Project Safe Childhood Media Campaign Raises Awareness About
Online Exploitation of Children

Still from "Know Where They Go" PSA.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a month-long national media campaign November 12 as part of its Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative to combat the online exploitation of children. The launch began with a press event at the Newseum in Washington, DC, featuring remarks from OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores and other key partners involved in the campaign.

The $2.5 million campaign used a combination of public service announcement (PSA) ads in English and Spanish on national cable television channels, print ads, and Internet promotions such as banner ads, pop-up ads, and Webisodes. Regional promotions—radio spots, movie theater PSAs, and media events—also will be held in four cities: Miami, St. Louis, Seattle, and San Diego. These cities were chosen for additional media exposure based on the number of Internet sexual crimes against children reported in these locations, population size, and media market size.

OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores speaks at the press event in Washington, DC, launching a month-long national media campaign to combat the online exploitation of children.

While ads have been produced previously to educate parents about online sexual predators, this is the first time PSAs have addressed potential predators. The campaign was produced by OJJDP in conjunction with media partner Hispanic Communications Network, child Internet safety organizations iKeepSafe and INOBTR ("I Know Better"), and the Self Reliance Foundation.

The national launch event in Washington, DC, drew DOJ officials, local school superintendents, members of PSC partnering agencies, law enforcement officials, child advocacy groups, and other organizations committed to the well-being of children. National media press outlets also attended. In his opening remarks at the press event, Administrator Flores stressed the need to warn the public that online sexual predation of minors is a crime and to educate parents about the potential threats facing their children online.

Part of our awareness campaign is to warn potential offenders that downloading child pornography and online sexual exploitation are serious Federal offenses. . . . Through outreach and education, we are working to make sure that kids know how to use the Internet wisely and safely, and parents know that they need to monitor their children's online activities to protect them from harmful materials or personal relationships they may develop while online.

Other speakers at the event also addressed the need for parental education and involvement. According to Marsali Hancock, President of iKeepSafe Coalition, almost 50 percent of mothers do not know which Internet sites their children visit, and only 15 percent of parents use software products to track their children's online activities. Mike Sullivan, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division for the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Commander, urged parents and children to work together to set parameters for their children's Web activities. Most importantly, parents should react calmly and rationally to their children's online profiles and activities.

One series of PSAs, titled "Know Where They Go," alerts parents about the risk of online sexual exploitation and encourages them to supervise their children's use of the Internet.

The short film, or Webisode, "The Truth Behind The Screen," illustrates the dangers children face online and compels parents to get informed and involved and to supervise their children's Internet activity.

The other series of PSAs, titled "Exploiting a Minor Is a Major Offense," targets potential online predators, warning them of the serious criminal penalties awaiting those who victimize children.

A separate set of Spanish-language PSAs were produced for the Hispanic community based on the themes "Know Where They Go," and "Exploiting a Minor Is a Major Offense."

Recent research shows that children continue to face unwanted threats from sexual predators while online. A 2005 survey conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire revealed that one in seven young people have been approached with unwanted online sexual solicitations and that a third of youth using the Internet have been exposed to unwanted sexual material.

Launched in 2006, the PSC initiative addresses the spread of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. PSC is implemented through a partnership of U.S. Attorneys, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces, Federal partners including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, advocacy organizations such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and State and local law enforcement officials in each U.S. Attorney's district.

For more information on the PSC Media Campaign, please visit OJJDP's latest portal Web page, PSAs Educate Parents and Target Potential Predators and the PSC Web site. To learn more about OJJDP's ICAC task force program please visit the OJJDP Web site.

New Interstate Compact for Juveniles Eases Tracking of Cases
Across State Lines

The job of State agencies and local jurisdictions that are responsible for the care and monitoring of juveniles is about to get a little easier, thanks to the recent passage of a law that coordinates the monitoring of juveniles across State lines. The Interstate Compact for Juveniles, which updates a 1955 law, is an agreement between States that establishes guidelines for the tracking and monitoring of juveniles who move across State borders.

The Council of State Governments (CSG), in cooperation with OJJDP, is currently supervising the introduction of the new Compact. CSG wrote the Compact in 2001 and has been coordinating with States for its adoption since that time. The Compact required approval by 35 States, and was recently ratified when the State of Illinois approved the law.

Under the previous 53-year-old law, States established individual agreements with other States on a case-by-case basis, typically, only with neighboring States. As society has become more mobile, the need for standing agreements with States across the country has increased. The Compact will provide for enhanced accountability, enforcement, visibility, and communication on juvenile cases.

Thousands of juveniles, delinquents, and status offenders on probation or parole disappear from the system each year as they escape or run away from States where they were originally sentenced. The new Compact will ease the process of tracking and transferring cases.

CSG will host a meeting in Las Vegas, NV, on December 15–17, to discuss the creation of a commission to oversee the establishment of the Compact. For more information, please see the CSG Web site.

OJJDP's Court Coordination Program Promotes the Delivery
of Services to Children in Need

Judge Nan Waller of Multnomah County, Oregon, gives a blanket to Stephanie Quisnoy, a graduate of the Wraparound Oregon program.

Three years ago, OJJDP developed the Court Coordination Program (CCP) to address a challenge that many judges—particularly those in large jurisdictions—face in ensuring that children with multiple needs receive treatment and services from multiple agencies. Although judges may order appropriate services for these youth, the youth too often fail to get the complete services they need due to breakdowns in communication and coordination. CCP supports a court coordinator who reports directly to the juvenile court judge and oversees and coordinates cases so that children get the comprehensive services they need.

The program is based on Judge Leonard Edwards' successful wraparound model, the Milwaukee model, which establishes that services should be provided to children on an individual needs-driven basis rather than a "one-approach-fits-all" model. Each child's treatment plan is focused to achieve successes in each of their trouble areas, such as school attendance, substance abuse, family issues, or other variables. The program's success lies in coordinating services and funding from different programs.

Desired outcomes of CCP include improved efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery, increased speed in successfully closing cases, reduced duplicative services, decreased disproportionate minority contact, and a reduced recidivism rate for comparable juveniles appearing before the court.

The CCP Sites

The program was launched in 2005, and each site receives a total of $120,000 in funding: $60,000 in year 1, $40,000 in year 2, and $20,000 in year 3. Larger cities were chosen for the program because these large service delivery systems are the most likely to experience breakdowns in coordinating services for youth with multiple needs.

The five CCP pilot sites are Albany County, Albany, NY; Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, OH; Miami-Dade County, Miami, FL; Orleans Parish, New Orleans, LA; and Multnomah County, Portland, OR. Each jurisdiction defined its target population based on local knowledge and local need. Referrals to CCP are made by probation staff, judges, court intake, and the CCP court coordinator.

CCP's first site completed its 3-year pilot in October 2008, and the other sites will complete their pilots by June 2010. Early results are encouraging, and all five programs participating in the pilot program have met one of the great challenges of all new programs: securing funding to sustain their services.

Improvement in Coordination

One goal of the program was to improve coordination for youth being served. According to Court Coordinator Alice Galloway of Multnomah County, this goal has been achieved. She remarked that coordination "has improved 100 percent." For Multnomah County systems it is now "a matter of fact that they work together," Galloway said. The silos that previously separated the funding and practice of various systems have been put aside in the interest of a wraparound service model.

The Miami-Dade program has focused on working with truants. Court Coordinator Cheryl Polite-Eaford stated that many problems cause truancy and CCP has opened access to the school system and other systems needed to effect positive changes. For instance, she has been able to coordinate with various agencies to streamline assessments so that they are done quickly and result in a more effective service/program selection and speedier delivery.

Cross-site Evaluation

One of the objectives of the CCP evaluation is to document the process of implementing services in each site. The profile of each youth and his or her family, the services provided to the youth, and any short-term changes in the youth's life skills and behavior are also documented when the youth enters the program.

Early assessment of the baseline data indicates that most youth in the program are not involved with drugs and most have adults in their lives but do not relate well to them. Overall, 69 percent of the participants are male. Males in these programs are slightly younger than females; the average of males ranges from 14.2 to 16.1 years old, while the average age of females ranges from 14.7 to 16.8 years old. Most youth are minority, and the largest minority group is African American.

The cross-site evaluation collects data on family structure, education, mental and physical health, substance abuse, criminal justice involvement, and other issues. Data following release from the program is being collected to compare with baseline data, and a process evaluation is currently underway with the final report expected in January 2010. A replication manual also is being produced for communities interested in implementing a court coordination model.

Obtaining Sustainable Funding

A major challenge of any new program is to secure future funding, and all five sites have accomplished this goal. Since the courts actively started participating in service coordination, the results have been very positive, according to Tim McDevitt, Placement Manager of Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. He noted the large drop in out-of-home placements made by the courts, from as high as 100 to 200 each year down to a high of 50. This change represents both a huge savings for the courts and better outcomes for the youth they serve. Ultimately, obtaining sustainable funding is possible when the coordinated approach achieves better outcomes for youth for the same or less money.

OJJDP FY 2008 Awards

In fiscal year (FY) 2008, OJJDP awarded more than $391 million in grant awards to help at-risk youth, protect children, and improve juvenile justice systems nationwide. Awarded through formula, block, and discretionary funding, these grants support State and community efforts to prevent crime and enhance public safety by focusing on the well-being of our Nation's young people.

OJJDP awarded more than $124 million directly to States and territories in formula and block grants to implement a range of programs that support safe communities. These funds will support delinquency prevention activities, efforts to enforce laws against underage drinking, and accountability-based programs to reduce juvenile offending and strengthen juvenile justice systems. The Office also awarded more than $267 million in discretionary grants to support a range of delinquency prevention and child protection activities.

OJJDP invested more than $71 million this year to help develop and enhance the capacity of communities to provide mentoring services to at-risk youth and support anti-gang strategies nationwide. This year, mentoring grants will focus on the needs of underserved populations, including at-risk youth in American Indian and Alaska Native communities and Latino communities that have gang problems.

The funding also supports a variety of child protection activities. OJJDP awarded more than $17 million in grants to State and local law enforcement agencies under its Internet Crimes Against Children task force program to support joint local, State, and Federal efforts to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes against children and keep children safe from Internet predators.

More information about OJJDP's FY 2008 awards is available through the program links listed below.

Funding through formula and block grants is available to States and territories through the State agency designated by the Governor. Juvenile Justice Specialists in each State administer the funding for programs through subgrants to units of local government, local private agencies, not-for-profit organizations, community- and faith-based organizations, and American Indian/Alaska Native jurisdictions in accordance with legislative requirements.

• Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Block Grants Program
• Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program
• Title II Formula Grants Program
• Title V Community Prevention Grants Program

Discretionary Grants

OJJDP awards discretionary grants to States, units of local government, private organizations, not-for-profit organizations, community- and faith-based organizations to administer programs.

• Brief Interventions and Referrals to Treatment (BIRT) for Juvenile Courts and Juvenile Drug Courts
• Child Protection Division Grants
• Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Earmarks
• Court Appointed Special Advocates Program
• Congressionally Directed Earmarks
• Demonstration Programs Division Grants
• Edward Byrne Memorial Earmarks
• Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Discretionary Program
• Gang Prevention Coordination Assistance Program
• Internet Crimes Against Children Continuations
• Juvenile Drug Courts Training and Technical Assistance
• Latino Youth Mentoring Program
• Membership Support Services for Not-for-Profit Missing Children's Organizations
• Mentoring for At-Risk Tribal Youth Programs
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Program
• National Mentoring Programs
• Nonparticipating State Program, Wyoming
• State Relations and Assistance Division Grants
• Strengthening Youth Mentoring through Community Partnerships
• Tribal Youth Program
• Tribal Youth Program's Juvenile Accountability Discretionary Grants
• Victims of Child Abuse Program

OJJDP To Release Data on Juvenile Facilities and Residents

OJJDP announced the upcoming public release of more than a decade of data from the agency's sponsored juvenile corrections data collections at this year's American Society of Criminology (ASC) annual conference. The conference was held in St. Louis, MO, from November 12 to November 15.

The data—available for the first time to the general research community—will provide critical information to State and national researchers who are investigating and seeking answers to major policy and practice questions in juvenile justice, and disseminating those findings to the field.

The data collection files to be released include the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) (1997–2006) and the Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) (2000–2004). The CJRP provides detailed information on all juveniles in residential facilities in the United States, including gender, date of birth, race, most serious offense charged, court adjudication date, admission date, and security status. JRFC collects information on how facilities operate and the services they provide, including detailed information on facility security, crowding, injuries and deaths in custody, facility ownership, operation, and services.

OJJDP has been working closely with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) to prepare the files for release, and to ensure safeguards are in place that comply with confidentiality protections related to these collections.

As part of this effort, OJJDP has also been working with NACJD to ensure that earlier files from OJJDP's Children in Custody census (1974–95) also will be available to the public, and that documentation for all of these files is complete.

To highlight the utility of these data files, OJJDP and NACJD led a panel presentation at the ASC annual conference. The panel included a historical overview of the data collections and the steps taken to prepare the files for public dissemination. Presenters from the National Center for Juvenile Justice and George Mason University provided examples of how researchers can use the data in these files to answer key policy questions in the field of juvenile justice. NACJD staff discussed procedures established to ensure that confidentiality protections are maintained as researchers use these data.

For more information on NACJD, please visit the Web site. Information on the ASC annual conference is available at the ASC Web site.

OJJDP's Performance Measures Web Page Offers
New Resources for Grantees

Performance measurement is a systemic method for tracking the progress of programs in attaining their goals, objectives, and outcomes. As a result of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, performance measures are a required part of the Federal grant application process.

Congress and the Office of Management and Budget closely link budgets to program results. OJJDP uses the performance-measure data to show Congress what is being accomplished nationally with Federal funds and whether the OJJDP programs are fulfilling their missions. Recipients/grantees are expected to use this feedback to adjust their administration of OJJDP funds to improve program performance.

OJJDP has enhanced its Performance Measures Web page to facilitate collecting and reporting data that measure the results of OJJDP-funded programs. The page features new training resources, performance-measure guidelines tailored to every solicitation, and centralized easy-to-access information. The newly updated page enables users to:

• Better understand performance measurement.
• Learn about OJJDP's performance reporting requirements and resources.
• Access important Federal performance measurement resources.

The Web page also links to the following helpful resources, among others:

• Performance Measures by Program offers a simple, easy-to-read chart for each solicitation showing program objectives, performance measures, and data grantees are required to provide.

• Logic Models constitute a useful way to illustrate how a program's performance measures are related to its problems, goals, objectives, and design.

• The Grant Performance Management Data Collection and Technical Assistance Tool enables OJJDP grantees to identify, collect, and submit performance data about their grants.

Grantees and others interested in OJJDP's performance measures are encouraged to bookmark this one-stop online resource.

OJJDP Hosts Training Session for New Tribal Grantees

OJJDP hosted an orientation session for new Tribal Youth Program (TYP) and Tribal Juvenile Accountability Discretionary Grant (T–JADG) Program grantees in Bethesda, MD, from November 18–20. The 3-day training was designed to strengthen relationships between OJJDP and TYP and T–JADG grantees. Grantees were instructed on program and financial management; program planning, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability strategies; and training and technical assistance resources available from OJJDP and other Federal agencies. The meeting also provided grantees networking opportunities to meet with OJJDP leadership and program managers to discuss their new TYP and T–JADG programs and to meet with other grantees. Approximately 42 participants attended, representing 21 American Indian/Alaska Native tribal communities from 12 States. Please visit OJJDP's TYP Web page for more information on the Tribal Youth Program.

New Publications

All OJJDP publications may be viewed and downloaded at the publications section of the OJJDP Web site. Print publications also may be ordered online at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Web site.

Now Available

Juvenile Arrests 2006

In 2006, juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes such as murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault increased 4 percent over 2005 rates, and juveniles accounted for 17 percent of all violent crime arrests in 2006. This annual Bulletin highlights statistics and trends for juvenile arrests in 2006 compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which gathers crime and arrest statistics from local law enforcement agencies across the country. Other highlights of the Bulletin's findings include analysis of juvenile murder victims, total number of juveniles arrested in 2006, and a percentage analysis of juvenile involvement in violent crime by offense. To order a printed copy of Juvenile Arrests 2006, go to the NCJRS Web site and search "NCJ 221338."

Girls Study Group: Charting the Way to Delinquency Prevention for Girls

This Bulletin provides an overview of the Girls Study Group (GSG), a research project convened by OJJDP to determine why arrest rates for girls increased more (or decreased less) than arrests of boys for most types of offenses. OJJDP will release a series of GSG Bulletins examining issues such as patterns of offending among adolescents and how they differ for girls and boys; risk and protective factors associated with delinquency, including gender differences; and the causes and correlates of girls' delinquency. To order a printed copy of Charting the Way to Delinquency Prevention for Girls, go to the NCJRS Web site and search "NCJ 223434." Another Bulletin in the series, Violence by Teenage Girls: Trends and Context, was released in May 2008 and is available online; the remaining Bulletins will be released in the coming months.

New Online

Introduction to the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement

The Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) gathers information directly from youth in custody in the juvenile justice system through anonymous interviews. SYRP complements the two other components of OJJDP's multitiered effort to collect information on the juvenile custody population, the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, and the Juvenile Residential Facility Census. (See the story "OJJDP To Release Data on Juvenile Facilities and Residents" in this issue.) OJJDP is producing a series of SYRP Bulletins that report on the first national survey, covering its development and design and providing detailed information on the juveniles' characteristics, backgrounds, and expectations; their needs and the services they received; and their experiences of victimization while in placement. This Bulletin, the first in the series, reviews SYRP's background, describes its design and methodology, discusses its strengths and limitations, and summarizes the questions it answers about the population of youth in custody.

Domestic Assaults by Juvenile Offenders

In one of every four assaults that youth commit, the victims are individuals with whom the offender has a domestic relationship, either through family ties or an intimate partnership. This Bulletin offers a detailed report on the characteristics of juvenile domestic assaults reported to law enforcement. It analyzes data from the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System to provide a profile of the relative occurrence of domestic assaults in 2004 involving juveniles and adults as perpetrators and victims.

Co-occurrence of Substance Use Behaviors in Youth

This Bulletin examines the prevalence and overlap of substance-related behaviors among youth, making comparisons based on age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. Findings reported in this Bulletin are drawn from the first two stages of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which gathered self-reports from a nationally representative sample of youth ages 12–17 in 1997 and 1998. The data are derived from questions survey participants answered regarding their alcohol and drug use during the previous 30 days, including the frequency of their consumption, the types of drugs used, and whether they had sold drugs. The central finding of the analysis is that, if individuals engage in one substance-related behavior, they are much more likely to engage in other substance-related behaviors.

News From the Coordinating Council on
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Council) will hold its Winter Quarterly Meeting on December 5, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 810 Seventh Street NW., 3rd Floor Conference Room, Washington, DC.

The Council last met on September 12. The agenda included a presentation and discussion on research on boys conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and a report on the juvenile justice collaboration for improving substance abuse treatment. The meeting minutes are available through the Council's Web site.

For more information on the Council and to register for the Winter Quarterly Meeting please visit the Web site.

The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) fall meeting was held October 19–21, 2008, in San Diego, CA. Agenda items included development of plans for the 2009 annual report, and a presentation on developing action plans for reducing disproportionate minority contact. Reports from previous FACJJ meetings are available online at the FACJJ Web site.

FACJJ meetings are public and anyone may register to attend and observe. For additional information, including information on future and past meetings and annual reports from fiscal years 2004 to 2007, visit FACJJ's Meetings Web page.

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