OJJDP

In 2008, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention conducted the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), which is the most comprehensive survey to date to assess childhood victimizations. The survey was initiated under the OJJDP’s Safe Start program in efforts to increase authority knowledge of childhood victimizations, including sexual assault by an adult, kidnapping, gang or group assault, as well as indirect victimizations such as witness to assault and exposure to shooting of another.
Although the study primarily focused on which authorities, including police, school and medical officials, were more likely to know about certain types of victimizations, another interesting aspect of the study examined what kind of factors were preventing disclosure to authorities. It reported that authorities were less likely to know about victimizations of boys, Hispanic youth, and those of higher SES groups (Support Enforcement Services). Researchers speculate that victims with these characteristics are hesitant to report their exposure as a reflection of social norms and cultural concerns.
The study concludes that although there are higher rates of victimizations known to authorities, officials need to increase disclosure promotion aimed at these particular groups. It is important for victims to view these trained professionals as resources who can help protect them and not as people who they must fear.

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.

OJJDP's peer-reviewed Journal of Juvenile Justice is accepting article submissions for its third and fourth issues, with the third issue being released in October of 2012.
The recently released second issue includes articles on school learning in a rural juvenile detention facility, arrest histories among homeless youth, juvenile reentry and reintegration, community truancy boards, polygraph testing and assessment tools.
From the second issue's forward by OJJDP Acting Administrator Melodee Hanes:

As I begin my tenure as the Acting Administrator at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), one of my top priorities is to ensure that our partners in the field have ready access to the latest juvenile justice research and evaluation findings. Consequently, I am pleased to present the second issue of the Journal of Juvenile Justice (JOJJ)—OJJDP’s online peer-reviewed journal. I am particularly pleased to note that the intended audience for JOJJ is both practitioners and researchers. Prior to coming to OJJDP, I spent more than 16 years as a deputy county attorney prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault, and homicide cases. I know firsthand the importance—and the challenges—of getting this type of valuable information to professionals in the field.

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 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is seeking state-level probation agencies in adolescent mental health screening and risk/needs assessment areas.
From JuvJust:

The National Youth Screening and Assessment Project will support the participation of two state-level juvenile probation agencies in the Mental Health Screening and Risk/Needs Assessment in Juvenile Justice Demonstration Project. The probation agencies, which will be selected through a competitive process, will participate in the evaluation of an empirically informed approach to case planning. The project will evaluate and improve probation agencies’ decision-making skills when processing youth in the juvenile justice system, thereby reducing costs, improving resource allocation, and reducing further delinquency.

Sponsored by the OJJDP and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, this initiative is part of a broader partnership to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
Applications are due February 27, 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.

President Barack Obama unveiled his 2013 budget proposal Monday, which calls for $3.8 trillion in spending and projects a $901 billion deficit for the year. It was quickly met with resistance from Republican leadership.
“The President’s budget falls exceptionally short in many critical areas – including a lack of any substantive proposal for mandatory and entitlement spending reform,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), in a statement issued Monday.
Rogers promised to “go line by line through the President’s budget, prioritize programs, and make decisions on the appropriate investment of discretionary funds.”
Juvenile Justice
The President would fund the Office of Justice Programs at $1.7 billion in 2013, down from $2.7 billion in 2011 and $2 billion in 2012. The budget would increase spending on the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a division of OJP.

Formula grants to states (Title II): $70 million
2012 appropriation: $40 million
Delinquency prevention grants: $40 million
2012 appropriation: $20 million
Block grants to states (JABG): $30 million
2012 appropriation: $30 million
Mentoring programs: $58 million
2012 appropriation: $78 million
Community-Based Violence Prevention: $25 million
2012 appropriation: $8 million

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.

Good news from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). In their recently released Juvenile Arrests 2009 bulletin (the latest year data is available), OJJDP analysts found that in 2009, youth arrests for violent crime reached the lowest level in 20 years.

From the news release:

According to the 2009 data, U.S. law enforcement agencies made an estimated 1.9 million arrests of persons younger than 18 years old, nine percent fewer than in 2008. Between 2008 and 2009, there were declines in nearly every offense category. The number of juvenile arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses--murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault--decreased ten percent from 2008, reaching its lowest level since the early 1990s.

Good news! Materials from the OJJDP's 2011 National Conference for Children's Justice & Safety are now available online. 
For those unable to attend, the two-and-a-half day national conference addressed many of the key issues and strategies in the field of juvenile delinquency and victimization. Leading experts and researchers gave workshops and sessions that promoted evidence-based practices that incorporate emerging concerns in prevention, juvenile justice and victimization.
We hosted an all-day pre-conference workshop, focused on the Reclaiming Futures model and drug court. Video from the session is available below:
Video I
Introduction (Susan Richardson, National Director of Reclaiming Futures)
Why reform is needed – Reclaiming Futures' history and purpose (Susan Richardson)
What's happening in your court?  (The Honorable Anthony Capizzi, Reclaiming Futures Montgomery County) 
How many youth in your courts have a substance abuse problem? What happens to them as a result of that, and how do you measure progress and/or success with those efforts?
Reclaiming Futures model (Dan Merrigan, Ed.D., M.P.H., Reclaiming Futures Leadership Consultant and Christa Myers, Project Director, Reclaiming Futures Hocking County)