The Mandates.

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974, as 
amended, establishes four mandates with which participating States and 
Territories must comply.  They are:  (1) deinstitutionalization of 
status offenders and nonoffenders (DSO), (2) sight-and-sound separation
of juveniles from adults in detention and correctional facilities, 
(3) removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and (4) demonstration 
of efforts to reduce the disproportionate confinement of minority youth, 
where it exists.  These mandates, which primarily address custody issues, 
are essential to creating a fair and consistent juvenile justice 
infrastructure that advances a key goal of the JJDP Act: to increase the 
effectiveness of juvenile delinquency prevention and control.

Participation

A State's participation in the Formula Grants Program is voluntary.  To 
be eligible for the program, a State must submit a comprehensive three-
year plan setting forth the State's proposal for meeting the mandates 
and goals outlined in the JJDP Act. Each State determines its strategy
and program priorities to meet the goals based upon the characteristics 
of its particular juvenile justice system.  The State's plan is amended 
annually to reflect new programming and initiatives to be undertaken by 
the State and local units of government.

With the addition of South Dakota, all 57 eligible States and Territories 
are currently participating in the JJDP Act Formula Grants Program.  Each 
State's progress toward implementing its plan and achieving or maintaining 
compliance with the mandates of the JJDP Act is assessed yearly, based upon 
the State's submission of a compliance monitoring report.  The level of 
compliance determines the State's eligibility for continuing participation 
in the Formula Grants Program.  Each participating State's annual 
monitoring report provides data collected by the State from secure juvenile 
and adult facilities.  All State agencies administering the Formula Grants 
Program are required to verify data reported by facilities and data 
provided from other State agencies.  

Accomplishments

Eligibility for Fiscal Year 1993 Formula Grant funds was determined by each 
State's 1991 Monitoring Report.  Data gleaned from the 1991 monitoring 
reports show an overwhelming majority of the States and Territories in 
full compliance with the mandates, either with no violations or by meeting 
de minimis or other established criteria. As the following chart illustrates, 
a substantial reduction in the number of violations has been achieved. DSO 
violations have been reduced from a baseline total of 171,581 to the 
current level of 3,628, a reduction of approximately 98 percent.  The number 
of separation violations have been reduced from 85,002 to 8,687 (90%), and 
jail removal violations have decreased 91 percent, from a baseline total of
159,463 to 14,322 current violations.   

It is anticipated that this trend in the reduction of violations in all 
areas will continue, as more States and Territories achieve higher levels 
of compliance with the mandates of the JJDP Act.  In the upcoming months, 
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will be closely
monitoring the progress of the States, as they direct their attention to 
the recently enacted mandate to address disproportionate minority 
confinement. Progress on this mandate is gauged through review and analysis 
of States' annual performance reports and formula grant plans. States and 
Territories are to be congratulated on their continued commitment to youth 
as evidenced by their compliance with the JJDP Act mandates.