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OJJDP Offers Enhanced Model Programs Guide

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Model Programs Guide (MPG) is a user-friendly online gateway to evidence-based (scientifically tested and proven) programs that address a range of issues across the juvenile justice continuum—from delinquency prevention to aftercare and reentry. In August 2005, the MPG is being expanded beyond delinquency prevention and intervention programs to include substance abuse, mental health, and education programs.

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor, OJJDP is identifying evidence-based programs that focus on at-risk and delinquent youth. In addition, the National Youth Gang Center is identifying and providing information about gang-related programs. The result of these cooperative efforts will expand the scope of the MPG beyond delinquency, violence, and substance abuse to include programs that focus on other youth problems such as tobacco use, trauma exposure, academic failure, poor interpersonal skills, family dysfunction, social and community disorganization, and sexual activity/exploitation. All programs in the MPG must demonstrate robust empirical findings using a sound conceptual framework and an evaluation design of high quality.

Although the MPG was originally developed as a tool to support the Title V Community Prevention Grants Program, all juvenile justice practitioners, educators, and health and substance abuse specialists, regardless of their funding sources, are encouraged to take advantage of this valuable resource.

The MPG profiles more than 250 programs and helps communities zero in on those that best suit their needs. Programs are organized into five categories:

• Prevention programs address at-risk youth before they become serious delinquents. Some program types include afterschool/recreation, truancy prevention, parent training, drug prevention, alcohol therapy/education, gang prevention, classroom curricula, and mentoring.
  
  
• Immediate sanctions programs hold youth accountable while diverting them from formal court processing. Some program types include community service, restitution, mediation, restorative justice, wraparound services, and teen courts.
  
  
• Intermediate sanctions programs hold youth accountable through more restrictive and intensive interventions (both nonresidential and residential). Some program types include community-based corrections, intensive supervision, school-based probation, drug courts, and alternative schools.
  
  
• Residential care programs are for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders who require incarceration. Some program types include group homes, correctional facilities, cognitive behavior treatment programs, and residential treatment centers.
  
  
• Reentry programs provide services that prepare juveniles for reentry into the community after residential placement or detention. Some program types include day treatment, reentry courts, and aftercare services.

Each program is assigned a rating—exemplary, effective, or promising—on the basis of specific evaluation criteria. Individual program profiles include information on risk and protective factors addressed, target population, intervention components, and evaluation design and outcomes. The profiles also provide references, links to related Web sites, and contact information.

With the MPG's easy-to-use search function (see sidebar), users can identify programs that match their community's target population characteristics and priority risk and protective factors. Users can also search the database by program type and effectiveness rating, or they can simply browse through all of the program profiles.

In addition to the searchable database, the MPG offers valuable background information to help users select delinquency prevention and intervention strategies that are most likely to make a difference in their communities. Written in clear, concise language, this information includes comprehensive reviews of risk and protective factors and detailed state-of-the-art research reviews for each type of program.

The MPG's database is continuously updated, and users are invited to nominate programs for inclusion. To access the MPG, visit ojjdp.ncjrs.org/programs/mpg.html.

OJJDP Joins Federal Partnership for Disadvantaged Youth

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is partnering with three other federal agencies to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts that serve at-risk and disadvantaged youth and their families. Under the Shared Youth Vision Collaboration, OJJDP, as the representative of the U.S. Department of Justice, will work with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

The Shared Youth Vision Collaboration arises out of recommendations from the White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth. These recommendations include:

• Better management. Streamline the federal response to disadvantaged youth and their families through interagency collaboration, realignment of programs, and improvements to the federal grantmaking system.

• Better accountability. Hold programs accountable for their results, through evaluations, development of performance measures for grantees, and rigorous oversight of earmarked programs.

• Better connections. Involve parents and youth in program implementation.

• Priority for the neediest youth. Target youth in foster care, youth aging out of the foster care system, juvenile offenders, children of incarcerated parents, and migrant youth.

As part of its efforts to implement these recommendations, in fall 2004, the Shared Youth Vision Collaboration (also known as the Federal Partnership) held forums in Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, and Phoenix, AZ, to foster the development of state teams. Forum participants included representatives from state governments, local workforce investment boards, state education and foster care systems, and juvenile justice professionals. State teams attending the forums developed and drafted an action plan. Some state teams have already held meetings, while others await further directions from the Federal Partnership.

Representatives from each of the federal agencies will form teams to coordinate efforts in each state. These federal teams will guide the states in developing and implementing this collaborative approach, monitor each state's progress toward meeting the goals in its action plan, share best practices, identify new members or missing components for each state team, provide access to resources and technical assistance, and, where appropriate, provide onsite support. In July 2005, the Federal Partnership released a letter requesting support at the Executive level for these efforts.

State Representatives within OJJDP's State Relations and Assistance Division (SRAD) represent the Office in this Federal Partnership. OJJDP is working with its federal partners to identify areas, such as training and technical assistance and funding, that lend themselves to collaboration. SRAD State Representatives are working with the juvenile justice specialists and other professionals in their states to foster support for collaboration at the state level and provide appropriate resources. Finally, OJJDP is exploring possible roles for the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within the framework of the Shared Youth Vision Collaboration.

2005 National Youth Summit Focuses on "Making a Difference"

Nearly 500 youth and adults from across the country participated in the 2005 National Youth Summit, "Youth in Action: Making a Difference." The summit, which took place at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC, on July 28–30, 2005, focused on how youth can make a difference in their communities. First Lady Laura Bush served as Honorary Chair of the event. Summit workshops addressed the following topics:

• Youth and public policy.
• Youth and the economy.
• Youth and community service.
• Youth and creativity.

Summit participants—who included faith-based and community leaders, youth-serving professionals, advocates, policymakers, educators, and youth—explored ways to build and maintain meaningful partnerships that strengthen communities. Dignitaries who attended the event included Keynote Speaker Alma Powell, Chair, America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth, and Mike Leavitt, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Youth speakers included Caitlyn Day of New Castle, VA, who as a high school senior spearheaded a campaign to raise funds to build a library in her community. Caitlyn was 1 of 10 students nationwide to receive the prestigious 2004 Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community, given annually by The Hitachi Foundation.

The National Youth Summit is an annual event that brings together youth and adults from across the country to celebrate the strengths and accomplishments of America's young people. The 2005 National Youth Summit was planned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Family and Youth Services Bureau in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Labor; the Corporation for National and Community Service; and America's Promise: The Alliance for Youth.

2005 OJJDP National Youth Gang Symposium Goes "Beyond the Colors"

The 2005 OJJDP National Youth Gang Symposium was held June 7–10, 2005, in Orlando, FL. The Symposium, titled "Beyond the Colors," focused on innovative and successful gang-related programs and strategies and provided current information on youth gang activities and trends from top national experts. The Symposium drew more than 1,400 attendees and featured a recorded address from the Attorney General and speakers and sessions sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, and Community Capacity Development Office. Former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, Tracy Henke, read a letter from First Lady Laura Bush.

Workshops focused on gang awareness, practical prevention and intervention strategies, law enforcement, schools and gangs, program management, and the justice system and gangs. Among the featured speakers were Robert Muzikowski, President, Benefit Planning, Inc., and Founder, Chicago Hope Academy, Chicago, IL; James C. "Buddy" Howell, Senior Research Associate, National Youth Gang Center; and Phelan Wyrick, OJJDP's Gang Program Coordinator. The Symposium was sponsored by OJJDP and co-hosted by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Youth Gang Center.

For gang-related news, information, and other resources, visit the National Youth Gang Center Web site.

First Lady Salutes OJJDP-Sponsored Mentoring Program

Vincent Thomas, Parry Elliott, and First Lady Laura Bush at the opening ceremonies for the Big Brothers Big Sisters National Conference.

First Lady Laura Bush was the featured speaker at the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) National Conference on Thursday, June 9, in Washington, DC. Since 1998, OJJDP has allocated almost $30 million in earmarked funding to BBBS. OJJDP's $7 million funding for fiscal year 2005 is helping BBBS operate and expand services at regional training centers, award subgrants to affiliates for school- and faith-based mentoring, pilot a new service delivery model, and develop a management information system for local affiliates.

In her remarks, Mrs. Bush applauded the effectiveness of the Amachi mentoring program, which provides children of incarcerated parents with mentors from faith-based organizations. She was introduced by Parry Elliott and his Big Brother, Vincent Thomas, who were matched through Amachi.

A longtime supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Mrs. Bush told the 700 conference attendees that "Amachi mentors provide love, guidance, and friendship. They serve as role models, showing children a positive image of what it means to be a responsible adult. For boys who grow up without fathers, this is often their first understanding of responsible manhood—and the experience can change their lives."

She closed her remarks by noting, "Children want us in their lives and children need us in their lives. And as I've learned from the remarkable men and women I've met here today and across our country, each of us has the power to make the difference in the life of a child."

For more information about Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit www.bbbsa.org.

OJJDP's National Youth Court Center Wins Award

Youth courts are one of the fastest growing crime intervention and prevention programs in the nation, growing from fewer than 100 programs in 1994 to more than 1,000 in 2005. Also known as teen courts and peer courts, youth courts offer an adjudicatory venue in which nonviolent juvenile offenders are sentenced by peers. By involving the community and family members of offenders and victims, youth courts influence the lives of juveniles in a unique and positive way.

To learn more about youth courts, visit the Web site of the National Youth Court Center at www.youthcourt.net.

New Publications

The following is a brief summary of recently released publications. All publications may be viewed and downloaded at ojjdp.ncjrs.org/publications. Print publications may also be ordered from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (order online at puborder.ncjrs.org or call 800–851–3420).

Now Available

Title V Community Prevention Grants Program: 2003 Report to Congress. Reviews the background of the Title V Program; highlights state, local, and federal activities in 2003; describes how states and communities responded to the lack of Title V funds in 2003; and outlines OJJDP's plans for enhancing the positive impact of limited Title V funds in the future. (Report, May 2005, NCJ 207694.)

Highlights of the 2002–2003 National Youth Gang Survey. Summarizes National Youth Gang Survey findings for 2002 and 2003 and sheds light on the number of gangs, gang members, and gang-related homicides in urban, suburban, and rural areas. (Fact Sheet, June 2005, FS–200501)

The Mathematics of Risk Classification: Changing Data Into Valid Instruments for Juvenile Courts. Compares and examines several risk classification instruments that can be used in juvenile courts to place youth into a small number of risk groups as an aid to program assignments. (Online Report, July 2005, NCJ 209158)

National Estimates of Children Missing Involuntarily or for Benign Reasons. Provides information on the numbers and characteristics of two groups of children not frequently recognized in the literature on missing children: those involuntarily missing because they were lost, injured, or stranded and those missing for benign reasons. (NISMART Bulletin, July 2005, NCJ 206180)

AMBER Alert

AMBER Alert is a network of voluntary local partnerships between media and law enforcement agencies to notify the public when a child has been abducted. The purpose is to enlist the public's help in finding the child and stopping the perpetrator. As part of the Office of Justice Programs' strategy for supporting AMBER Alert efforts nationwide, OJJDP's Child Protection Division, working with Fox Valley Technical College, developed four products to aid in the recovery of abducted and missing children. These products are:

• A "Best Practices Guide for Broadcasters and Other Media Outlets," which provides information necessary for developing and improving AMBER Alert initiatives and procedures.

• A fact sheet, "Effective Use of NCIC (National Crime Information Center)," which outlines critical guidelines for registering an abducted child into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and suggestions for improving NCIC to increase the likelihood of recovering a missing child.

• A pocket card, "U.S. Department of Justice Recommended AMBER Alert Criteria," for law enforcement officers, listing AMBER Alert criteria and NCIC entry procedures.

• A brochure, "Bringing Abducted Children Home," which explains the origin of the AMBER Alert program, the procedures followed in the event that an Alert is issued, and the goals the program strives to accomplish.

These products are available in print and online, and Spanish-language versions are planned. For additional information, visit the Office of Justice Programs' AMBER Alert Web site.

Funding Update

The following is a brief summary of OJJDP's recent funding activities. Be sure to check the Current Funding section of the OJJDP Web site for the latest news on OJJDP funding opportunities. To receive e-mail notification of new funding opportunities, subscribe to JUVJUST.

Regional Children's Advocacy Centers

OJJDP is currently reviewing applications submitted for the Regional Children's Advocacy Centers program. The application deadline was July 7, 2005. The purpose of the program is to support four Regional Children's Advocacy Centers that will (1) facilitate the creation of multidisciplinary teams and local children's advocacy centers that respond to child abuse and neglect and (2) strengthen existing children's advocacy center programs through the delivery of training and technical assistance. OJJDP first awarded grants for this program in 1995. In response to the Victims of Child Abuse Act, the current solicitation will make awards for the program's third 5-year project period, to begin in fall 2005.

News From the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an independent body within the executive branch of the federal government. The Council's primary functions are to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and federal programs relating to missing and exploited children.

The Council's next quarterly meeting will be held September 9, 2005, at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20531. The meeting is open to the public.

For information about attending the meeting, go to the Council's Web site juvenilecouncil.gov. The site also includes detailed information about the Council's mission, meeting announcements and summaries, and links to related resources.

News From the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice

The Committee is currently developing a survey to gather input from the states for its upcoming 2006 Reports to the President and the OJJDP Administrator. The Committee's 2004 Reports are available at www.facjj.org/annualreports.html.

The Committee's next meeting will be held October 24–25, 2005, in San Antonio, TX. Observers are invited to open sessions only. Individuals who wish to attend as observers must preregister by e-mailing the Juvenile Justice Resource Center at facjj@jjrc.org.

Summaries of previous meetings and other information about the Advisory Committee are available on the Committee's Web site.

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