Title: Training and Technical Assistance for Indian Nation Juvenile Justice

Systems



Series: OJJDP Fact Sheet



Author: Ada Pecos Melton and Elizabeth Bird



Published: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1999



Subject: Indian Nation Juvenile Justice Systems



pages: 4



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NCJRS at 800-851-3420.



BJA at 800-688-4252.



Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center at 800-627-6872.Training

and Technical Assistance for Indian Nation Juvenile Justice Systems



by Ada Pecos Melton and Elizabeth Bird







Background







Due to the unique government-to-government relationship the United

States has with Indian Nations, the Federal government and its agencies

have an important role to play in assisting Indian Nations to address youth

crime, violence, and victimization in their communities. In response to the

rise in American Indian juvenile crime, violence, and victimization, the

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funded four

Indian Nations between fiscal years (FY's) 1992 and 1995 to develop

culturally relevant community-based programs to address the needs of

young Indian offenders and their families. Additionally, OJJDP funded a

technical assistance program to assist Indian Nations in the design,

development, and implementation of such programs. The experience of this

initiative has provided OJJDP with insight into the needs and problems that

Indian governments and communities face in dealing with juvenile

delinquency, violence, and victimization. 







Purpose







The success of this initiative resulted in an expansion of technical assistance

by OJJDP in FY 1996. As a result, OJJDP funded a 3-year training and

technical assistance program seeking to increase the capacity of Indian

Nations to provide adequate and appropriate juvenile justice responses to

youth crime, violence, and victimization. The goal of this ongoing technical

assistance program is to help equip Indian Nation governments with the

necessary information and tools to develop or enhance comprehensive,

systemwide approaches to reduce juvenile delinquency, violence, and

victimization and increase the safety of their communities.







American Indian Development Associates







In FY 1997, American Indian Development Associates (AIDA) was

awarded a 3-year cooperative agreement to provide training and technical

assistance to American Indian and Alaskan Native governments to develop

or enhance their juvenile justice systems. Under the cooperative agreement,

AIDA is working to develop a more comprehensive approach to address

juvenile delinquency, violence, and victimization in Indian communities.

AIDA delivers training and technical assistance in the context of the

complex and varying relationships that Indian Nations have with local and

State governments and the Federal government. Equipped with this

understanding, AIDA provides training and technical assistance that

supports a cooperative and collaborative approach by each of these levels

of government to address the needs of Indian youth and their families.







AIDA provides assistance at the request of Indian Nation governments and

agencies that serve Indian Nations and Indian youth and families. Once

technical assistance requests are categorized, reviewed, and approved,

AIDA develops a comprehensive training and technical assistance delivery

plan. A primary goal of all training and technical assistance is to aid

communities in developing culturally appropriate and effective ways of

dealing with problems faced by Indian youth and their families. Technical

assistance is delivered through onsite visits, telephone consultations, and

regional training seminars. Technical assistance has included:







--Juvenile justice and detention needs assessments and program reviews.







--Seminars on comprehensive juvenile justice planning.







--Policy and procedure development for coordinated service delivery and

referral systems. 







--Development of community-based alternatives to incarceration.







--Training on indigenous justice approaches and processes to handle

juvenile delinquency cases.







--Training on qualitative data collection and analysis to obtain community

perspectives on juvenile delinquency, violence, and victimization.







--Training and competency development of juvenile justice practitioners,

administrators, and tribal leaders in juvenile justice management and

probation systems.







For Further Information







For further information regarding available technical assistance, contact

Bob Hubbard, OJJDP Program Manager, 202-616-3567; or Ada Pecos

Melton, President, American Indian Development Associates, 2401 12th

Street NW., Suite 212, Albuquerque, NM 87104, 505-842-1122 (phone);

505-842-9652 (fax); aidainc@flash.net (e-mail).







Ada Pecos Melton is the President of American Indian Development

Associates (AIDA). Elizabeth Bird is the Program Manager for AIDA.







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.