Juvenile Justice Connection : juvenile justice research

National Youth Gang Center To Merge With The National Gang Center

CC Pro — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:04:00 GMT

On October 1, 2009, the National Youth Gang Center will merge with the National Gang Center. This merger is a collaborative effort between the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The site will offer information on training, gang-related legislation, web resources, threat assessments, and surveys & analysis. The most recent National Youth Gang Survey Analysis is available here.

Mental Health Symptoms of Incarcerated Juvenile Offenders

CC Pro — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:25:00 GMT

A report by the UC Irvine Center for Evidence-Based Corrections notes the decreasing treatment resources available to at-risk youth has caused the juvenile justice system to become a "surrogate for mental health treatment." This report looks at the changes in "juvenile offenders' mental health symptoms over longer periods of secure confinement..." Highlights from the study are as follows:

Self-reported mental health symptoms were highest at arrival to the institution.
Patterns of mental health adjustment were variable.
Symptoms of substance abuse appeared to increase starting at the third week of incarceration.
In the domains of anger/irritability, substance abuse and somatic complaints, about 20% of youth exhibited chronically high levels of symptoms.
46% of youth reported having engaged in violent behaviors in the institution.
Youth high in symptoms of anger/irritability or substance abuse were more likely than other youth to engage in violent behaviors within the facility.

As transition to secure confinement or transfer to a different facility is one of the most stressful periods for juvenile offenders', the authors' postulate initial intake assessments may overstate the prevalence of mental health symptoms. While useful in identifying high levels of distress, additional assessment(s) at a later date can assist authorities in providing targeted interventions to youth most at-risk.

Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention's 2008 Annual Report

CC Pro — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:51:00 GMT

The Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released its annual report detailing the activities and accomplishments of the agency during fiscal year 2008. Among the areas featured are:

Publications
Girls Study Group
Anti-Gang Initiatives
Electronic Mapping - SMART
Mentoring
Underage Drinking laws
Amber Alerts

Juvenile Suicide In Confinement

CC Pro — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:46:00 GMT

A survey describing the characteristics of juveniles who committed suicide while confined has been published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This is the first national survey to examine the social history and demographic characteristics of the 110 juveniles who committed suicide while under confinement between 1995 and 1999. This bulletin also denotes the features of the facilities in which the incidents occurred and offers recommendations on how to prevent suicides.

Juvenile Court Statistics 2005

CC Pro — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:26:00 GMT

The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ), with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, (OJJDP) has published a report examining juvenile delinquency cases between 1985 and 2005. Also included is data regarding petitioned status offense cases between 1995 and 2005. Additional data on juvenile justice systems and the characteristics of juvenile offenders is available from the Statistical Briefing Book.

2006 Juvenile Arrest Data

CC Pro — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:57:00 GMT

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released juvenile arrest data drawn from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Crime in the United States 2006. Among the findings:

Juvenile arrests for violent crimes increased modestly in 2005 and 2006. However, as the number of such arrests in 2004 was smaller than in any year since 1987, the number of juvenile arrests for violent crimes for 2006 was relatively low. Juvenile arrests for property crimes continued to decline and in 2006 were at their lowest level since at least 1980 (the first year of available data for this report).
In 1994, 1 of 6 alleged murder offenders known to law enforcement was under age 18. In 2006, this ratio was 1 in 11.
Juveniles were involved in 13% of all violent crimes cleared in 2006 - specifically, 6% of murders, 12% of forcible rapes, 17% of robberies, and 12% of aggravated assaults.
The growth in the juvenile murder arrest rate from 2004 to 2006 returned to near its 2002 level, but even with this increase the rate in 2006 was still 73% below its 1993 peak.
The proportion of female offender entering the juvenile justice system has grown. Although the juvenile arrests for violent crimes declined 22% for males between 1997 and 2006, they decreased only 12% for females in the same period.

Patterns of Substance Usage in Youth

CC Pro — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:38:00 GMT

The Office Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has published the bulletin "Co-occurrence of Substance Use Behaviors in Youth." The data were gathered from self-reports regarding the usage of alcohol and/or the usage/sale of illegal substances during the previous 30 days. A central finding indicates that youth engaging in "one substance-related behavior" increases the likelihood they will engage in another.

Highlights from the 2006 National Youth Gang Survey

CC Pro — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:53:00 GMT

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has published a Fact Sheet summarizing the findings from the 2006 National Youth Gang Survey. Information on the "number of gangs, gang members, and gang-related crime" are provided. Survey data was collected from police departments that serve larger cities, suburban counties, smaller cities, and rural counties.

2008 Kids Count Data Book

CC Pro — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:07:00 GMT

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization established to promote the welfare of disadvantaged children, has released their latest data book on the status of children and families in the United States. Along with the latest available data that measures educational, social, economic and the physical well-being of children, the foundation provides an essay on reform of the juvenile justice system. Individual state statistics on the condition of children are augmented by data on the number of youth in custody.

Juvenile Reentry and Multiple System Involvement

CC Pro — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:02:00 GMT

The subject of adult reentry has received considerable attention and research. But what about the needs of juveniles as they re-enter the community after a period of incarceration? Youthful offenders face significant challenges in transitioning back into the community that are different from adults. During this transitional period they often come into contact with child-serving systems. Does involvement with these human and public service systems address the needs of and provide support for this population to the extent of impacting recidivism? A report to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is one of the first studies to utilize administrative data, sourced from various human and public service agencies, to examine the experiences of returning youthful offenders statewide and from Chicago to ascertain how multiple system involvement may affect this population.

Looking for a Juvenile Justice Resource?

Leslie LeMaster — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:44:00 GMT

Then check out the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) website at http://www.ncjj.org/

Who are they and what do they do? Follow this link http://ncjj.servehttp.com/NCJJWebsite/whoarewe/whoweare.htm

On their site access:

State Profiles
Descriptive information and analysis regarding each state's juvenile justice system, illustrating the uniqueness of the 51 separate
juvenile justice systems in this country.

Statistical Briefing Book
Statistical information on juvenile offending, victimization of juveniles, and involvement of youth in the juvenile justice system.

Lingle Alternative Programs Directory
National directory of alternative juvenile and children youth programs for all 50 states.

PA Electronic Juvenile Justice Databook
Provides access to a broad range of county level data tables that describe the status of youth across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Are You Connected with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) Web Page?

Leslie LeMaster — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:07:00 GMT

What are you waiting for? Follow this link to get connected!

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/

See the latest projects initiated by OJJDP, and subscribe to JUVJUST, OJJDP's e-mail notification resource!

Surf the site and see the reports that they regularly offer, register for the latest conference or event they are offering, or find out about funding opportunties.

Announcing NIC's Juvenile Justice Connection Blog!

Leslie LeMaster — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:09:00 GMT

This is the place to share info for and about juvenile justice!

We'll be regularly blogging about:

- New research in juvenile justice

- Training and development opportunities open to juvenile justice professionals and organizations

- Links to info about what is happening around the US and the world in juvenile justice

- Much more!

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