Introduction

Tribal communities in the United States face formidable challenges. Although the difficulties that afflict American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities are not necessarily unique—violence, gangs, and drugs plague many communities nationwide—these problems are especially pervasive among tribal populations. Tribal communities experience disproportionately high levels of violent victimization, intimate partner violence, child abuse and neglect, youth gang involvement, and co-occurrence of alcohol use and offending. Of particular concern to AI/AN tribes¹ and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is the increasing number of violent crimes being committed by juveniles in many tribal communities. Although the rates of juvenile violent crime have declined throughout the United States for several years,² juvenile crime continues to increase in Indian country. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Special Report Violent Victimization and Race, 1993–98 (Rennison, 2001), American Indians experience violent crime at a rate twice that of the general population.

Tribal youth are exposed to a variety of risk factors that increase their chances of becoming involved in delinquency and violent offending—a trend that is compounded by tribal communities’ lack of available resources for families and youth and for the social services and law enforcement agencies that serve them. Many of the 1.9 million American Indians living on or near Indian lands lack sufficient law enforcement services (Office of the Associate Attorney General, 1999). Indian communities face chronic underfunding for their justice systems, lack access to meaningful training for law enforcement and justice personnel, and lack comprehensive programs that focus on preventing juvenile delinquency, providing intervention services, and imposing appropriate sanctions. OJJDP seeks to address these problems by enhancing Indian country law enforcement and improving the quality of life in tribal communities.

The Tribal Youth Program Manager represents OJJDP in a variety of interagency work groups that provide a forum for coordinating and sharing information on programs, available grants and funds, and data collection systems. This Manager actively participates in the following:

• Federal Interagency Work Group on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), with participants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS; Indian Health Service, HHS; Bureau of Indian Affairs-Law Enforcement, Department of Safety, DOI; Office of National Drug Control Policy; and Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  
  
• Mental Health Initiative Work Group, with participants from HHS, DOI, the Department of Education, and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
  
  
• Several DOJ intraagency projects shared with the Office on Violence Against Women, Office for Victims of Crime, Corrections Program Office, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and Tribal Courts.

Since fiscal year (FY) 1999, OJJDP has awarded 161 grants to tribes throughout the Nation to improve tribal juvenile justice systems and develop and implement culturally sensitive delinquency prevention programs, alcohol and substance abuse prevention programs, and interventions for court-involved tribal youth.

OJJDP’s commitment to preventing and reducing juvenile crime in AI/AN communities and improving tribal juvenile justice systems is reflected by its continued support of five broad program areas designed to help tribes address juvenile crime:

• OJJDP’s Tribal Youth Program (TYP) provides funds directly to tribal communities to develop programs that prevent and control juvenile delinquency, reduce violent crime, and improve tribal juvenile justice systems.
  
  
• OJJDP supports the TYP Mental Health Project, which provides diagnostic and treatment services to AI/AN youth involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, tribal and/or State juvenile justice systems.
  
  
• The Comprehensive Indian Resources for Community and Law Enforcement (CIRCLE) Project is a federal initiative that helps tribal communities develop comprehensive programs to address crime, violence, and substance abuse.
  
  
• OJJDP provides training and technical assistance to TYP grantees and other tribal communities to improve their responses to youth crime, violence, and victimization.
  
  
• OJJDP funds several research and evaluation activities that focus on juvenile justice problems in tribal communities.

This Bulletin highlights OJJDP’s current activities in five program areas and briefly summarizes additional OJJDP activities that involve tribal communities.

OJJDP's Tribal Youth Initiatives	OJJDP Bulletin • May 2003