Federal Juvenile Justice Programming and Policy:
An Overview
A Forum — February 20, 1998
Fear of youth crime has increased the profile of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice--the U.S. government agency which provides national leadership, helps coordinate resources, collects statistics, conducts research and demonstration projects, offers technical assistance and gives out grants to support the juvenile justice system. Shay Bilchik, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says this fear, while overstated, has also lent weight to arguments for improved youth programming, especially for prevention efforts. The debates around proposed crime bills have also been important for the field because they similarly highlight the need for increased and improved youth programming.
When the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 was passed, Congress was concerned about juvenile justice issues. However, OJJDP remained "a small outpost" within the DOJ. Some felt that the office would be more appropriately housed in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or that it really handled only "soft" issues and not the tough issues dealt with by the rest of DOJ. Now OJJDP plays the major federal role in juvenile justice policy, covering for juvenile issues all the major support areas that the Office of Justice Programs provides for the entire justice field. Much of their funding is distributed via formula grants to states to carry out juvenile justice programming. OJJDP assists states and localities to improve their focus on juvenile crime and work to reduce it. The role of OJJDP has become broader, but less invasive. It has shifted from a grant making and enforcement mode to a collaborative/ technical assistance role with partnerships between the federal government and communities. The office is also the lead player for juveniles in debates over crime bills and in proposed amendments to and planned reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. Some of the debate has included issues such as transferring youth to adult facilities, the role of victims of youth violence, sharing juvenile records and retaining a balance between punishment and prevention.
Bilchik sees the role of OJJDP as more than simply preserving public safety, though that is one of its goals. He believes that "youth need to be able to hope and dream of what they can have." While only one half of one percent of youth are involved in serious juvenile crime, this number is still too high. "All is not well" with juveniles in the United States; "some are struggling to do well in situations that would tax any of us." Statistics show that proximity to individuals involved in problem behavior increases the probability of delinquent behavior among juveniles, for example: when parents are involved in problem behavior, juveniles are twice as likely to commit a crime; when peers are involved in problem behavior, juveniles are ten times as likely to commit a crime; and when parents and peers are involved in problem behavior, juveniles are seventeen times more likely to commit a crime. However, the situation of juveniles is not hopeless. It has been shown that "protective factors" can reduce problem behavior in "high risk" young people threefold.
OJJDP works with whole communities to reduce negative influences on youth and infuse protective factors. Much of their work is focused on research on effective practice, demonstration programs and evaluations of these efforts. This research can then be applied to policymaking and practice. Examples of practices recognized by OJJDP as effective for young people include:
- Safe Kids/Safe Streets, which integrates the work of family and juvenile courts and links to a community-wide plan to reduce abuse and neglect;
- Safe Futures, which constantly determines which services are needed to provide a comprehensive continuum of care and to fill in gaps which communities identify;
- Family and neighborhood services--an approach to non-residential family treatment which treats children in the context of where they live so that when the government program is gone the family and community are stronger;
- David Olds' Home Nurse Visitation program, which can reduce abuse and neglect by 75 percent, gets mothers off of welfare and into jobs and delays second births past the teen years;
- Supports for out-of-school youth such as Boys and Girls Clubs;
- Juvenile mentoring programs at 90 DOJ-sponsored sites;
- Conflict resolution; and
- Law-related education.
OJJDP also works closely with the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor and Housing and Urban Development to focus on the 20 percent of students who are 16-24 years of age and chronically truant or out-of- school.
Bilchik says the U.S. is facing a youth crisis, but we have not systemically or sufficiently applied our knowledge of what works. He is concerned that temporary downturns in youth crime will be viewed as permanent successes and serve to decrease the important spotlight on this issue.