang cities. The study would 
focus on comparing gangs representing multiple racial/ethnic groups 
(e.g., predominately African American, Hispanic, Asian, White, American 
Indian, or mixed). Research questions would include how different 
ethnic gangs vary in gang structure and group processes, what factors 
predict peaks and valleys in gang offending across each of the ethnic 
groups over time, and what prevention, intervention, and suppression 
approaches are most appropriate to respond to ethnic variations across 
a chronic gang city. Some of the methodological approaches that would 
be employed include analysis of incident-level law enforcement data, 
crime and resource mapping systems, school risk-factor surveys, 
qualitative field studies, and gang member interviews.
11. Integrating Culturally Sensitive and Culturally Competent 
Strategies To Prevent Disproportionate Minority Confinement
    OJJDP proposes to identify current best practices and provide 
specialized training and technical assistance to assist States in their 
efforts to address disproportionate minority confinement. While many 
program managers have made the initial step of broadening existing 
programming by hiring minority staff, a comprehensive approach to 
culturally sensitive and competent programming is needed. Experts in 
the field of culturally competent program design and implementation 
would provide targeted support to assist States in broadening the scope 
of current delinquency prevention programs. This initiative would 
provide a critical tool in the implementation of States' compliance 
with the disproportionate minority confinement core protection.
12. Expanding the Comprehensive Strategy Program
    Recognizing the success of the research-based Comprehensive 
Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders since its 
inception in 1993, this project would promote the expansion of the 
Comprehensive Strategy Program by supporting planning and 
implementation in up to eight new States and/or localities. In 
addition, this project would support the development or refinement of 
management information systems in communities developing or 
implementing the Comprehensive Strategy Program.

Fiscal Year 2001 Programs

    The programs that OJJDP will fund in FY 2001 are listed 
alphabetically and summarized within each of the five categories 
mentioned previously: Overarching, Public Safety and Law Enforcement, 
Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System, Delinquency Prevention and 
Intervention, and Child Abuse and Neglect and Dependency Courts.
    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.
    As part of the FY 2001 appropriations process, Congress is likely 
to identify a number of programs for priority funding

[[Page 79681]]

consideration by OJJDP with regard to the grantee(s) and the amount of 
funds. These programs are not included in the Program Plan because 
Congress has not completed action on the FY 2001 budget for the 
Department of Justice (as of the date this Final Plan was submitted to 
the Federal Register for publication). Consequently, OJJDP is not able 
to determine which proposed programs, either new or continuation, will 
be funded in FY 2001. However, it is apparent from the public comments 
received that there is broad general agreement with the priorities 
proposed and no disagreement with any specific proposed new funding 
area or continuation program. While, generally speaking, continuation 
programs take priority over new programs, OJJDP hopes to start or 
expand programs in each of the proposed new funding areas, even if 
appropriations do not support significant investment in these new 
program priorities in FY 2001.

Fiscal Year 2001 Program Listing

Overarching

Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Insular Area Support
Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse
Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Program
National Resource Center for Safe Schools
National Training and Technical Assistance Center
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
Technical Assistance for State Legislatures
Telecommunications Assistance
Training and Technical Assistance Coordination for the SafeFutures 
Initiative

Public Safety and Law Enforcement

Evaluation of the Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang 
Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Program
Evaluation of the Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence Program
Evaluation of the Rural Gang Initiative
Evaluation of the Transfer of Responsibility for Child Protective 
Investigations to Law Enforcement Agencies
Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach (Boys & Girls Clubs)
Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance 
Program
Mesa Gang Intervention Project (MGIP)
National Youth Gang Center
Rural Gang Initiative Demonstration Sites
Technical Assistance to the Gang-Free Schools and Communities 
Initiatives

Delinquency Prevention and Intervention

Assessing Alcohol, Drug, and Mental (ADM) Disorders Among Juvenile 
Detainees
The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention
Communities in Schools
Diffusion of State Risk- and Protective-Factor-Focused Prevention
Do the Write Thing Challenge Program
Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program
Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior
Investing in Youth for a Safer Future--A Public Education Campaign
Multisite, Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention 
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Risk Reduction Via Promotion of Youth Development
Strengthening Services for Chemically Involved Children, Youth, and 
Families
Study of the Marketing of Age-Restricted Violent Entertainment to 
Children
Technical Assistance for Community Prevention Programs--Title V
Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program

Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System

Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) Training Project
Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Training and Technical Assistance
Building Blocks for Youth
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
Center for Students With Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System
Comprehensive Children and Families Mental Health Training and 
Technical Assistance
Connecticut/Cook County (IL) Girls Collaborative
Development of the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and 
Chronic Juvenile Offenders
Evaluation of the Department of Labor's Education and Training for 
Youthful Offenders Initiative
Evaluation of the Performance-Based Standards Project
Evaluation of SafeFutures
Juvenile Defender Training, Technical Assistance, and Resource Center
The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Unit
Juvenile Residential Facility Census
Longitudinal Study To Examine the Development of Conduct Disorder in 
Girls
National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project
National Juvenile Justice Program Directory
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97
Performance-Based Standards for Juvenile Correction and Detention 
Facilities
Study Group on Very Young Offenders
Systems Improvement Training and Technical Assistance
Survey of Juvenile Probation
Technical Assistance to Native American Tribes and Alaskan Native 
Communities
TeenSupreme Career Preparation Initiative

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 for Juvenile Justice, an 
organization composed of member representatives of State Advisory 
Groups appointed by State Governors under section 223(a)(3) of the JJDP 
Act to establish policies and priorities for the Formula Grants 
program. Pursuant to statutory requirements, the Coalition will: 
conduct an annual conference of member representatives; disseminate 
information on data, standards, advanced techniques, and program models 
developed and funded by OJJDP; offer training on how to work with the 
media on juvenile justice issues; review Federal policies regarding 
juvenile justice and delinquency prevention; advise the Administrator 
with respect to the work of OJJDP; and advise the President and 
Congress with regard to State perspectives on the operation of the 
Office and Federal legislation pertaining to juvenile justice and 
delinquency prevention.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
Coalition for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Insular Area Support

    The purpose of this statutorily required program is to provide 
support

[[Page 79682]]

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).

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 
2001.

Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Program

    The Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development (SSD) 
Program was competitively awarded in 1990 to the National Center for 
Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) to improve national, State, and local 
statistics on juveniles as victims and offenders. The SSD project has 
traditionally consisted of three tracks of work: National Statistics, 
Dissemination, and Systems Development. In FY 2001, NCJJ will continue 
many activities under the first two tracks, including maintaining an 
extensive library of data files, producing Easy Access software 
packages and the Web-based OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book, and 
continuing to service requests for juvenile justice information. In FY 
2000, additional funding from OJJDP allowed NCJJ to enhance activities 
under the Systems Development track of the project. This work continue 
with FY 2001 funding.
    To meet the challenge of managing the cases of youth within their 
jurisdiction effectively and efficiently, juvenile court administrators 
and judges need ready access to information that will support the 
operation, management, and decisionmaking of the full-service juvenile 
court system. Knowledge-based decisionmaking (which should be the 
hallmark of every juvenile justice system) requires not just the 
collection of data but the collaboration of the community leaders who 
will give meaning to the data. This was the focus of the recently 
released book Juvenile Justice With Eyes Open, published in FY 2000 as 
part of the Statistics and Systems Development Project (Systems 
Development Track). Also in FY 2000, NCJJ used the principles outlined 
in this publication to develop and field-test an approach that local 
jurisdictions can employ to systematically identify and fulfill their 
local information needs. This includes training local juvenile justice 
leaders in the rational decisionmaking model (RDM) as a design tool for 
management information systems; developing data specifications for an 
effective information system to meet operational, management, and 
research needs; identifying data needs from collateral service 
providers and data that will be of use to collaterals; and modeling 
agreements and protocols with collateral service providers to share 
case-level and/or aggregate data. Field-testing will continue in FY 
2001.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
National Center for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will 
be solicited in FY 2001.

National Resource Center for Safe Schools

    Since 1984, OJJDP and the U.S. Department of Education have 
provided joint funding to promote safe schools. This work has focused 
national attention on cooperative solutions to problems that disrupt 
the educational process. Because an estimated 3 million incidents of 
crime occur in America's schools each year, it is clear that this 
problem continues to plague many schools, threatening students' safety 
and undermining the learning environment. With FY 1998 funding, the 
U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and 
OJJDP established the National Resource Center for Safe Schools for a 
3-year project period. This project expanded the scope and provision of 
previous training and technical assistance to communities and school 
districts across the country. The grantee is working to help schools 
develop and put in place comprehensive safe school plans. It does this 
by providing onsite training and consultation to schools and 
communities, creating and distributing resource materials and tools, 
providing Web-based information services, and partnering with State-
level agencies to build State capacity to assist local education 
agencies. Through the inclusion on the project's Advisory Committee of 
representatives of Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and 
Community Violence and other school-related training and technical 
assistance providers, this project has developed training materials and 
information resources based on the latest research findings on 
effective programs and best practices.
    The grantee provided information, training, and/or technical 
assistance to more than 7,000 recipients. In addition, the grantee 
developed a curriculum for comprehensive school planning, trained six 
school districts in South Carolina, conducted two regional conferences, 
issued and distributed a quarterly newsletter, and convened a national 
Advisory Committee Meeting.
    During FY 2001, the National Resource Center for Safe Schools 
will--
     Prepare and distribute topical fact sheets and case 
studies.
     Provide training to a national network of trainees through 
``training of trainers.''
     Conduct regional conferences on safe school topics.
     Provide tailored onsite training and technical assistance.
    A new solicitation will be issued and a grant awarded through a 
competitive process in FY 2001.

National Training and Technical Assistance Center

    The National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Training 
and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) was established in FY 1995 
under a competitive 3-year project period award. NTTAC serves as a 
national training and technical assistance repository, inventorying and 
coordinating the integrated delivery of juvenile justice training and 
technical assistance resources and establishing a database of these 
resources. NTTAC convened the first in a series of annual OJJDP 
training and technical assistance grantee-contractor meetings that are 
used for sharing of information, development of policies, and 
collaboration and coordination of efforts. NTTAC's funding in FY 1996 
provided services in the form of coordinated technical assistance 
support for OJJDP's SafeFutures and gang program initiatives, continued 
promotion of collaboration between OJJDP training and technical 
assistance providers, developed training and technical assistance 
materials, and completed and disseminated the first OJJDP Training

[[Page 79683]]

and Technical Assistance Resource Catalog. 
    In FY 1997, NTTAC disseminated a second, updated Training and 
Technical Assistance Resource Catalog; created a Web site for the 
Center and a ListServ for the Children, Youth and Affinity Group; held 
three focus groups on needs assessments; and coordinated and provided 
38 instances of technical assistance in conjunction with OJJDP's 
training and technical assistance grantees and contractors. In FY 1998, 
NTTAC finalized the jurisdictional team training and technical 
assistance packages on critical needs in the juvenile justice system, 
updated the resource catalog, facilitated the annual OJJDP training and 
technical assistance grantee and contractor meeting, developed a 
bimonthly newsletter (NTTAC News), continued to update the repository 
of training and technical assistance materials and the electronic 
database of training and technical assistance materials, and continued 
to respond to training and technical assistance requests from the 
field. In FY 1999, NTTAC was operated by the Juvenile Justice 
Clearinghouse, which provided clearinghouse services and maintained the 
800 number. The fourth grantee-contractor meeting was conducted by 
OJJDP staff in Chicago, and the training and technical assistance 
protocols developed in 1998 were reviewed in preparation for final 
issuance. In FY 2000, a competitive 1-year contract was awarded to 
Caliber Associates to continue implementation of the Center. The Center 
has completed a number of tasks, including implementing the OJJDP 
Training, Technical Assistance, and Evaluation Protocols, developing 
three supplemental technical assistance packages on corrections, 
developing a protocol for ensuring cultural competency in the delivery 
of training and technical assistance, issuing the NTTAC newsletter, 
redesigning the NTTAC Web site, developing and pilot testing a training 
and technical assistance data collection instrument in support of the 
development of an Office of Justice Programs comprehensive training and 
technical assistance database, updating the resource catalog, and 
convening the 5th Annual OJJDP Training and TA Grantee and Contractor 
Meeting.
    In FY 2001, the Center will continue developing marketing materials 
and managing the brokering of training and technical assistance 
requests received by the Center via the 800 number, e-mail, and the Web 
site. The contractor will also redesign and increase the capacity of 
the NTTAC Web site, increase the capacity of the Center resource 
repository, redesign the Center's database and resource catalog using 
the training and technical assistance data collection instrument 
developed and tested in FY 2000, provide train-the-trainers workshops 
for OJJDP grantee-contractors, provide technical support on curriculum 
development and specialized technical assistance protocols, and develop 
fact sheets, bulletins, and newsletters.
    A new solicitation will be issued and a contract awarded through a 
competitive contract action in FY 2001.

OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract

    This contract was competitively awarded in FY 1999 to Caliber 
Associates for a period of 4 years to provide OJJDP with an expert 
resource to perform independent program evaluations and assist in 
implementing evaluation activities. Caliber is currently conducting a 
national evaluation of Title V-Community Prevention Grants for Local 
Delinquency Prevention Programs. The evaluation is designed to examine 
the viability and effectiveness of the Title V delinquency prevention 
model. To address the research questions, the evaluation is examining 
the key stages of program implementation at the local level, which 
include community mobilization, assessment and planning, 
implementation, and institutionalization and monitoring.
    Other evaluation activities include building local evaluation 
capacity by conducting ongoing evaluation technical assistance and 
training activities to meet the individual evaluation needs of Title V 
subgrantees and developing the annual Title V Report to Congress.
    This contract will be implemented by the current contractor, 
Caliber Associates. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 
2001.

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. FY 2001 is the third year of a 4-year project 
period. 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 
2001.

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. These projects are designed to improve the 
understanding of serious delinquency, violence, and drug use by 
examining how youth develop within the context of family, school, 
peers, and community. The three sites engage in both collaborative and 
site-specific research. The three research teams worked together to 
ensure that certain core measures were identical across the sites. This 
strengthens the findings from these projects by allowing for 
replications of findings in individual sites and enabling cross-site 
analyses.
    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. Over the years, 
findings from the Causes and Correlates research have been presented in 
a number of OJJDP Bulletins and Fact Sheets. In an effort to make these 
important findings increasingly accessible to the public, a Causes and 
Correlates of Delinquency subpage has been incorporated into the OJJDP 
Web site. The subpage (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ccd/index.html) includes 
descriptions of the individual projects and a bibliography of all the 
publications resulting from these projects.
    In the upcoming year-the second year in a 3-year project period, 
the Causes and Correlates projects will continue collaborative and 
site-specific analyses of the data. Topics for upcoming reports will 
include defining characteristics and predictors of very young 
offending, consequences of delinquency, and long term effects of 
juvenile justice system

[[Page 79684]]

involvement. In addition, researchers at the three sites will continue 
efforts to provide researchers access to the Causes and Correlates 
data. Concerns about confidentiality prohibit the release of the data 
sets to the general public. However, OJJDP and the Causes and 
Correlates researchers have been exploring alternative methods of 
making the data more accessible to other researchers, the most 
promising being a remote access system. Plans for the upcoming year 
include developing and testing a remote access system at one of the 
sites.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantees, the 
Regents of the University of Colorado, the University of Pittsburgh; 
and the Research Foundation of the State University of New York at 
Albany, SUNY. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency

    In FY 1995, OJJDP competitively selected six communities to 
implement the SafeFutures Program. SafeFutures seeks to prevent and 
control youth crime and victimization through the creation of a 
continuum of care in communities. This continuum enables communities to 
be responsive to the needs of youth at critical stages of their 
development by providing an appropriate range of prevention, 
intervention, treatment, and sanctions programs. The services provided 
through these programs include family strengthening; afterschool 
activities; mentoring; treatment alternatives for juvenile female 
offenders; mental health services; day treatment; graduated sanctions 
for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders; and gang 
prevention, intervention, and suppression.
    OJJDP will award fifth year funding to the Boston SafeFutures site 
in order to complete its 5-year project period, which began in FY 1995 
through a competitive process. In FY 2001, Boston SafeFutures will 
continue to provide a set of services that builds on community 
strengths and existing services and fills in gaps within their existing 
continuum. Specific attention will also be given to improving the 
coordination and integration of services and program sustainability 
within Boston.
    In addition, within the program developments and system changes 
that have occurred in the other five communities, there are promising 
activities, programs, and approaches that can serve as a model for 
other communities. In FY 2001, OJJDP will provide limited support 
through a competitive process among the SafeFutures grantees to assist 
the sites in sustaining these aspects of the programs. The Boston 
project will not be eligible for these funds because, unlike the other 
sites, it will not be finished with the fifth year of the project at 
that time.
    A national evaluation is being conducted by the Urban Institute to 
determine the success of the initiative and track lessons learned at 
each of the six SafeFutures sites. OJJDP has also committed training 
and technical assistance resources to SafeFutures sites in FY 2001.
    SafeFutures activities will be implemented by the current grantees. 
No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

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 State legislatures. The project also supports increased 
communication between State legislators and State and local leaders who 
influence decisionmaking regarding juvenile justice issues. In FY 2000, 
NCSL published and distributed the second edition of ``Comprehensive 
Justice: A Legislator's Guide.'' Designed as a folder containing a 
series of briefing papers, the guide focuses on systemic juvenile 
justice from a policy perspective and includes many examples of how 
State legislation has created or implemented components of 
comprehensive juvenile justice.
    NCSL has also provided onsite technical assistance to many States 
developing or refining legislation. It has conducted annual 
invitational forums for select legislators involved in legislative 
activity that may warrant increased understanding on various juvenile 
justice issues. NCSL also maintains an informational clearinghouse on 
juvenile justice issues.
    In FY 2001, NCSL will--
     Provide tailored, in-State assistance to four 
legislatures.
     Produce and distribute a 60-minute audiotape based on 
``Comprehensive Justice: A Legislator's Guide.''
     Prepare and distribute to legislators and staff two 
LegisBriefs (fact sheets) on key juvenile justice topics.
     Plan and convene a concurrent session at the NCSL 2001 
annual convention.
     Continue research, analysis, and reporting on State 
juvenile justice enactments.
    The project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
National Conference of State Legislatures. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

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 2000, OJJDP continued 
the cooperative agreement with EKU to provide program support and 
technical assistance for a variety of information technologies and to 
explore linkages with key constituent groups to advance mutual 
information goals and objectives. This medium allows practitioners, 
policymakers, and researchers from across the country to keep abreast 
of developments in the field without having to travel. A typical 
videoconference will reach some 500 sites and approximately 15,000 
persons at downlink sites and through personal computers.
    During FY 2000, EKU produced five ``live'' satellite 
videoconferences and experimented with cybercasting ``live'' satellite 
videoconferences on the Internet. OJJDP has employed the use of 
Internet Streaming to simultaneously allow persons to observe and hear 
satellite videoconferences from desktop personal computers.
    Currently, project staff are studying the feasibility of taking 
past satellite videoconference materials, video, printed hardcopy 
materials, and interviews with panelists and developing a Web-based 
tool or CD-ROM of the information to be used as a training or 
educational tool. EKU will continue to provide technical assistance to 
other organizations planning to conduct satellite videoconferences.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Eastern 
Kentucky

[[Page 79685]]

University. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Training and Technical Assistance Coordination for the SafeFutures 
Initiative

    OJJDP will continue funding for limited training and technical 
assistance to the SafeFutures Initiative in FY 2001. This coordination 
effort enhances local capacity for implementing and sustaining 
effective continuum-of-care and systems change approaches in the six 
SafeFutures sites. Project activities include assessment, 
identification, and coordination of the implementation of training and 
technical assistance needs at each of the sites. In FY 2001, this 
training and technical assistance will focus on sustaining the 
successes that the sites achieved during the previous years of the 
program.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantee, Patricia 
Donahue. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Public Safety and Law Enforcement

Evaluation of the Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang 
Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Program

    OJJDP will continue funding this evaluation in FY 2001. Under a 
competitive cooperative agreement awarded in FY 1995, the evaluation 
grantee assisted the five program sites (Bloomington, IL; Mesa, AZ; 
Riverside, CA; San Antonio, TX; and Tucson, AZ) 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 began in 1995 and will end in 2002.
    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 2001.

Evaluation of the Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence Program

    This 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 three 
sites: Baton Rouge, LA; Oakland, CA; and Syracuse, NY. The grantee, 
COSMOS Corporation, will continue data collection and submit a interim 
report on the impact evaluation in the next year. In addition to 
working with the three Partnership sites, COSMOS Corporation completed 
work in FY 2000 on the OJJDP Bulletin Fighting Juvenile Gun Violence 
and has developed a training and technical assistance protocol based on 
its experience with the Partnership sites and the gun violence report. 
This training and technical assistance package will be offered to a 
limited number of communities that are focused on reducing gun violence 
through a collaborative planning process.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, COSMOS 
Corporation. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Rural Gang Initiative

    This initiative is a continuation of ongoing efforts to test 
OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model. In FY 1999, four competitively 
selected rural sites conducted comprehensive assessments of their local 
gang problem and developed program designs to implement the 
Comprehensive Gang Model. These sites were Elk City, OK; Glenn County, 
CA; Mt. Vernon, IL; and Longview, WA. The evaluation grantee, the 
National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), has conducted case 
studies to document and analyze the 1-year community assessment and 
program planning efforts in the four sites. These case studies will 
contribute to the development of a model approach to assessment of 
community gang problems in rural areas. NCCD has also developed an 
outcome evaluation design for sites that are being funded to implement 
the model in subsequent years. FY 2000 was the first year of funding 
for the outcome evaluation, and FY 2001 funding will continue to 
support data collection for this evaluation.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
National Council on Crime and Delinquency. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Transfer of Responsibility for Child Protective 
Investigations to Law Enforcement Agencies

    In response to concerns about the increasing demands on public 
child welfare agencies, the safety of children, and the effectiveness 
of law enforcement and social service agencies to deliver critical 
services, the State of Florida passed legislation in 1998 that allows 
for the transfer of the entire responsibility for child protective 
investigations to a law enforcement agency. Currently, three counties 
in Florida are in various stages of implementing this transfer of 
responsibility. This project is comparing the outcomes in the three 
counties where responsibility is being transferred to the sheriff's 
office with three comparison counties in the State of Florida. The 
project is concerned primarily with whether children are safer, whether 
perpetrators of severe child abuse are more likely to face criminal 
sanctions, and whether there are impacts on other parts of the child 
welfare system. Also, a thorough process evaluation will be conducted 
to describe and compare the implementation process across the three 
counties. This project is in the final year of a 3-year period.
    This evaluation is being funded under an interagency agreement with 
the National Institute of Justice. The grantee is the School of Social 
Work, University of Pennsylvania. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Gang Prevention Through Targeted Outreach (Boys & 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 collaboration 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 OJJDP 
Comprehensive Gang sites, and to other clubs and organizations through 
regional trainings and national conferences. In FY 2000, the Boys & 
Girls Clubs added new gang prevention sites, gang intervention sites, 
and ``Targeted Reintegration'' sites where clubs work to provide 
services to youth returning to the community from juvenile correctional 
facilities to prevent them from returning to gangs and violence. In FY 
2001, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America will identify and support up to 
30 new gang prevention sites through targeted outreach and will also 
hold a Delinquency and Gang

[[Page 79686]]

Prevention Symposium in the spring. 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 2001.

Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance 
Program

    The Juvenile Justice Law Enforcement Training and Technical 
Assistance Program explores adolescent violence in the United States as 
a social phenomenon and a policy issue. The program covers a range of 
youth violence issues including the examination of crime statistics and 
emerging legislation. The program also conducts analysis of key areas 
of youth violence policy and practice: youth firearm possession and 
use; school violence and safety; youth-oriented community policing; 
gang and drug involvement; serious, violent, and habitual juvenile 
offenders; multidisciplinary youth violence strategies; police 
management of youth programs; tribal juvenile crime; and Chief 
Executive Officer responses to delinquency and violence.
    The program examines the core issues of youth violence using 
methods that are consistent with effective police practices and that 
promote a more positive future for America's youth. Similarly, leaders 
in the areas of law enforcement, prosecution, the courts, corrections, 
probation, and other juvenile justice agencies receive information, 
materials training and technical assistance designed to solve 
managerial issues that hinder the implementation of effective youth 
crime prevention strategies.
    Since FY 1999, Federal funds have supported the provision of 
training sessions and technical assistance to State and local law 
enforcement jurisdictions. In FY 2000, the following workshops were 
conducted: (1) School Administrators For Effective Police Operations 
Leading to Improved Children and Youth Services and (2) Serious 
Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP). Based on 
practitioner feedback and needs assessment data, the grantee completed 
revisions to the Chief Executive Officer Youth Violence Forum. 
Additionally, an instructional design committee has been formed to 
revise and update the following: Youth, Gang, Gun and Drug Policy; 
Youth Oriented Community Policing, and the Youth Violence Reduction 
Comprehensive Action Program. A new workshop, Tribal Law Enforcement 
Training and Technical Assistance, is also under development. The 
grantee will continue to provide training and technical assistance 
through the workshops series described above.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
International Association of Chiefs of Police. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Mesa Gang Intervention Project (MGIP)

    In FY 1995, OJJDP competitively selected the City of Mesa to be one 
of five communities to implement and test the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang 
Model. Since that time, the Mesa Gang Intervention Project (MGIP) has 
become an exciting and promising gang intervention program. The program 
targets youth in Mesa who are gang involved and youth who are at high-
risk for gang involvement. The program provides a cadre of services 
including job skill development, counseling, drug and alcohol treatment 
and prevention, tattoo removal services, and outreach. The program 
monitors gang-involved youth, holding them accountable for negative 
behaviors. The program has developed into a partnership with many 
agencies in Mesa, including police, adult and juvenile probation, 
United Way, local Boys & Girls Clubs, other youth-serving agencies, 
private businesses/corporations, and others. Preliminary evaluation 
information from MGIP looks very promising in reducing youth gang crime 
among targeted youth. Additionally, the program has been well received 
locally and most program components and staff have been sustained with 
local funds.
    In FY 2001, OJJDP will provide limited additional support to MGIP 
to continue the local evaluation and assessment activities and allow 
MGIP to function as a ``host'' site for future OJJDP training on the 
Comprehensive Gang Model.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the City 
of Mesa, AZ. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

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 in 1994 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 OJJDP's Rural 
Gang Initiative. In FY 2000, NYGC (1) conducted indepth analyses of the 
National Youth Gang Survey results that track changes in gang 
membership and activity, (2) produced timely information on the nature 
and scope of the youth gang problem, (3) continued tracking gang-
related legislation at both the State and Federal level, and (4) 
continued providing training and technical assistance to the Rural Gang 
Initiative program sites.
    With FY 2001 funds, the Center will continue to collect, analyze, 
and disseminate current, comprehensive, and accurate national-level 
gang-related information. It will continue to assist State and local 
jurisdictions in the collection, analysis, and exchange of information 
on gang-related demographics, legislation, literature, research, and 
promising program strategies. The Center will also continue to provide 
indepth technical assistance to Rural Gang Initiative grantees and to 
grantees of other OJJDP gang programs.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
Institute for Intergovernmental Research. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

Rural Gang Initiative Demonstration Sites

    During FY 2000, OJJDP competitively funded four rural communities 
(Elk City, OK; Glenn County, CA; Longview, WA; and Mount Vernon, IL) to 
conduct a comprehensive assessment of the local youth gang problem. 
Each site has collected relevant data from multiple sources, including 
police, schools, courts, and community residents. They have gathered 
various types of data, including data on gang crime, the presence of 
risk factors for gang membership, and community demographics, and data 
from community surveys and focus groups. This information was used in 
each site to determine the nature and scope of the existing youth gang 
problems. A steering committee made up of community representatives in 
each site used the final assessment findings to develop a response to 
the problems identified. In two of the four sites, it was determined 
and agreed locally that an intensive gang intervention effort was not 
necessary. Instead, these two communities will use the data to develop 
gang prevention services and

[[Page 79687]]

intervene with delinquent and gang-involved youth through a less 
intensive effort. The remaining two sites have determined that a more 
intensive gang intervention effort is required and will implement the 
OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model in FY 2001.
    In FY 2001, OJJDP will support the two communities implementing the 
OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model. An independent evaluation of these two 
sites will also be conducted and technical assistance will be provided 
through the National Youth Gang Center.
    This initiative will be implemented by two of the four current 
grantees, Glenn County, CA, and Mount Vernon, IL. No additional 
applications will be solicited for this initiative in FY 2001.

Technical Assistance to the Gang-Free Schools and Communities 
Initiatives

    In FY 2000, OJJDP launched a multisite replication of the OJJDP 
Comprehensive Gang Model and a four-site demonstration program to 
implement the Model and further enhance the Model's school component. 
In FY 2001, OJJDP will fund the National Youth Gang Center to provide 
training and technical assistance during the implementation stages of 
this initiative in selected communities across the country. The 
National Youth Gang Center is currently providing technical assistance 
on OJJDP's Model to communities involved in OJJDP's Rural Gang 
Initiative and to other OJJDP grantees.
    OJJDP will provide a supplemental award to the National Youth Gang 
Center to provide the technical assistance. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

Delinquency Prevention and Intervention

Assessing Alcohol, Drug, and Mental (ADM) Disorders Among Juvenile 
Detainees

    This project is a major longitudinal study assessing alcohol, drug, 
and mental disorders among juveniles in the Cook County Detention 
Center in Chicago, IL. 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 
(whether they return to the community or are incarcerated), and (3) to 
study the development and interrelationship of dangerous and risky 
behaviors related to violence, substance use, and HIV/AIDS. This 
project is unique because the sample is so large: it includes 1,833 
youth from Chicago who were arrested and interviewed between 1995 and 
1998. The sample is stratified by gender, race (African American, 
Hispanic, non-Hispanic white), and age. Initial interviews have been 
completed, and extensive archival data (arrest and incarceration 
history, health and mental health treatment, etc.) collected on each 
subject. The investigators have been tracking the subjects and are now 
conducting the first set of followup interviews. A significant number 
of deaths, virtually all of them linked to violence (e.g. gunshot 
wounds), have already occurred. Because of their extensive and thorough 
tracking procedures, the investigators will be able to reinterview 
subjects regardless of whether they are back in the community, 
incarcerated, or have left the immediate area. The large sample size 
will provide sufficient statistical power to study rarer disorders 
(including co-occurring disorders), patterns of drug use, and risky, 
life-threatening behaviors.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, 
Northwestern University. No additional applications will be solicited 
in FY 2001.

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 now provides technical assistance to seven Chicago 
communities and citywide organizations involved in violence prevention 
planning. In FY 2001, the Chicago Project will complete evaluation 
reports on the first three communities involved in the project.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
University of Illinois, School of Public Health. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Communities In Schools, Inc.

    The purpose of Communities In Schools (CIS) is to provide training 
and technical assistance to the CIS Network that will result in 
increased ability to build economic opportunity for CIS students and 
families, to build healthy families and communities, and to build 
healthy public-private partnerships throughout the CIS Network. A 
special focus is placed on strengthening the families of CIS youth. In 
FY 2000, CIS has exceeded anticipated outcomes and demonstrated that 
grant resources have leveraged additional activity for family 
strengthening activities in the CIS Network. Working with the Families 
and Schools Together (FAST) National Training and Evaluation Center, 
CIS is creating a network of expert trainers to disseminate proven 
family strengthening initiatives. To that end, the focus has been on 
``seeding'' the CIS Network with the Families and Schools Together 
(FAST) research-based approach to family strengthening. The 
implementation of the FAST program is taking place through statewide 
initiatives in Missouri, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and 
interest in statewide replication has been identified in Georgia, 
Kentucky, and Texas. In FY 2001, Communities In Schools will expand the 
number of sites in the CIS Network implementing the FAST program.
    The program will be implemented by the current grantee, Communities 
In Schools, Inc. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 
2001.

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 is identifying factors that influence the adoption of 
the public health approach and assessing 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, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, 
Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
    This project will be implemented under an interagency agreement 
with the National Institute on Drug Abuse by

[[Page 79688]]

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 2001.

Do the Write Thing Challenge Program

    This program provides youth at risk of delinquency, crime, and 
victimization with an opportunity to use the written word to express 
their ideas on how best to address these problems in their communities. 
The program uses teachers and volunteers from law enforcement, the 
juvenile justice system, the medical community, and youth-serving 
organizations to work with the youth to develop their ideas and put 
them on paper in narrative or poetic form. Program participants learn 
to respect others' ideas and to understand the value and power of 
words. Students are asked to accept the challenge and pledge to avoid 
violence in their own lives and help prevent and reduce it in the lives 
of others.
    With OJJDP funding, which began in FY 1997, the program has 
expanded to 18 cities with more than 450 schools and youth-serving 
organizations participating. This past school year, more than 50,000 
students participated in the program's classroom discussions about 
youth violence and possible solutions. In FY 2001, the program will 
prepare a comprehensive analysis of at least 5,000 student submissions, 
publish a summary and develop a computer presentation of that analysis, 
and provide training and technical assistance to help the local Do the 
Write Thing committees establish a new initiative, Community Peace 
Partnerships, to unite local groups working to prevent and reduce youth 
violence and victimization.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
National Campaign to Stop Violence. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program

    In FY 1999, OJJDP began funding seven sites around the country to 
implement truancy reduction programs. Grantees, representing a 
diversity of models and geographic locations, include Contra Costa, CA; 
Honolulu, HI; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; King County, WA; Suffolk 
County, NY; and Tacoma, WA. Also in 1998, OJJDP funded the Colorado 
Foundation for Families and Children (CFFC) to conduct a national 
evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program. As part of 
the evaluation, CFFC is working with the sites to (1) determine how 
community collaboration can impact truancy reduction and lead to 
systemic reform; and (2) assist OJJDP in the development of a community 
collaborative truancy reduction program model and identify the 
essential elements of that model. To that end, CFFC will continue to 
assist project sites during this second year to identify and document 
the nature of the truancy problem in their communities, enhance the 
process of effective truancy reduction planning and collaboration, and 
incorporate that process into the implementation of the Truancy 
Reduction Demonstration Program at each site. In addition, CFFC is 
assisting sites in collecting information on truant youth and 
documenting services. The project is scheduled to last 3\1/2\ years.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior

    The purpose of this study, started in FY 1998, is to examine the 
development of childhood antisocial behavior in a three-generation 
prospective panel study, by making the children of the current 
participants in the OJJDP-sponsored Rochester Youth Development Study 
the focal subjects of a new long-term study. By the age of 21, 40 
percent of the original Rochester participants were parents. The study 
will combine data obtained from the original study on the participants 
and their parents, with data from this new project collected on the 
children of the original participants. This provides the unique 
opportunity to examine and track the development of delinquent behavior 
across three generations in a particularly high-risk sample. Such a 
cohort is rare in social science research. The results of the study 
should provide very useful findings that should have policy 
implications for prevention programs. In the second year of this 5-year 
commitment, the program will continue data collection.
    The project will be implemented under an interagency agreement with 
the National Institute of Mental Health by the current grantee, the 
University at Albany, State University of New York. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Investing in Youth for a Safer Future--A Public Education Campaign

    OJJDP will continue its support of the National Crime Prevention 
Council's (NCPC's) ``Invest in Youth for a Safer Future'' advertising 
campaign through the transfer of funds to the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance (BJA). OJJDP and BJA are working with NCPC 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 implemented under an interagency agreement with 
the Bureau of Justice Assistance by the current grantee, the National 
Crime Prevention Council. No additional applications will be solicited 
in FY 2001.

Multisite, Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention 
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

    OJJDP will transfer funds under a 5-year 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 2001 and will follow the original families and a 
comparison group. OJJDP's participation, which began in FY 1998, 
supports continued investigations into the subjects' delinquent 
behavior and contact with the legal system, including arrests and court 
referrals.
    This program will be implemented through an interagency agreement 
with the National Institute of Mental Health. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Risk Reduction Via Promotion of Youth Development

    Also known as Early Alliance, this program, begun in FY 1997, is a 
large-scale prevention study involving hundreds of 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. The 
interventions begin in the first grade, and children are followed 
longitudinally throughout the 5 years of

[[Page 79689]]

the project. A major goal of the project is to reduce the development 
of conduct problems, aggression, and subsequent delinquency and 
violence. The project also seeks to alter home and school climates in 
order to reduce risk for adverse outcomes and to promote positive youth 
development. This project is in the final year of a 5-year project 
period.
    This project will be implemented under an interagency agreement 
with the National Institute of Mental Health by the current grantee, 
the University of South Carolina. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

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. HHS's Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration has partnered with OJJDP to fund a 
cooperative agreement with 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 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 child welfare system 
whose parents are AOD abusers.
    Previously, the grantee developed a curriculum based on the 
Substance Affected Families Environmental and Strengths Assessment, 
drafted a training outline, edited design materials, and provided 
ongoing support to CWLA national training staff. In FY 2001, CWLA will 
continue the development and online dissemination of resource 
materials, training, and technical assistance to improve the ability of 
child welfare and juvenile justice direct service professionals to 
prepare youth in out-of-home care for adulthood, promote their positive 
development, and support them in avoiding high-risk behaviors.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the Child 
Welfare League of America. No additional applications will be solicited 
in FY 2001.

Study of the Marketing of Age-Restricted Violent Entertainment to 
Children

    This study, published on September 11, 2000, was conducted by the 
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with financial support from OJJDP. The 
study reported on the extent to which movies, video and computer games, 
and music recordings that are age-restricted because of their violent 
content are marketed or are available to children. The FTC completed 
four major tasks under this program: developed basic background 
information on the three industries and developed the study plan and 
procedures, surveyed industries to determine age groups being targeted 
in industry promotions, surveyed juveniles and parents to determine 
attitudes toward ratings, and conducted a survey to determine the 
degree of compliance with existing industry ratings. OJJDP is working 
with the FTC to develop materials to help parents better control their 
children's access to media products inappropriate for their age. The 
materials will explain the various rating systems; explain how 
materials are marketed to children, especially in locations not 
monitored by parents; and suggest actions parents may take to reassert 
their control over the types of media products to which their children 
are exposed.
    This project will be implemented by the Federal Trade Commission 
under an extension to an interagency fund transfer agreement. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Technical Assistance for Community Prevention Programs--Title V

    The purpose of this contract is to provide OJJDP with the capacity 
to provide communities with training and technical assistance support 
for implementation of the Title V--Community Prevention Grants program. 
The contractor will continue to provide nationwide training and 
technical assistance for State and local jurisdictions on developing 
and implementing comprehensive communitywide, data-based delinquency 
prevention strategies. Through training and technical assistance, 
community representatives develop the knowledge and skills necessary to 
assess risk and protective factors for delinquency prevention. 
Community leaders will be trained to identify and direct community 
resources to address identified risk factors.
    This project will be implemented by the current contractor, 
Development Services Group. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program

    In FY 1998, OJJDP, the Office of Justice Programs' Executive Office 
of Weed and Seed, and the U.S. Department of Education jointly engaged 
in a grant program to address truancy. This program specifically 
outlines four major comprehensive components: (1) System reform and 
accountability, (2) a service continuum to address the needs of 
children and adolescents who are truant, (3) data collection and 
evaluation, and (4) a community education and awareness program from 
kindergarten through grade 12 that addresses the need to prevent 
truancy and to intervene with youth who are truant. The goals of this 
program are to develop and implement or expand and strengthen 
comprehensive truancy programs that pool education, justice system, law 
enforcement, social services, and community resources to (1) identify 
truant youth; (2) cooperatively design and implement comprehensive, 
systemwide programs to meet the needs of truants; and (3) design and 
maintain systems for tracking truant youth. OJJDP has awarded funds for 
this program to seven sites: three non-Weed-and-Seed sites (Honolulu, 
HI; Jacksonville, FL; and King County, WA) and four Weed and Seed sites 
(Houston, TX; Martinez, CA; Tacoma, WA; and Yaphank, NY). All sites are 
currently involved in program development and implementation of plans 
that link youth and adolescents who are truant with community-based 
services and programs. They are also involved in full implementation of 
the community's comprehensive systemwide plan to prevent and intervene 
with the problem of truancy. This program is currently being evaluated 
by the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children (CFFC), which is 
conducting a process evaluation that will help to identify key elements 
of an effective truancy program.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantees, Honolulu, 
HI; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; King County, WA; Martinez, CA; 
Tacoma, WA; and Yaphank, NY. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

[[Page 79690]]

Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System

Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) Training Project

    The goal of the BARJ project is to help control juvenile 
delinquency through increased use of restitution, community service, 
and other innovative programs as part of a jurisdictionwide juvenile 
justice change from traditional retributive or rehabilitative system 
models to balanced and restorative justice orientation and procedures. 
The specific steps for achieving this goal involve preparing materials, 
training personnel interested in BARJ, and providing onsite technical 
assistance to selected State and local jurisdictions committed to 
implementing BARJ. Materials to be developed in FY 2001, the third year 
of a 3-year project period, will include documents on restorative 
justice programs, practices, and policy directions. The materials will 
be useful for training juvenile justice system practitioners and 
managers on the BARJ model and for providing onsite technical 
assistance. The training and technical assistance will be delivered at 
regional and national roundtables, juvenile justice conferences, and 
specialized workshops. ``Training of trainers'' programs will also be 
offered. There will be some concentration of BARJ technical assistance 
at the State level and on advancing judges' and prosecutors' leadership 
in the area of restorative justice. Further, there will be an effort to 
involve corporations and foundations in BARJ implementation and initial 
exploration of introducing BARJ in higher education.
    Over recent years, the BARJ Project has reached justice system 
managers and practitioners in every State, and there is now some 
restorative justice activity going on in every State. The project has 
developed both basic and advanced BARJ training curriculums (in 
cooperation with the National Institute of Corrections); BARJ resource 
documents, such as an implementation guide, and a soon-to-be-published 
restorative justice inventory. In addition, numerous articles in 
professional periodicals have been published by project staff and 
consultants.
    During the past 12 months, BARJ staff and consultants presented 
more than 25 key training and technical assistance events. Notable 
among these were a number of roundtables for judges, Native American 
juvenile justice administrators, and (regionally) representatives of 
States interested in implementing BARJ. The roundtables typically draw 
from 30 to 40 local juvenile justice leaders. BARJ staff also held 
Forums on Changing Roles for Juvenile Probation, Prosecutor Involvement 
in Restorative Justice, and Strength-Based Rehabilitation and 
Competency Development. Further, intensive training and onsite 
technical assistance were provided to nine ``special emphasis States.'' 
In addition, BARJ staff and consultants delivered two ``train the 
trainer'' courses and a Basic BARJ Principles course (in cooperation 
with the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants program and 
with the National Institute of Corrections). Since 1998, the project 
has organized or made presentations at more than 100 events. Over 
10,000 juvenile justice and related practitioners have participated in 
these events. Seven BARJ publications are currently in various stages 
of production.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Florida 
Atlantic University. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 
2001.

Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Training and Technical Assistance

    In FY 1998, OJJDP funded a cooperative agreement with the Center 
for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the University of 
Colorado. Under this agreement, 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 a 
period of 2 years.
    The model programs being replicated under this award include 
Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies 
(PATHS), Nurse Home Visitation, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care 
(MTFC), Quantum Opportunities Program, Bullying Prevention Program, 
Functional Family Therapy (FFT), and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters 
(BBBS) Mentoring Program.
    To date, 40 sites are participating in the program. Overall, 594 
individuals have been trained, for a total of 158 days of training.
    CSPV has completed process evaluation visits with all 40 sites. A 
total of 3,078 individuals have been served through the Blueprints 
initiative. MST and BBBS clients have completed their fist year of 
implementation. Total clients served to date include the following: 
Bullying Prevention (2,303), PATHS (581), FFT (30), MTFC (7), MST 
(119); and BBBS (38). In FY 2001, the final year of a 2-year project 
period, the grantee will continue to provide overall guidance to the 
program and monitor the integrity of each implementation. CSPV will 
also conduct process evaluation site visits, provide phone 
consultation, and provide training and technical assistance.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
Regents of the University of Colorado. No additional applications will 
be solicited in FY 2001.

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 sources 
other than OJJDP. Funding by OJJDP began in FY 1998.
    The grantee, Youth Law Center (YLC), has undertaken a number of 
tasks to move this initiative forward. The grantee recently published a 
comprehensive report on the disparate impact on minority youth by the 
justice system at critical decision points. YLC is also supporting a 
wide range of national and local advocacy organizations to work for 
needed juvenile justice reforms. The grantee continues to build a 
constituency for change at the national, State, and local levels with 
this effort being informed by development of communications strategies 
based upon the results of a series of national focus groups that survey 
public opinion and perceptions of juvenile crime. YLC has released two 
publications, The Color of Justice and And Justice for Some, each of 
which drew attention and raised the interest levels of various public 
officials and interest groups. Several new

[[Page 79691]]

publications will be proposed for development in FY 2001.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Youth Law 
Center. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement

    The Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) collects 
individual-level data on all juveniles in residential placement on a 
specific reference day (the fourth Wednesday in October). The data 
elements collected include age, sex, race, placing agency, legal 
status, and most serious offense. Because this project is a census, it 
allows for State-level reporting of juveniles in residential placement 
or custody. The census is mailed to all facilities that can and do hold 
juvenile offenders. Facility personnel report on all offenders under 21 
residing in their facilities on the specific reference day. The 
facilities also provide some basic information on any other persons who 
do not fit these criteria. The CJRP was first conducted in October 1997 
and then again in October 1999. Data from the 1997 CJRP are available 
on the Internet in tabular form at OJJDP's Web site 
(www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org). Data from the 1999 CJRP will be available for 
public use by January 2001. The CJRP will be conducted a third time in 
October 2001, with data available by December 2002.
    This program will be continued through the extension of an 
interagency agreement with the Bureau of the Census. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Center for Students With Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System

    During FY 1999, OJJDP undertook 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. It is expected that this project will have a 
significant impact on the improvement of juvenile justice system 
services for students with disabilities. Improvements in the areas of 
prevention, educational services, and reintegration based on a 
combination of research, training, and technical assistance will lead 
to improved results for children and youth with disabilities. 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 in the juvenile justice 
system.
    This program will be implemented under an existing 5-year 
interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Education by the 
current grantee, the University of Maryland. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

Comprehensive Children and Families Mental Health Training and 
Technical Assistance

    OJJDP, under a 3-year interagency agreement, transferred funds to 
the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) in FY 1999 and FY 2000 to 
supplement a contract for training and technical assistance to the 
CMHS-funded Comprehensive Mental Health sites. The grantee has 
established the training and technical assistance center in Washington, 
DC, and has hired staff with juvenile justice and mental health 
experience to coordinate training and technical assistance to the 42 
funded sites. This training and technical assistance is designed to 
enhance the involvement of the juvenile justice system in the systems 
of care being developed in each of the CMHS-funded sites. The juvenile 
justice coordinator has been working with program sites requesting 
assistance in engaging their juvenile justice systems through onsite 
and telephone technical assistance. The coordinator has also 
established linkages with key juvenile justice associations, such as 
the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, to foster 
their involvement. Additionally, the coordinator is developing a 
resource guide for the sites. Funds will be transferred to CMHS in FY 
2001 for the final year of the 3-year interagency agreement.
    This initiative will be implemented through an interagency 
agreement with the Center for Mental Health Services. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Connecticut/Cook County (IL) Girls Collaborative

    A national collaboration between the State of Connecticut and Cook 
County, IL, has been forged around the needs of court-involved girls. 
The primary goal of this collaboration is the creation of a replicable 
model of systems change for court-involved girls, including girls who 
are pregnant and/or young mothers. Since this project began in FY 1997, 
the sites have shared lessons learned and have taken action to improve 
services to court-involved girls. Specific accomplishments include 
conducting comprehensive studies of the Connecticut female juvenile 
offender population, convening a statewide ``Gender Responsiveness'' 
conference, providing training to juvenile justice staff on gender 
responsiveness, and developing a case management system for girls and a 
risk and needs assessment instrument. The project has begun to 
implement a pilot program and test gender-specific services.
    OJJDP will support this national collaboration in FY 2001 in order 
to continue to develop innovative responses to the female offender 
population and girls at-risk of entering the juvenile justice system.
    The program will be implemented by the current grantees, Cook 
County Board of Commissioners and Connecticut Judicial Branch. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Development of the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and 
Chronic Juvenile Offenders

    This continuation grant will enable OJJDP to provide communities 
with training and technical assistance support for development of 
strategic plans and implementation of those plans that are based on the 
research foundation of the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, 
and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. The grantees will continue to provide 
training and technical assistance for State and local jurisdictions on 
developing and implementing comprehensive strategic plans that are 
designed to reduce juvenile delinquency. Through training and technical 
assistance, communities will develop the knowledge and skills necessary 
to assess risk and protective factors, develop and implement research-
based programs and prevention and graduated sanctions services, and 
more effectively address juvenile crime in their communities.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantees, 
Developmental Research and Programs, Inc. and the National Council on 
Crime and Delinquency. No additional applications will be solicited in 
FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Department of Labor's Education and Training for 
Youthful Offenders Initiative

    This evaluation, initially funded in FY 1999, has documented the 
activities undertaken by two States awarded grants under the U.S. 
Department of Labor's (DOL's) Education and Training for Youthful 
Offenders Initiative. Each DOL grantee will provide comprehensive 
school-to-work education and training within a juvenile correctional 
facility and followup and

[[Page 79692]]

job placement services as youth return to the community. It is intended 
that the comprehensive services developed under these grants will serve 
as models for other juvenile correctional facilities across the 
country.
    The OJJDP-sponsored evaluation of these projects is being conducted 
in two phases. During Phase I, a process evaluation is under way at 
each site to document the extent to which educational, job training, 
and aftercare services were enhanced with DOL funding. Also, the 
feasibility of conducting an impact evaluation at each site is being 
determined during Phase I. Phase II will entail conducting an impact 
evaluation at one or both sites. For those sites where a rigorous 
impact evaluation can be conducted, the effects of the program on job-
related skills, employment, earnings, academic performance, and 
recidivism will be measured. The FY 2001 funds will be used to support 
the impact evaluation, if a feasible research design is accepted by 
OJJDP and the DOL.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
National Council on Crime and Delinquency. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

Evaluation of the Performance-Based Standards Project

    To enhance the usefulness of the Performance-Based Standards (PbS) 
project, OJJDP entered into an interagency agreement with the U.S. 
Department of Commerce, under its Performance Consortium Program, to 
support a formative evaluation of the project. This evaluation is being 
conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), 
which founded the Center for Improving Government Performance, through 
which it administers the Performance Consortium. NAPA's national 
evaluation provides an independent assessment of the PbS project's 
design, field support, and program implementation. Currently, the PbS 
project has 58 participating juvenile facilities, including active 
participation by 11 State youth correctional agencies. This evaluation, 
which has been ongoing since 1998, provides feedback to the project 
team (the Council of Juvenile Corrections Administrators, Abt 
Associates, project consultants, site coordinators, and OJJDP) 
regarding facilities' experiences with and perceptions of the PbS 
program and satisfaction with field support from project staff. The 
evaluator has contributed to numerous program improvements, including 
recommended strategies to reduce site coordinator turnover, revisions 
to the data collection instruments, the PbS Web site and training 
manuals, the development of the automated PbS Project Monitoring 
System, and exploration of the issues regarding data privacy.
    Recent survey results from the national evaluation indicated 
initial positive findings in terms of both the adoption of the PbS 
model and improved performance outcomes within the facilities. Although 
nearly one-third of the facility respondents reported experiencing 
significant difficulties with initial implementation, there was a 
strong consensus among participating facilities that performance-based 
standards will ultimately be accepted and used in juvenile correction 
and detention facilities. The national evaluator is paying particular 
attention to the process and benefits of demonstration grants provided 
to assist facilities in carrying out specific aspects of the PbS 
program. FY 2001 will continue the formative evaluation of the PbS 
project as more facilities join the program and as critical components 
of the PbS program model are finalized and criteria for full 
implementation are specified. A final report will be developed on the 
national evaluation findings.
    This program will be funded in FY 2001 under an interagency 
agreement with the Department of Commerce and implemented by the 
current grantee, the National Academy of Public Administration. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

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, MA; Contra Costa County 
and Imperial County, CA; Fort Belknap, MT; Seattle, WA; 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. FY 2001 
is the final year of the 6-year project period.
    The evaluation will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
Urban Institute. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 
2001.

Juvenile Defender Training, Technical Assistance, and Resource Center

    The Juvenile Defender Training, Technical Assistance, and Resource 
Center (Juvenile Defender Center), now in its second year of funding 
under a 5-year project period grant, was competitively awarded to the 
American Bar Association (ABA) in FY 1999. The Juvenile Defender Center 
fills a major gap in resources and support for juvenile defenders in 
the United States by providing training and technical assistance 
services. Nationally focused training and technical assistance for 
juvenile defenders did not exist before OJJDP funded the original Due 
Process Advocacy project from 1993 to 1999. Building on the Due Process 
Advocacy project, the Juvenile Defender Center project is designed to 
facilitate the development of a permanent training and technical 
assistance capability for juvenile defenders in the United States. 
Improving the capabilities and skills of juvenile defenders will 
strengthen the juvenile justice system and provide greater assurance 
that juveniles charged with delinquency will receive the due process 
and adequate representation they are guaranteed under the U.S. 
Constitution.
    Over the past year, the ABA and its project partners (the Juvenile 
Law Center and the Youth Law Center) have completed planning for the 
implementation of the program, held the third National Juvenile 
Defenders Summit at Georgetown University Law School in Washington, DC, 
and participated in the planning and implementation of the Office of 
Justice Programs' National Defenders Conference in June 2000. In 
accordance with grant timelines, the ABA competitively selected and 
funded eight Regional Juvenile Defender Centers, designed to provide 
services to the juvenile defense bar on a regional level. The ABA also 
organized and held forums on representing female juvenile offenders and 
on representing juveniles who have mental health problems. The ABA and 
its project partners held the fourth Juvenile Defender Summit in 
Houston, TX, in October 2000. The ABA also continues to provide 
national technical assistance and materials to assist juvenile 
defenders with their cases. A unique funding mechanism, used for the 
first time with this grant program, provides incentive funds to the ABA 
to the extent it can raise additional funds in the private sector or 
obtain in-kind services. The ABA and its partners have been highly 
successful

[[Page 79693]]

in raising funds and obtaining donated resources. The success of these 
efforts underscores the importance of the juvenile defense issue to the 
private funding community.
    This project will be continued in FY 2001 by the current grantee, 
the American Bar Association. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Juvenile Justice Prosecution Unit

    The goal of this project, first funded in FY 1995, is to increase 
and improve prosecutor involvement in juvenile justice. FY 2001 is the 
final year of the project period. The grantee, the American Prosecutors 
Research Institute (APRI), the training and technical assistance arm of 
the National District Attorneys Association, identifies prosecutor 
training and technical assistance needs in the juvenile justice area 
through ongoing assessment by a working group of experienced 
prosecutors. The project designs and presents specialized training 
events for elected and appointed district attorneys and juvenile unit 
chiefs. The training deals with prosecutor leadership roles in the 
juvenile justice system and with the clarification or resolution of 
important juvenile justice issues. Such issues include juvenile policy, 
code revisions, resource allocation, charging, transfer to criminal 
court, alternative juvenile programs, confinement, record 
confidentiality, and collaboration with other agencies. Training also 
addresses the role of other areas in juvenile justice, such as 
community prosecution, community justice, restorative justice, 
community assessment centers, and mental health concerns. In addition, 
APRI develops training and reference materials pertaining to 
significant juvenile justice topics.
    The project has developed workshop and training materials and a 
``Compendium of Programs'' operated or supported by prosecutor offices. 
The grantee presents six or more training events each year, including 
special issues seminars dealing with delinquency prevention, crime on 
campus, and other topics of interest to prosecutors. The project 
advisory group, made up of both chief and deputy prosecutors, advises 
APRI staff on training topics and also serves as training faculty.
    Recent APRI training topics and workshops have included a ``train 
the trainer'' course; a Juvenile Justice Leadership Summit; a Juvenile 
Justice Track (a number of seminars) at the annual National District 
Attorneys Association conference and a Juvenile Justice Prosecution 
Track (a number of seminars) at the National Conference on Juvenile 
Justice; a Juvenile Justice Prosecution course with a distance learning 
component; and several additional workshops in conjunction with the 
Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants Jumpstart program. Two 
special issues workshops are currently under development. Over the past 
year, APRI has trained more than 600 juvenile justice prosecutors. The 
APRI Juvenile Justice project also provides technical assistance, 
usually in the form of responses to requests for information on 
subjects related to juvenile justice.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
American Prosecutors Research Institute. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

Juvenile Residential Facility Census

    OJJDP designed this new census to collect important information on 
facility characteristics, services provided in juvenile facilities, and 
conditions within those facilities. It provides a biennial census of 
residential facilities used by the juvenile justice system to hold 
youth accused of or adjudicated for an offense. The data collection 
forms will be mailed to each facility for completion by facility 
personnel. The Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) will collect 
information on health care services, mental health counseling or 
treatment, substance abuse treatment, and education. The questions in 
the census will also determine whether youth in the facility have 
access to the specific services (the methods used in the census cannot 
make evaluative statements on the quality of those services). The JRFC 
will also ask specific questions about the nature of the facility 
itself. It contains a series of questions that get at conditions of 
confinement. A series of questions on the number of beds used 
(including makeshift beds) permit some analysis of whether the facility 
(or part of the facility) is crowded. Other questions ask about the use 
of isolation or restraints. Finally, the JRFC will collect information 
on any deaths in custody. The census was tested in October 1998. The 
first full JRFC was sent out in October 2000. Data collection will 
continue through April 2001, and final data will be available in 
October 2001.
    This project will be implemented through the extension of an 
existing interagency agreement with the Bureau of the Census, 
Governments Division and Statistical Research Division. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Longitudinal Study To Examine the Development of Conduct Disorder in 
Girls

    The purpose of this project, which began in FY 1998, is to examine 
the development of conduct disorder in a sample of 2,500 inner-city 
girls who were ages 6 to 8 at the beginning of the study. The study is 
following the girls annually for 5 years and will provide information 
that is critical to the understanding of the etiology, comorbidity, and 
prognosis of conduct disorder in girls. This project is important 
because delinquency in girls has been steadily increasing over the past 
decade and a better understanding of the developmental processes in 
girls will help in identifying effective means of prevention and 
provide direction for juvenile justice responses to delinquent girls. 
In the upcoming year, the program will continue data collection.
    The project will be implemented under an interagency agreement with 
the National Institute of Mental Health by the current NIMH grantee, 
the University of Pittsburgh. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project

    In FY 1999, the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project 
(NJJDAP) was funded to provide research and analysis into a wide 
variety of juvenile justice issues including juvenile placement, 
custody, arrests, victimization, and juvenile offending. However, the 
topics of interest to juvenile professionals are not limited to these 
typical justice topics. As research expands, the field is learning more 
and more about the intersection of between delinquency and other 
problems such as mental health disorders, education needs, and physical 
injury. Information about these problems can help in the design of 
effective prevention or intervention measures and also indicate what 
problems the justice system will face in dealing with delinquent youth. 
NJJDAP will examine issues of concern through cooperating with experts 
in related fields of interest and by using data collected in those 
fields. This project produces quick, unique analyses of these issues 
for publication by OJJDP. The intent is not to develop a unique 
research design for the individual questions. Rather, it is to address 
the individual questions within the context of existing data. 
Frequently, different data sets can be brought to bear on specific 
topics, giving a wider perspective on the particular topic at hand.

[[Page 79694]]

    In the coming year--the third year of a 3-year project period, 
NJJDAP will expand its roster of available consultants who can provide 
either data analysis expertise or knowledge on particular aspects of 
adolescent development, juvenile delinquency, or the justice system. 
The NJJDAP will also broaden its reach for innovative data sets to 
State and local levels. Currently, the project has focused its energy 
on national data; however, as questions arise concerning school 
victimization or recidivism, it is apparent that only State-level data 
sets are suitable for such analyses.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
National Center for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will 
be solicited in FY 2001.

National Juvenile Justice Program Directory

    To conduct statistical projects, OJJDP and the Census Bureau 
require a support infrastructure that enables the necessary survey 
tasks to be performed efficiently and effectively. This infrastructure 
includes as a basic component the maintenance of a list or frame of all 
survey or sampling units. For example, the surveying of residential 
facilities could not take place without a list of such facilities. 
Indeed, as OJJDP moves toward surveying these facilities once a year, 
this list must be maintained continuously. Also, as the Office moves 
toward surveying juvenile probation offices, OJJDP and the Census 
Bureau will need a current list of all such offices in the United 
States. Other areas of interest might include juvenile courts, police 
departments, State agencies, etc. The maintenance of the lists includes 
contacting various key State and local officials or practitioners who 
can provide the names of agencies or facilities associated with their 
respective agencies. It also requires maintaining current contact 
information for these agencies or facilities. Finally, it requires 
developing and updating a database of these facilities that contains 
information necessary for sampling or stratification purposes. This 
ongoing project fills the need for lists of juvenile agencies, 
programs, and facilities.
    This project will be conducted under an extension to an existing 
interagency agreement with the Bureau of the Census, Governments 
Division. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97

    OJJDP will continue to support the third round of data collection, 
begun in FY 1997, by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 
(NLSY97) under an interagency agreement with the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS). The 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. The survey will provide 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 to a nationally representative population of 
youth.
    The program will be implemented through the extension of an 
existing interagency agreement with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Performance-Based Standards for Juvenile Correction and Detention 
Facilities

    Performance-Based Standards (PbS) for Juvenile Correction and 
Detention Facilities is a program that began with a competitive 
cooperative agreement awarded to the Council of Juvenile Correctional 
Administrators (CJCA) in FY 1995. The PbS project team (CJCA, Abt 
Associates, and OJJDP) has created a performance management system for 
juvenile facilities that emphasizes accountability and continuous 
improvement. In 1999, 32 facilities (22 correctional facilities, 8 
detention centers, and 2 reception/diagnostic centers), with statewide 
participation by 3 State juvenile correctional systems, engaged in the 
PbS implementation process. Eighteen of the facilities received 
demonstration funds to support program implementation functions or to 
fund specific activities related to facility improvement plans for 
particular areas targeted for improvement.
    During FY 2000, 26 new facilities, from 8 additional States, began 
the full implementation process. In addition, the program underwent 
significant refinements to improve the implementation process. To 
reduce turnover among facility site coordinators and to ensure a full 
understanding of all aspects of the PbS program, the new sites were 
provided both orientation training and additional onsite technical 
assistance in using the streamlined data collection (via a secure Web 
site), interpreting performance results, and developing facility 
improvement plans.
    During the past year, the PbS project team finalized the PbS User's 
Manual; revised instruments and related tools on the Web site, 
including the Site Reports that are sent back to the facilities; 
developed and implemented data quality assurance protocols; and drafted 
and revised resource guides on juvenile sex offenders, mental health 
services, and behavior management. The project also extended the scope 
of performance measures to community reintegration functions for 
correctional programs, which are critical both within the institution 
and in the community. To gain direct experience with model community 
reintegration programs and to inform the development of performance 
measures, two PbS State systems participated in statewide training on 
the Intensive Aftercare Program. Finally, a new automated PbS Project 
Monitoring System was designed to manage more efficiently the overall 
PbS program implementation and to better track and analyze facility 
outcome results in particular areas of concern.
    FY 2001 funding will provide the resources needed for onsite 
training, technical and financial assistance, and data quality 
assurance assessments for the additional facilities currently receiving 
only limited support and continued support of two additional rounds of 
reporting for all sites. The performance measures and data collection 
tools for the community reintegration component will be field tested 
and incorporated into the Site Reports and Facility Improvement Plans. 
Additional technical and financial assistance will be provided for the 
development or modification of State Agency management information 
systems to accommodate reporting requirements for more fluid 
integration with online management reporting. The project will also 
complete the revisions of staff and youth interview protocols and 
related data collection and reporting components so that they are 
compatible with the final design of OJJDP's new Survey of Youth in 
Residential Placement instrument. This will allow for future comparison 
of results from the sites participating in this project with a national 
sample of youth facilities. Also, a series of research summaries 
regarding performance trends and improvements in various domains will 
be developed to inform the field about promising practices in improving 
specific outcomes.
    This program will be implemented by the current grantee, the 
Council of

[[Page 79695]]

Juvenile Correctional Administrators. No additional applications will 
be solicited in FY 2001.

Study Group on Very Young Offenders

    Modeled after the OJJDP Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile 
Offenders, this project 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. In FY 2001, the 
project will disseminate the results of its research to the public, 
policymakers, and practitioners.
    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 2001.

Systems Improvement Training and Technical Assistance

    In FY 1999, OJJDP competitively awarded funds to the Institute for 
Educational Leadership (IEL) to provide training and technical 
assistance to strengthen and sustain the capacity of SafeFutures and 
Safe Kids/Safe Streets demonstration sites in order to assist them with 
systems change activities. The project seeks to help sites (1) address 
their system goals and effectively address challenges, (2) educate and 
inform other communities and the juvenile justice field about how they 
can more effectively pursue community-based systems reform, (3) enhance 
the skills of community and staff leadership so they are better able to 
sort through the complexities of systems reform, and (4) build the 
overall capacity of the selected sites to engage in strategic planning, 
develop policies and programs, and build community collaboratives to 
address specific substantive challenges and achieve measurable results.
    Since the project was awarded, IEL has established a pool of 
consultants with expertise in areas related to systems improvement 
activities; developed resources useful to communities addressing issues 
critical to systems improvement, including using data effectively, 
achieving sustainability, and building consumer capacity and cultural 
competence; and provided assistance to Safe Kids/Safe Streets sites.
    In FY 2001, OJJDP will continue to fund the project in order to 
further provide assistance to selected OJJDP grantee communities 
interested in systems reform and change and to begin disseminating 
``lessons learned'' to other communities.
    This project will be implemented by the current grantee, Institute 
for Educational Leadership. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Survey of Juvenile Probation

    This project will design a survey instrument and survey methodology 
that OJJDP can use to routinely monitor the number and types of 
juveniles on probation. Probation has been an understudied segment of 
the juvenile justice system, yet it has been described as the workhorse 
of that system. OJJDP began this project in 1997 through an interagency 
agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau. The project has several phases. 
The first phase includes open-ended structured interviews with 
probation officers at the State and local levels in 10 States. Based on 
these interviews, the Census Bureau and OJJDP will develop a draft 
instrument designed to collect contact information for each office as 
well as stratifying information (e.g., number of youth supervised, 
number of officers, etc.). Phase II will include both cognitive 
interviews to test this first instrument (intended to be a census of 
probation offices) and structured interviews for the development of the 
probation survey. Based on these interviews, the Center for Survey 
Methods Research and the Governments Division of the Census Bureau will 
develop a feasibility test. This test will examine how well the forms 
work in collecting the necessary information from a small number of 
States. Phase III will include the development of the survey instrument 
and cognitive tests of this instrument in a number of probation 
offices. The final phase, Phase IV, will consist of a feasibility test 
of the final survey instrument. The Center for Survey Methods Research 
has completed Phase I of this project and will deliver to OJJDP a draft 
instrument in early 2001. Phase II of the project will start shortly 
after that point. OJJDP anticipates the first Survey of Juvenile 
Probation will take place in calendar year 2002.
    This project will be conducted through an interagency agreement 
with the Bureau of the Census. No additional applications will be 
solicited in FY 2001.

Technical Assistance to Native American Tribes and Alaskan Native 
Communities

    The Technical Assistance to Native American Tribes and Alaskan 
Native Communities project is designed to equip tribal governments with 
the necessary information and tools to enhance or develop 
comprehensive, systemwide approaches to reduce juvenile delinquency, 
violence, and victimization and increase the safety of their 
communities. In FY 1997, OJJDP awarded a 3-year cooperative agreement 
to American Indian Development Associates (AIDA) to provide training 
and technical assistance to Indian nations seeking to improve juvenile 
justice services to children, youth, and families.
    Throughout FY's 1998 and 1999, AIDA continued to provide technical 
assistance to Indian nations and developed information materials for 
Indian juvenile justice practitioners, administrators, and 
policymakers. Topic areas covered Indian youth gangs; personnel 
competency building, such as conducting effective preadjudication 
investigations and preparing reports; developing protocols to implement 
Tribal Children's Code provisions that affect Native American children; 
establishing sustainable, comprehensive community-based planning 
processes that focus on the needs of tribal youth; and developing and 
implementing culturally relevant policies, programs, and practices. The 
technical assistance and materials also addressed the overlapping roles 
and jurisdiction of Federal, State, and tribal justice systems, 
particularly in understanding the laws and public policies applicable 
to or effective in Indian communities.
    AIDA recorded 74 training and technical assistance events in FY 
2000, including 33 workshops. Technical assistance provided to the 
Indian nations included juvenile justice systems planning development, 
early intervention program training, application of indigenous justice 
and restorative justice practices, focus group processes and 
methodology, needs assessment development, and data collection. Three 
of the completed projects had multiregional representation, and five of 
the completed projects had a wider tribal representation. The Indian 
nations were from 6 regions: Midwest (8), Northwest (2), South Central 
(3), Southeast (2), and Southwest (10). Some projects featured 
collaboration with State and Federal organizations, bureaus, and 
agencies.

[[Page 79696]]

    In FY 2001, AIDA will provide continuing training and technical 
assistance to tribes seeking to develop and enhance their juvenile 
justice systems with emphasis in the following areas: developing a 
community-based secondary prevention program, developing a tribal 
justice probation system, developing multidisciplinary approaches to 
youth gang violence prevention, establishing risk assessment and 
classification systems, developing comprehensive strategies to handle 
offenders, expanding referral and service delivery systems, developing 
cooperative interagency and intergovernmental relationships, and 
developing technology to improve systems and increased access to 
juvenile justice information.
    A new solicitation will be issued and a grant awarded through a 
competitive process in FY 2001.

TeenSupreme Career Preparation Initiative

    In FY 1998, OJJDP, in partnership with the U.S. Department of 
Labor's (DOL's) Employment and Training Administration, provided 
funding support to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to demonstrate and 
evaluate 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 
2001, DOL will transfer funds to OJJDP to support program staffing in 
41 existing TeenSupreme Centers. These 41 clubs have hired employment 
specialists to work with up to 120 youth. Boys & Girls Clubs of America 
provides intensive training and technical assistance to each site and 
administrative and staffing support to the program from its national 
office. OJJDP funds support the process and impact evaluation component 
of the program, which is being implemented by an independent evaluator. 
In FY 2001, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with DOL funds, will 
select new career preparation sites. OJJDP will continue supporting the 
evaluation component.
    This TeenSupreme initiative will be implemented by the current 
grantee, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2001.

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 the National Evaluation of the 
Safe Kids/Safe Streets Program. The evaluation has three main goals: to 
document and explicate the process of community mobilization, planning, 
and collaboration taking place before and during the Safe Kids/Safe 
Streets award; 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 a feasibility 
study for a future impact evaluation. In FY 2001--the fifth year of a 
5-year project period, Westat will continue the process evaluation, 
which will focus on tracking the implementation efforts at each of the 
sites, and will continue working with local evaluators to develop their 
skills and capacity for program evaluation. Westat has recently 
submitted a plan for the impact evaluation, which includes a pilot 
study of their proposed case tracking procedure.
    This evaluation will be implemented by the current grantee, Westat, 
Inc. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Safe Kids/Safe Streets: Community Approaches To Reducing Abuse and 
Neglect and Preventing Delinquency

    This 5-year demonstration is designed to break the cycle of early 
childhood victimization and later delinquency and criminality by 
reducing child and adolescent maltreatment and fatalities. Several 
components of the Office of Justice Programs joined in FY 1996 to 
develop this coordinated community response program. These components 
provide fiscal and technical support for local efforts to restructure 
and strengthen the justice system and the child welfare, family 
services, education, health, and related systems to be more 
comprehensive and proactive in helping children, adolescents, and their 
families. Safe Kids requires the five funded sites to develop, 
implement, and/or expand cross-agency strategies and to partner with 
natural networks in their communities. OJJDP awarded competitive 
cooperative agreements in FY 1997 to five sites (Chittenden County, VT; 
Huntsville, AL; Kansas City, MO; the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa 
Indians, MI; and Toledo, OH). Funds were provided by OJJDP, the 
Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and the Violence Against Women 
Office. FY 2001 is the fourth year of a 5-year project period.
    This demonstration will continue to be implemented in FY 2001 by 
the current grantees: Chittenden County, VT; Huntsville, AL; Kansas 
City, MO; the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, MI; and 
Toledo, OH. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

    Dated: December 12, 2000.
John J. Wilson,
Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 00-32094 Filed 12-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P