JJDPA Reauthorization On December 11, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bipartisan bill, S.B. 2999, the first step in the long-awaited reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).   The bill strengthens the core protections that the JJDPA affords to system-involved youth. The existing JJDPA, for example, prohibits the incarceration of children who engage in status offense behaviors, however an exception is granted when a child is found in violation of a valid court order. In 2012 alone, this exception was used to incarcerate children more than 7,000 times nationwide. S.B. 2999 requires states to phase out their usage of this exception over three years. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention may choose to grant states hardship extensions after that time.

S.B. 2999 also:

• Requires states to consider ethnicity in addition to race when assessing and addressing disproportionate minority contact;
• Includes provisions related to trauma-informed care and specialized programming for girls;
• Caps spending levels on JJDPA programs at $159 million in FY15, with incremental increases in subsequent fiscal years, with no more than 20% to be spent on mentoring programs; and
• Includes a series of financial accountability measures. 

The JJDPA was last reauthorized in 2002, and expired in 2007. To learn more about S.B. 2999 click here. You can find the following resources related to the reauthorization of the JJDPA here:

• Text of the Bill
• Bill Summary
• CJJ and NJJN's Press Release
• Action Alert
• Thank you letter to Senator Whitehouse
• Thank you letter to Senator Grassley
• Photos of CJJ's membership and allies thanking Senators Grassley and Whitehouse
• CJJ Blog posts on the JJDPA
• Latest news on juvenile justice reform and JJDPA reauthorization

Annual Conference: Registration is Now Open! The CJJ 2015 Conference, "At the Forefront: Emerging Challenges and Solutions to Reforming Juvenile Justice," will be held on June 10-13, at The Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration is now open!    CJJ has a room block available at The Omni Shoreham Hotel at the group rate of $199/night+tax. The room block closes Friday, May 8. To make your reservation, please call 1-800-THE-OMNI (1-800-843-6664) and mention that you are part of the "CJJ" room block.    CJJ invites proposals for concurrent workshops sessions to be held on Thursday and Friday, June 11-12. You can view the RFP here. The deadline for proposals is today at 11:59pm ET. Apply online!     CJJ welcomes nominations for three annual awards, to be presented at the 2015 Annual Conference: Tony Gobar Outstanding Juvenile Justice Specialist Award Spirit of Youth Award A.L. Carlisle Child Advocacy Award

Click here to fill out the application. Nominations are due to CJJ by Friday, February 13th at 5:00 pm ET.

 

We are also inviting sponsors and exhibitors for the Annual Conference. You can find out more about the various levels of sponsorship and exhibiting and apply here!

 

Questions? Please contact us at info@juvjustice.org.  

 

Annie E. Casey Foundation: Youth Advisory Council The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Juvenile Justice Strategy Group, with support from CJJ, is working to establish an advisory council of young adults currently or formerly involved in the juvenile justice system to support the JJSG's national juvenile justice reform efforts. The Youth Advisory Council will work in partnership with the JJSG to inform and strengthen its site-based reform efforts with state and local juvenile justice systems, while supporting the development of council members as emerging leaders in juvenile justice. Click here to learn more about the Youth Advisory Council. Click here to apply.

Webinar: Implementing an Adolescent Developmental Approach in Juvenile Justice Join us on January 21 for a webinar on "Implementing an Adolescent Developmental Approach in Juvenile Justice." Over the past decade, research has given us a new understanding of adolescent brain development. In 2013 and 2014, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released groundbreaking reports examining the implications of this research, proposing a developmental approach in juvenile justice, and outlining the role of the federal government in implementing reforms. This webinar will briefly describe the key findings from the original NAS report and explore strategies and policies to effectively reform the juvenile justice system. Participants will learn about the adolescent development research shaping new reforms and the recommended action steps for federal and state government, as well as State Advisory Groups (SAGs). Register here!

 

Models for Change Connections Each issue, CJJ is pleased to highlight the latest news and innovations of the Models for Change Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

9th Annual Models for Change National Working Conference

CJJ and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation hosted the 9th Annual Models for Change National Working Conference in December. The conference brought together juvenile justice leaders and practitioners to share cutting-edge advancements in the field. You can visit the conference app for details about attendees, speakers, resources, and more.  

 

Models for Change: Justice Policy Institute Releases Sticker Shock A new report released by the Justice Policy Institute shows that thirty-three U.S. states and jurisdictions spend $100,000 or more annually to incarcerate a young person, and continue to generate outcomes that result in even greater costs. This new research from JPI also provides an estimate of the overall costs from the negative outcomes associated with incarceration, including costs resulting from formerly incarcerated young people earning lower wages, paying less in taxes, having higher rates of recidivism, and having a greater dependence on government assistance. The report, Sticker Shock: Calculating the Full Price Tag for Youth Incarceration, finds that the long-term consequences of incarcerating young people could cost taxpayers $8 billion to $21 billion each year.

 

Pew: New Juvenile Justice Poll  The Pew Charitable Trust's Public Safety Performance Project released a national poll on juvenile justice in December. It revealed that 85% of voters agree status offenders should not go to correctional facilities. In addition, 87% believe that schools, families, and social service agencies should deal with these kinds of offenses, not the justice system. The poll showed strong agreement on these points across party affiliation.

According to the poll, more than eight in 10 voters say it does not matter whether juvenile offenders are sent to a corrections facility or supervised in the community. What really matters is that the juvenile justice system does a better job of changing offenders' behavior to ensure they do not commit future crimes. You can view the poll results here. 

 

Pew: Three States Lead the Way for Juvenile Justice Reforms

With help from The Pew Charitable Trust's Public Safety Performance Project, lawmakers in Georgia, Hawaii, and Kentucky have recently implemented reforms to their juvenile justice codes. These new laws aim to improve juvenile justice outcomes, while using resources more wisely. Learn more about their efforts in the latest CJJ blog post.

 

SAG News: Mississippi

The State of Mississippi will host the 39th Annual Juvenile Justice Symposium on February 25 -27, 2015. The Juvenile Justice Symposium is hosted by the Department of Public Safety, Division of Public Safety Planning, Office of Justice Programs, Juvenile Justice Division along with the Mississippi Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (State Advisory Group). The theme for this year's event is "Justice for All Youth: Working Together to Empower Youth, Families and the Community." The purpose of the Juvenile Justice Symposium is to provide a venue where participants from varying disciplines can receive appropriate resources to help prevent juvenile delinquency by educating the professionals who serve throughout the state. 

 

SAG News: New Hampshire

The New Hampshire State Advisory Group for Juvenile Justice presented Disproportionate Minority Contact Leadership Awards to three reformers in in December 2014: Chief David Mara of the Manchester Police Department, Sergeant Carlos Camacho of Nashua Police Department, and Sheriff David Dubois of the Strafford County Sheriff's Department. Each of these leaders were instrumental in the establishment and ongoing success of the Manchester, Nashua, and Rochester DMC Committees respectfully. New Hampshire is recognized as the only state in the nation where the Relative Rate Index has trended down for four consecutive years.

 

NJJN News: Meet Emerging Leaders in Youth Justice

This month, NJJN profiled Youth Justice Leadership Institute fellow Anthony DiMartino, an Administrative Analyst in the Development Services Department for the City of Long Beach. From the interview: "I saw how many of the youth [in prison] looked like me... and it struck me how one choice here or there could have sent me down a similar path." Read the rest here.

 

NJJN News: Feds Provide Guidance on Correctional Education for Youth

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education jointly released guidance on correctional education for youth. Letters were mailed to every superintendent in the country, attorney generals, and to the state heads of juvenile justice departments, as well as to any parent training centers funded by the DOE. To learn more about the new guidance and about best practices for the correctional education of youth, download the DOJ/DOE guidance package, NJJN's talking points for advocates, and further resources on youth education in the justice system here.

 

Thank You to CJJ's Supporters!

CJJ wants to thank all of you who made a donation and/or joined CJJ's membership in 2014. None of our work would be possible without the support of our dedicated friends and allies. We know that 2015 will be an exciting and challenging year. There is still time to join our membership or make a donation!

 

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In December, the Department of Justice released new guidance for federal law enforcement. The guidance provides recommendations and federal requirements for limiting the circumstances in which a person's race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender may be taken into account.

 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released "SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach."

 

The Equity Project and the Center for American Progress issued "Restoring Justice: A Blueprint for Ensuring Fairness, Safety, and Supportive Treatment of LGBT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System."

 

The Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University released a brief that focuses on recent efforts to further advance cost-effective, evidence-based practices for youth who come into contact with Ohio's juvenile justice system. 

 

Writing for the National Prevention Science Coalition, Bobby Vassar, former chief counsel of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime examined the situation in Ferguson and New York, and the important role prevention can play in juvenile justice reform.

 

The Defending Childhood Initiative's Advisory Committee on American Indian Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence issued a final report to the Attorney General in November, including policy recommendations and other findings.

 

New research published in the journal Science finds strong evidence that summer jobs lower violent crime arrest rates for youth in urban communities.

 

Many national and local media outlets addressed juvenile justice issues in 2014, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Forbes, and The Hill.  Click here to see a roundup of the latest news in juvenile justice. 

 

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Coalition for Juvenile Justice

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202-467-0864

info@juvjustice.org