MENU TITLE: Delinquency Development Statements for Fiscal Year 1995. Series: OJJDP Published: October 1996 4 pages 50,817 bytes ------------------------------ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Shay Bilchik, Administrator Fact Sheet #46 October 1996 ------------------------------ Delinquency Development Statements for Fiscal Year 1995 by Helen N. Connelly and Gina E. Wood The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974, as amended, requires Federal agencies that administer juvenile delinquency programs to submit annual delinquency development statements to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.(1) Ten agencies, encompassing 27 Federal branches, departments, and divisions, prepared these statements for fiscal year (FY) 1995. The Coordinating Council, through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), has compiled them in a report titled Federal Efforts To Prevent and Reduce Juvenile Delinquency: FY 1995 Delinquency Development Statements (DDS 95). What Are Delinquency Development Statements? Delinquency development statements describe agency policies, programs, and practices that relate to Federal goals for juvenile delinquency reduction and prevention. DDS 95 offers a broad look at how Federal agencies are working within their statutory authority to address juvenile delinquency. It then describes specific programs that illustrate agency efforts to prevent delinquency or to intervene with juveniles when delinquent behavior occurs. Federal Efforts To Prevent and Reduce Juvenile Delinquency The mission, goals, and priorities of the Federal agencies included in DDS 95 form a continuum of strategies to address the many facets of juvenile delinquency. Individually, the 27 Federal units play an important role in dealing with the factors that relate to the prevention, onset, and continuance of juvenile delinquency. Collectively, they provide a comprehensive approach for mitigating the risk factors associated with juvenile delinquency and for meeting the varied needs of at-risk youth. Statutes frame each agency's direction, mission, and programs. Policies, practices, and prevailing problems or concerns drive program emphases and funding priorities. The agencies included in DDS 95 have demonstrated strong commitment, involvement, cooperation, and leadership in preventing and intervening in juvenile delinquency. Many of the programs and activities described in the report involve interagency collaboration and cooperation to maximize resources and reduce service and program gaps and overlaps. Agency collaboration also enhances program impact by applying the best practices, knowledge, and approaches to a particular problem or issue. Prevention strategies. Each agency providing input for this report supports a variety of delinquency prevention strategies and programs. These strategies are aimed at youth who are not yet involved in delinquent behavior but are at risk of delinquency. Prevention strategies focus on risk factors associated with the onset of delinquency, including both primary strategies aimed at the general youth population and secondary strategies targeting high-risk youth populations. Early intervention strategies. Many of the agencies contributing to DDS 95 also support early intervention strategies, sometimes called tertiary prevention, for delinquent juveniles. These strategies are aimed at juveniles who are delinquent but not yet serious, violent, or chronic offenders. Agencies that support early intervention strategies focus on preventing further involvement in delinquent behavior. Juvenile delinquency control. By mandate and authority, a number of agencies included in this report focus on controlling juvenile delinquency. The program bureaus and offices of the Office of Justice Programs in the Department of Justice, for example, have primary responsibility for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the juvenile justice system, protecting and safeguarding communities, addressing the needs of crime victims, and treating and controlling juvenile offenders. The Audience for DDS 95 DDS 95 will help Federal, State, and local juvenile justice practitioners and professionals enhance service delivery and coordination, identify areas for further collaboration, and access information and resources designed to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency. It will also promote better interagency coordination and improve agency planning and program development. In addition, the report can help elected officials and members of the public understand the scope of the Federal role in the Nation's effort to alleviate the problem of juvenile delinquency. For Further Information A list of Federal agency contributors to DDS 95 and Federal clearinghouses that provide access to information and data on Federal programs, priorities, and activities relating to juvenile delinquency are included in the report. Federal Efforts To Prevent and Reduce Juvenile Delinquency: FY 1995 Delinquency Development Statements is available through the Internet via the following methods: o E-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org o OJJDP home page: http://www.ncjrs.org/ojjhome.htm Photocopies of DDS 95 may be purchased for $18.50 (U.S.) or $22.00 (Canada and other countries) through OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC). To order, write to JJC, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20850, or call 800-638-8736. JJC can also provide information about publications on other juvenile justice topics. Helen N. Connelly is a Juvenile Justice Analyst at OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Resource Center. Gina E. Wood is Director of OJJDP's Concentration of Federal Efforts Program. FS-9646 (1) The Coordinating Council, restructured in 1992, is an independent organization in the executive branch of the Federal Government. The Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Housing and Urban Development; the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and the Corporation for National Service are joined on the Council by nine practitioner members in the field of juvenile justice appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the President of the United States. The Council's primary function is to make recommendations to the President and the Congress for coordinating and developing Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities.