Blog: OJJDP

One of the greatest pleasures of working with Reclaiming Futures is getting to know juvenile justice leaders around the country—and celebrating their successes.
A great example is the team in Ventura County, California, who recently received a $600,000 two-year, Second Chance Act grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to serve young people with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. 
Because Ventura County Reclaiming Futures has demonstrated success—and funders like to invest in promising practices—they continue to attract partners to help teens overcome the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
Keep up the great work, Ventura County!

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is seeking juvenile justice experts to serve as peer reviewers for its 2013 grant applications.
From JuvJust:

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) invites practitioners with expertise in juvenile mentoring programs, youth-focused policing, and the implementation and evaluation of tribal youth initiatives to apply to serve as peer reviewers for its fiscal year 2013 discretionary grant applications.
To apply, e-mail a current résumé or curriculum vitae to OJJDPConsultantPool@usdoj.gov by November 30, 2012. Note your areas of expertise in the message body. OJJDP will compensate peer reviewers for their time and effort. OJJDP anticipates using these peer reviewers in March/April 2013.
Peer reviewers have at least 2 weeks to evaluate and rate a set number of applications and to submit their assessments electronically in the Office of Justice Programs’ Grants Management System. OJJDP will conduct a conference call in which a panel of at least three reviewers reach consensus on the merits and shortcomings of each application. OJJDP is committed to ensuring a fair and open process for awarding grants. Peer reviews, which provide an independent assessment of applications, play an important advisory role to that end.
Peer reviewers must comply with the OJP conflict of interest rules and regulations. For example, a peer reviewer cannot have a financial relationship with an organization that submitted an application under the solicitation being peer reviewed.

OJJDP posted findings from an underage drinking literature review in their September Juvenile Justice Bulletin. The review focuses on how drinking can affect teens’ mental and physical well being--highlights from the bulletin are included below (emphasis mine):

• The human brain continues to develop until a person is around age 25. Underage drinking may impair this neurological development, causing youth to make irresponsible decisions, encounter memory lapses, or process and send neural impulses more slowly.
• Underage drinking cost society $68 billion in 2007, or $1 for every drink consumed. This includes medical bills, income loss, and costs from pain and suffering.
• In 2009, 19 percent of drivers ages 16–20 who were involved in fatal crashes had a blood alcohol concentration over the legal adult limit (0.08).
• Alcohol use encourages risky sexual behavior. Youth who drink may be more likely to have sex, become pregnant, or contract sexually transmitted diseases.

On July 26, 2012, I attended the OJJDP and NTTAC webinar on the causes, correlates and pathways of multi-system youth. This was the first webinar in a series on improving outcomes for multi-system involved youth who cross over between child welfare and juvenile justice.

The following take-aways are from the first portion, presented by Dr. Denise Herz:

• Two of the most important predictors for crossing into delinquency are the number of referrals to the child welfare system and experiencing abuse persistently from early childhood into adolescence.
• Often youth will have a previous but not current child welfare case at the time of delinquency. If youth in the juvenile justice system are found to have a prior child welfare referral, it is important to revisit the child welfare case and to ensure that there is not current maltreatment.
• Risk factors for delinquency for those in the child welfare system include placement instability and the absence of pro-social bonds. Living in a group home has been found to increase the likelihood of delinquency compared to other types of placements.
• Child welfare and juvenile justice can’t do this alone. They need strong support and partnerships with behavioral health treatment and education. In particular, engaging and stabilizing youth in an educational placement can provide long-term improvements.

These are my take-aways from the portion presented by John Tuell:

On June 27, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. E.T., the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will present a Webinar titled, “Effective Strategies to Help Sustain Your Quality Programs.” 

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This Webinar is designed for jurisdictions, organizations, and individuals who want to:
 
-leverage cross-systems communications and collaborations to sustain effective programs
-learn social marketing skills and strategies
-advocate for their programs, services, initiatives, and functions
-engage clients, funders, and champions as advocates

On May 9, 2012, the OJJDP and SAMHSA will observe National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day to promote recovery and resilience for young people in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The two agencies will support efforts to help the public recognize signs of chlid trauma, promote treatment for children's traumatic experiences and promote trauma-informed social services and supports. 
Why is this important?
As we learned at this year's JMATE conference, childhood mental health problems increase the risk of substance use and addiction (because many teens are self-medicating) and substance use increases the risk of developing mental health problems. Trauma (especially when experienced at a young age) severely affects a child's ability to cope and affects brain size (NOT intelligence). And 92% of incarcerated kids have experienced one or more traumas during their childhood.
To learn more about National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day and to plan an activity, visit www.samhsa.gov/children.

Calling all juvenile justice and child welfare specialists! JuvJust recently announced a great opportunity:

The Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps will support the participation of four jurisdictions in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare System Integration Technical Assistance Initiative. The jurisdictions, which will be competitively selected, will receive technical assistance and consultation during a 12-month period to improve outcomes for families with youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are jointly sponsoring this project. This initiative is part of a broader partnership between OJJDP and the MacArthur Foundation to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

Applications are due March 9, 2012. 

The North Caroline Department of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention has an opening for a Reclaiming Futures Trainer who will provide training and technical assistance to existing and newly developed sites to help build statewide capacity for Reclaiming Futures. 
Description of Work
This position provides training and technical assistance to existing and newly developed Reclaiming Futures sites to help build statewide capacity for the program. Curriculum-based training, adaptation of the national RF curriculum to North Carolina, planning and further meeting the training needs at each site will be required. Must be able to conduct quality field research (raining methods, subject matter), have strong consultation and collaboration skills and work well as a team player.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Effective methods/models of adult learning; multi-media tools and methods for delivering training; strong research skills (evaluating subject matter, lesson plans, curricula, etc); excellent oral and written communication skills; strong experince in delivering adult education/adult learning training using multiple methods and modes; strong coordination and management skills (multiple priorities and tasks); skills in evaluating training and quality improvement.

After nearly three years of serving as acting administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Jeff Slowikowski has decided to step down. He will now serve as OJJDP's acting deputy administrator for policy. In a press advisory released today, Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, announced that Melodee Hanes will step in as acting administrator for the OJJDP.
From the release:

“We have welcomed the expertise and energy that Melodee Hanes has brought to the office in her role as counselor to the acting administrator--and will continue to bring to her new leadership role. Improving the quality of life for children, while ensuring their safety, is a priority for the Attorney General and I look forward to her leadership within the Office of Justice Programs,” said Assistant Attorney General Robinson. “I want to thank Jeff for his exceptional service. Jeff’s leadership has been vital to the important work of OJJDP and to the many successes we have had in the office over the past three years.”
During his tenure as acting administrator, Slowikowski oversaw distribution of more than $1.5 billion in funding to support juvenile programs, including $50 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He revitalized OJJDP’s research program, helped OJJDP launch important work in areas such as school discipline and tribal and military-youth mentoring, and oversaw OJJDP’s national symposium, a meeting of over 3,000 youth professionals.
Before serving as counselor to the acting administrator, Hanes spent 16 years as a deputy county attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, and Billings, Mont., primarily prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault and homicide cases. She has trained child protection investigators and served as an adjunct professor of law at Drake University, where she taught child abuse law, forensic medicine and forensic law. Hanes is a graduate of Drake University Law School.