Title: An Overview of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Series: Fact Sheet Author: Lynn Marble Published: June 2000 Subject: Juvenile justice-general, Juvenile delinquency prevention 6 pages 10,000 bytes ------------------------------- Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site or order a print copy from NCJRS at 800-851-3420. ------------------------------- June 2000 #09 An Overview of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by Lynn Marble The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was established by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974, Public Law 93-415, as amended. Located within the Office of Justice Programs of the U.S. Department of Justice, OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile offending and child victimization. OJJDP accomplishes its mission by supporting States, local communities, and tribal jurisdictions in their efforts to develop and implement effective, multidisciplinary prevention and intervention programs and improve the capacity of the juvenile justice system to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable, and provide treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of individual juveniles and their families. OJJDP sponsors a broad array of research, program, and training initiatives and disseminates accurate, up-to-date information about juvenile justice issues. These activities are carried out by the seven organizational components described below. The Research and Program Development Division (RPDD) pursues a comprehensive research agenda, develops knowledge about specific problems, monitors trends, and analyzes the practices of the juvenile justice system. Activities include: --Developing and conducting national quantitative research to assess the problem of delinquency and determining how the juvenile justice system can respond most effectively. --Developing and directing projects that explore such topics as the causes and correlates of delinquency, transfers of juveniles to criminal court, and prevention and treatment of delinquency. --Developing and implementing evaluation programs and strategies and designing strategies to move research into practice. --Developing and maintaining a statistics and systems development program to enhance information gathering and sharing among juvenile justice agencies. The Training and Technical Assistance Division (TTAD) helps strengthen the juvenile justice system by providing training, technical assistance, and state-of-the-art information to law enforcement, juvenile courts, detention, corrections, youth service, and youth advocacy organizations. These activities are related to: --Planning and developing juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs or interventions. --Assisting professionals and volunteers who work with high-risk and delinquent youth and their families. --Providing training in techniques and methods proven effective in preventing and treating juvenile delinquency. --Assisting State and local agencies that work directly with high-risk and delinquent youth. --Sponsoring workshops, seminars, and conferences for elected officials, practitioners, and advocates for youth. --Supporting efforts to reduce the disproportionate representation of minority youth in secure facilities. The Special Emphasis Division(SED) provides discretionary funds to public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals to carry out programs and activities authorized by the JJDP Act, including the following types of initiatives: --Model programs to strengthen and preserve families. --Prevention and treatment programs for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. --Efforts to divert youth from the traditional juvenile justice and correctional systems and provide community-based alternatives to secure incarceration. --Programs to establish a system of graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders. --Mentoring programs and programs to combat juvenile gangs and drug use. The State Relations and Assistance Division (SRAD) manages OJJDP's formula and block grant programs, which help States and territories prevent and address delinquency and improve their juvenile justice systems. SRAD works in partnership with each participating State's designated agency. Functions include: --Helping States develop and implement comprehensive juvenile justice plans that determine priorities for the expenditure of State Formula Grants program funds. --Monitoring State compliance with JJDP Act core requirements concerning deinstitutionalization of status offenders and nonoffenders, separation of juveniles from adult offenders in institutions, removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and disproportionate minority confinement. --Awarding funds through the Formula Grants, Title V Community Prevention Grants, State Challenge Activities, Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws, Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG), and Tribal Youth programs. --Providing technical assistance to States, tribes, and localities to design and implement activities outlined in the States' Three-Year Comprehensive State Plans and annual updates. The Concentration of Federal Efforts Program (CFE) seeks to eliminate duplication of effort and ensure cost-effectiveness by promoting cooperation and coordination among Federal agencies that have responsibilities in the area of juvenile justice. The program works in consultation with the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an independent body within the executive branch. CFE functions include: --Developing objectives and priorities for Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities and identifying programs that promote a unified and cooperative approach to juvenile justice issues. --Submitting annual recommendations to the President and Congress concerning coordination of Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities. The Child Protection Division (CPD) administers programs related to crimes against children and provides leadership and funding in the areas of enforcement, intervention, and prevention. CPD promotes effective policies and procedures to address the problems of abused, neglected, missing, and exploited children. Activities include: --Conducting research, providing training and technical assistance, and supporting demonstration and service programs related to child victimization. --Supporting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a clearinghouse and resource center that collects and distributes data regarding missing and exploited children and operates a national toll-free hotline (800-843-5678).The Information Dissemination Unit (IDU) produces and distributes information about juvenile justice research, training, and programs and coordinates OJJDP's program planning and competitive award functions. Activities include: --Disseminating information to meet the needs of juvenile justice professionals and policymakers through print and online publications, videotapes, CD-ROM's, electronic listservs, and OJJDP's Web site and overseeing the writing, editing, design, and printing of OJJDP publications. --Overseeing the activities of the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, which distributes more than 5 million publications and answers more than 70,000 requests for information annually, maintains a document collection and database of more than 40,000 juvenile justice titles, supports OJJDP's Web site, and attends and supports more than 200 conferences each year. --Developing priorities for OJJDP's program planning and award process, publishing solicitations and application kits for funding opportunities, and facilitating OJJDP's peer review process for discretionary funding awards. ------------------------------- For Further Information Assistance, publications, and more information about OJJDP are available as follows: Mail: Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000. Phone: 800-638-8736 (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET). Fax: 410-792-4358 (publication orders), 301-519-5600 (other assistance). E-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org (general assistance), tellncjrs@ncjrs.org (comments and feedback). Internet: www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org (OJJDP's online resources), www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/puborder (publication orders). JUVJUST Listserv: Subscribe by sending an e-mail message to listproc@ncjrs.org. Leave the subject line blank. Type juvjust your name in the body of the message. ----------------------------------------- Lynn Marble is a Writer-Editor with the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse. ----------------------------------------- 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.