Effective justice for children and families is the mission of the NCJJ, which was founded in Pennsylvania in 1973 as a private, non-profit organization. The NCJJ works toward its mission by conducting research aimed at increasing the juvenile and family justice system’s effectiveness. The NCJJ also acts as the research arm of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The annual report presents an overview of its research capacity before turning to a description of the work conducted in NCJJ’s Applied Research Division, which includes the provision of technical assistance, the improvement of court operations, and evaluation studies of juvenile and family justice programs. The Legal Research Division has been busy providing analyses of juvenile and family legal issues and developing legal resources such as the Juvenile and Family Law Digest. The main function of the Systems Research Division has been to conduct research and present raw data in thoughtful presentations to guide juvenile justice policy development and practice. Staff is listed and fiscal information is provided. Figures, tables, sources