Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) 2008 Annual Request for Information (ARI) Presented by CSR, Incorporated August 2008

ARI Areas of Inquiry ► Key current and emerging juvenile justice issues and how they affect a respondent’s State or territory ► Policies and practices relating to a youth’s right to effective assistance of counsel ► Problems identified in most recent 3-year plans ► Promising practices a State or territory is using ► Total juvenile justice budget and budgets for juvenile crime prevention (request by OJJDP Administrator) ► Recommendations for the President and Congress ► Recommendations for the OJJDP administrator ► Types of assistance OJJDP could offer

Methods and Response Rate ► Respondents from 47 of 55 States and territories (85%) entered at least some data ► Partially completed responses were included in the analysis (n = 23) ► All respondents answered questions 1 to 3 ► Web-based ARI accepted data between January 28 and April 30, 2008

Key Current and Emerging Issues ► The top 5 issues reported by respondents were: 1.Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) (n = 40) 2.Mental health assessment and treatment (n = 38) 3.Juvenile reentry (n = 28) 4.Detention reform (n = 26) 5.Community-based programs (n = 25) ► DMC and Mental health were also the top 2 issues in 2007.

Top Five Juvenile Justice Issues

Current and Emerging Juvenile Justice Issues ► Issues were grouped into five categories: –Justice System –Core Requirements –Service System –Research to Policy and –Emerging Social Trends

Current and Emerging Juvenile Justice Issues by Category

Promising Practices Used To Address Most Common Problems ► DMC –Applying reliable and accurate data –School-based programs –Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) model –DMC taskforce –Schoolhouse adjustment program –Youth/law enforcement forums –Evidence-based programming for youth and evaluation ► Mental health assessment and treatment –Expedite processing of evaluations

Promising Practices Used To Address Most Common Problems (cont.) ► Juvenile Reentry –Providing emotional, social, educational, and economic assistance –Mentoring and advocacy services –Clinical intake assessments –Prerelease individual contacts –Post-release family therapy –Case management –Aftercare support program ► Detention Reform –Implementing Annie E. Casey Detention Reform guidelines

Juvenile’s Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel ► Respondents were asked about laws and policies pertaining to juvenile legal representation –Does a juvenile have the right to waive counsel? –If so, are there age restrictions on waiver? –What is the process for appointing counsel?

A Youth’s Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel Juvenile Right to Waive CounselProcess for Appointing Counsel

Recommendations to the President and Congress ► Increase or restore previous levels of funding ► Increase research on effective programs and best practices for the different areas ► Reconsider zero-tolerance and get-tough policies ► Provide more alternative programs for juveniles ► Revisit punitive juvenile legislation ► Increase focus on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and drug-related crimes

Recommendations to the OJJDP Administrator ► Increase funding and support of research studies specific to juveniles ► Reconsider zero-tolerance and get-tough policies ► Increase funds for Native American juvenile justice ► Increase focus on truancy and the use of prescription drugs among the juvenile population ► Provide assistance with evaluation ► Help implement evidence-based models

Categories of Assistance OJJDP Could Offer States/Territories ► Dissemination of research findings (conferences, bulletins, toolkits, etc.) ► Conducting new research ► Developing evidence-based programs ► Developing assessment tools ► Providing training and technical assistance with evaluation ► Developing model policies and regulations

Primary Issues by Population Density ► Analysis was conducted to ascertain whether primary juvenile justice issues were affected by population density ► Results indicated that: –DMC was the primary issue in urban areas, and –Mental health treatment and assessment was the primary issue in rural areas

Primary Issue by Population Density Sight and Sound Separation TOTAL 11The Adam Walsh Act 11Waiver/Transfer 11Zero Tolerance/School Disciplinary Problems 101Juvenile’s Right to Effective Counsel 3Community-Based Programs vs. Secure Treatment 11Funding Concerns 2Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders 2Data Analysis 11Coordination of Services 12Detention Reform Mental Health 11Gender-Specific Services 11Substance Abuse 11Juvenile Justice Data Collection System 10Disproportionate Minority Contact Lack of Prevention Services TotalMainly RuralMainly Urban State Population Density Issues Ranked: Primary

Primary Juvenile Justice Issue and Tribal Youth Density ► The primary juvenile justice issue was compared among areas with low, medium, and high tribal youth population density. Results indicated that: –Where tribal youth population is highest, the primary concern is delinquency prevention –Where tribal youth density is medium, the primary concern is mental health treatment and assessment, and –Where tribal youth density is low, the primary concerns are DMC and detention reform

Primary Juvenile Justice Issue by Tribal Youth Population Density

Discussion ► How was the online process? ► How was the timing of the survey? ► Were there particular challenges to responding to the ARI this year? ► Did the questions elicit the desired responses? ► How should the draft report be revised? ► How could the process be improved?