State Challenge Activities. Series: OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin Published: September 1996 20 pages 27,587 bytes NOTE: Tables and figures are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view the file in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat version or order the hard copy from the Juvenile Justice Celaringhouse. ------------------------------ From the Administrator In 1992 Congress enacted the aptly named State Challenge Activities Program under Title II, Part E, of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act. Challenge Grants are available to State agencies receiving Formula Grant funds under the JJDP Act. Challenge Grants serve as an incentive to develop and improve policies and programs impacting 1 or more of 10 specific Challenge Activities through seed grants to enhance juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs and systems. Challenge Activities include such areas as system services, access to counsel, community-based alternatives, violent juvenile offender facilities, gender bias, State ombudsman, deinstitutionalization of status offenders and nonoffenders, alternatives to suspension and expulsion, aftercare services, and State agency coordination. State Challenge Activities describes the criteria for Challenge Grant eligibility and delineates the 10 Challenge Activities set forth in the JJDP Act. A graph and a table illustrate the nature of each State's Challenge Activities selected for FY 1995. The challenges facing State juvenile justice systems as they approach the 21st century are formidable. The State Challenge Activities Program gives the States an opportunity to meet those challenges through innovative program development and implementation. Shay Bilchik Administrator -------------------------------- State Challenge Activities by Donna Bownes and Rodney L. Albert The 1992 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) added to Title II a new Part E, State Challenge Activities. The purpose of State Challenge Activities is to provide incentives for States (57 jurisdictions qualify as "States" under the JJDP Act) participating in the Formula Grants Program to develop, adopt, and improve policies and programs in 1 or more of the 10 specified Challenge areas. The Formula Grants Program provides funds to States to prevent and control delinquency and improve their juvenile justice systems. Challenge Grant Eligibility Applicants eligible to receive Part E Challenge Grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are the State agencies that receive Formula Grants Program awards under Part B of Title II of the JJDP Act. These agencies may carry out Challenge Activities or they may award subgrants to and enter into contracts with public and private agencies for the development and implementation of Challenge Activities. Challenge Program funds are distributed according to a ratio of Part E funds to Formula Grant funds available to the States in a given fiscal year (FY). In each of FY's 1995 and 1996, the first 2 years of the Program, $10 million was made available to States participating in the Formula Grants Program. The Challenge Program is designed so that the States are encouraged to address more than one Challenge Activity. Consequently, the amounts States apply for cannot exceed 10 percent of the Formula Grant award for each Challenge Activity. Challenge Activities Part E lists the following 10 Challenge Activities: (A) Developing and adopting policies and programs to provide basic health, mental health, and appropriate education services, including special education, for youth in the juvenile justice system as specified in standards developed by the National Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention prior to October 12, 1984. (B) Developing and adopting policies and programs to provide access to counsel for all juveniles in the justice system to ensure that juveniles consult with counsel before waiving the right to counsel. (C) Increasing community-based alternatives to incarceration by establishing programs such as expanded use of probation, mediation, restitution, community service, treatment, home detention, intensive supervision, and electronic monitoring, and developing and adopting a set of objective criteria for the appropriate placement of juveniles in detention and secure confinement. (D) Developing and adopting policies and programs to provide secure settings for the placement of violent juvenile offenders by closing down traditional training schools and replacing them with secure settings with capacities of no more than 50 violent juvenile offenders with ratios of staff to youth great enough to ensure adequate supervision and treatment. (E) Developing and adopting policies to prohibit gender bias in placement and treatment and establishing programs to ensure that female youth have access to the full range of health and mental health services, treatment for physical or sexual assault and abuse, self-defense instruction, education in parenting, education in general, and other training and vocational services. (F) Establishing and operating, either directly or by contract or arrangement with a public agency or other appropriate private nonprofit organization (other than an agency or organization that is responsible for licensing or certifying out-of-home care services for youth), a State ombudsman office for children, youth, and families to investigate and resolve complaints relating to action, inaction, or decisions of providers of out-of-home care to children and youth (including secure detention and correctional facilities, residential care facilities, public agencies, and social service agencies) that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of resident children and youth. (G) Developing and adopting policies and programs designed to remove, where appropriate, status offenders from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to prevent the placement in secure detention or correctional facilities of juveniles who are nonoffenders or who are charged with or who have committed offenses that would not be criminal if committed by an adult. (H) Developing and adopting policies and programs designed to serve as alternatives to suspension and expulsion from school. (I) Increasing aftercare services for juveniles involved in the justice system by establishing programs and developing and adopting policies to provide comprehensive health, mental health, education, and vocational services and services that preserve and strengthen the families of such juveniles. (J) Developing and adopting policies to establish: (i) a State administrative structure to coordinate program and fiscal policies for children who have emotional and behavioral problems and their families among the major child-serving systems, including schools, social serv-ices, health services, mental health services, and the juvenile justice system; and (ii) a statewide case review system. Part E defines the term "case review system" as a procedure for ensuring that: (a) each youth has a case plan, based on the use of objective criteria for determining a youth's danger to the community or himself or herself, that is designed to achieve appropriate placement in the least restrictive and most family-like setting available in close proximity to the parents' home, consistent with the best interests and special needs of the youth; (b) the status of each youth is reviewed periodically but not less frequently than once every 3 months, by a court or by administrative review, in order to determine the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the placement; (c) with respect to each youth, procedural safeguards will be applied to ensure that a dispositional hearing is held to consider the future status of each youth under State supervision, in a juvenile or family court or another court (including a tribal court) of competent jurisdiction, or by an administrative body appointed or approved by the court, not later than 12 months after the original placement of the youth and periodically thereafter during the continuation of out-of-home placement; and (d) a youth's physical health, mental health, and education record is reviewed and updated periodically. State Challenge Activities The table below lists Challenge Activities for each State. The length of each grant award is 36 months. Both the level of participation in the program and the number of Challenge Activities chosen by the States are encouraging. The following information identifies common approaches taken by the States for each of the Challenge Activities. This section also includes information on how many States -- and which ones -- chose the various activities. (Note: The term "States" as used below includes U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.) Challenge Activity A: Basic System Services Number and Names of States Involved 15 -- Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. Common Approaches o Providing specific treatment services to populations such as female youth, minority youth, and sex offenders. o Improving physical health, mental health, and education screening policies, procedures, and practices. o Developing and providing training for those involved with youth in the system. o Identifying service gaps in the system and developing plans to address identified needs. o Developing educational materials and training to equip youth for functioning in the work world. Challenge Activity B: Access to Counsel Number and Names of States Involved 6 -- Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma. Common Approaches o Assessing the effectiveness of all stages of youth legal representation practices throughout the system by conducting surveys, studies, site visits, and interviews in urban, suburban, and rural communities. o Using the information gained to generate recommendations for improvement. Challenge Activity C: Community-Based Alternatives Number and Names of States Involved 20 -- Alabama, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Common Approaches o Adopting community supervision, case management, wraparound, and Balanced and Restorative Justice model programs. o Engaging multidisciplinary community-based planning processes to assess current practices and plans and implementing appropriate placement alternatives for juveniles in detention and secure confinement. o Developing, implementing, and evaluating objective classification instruments. Challenge Activity D: Violent Juvenile Offender Facilities Number and Names of States Involved 4 -- Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Common Approaches o Launching comprehensive planning processes that draw on the expertise of juvenile justice practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and judicial personnel to develop policies and procedures concerning risk and needs assessment, length-of-stay guidelines, and treatment modalities. o Learning from the experiences of other States that have implemented similar programs and responding accordingly. Challenge Activity E: Gender Bias Policies and Programs Number and Names of States Involved 23 -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Utah. Common Approaches o Developing appropriate interventions to address chronic status offender-type behaviors. o Implementing comprehensive strategies for working effectively with this population with the goal of developing the full potential of female youth. o Providing specific sensitivity and cultural awareness training for professionals working with these youth. Challenge Activity F: State Ombudsman Number and Names of States Involved 2 -- Maryland and Tennessee. Common Approaches o Establishing an office that is charged with the task of receiving and responding to the concerns and complaints of children and families being served through out-of-home placements. o Developing and implementing program operating policies and procedures for this new office. o Using a planning process to explore appropriate legislative and executive administrative State models to determine what model would work best for the State. o Educating and training those providing services to youth in out-of-home placements. o Explaining to key stakeholders the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the youth's life. Challenge Activity G: Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders and Nonoffenders Number and Names of States Involved 7 -- Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia. Common Approaches o Conducting a review of present practices using a comprehensive planning process to identify needed changes and gaps in services for status offenders and nonoffenders. o Developing appropriate practices. o Enhancing and improving the continuum of care to meet the needs of this population. o Developing educational materials and training about appropriate handling of status offenders and nonoffenders for professionals who work with these youth. Challenge Activity H: Alternatives to Suspension and Expulsion Number and Names of States Involved 16 -- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Guam, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Common Approaches o Enhancing agency coordination and collaboration to meet the needs of youth at risk of being suspended or expelled from school. o Establishing community-based alternative opportunities for disruptive youth. o Developing and implementing violence prevention and conflict resolution educational programs. o Fostering leadership, responsibility, and accountability in youth. o Incorporating some aspects of the National Dropout Prevention Program. Challenge Activity I: Aftercare Services Number and Names of States Involved 19 -- Alaska, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Common Approaches o Examining and implementing aspects of the Intensive Aftercare Program model, which is a multifaceted aftercare program that cuts across institutional and professional boundaries. o Examining and implementing aspects of wraparound service delivery systems for juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system. o Having juvenile justice agencies enter into partnerships with other agencies to provide youth access to more services. o Expanding and strengthening service delivery linkages throughout the available continuum of care to become more responsive to the needs of this population. Challenge Activity J: State Agency Coordination and a Case Review System Number and Names of States Involved 3 -- Idaho, Iowa, and Oklahoma. Common Approaches o Systematically collecting and analyzing information relevant to service planning, delivery, and monitoring. o Enhancing multiagency collaboration. o Assessing the impact of current and proposed fiscal and program policies and practices on the juvenile justice system and its clients and responding accordingly. o Basing programmatic decisions on research. o Reviewing other State models and incorporating aspects of applicable programs. o Assessing and adapting tools to assist in programming. o Developing materials and training stakeholders on placement guidelines and alternatives, available services and resources, the judicial process, Federal requirements, educational needs of children with behavioral or emotional problems who are involved in the juvenile justice system, confidentiality, independent living skill needs of these youth, and evaluation of the appropriateness of case plans. ------------------------------ Additional Resources Readers are encouraged to obtain OJJDP Challenge Activity Papers, which provide specific background, program descriptions, tailored bibliographies, resource information, and names and addresses of program contacts for each of the 10 Challenge Activities. These papers are invaluable to those interested in pursuing Challenge Activities or learning more about associated programs. Individual and full sets of Challenge Activity Papers are available* through the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, Department F, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000. The Clearinghouse toll-free telephone number is 800-638-8736. For additional information about State Challenge Activities, contact your State Juvenile Justice Specialist or one of the technical assistance providers listed in this Bulletin. *The Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse has a limited number of copies of Challenge Activity Papers. They can be requested via the Internet by contacting askncjrs@ncjrs.org. In addition, they are available online via OJJDP's homepage at http://www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm. ------------------------------ State Juvenile Justice Specialists Alabama Don Lee Department of Economic and Community Affairs 401 Adams Avenue P.O. Box 5690 Montgomery, AL 36103-5690 334-242-5820 Alaska Patricia Ware Department of Health and Social Services Division of Family and Youth Services P.O. Box 110630 Juneau, AK 99811-0630 907-465-2112 Arizona Judith Becerra Governor's Division for Children 1700 West Washington Street Suite 404 Phoenix, AZ 85007 602-542-3191 Arkansas Jim Williams Department of Human Services Division of Youth Services P.O. Box 1437, Slot 450 Little Rock, AR 72203-1437 501-682-1711 California Jean Scott Office of Criminal Justice Planning 1130 K Street, Suite 300 Sacramento, CA 95814 916-323-7730 Colorado Joseph Thome Division of Criminal Justice Department of Public Safety 700 Kipling Street, Suite 1000 Denver, CO 80215 303-239-4437 Connecticut Gary Lukasewski Office of Policy and Management Policy Development and Planning Division 450 Capitol Avenue MS #52CPD P.O. Box 341441 Hartford, CT 06134-1441 860-418-6320 Delaware Arthur Garrison Criminal Justice Council State Office Building 4th Floor 820 North French Street Wilmington, DE 19801302-577-3448 District of Columbia Doris Howard Board of Parole 300 Indiana Avenue NW. Suite 2100 Washington, DC 20001 202-727-0074 Florida Greg Downing Department of Juvenile Justice 2737 Centerview Drive Tallahassee, FL 32399-3100 904-487-3050 Georgia Pete Colbenson Children and Youth Coordinating Council 10 Park Place South Suite 410 Atlanta, GA 30303 404-657-6982 Guam Edward Chargualaf Department of Youth Affairs Government of Guam P.O. Box 23672 Guam Main Facility, GU 96921 (011) 671-734-3914 Hawaii Carol Imanaka Department of Human Services Office of Youth Services 1481 South King Street Suite 223 Honolulu, HI 96814 808-973-9494 Idaho Sharon Harrigfeld-Hixon Department of Juvenile Corrections 400 North 10th Street P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720 208-334-5111 Illinois Anne Studzinski Department of Children and Family Services 100 West Randolph Street Suite 6-100 Chicago, IL 60601 312-814-6880 Indiana Michael Wurster Indiana Criminal Justice Institute 302 West Washington Street Room E209 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-232-1233 Iowa Lori Rinehart Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Lucas State Office Building 1st Floor Des Moines, IA 50319 515-281-3995 Kansas Jim Glass Youth and Adult Services Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services West Hall 300 SW. Oakley Topeka, KS 66606 913-296-6670 Kentucky Fonda Butler Kentucky Justice Cabinet Bush Building, 2nd Floor 403 Wapping Street Frankfort, KY 40601 502-564-3251 Louisiana Alyce Lappin Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice 1885 Wooddale Boulevard Room 708 Baton Rouge, LA 70806-1511 504-925-4418 Maine Tom Godfrey Department of Corrections 111 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 207-287-4371 Maryland Richard Friedman Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention 300 East Joppa Road Suite 1105 Towson, MD 21286-3016 410-321-3521 Massachusetts Lynn Wright Executive Office of Public Safety Programs Division 100 Cambridge Street Room 2100 Boston, MA 02202 617-727-6300, ext. 319 Michigan Ralph Monsma Michigan Department of Social Services 235 South Grand Avenue Suite 404 Lansing, MI 48909 517-335-6315 Minnesota Jerry Ascher Department of Economic Security 390 North Robert Street Room 125 St. Paul, MN 55101 612-296-8601 Mississippi Anthony Gobar Department of Public Safety Division of Public Safety Planning 401 North West Street 8th Floor Jackson, MS 39201 601-359-7880 Missouri Lisa Smith Missouri Department of Public Safety Truman Office Building Room 870 P.O. Box 749 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573-751-2771 Montana Candace Wimmer Montana Board of Crime Control 303 North Roberts Street Helena, MT 59620 406-444-3651 Nebraska Jeff Golden Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice 301 Centennial Mall South P.O. Box 94946 Lincoln, NE 68509-4946 402-471-3687 Nevada Larry Carter Division of Child and Family Services Department of Human Resources 711 East Fifth Street Carson City, NV 89710-1002 702-687-5911 New Hampshire Pamela Sullivan Division for Children, Youth, and Families Department of Health and Human Services 6 Hazen Drive Concord, NH 03301-6522 603-271-4451 New Jersey Terry Edwards Juvenile Justice Commission Department of Law and Public Safety 840 Bear Tavern Road CN 107 Trenton, NJ 08625-0085 609-530-5203 New Mexico Richard Lindahl Children, Youth and Families Department P.O. Drawer 5160 Santa Fe, NM 85702 505-827-7625 New York Laurie Stein Division of Criminal Justice Services Executive Park Tower Stuyvesant Plaza, 9th Floor Albany, NY 12203-3764 518-485-7919 North Carolina Donna Robinson Governor's Crime Commission Department of Crime Control and Public Safety 3824 Barret Drive, Suite 100 Raleigh, NC 27609 919-571-4736 North Dakota Terry Traynor Division of Juvenile Services P.O. Box 417 Bismarck, ND 58502-0417 701-258-4481 Ohio Julie Reutener Office of Criminal Justice Services 400 East Town Street Suite 120 Columbus, OH 43215-4242 614-466-7782 Oklahoma JaNeal Beougher Office of Juvenile Affairs 3814 North Santa Fe Suite 400 P.O. Box 268812 Oklahoma City, OK 73126-8812 405-530-2800 Oregon Barbara Carranza Commission on Children and Families 530 Center Street NE. Suite 300 Salem, OR 97310 503-373-1570, ext. 235 Pennsylvania Ruth Williams Commission on Crime and Delinquency P.O. Box 1167 Federal Square Station Harrisburg, PA 17108-1167 717-787-8559, ext. 3030 Puerto Rico Vilmette Mimo-Baralt Office of Youth Affairs San Jose #252 Old San Juan San Juan, PR 00901 809-721-5934 Rhode Island Elizabeth Gilheeney Governor's Justice Commission 1 Capitol Hill, 4th Floor Providence, RI 02908 401-277-2620 South Carolina Randy Grant Office of Safety and Grants 5400 Broad River Road Modular #15 Columbia, SC 29210 803-896-8710 South Dakota Lisa L. Kaiser Department of Corrections 115 East Dakota Avenue Pierre, SD 57501-3216 605-773-3478 Tennessee William Haynes, Jr. Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth 710 James Robertson Parkway Gateway Plaza, 1st Floor Nashville, TN 37243-0800 615-741-2633 Texas Jim Kester Criminal Justice Division Office of the Governor 211 East 11th Street Austin, TX 78711 512-463-1919 Utah Susan Burke Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice 101 State Capitol Salt Lake City, UT 84114 801-538-1057 Vermont Shirley Martin Vermont Agency of Human Services Planning Division 103 South Main Street Waterbury, VT 05671-0203 802-241-2953 Virginia Marion Kelly Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services 805 East Broad Street 10th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 804-225-4072 Washington Rosalie McHale Washington Department of Social and Health Services P.O. Box 45203 Olympia, WA 98504-5203 360-902-8110 West Virginia Melissa B. Whittington Criminal Justice and Highway Safety Division Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety 1204 Kanawha Blvd.,East Charleston, WV 25301 304-558-8814, ext. 215 Wisconsin Michael Derr Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance 222 State Street, 2nd Floor Madison, WI 53702-0001 608-266-7639 ------------------------------ Technical Assistance Providers American Correctional Association John J. Greene III 8025 Laurel Lakes Court Laurel, MD 20707 301-206-5045 Community Research Associates James Brown 41 East University, Suite 300 Champaign, IL 61820 217-398-3120 Developmental Research and Programs, Inc. Pat Chappell 130 Nickerson, Suite 107 Seattle, WA 98109 800-736-2630 Institute of Policy Studies Johns Hopkins University Dr. David Altschuler Wyman Park Building 3400 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218-2696 410-516-7179 Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse Cheryll Bissell 1600 Research Boulevard Rockville, MD 20850 800-638-8736 National Council on Crime and Delinquency Dr. Barry Krisberg 685 Market Street, Suite 620 San Francisco, CA 94105 415-896-6223 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Dean Lou McHardy P.O. Box 8970 University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV 89507 702-784-6012 National Juvenile Detention Association Earl Dunlap Eastern Kentucky University 217 Perkins Building Richmond, KY 40475 606-622-6259 National School Safety Center Dr. Ronald D. Stephens Pepperdine University 24255 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90265 805-373-9977 University of California at Sacramento Dr. Troy Armstrong Department of Anthropology 6000 J Street Sacramento, CA 95819-6106 916-278-6259 ------------------------------ This Bulletin was prepared by Donna Bownes, Program Manager, and Rodney L. Albert, Assistant Director, of OJJDP's State Relations and Assistance Division. ------------------------------ The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.