U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention !1-155203-DC-Covers 1-4 11/22/00 3:05 PM Page 3 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) was established by the President and Con- gress through 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’s goal is to provide national leadership in addressing the issues of juvenile delinquency and improving juvenile justice. OJJDP sponsors a broad array of research, program, and training initiatives to improve the juvenile justice system as a whole, as well as to benefit individual youth-serving agencies. These initiatives are carried out by seven components within OJJDP, described below. Research and Program Development Division Information Dissemination Unit produces and distrib- develops knowledge on national trends in juvenile utes information resources on juvenile justice research, delinquency; supports a program for data collection training, and programs and coordinates the Office’s pro- and information sharing that incorporates elements gram planning and competitive award activities. Informa- of statistical and systems development; identifies tion that meets the needs of juvenile justice professionals how delinquency develops and the best methods and policymakers is provided through print and online for its prevention, intervention, and treatment; and publications, videotapes, CD–ROM’s, electronic listservs, analyzes practices and trends in the juvenile justice and the Office’s Web site. As part of the program plan- system. ning and award process, IDU develops priorities, publishes solicitations and application kits for funding Training and Technical Assistance Division pro- opportunities, and facilitates the peer review process vides juvenile justice training and technical assis- for discretionary funding awards. tance to Federal, State, and local governments; law enforcement, judiciary, and corrections personnel; Concentration of Federal Efforts Program promotes and private agencies, educational institutions, and interagency cooperation and coordination among Fed- community organizations. eral agencies with responsibilities in the area of juve- nile justice. The Program primarily carries out this Special Emphasis Division provides discretionary responsibility through the Coordinating Council on funds to public and private agencies, organizations, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an inde- and individuals to replicate tested approaches to pendent body within the executive branch that was delinquency prevention, treatment, and control in established by Congress through the JJDP Act. such pertinent areas as chronic juvenile offenders, community-based sanctions, and the dispropor- Child Protection Division administers programs related tionate representation of minorities in the juvenile to crimes against children and children’s exposure to justice system. violence. The Division provides leadership and funding to promote effective policies and procedures to address State Relations and Assistance Division supports the problems of missing and exploited children, children collaborative efforts by States to carry out the who have been abused or neglected, and children mandates of the JJDP Act by providing formula exposed to domestic or community violence. CPD pro- grant funds to States; furnishing technical assis- gram activities include conducting research; providing tance to States, local governments, and private information, training, and technical assistance on pro- agencies; and monitoring State compliance with grams to prevent and respond to child victims, witness- the JJDP Act. es, and their families; developing and demonstrating effective child protection initiatives; and supporting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The mission of OJJDP is to provide 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 pro- vide treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of individual juveniles and their families. Comprehensive Responses to Youth At Risk: Interim Findings From the SafeFutures Initiative Summary Elaine Morley Shelli B. Rossman Mary Kopczynski Janeen Buck Caterina Gouvis John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention November 2000 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 Janet Reno Attorney General Daniel Marcus Acting Associate Attorney General Mary Lou Leary Acting Assistant Attorney General John J. Wilson Acting Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention This document was prepared under grant number 95–JN–FX–K012 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public con- sideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to The Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Cover photo: Copyright 1999 PhotoDisc, Inc. 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. Foreword The prevention and control of juvenile delinquency and violence lie at the heart of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) SafeFutures initiative. The initiative joins what we have learned from research about risk and protective factors with what we now know from experience about promising approaches to preventing and controlling delinquency, result- ing in a continuum of care that responds to the needs of youth at critical stages in their development. As such, it embodies the principles of OJJDP’s Compre- hensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. This Summary describes the lessons learned over the initial 3 years of the initiative’s implementation in pilot sites in Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO. The services that each site provides vary considerably, mak- ing the Summary a valuable information resource for professionals working in urban, rural, and tribal settings. I am proud of the accomplishments of the SafeFutures initiative and hope that the experiences of these sites will help us improve our efforts to prevent and control juvenile delinquency and victimization. John J. Wilson Acting Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention iii Acknowledgments The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions and assistance of the SafeFutures directors and staff associated with SafeFutures initiatives at the six demonstration sites, without whose assistance this Summary would not have been possible. The sites are Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO. We are also indebted to the many other individuals at each site who graciously participated in our interviews and provided information about their communities and their SafeFutures efforts. We also wish to thank our Urban Institute colleagues E. Blaine Liner, Center Director of the State Policy Center, and Adele Harrell, Director of the Law and Behavior Program, for their advice and support. v Table of Contents Foreword.........................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................ v Executive Summary..................................................................................... ix The SafeFutures Initiative ............................................................................ ix Lessons Learned............................................................................................ x Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 The SafeFutures Initiative ......................................................................... 2 Goals of the Demonstration Programs ............................................................ 2 Theoretical Foundation ................................................................................... 3 Risk-Focused Prevention ................................................................................ 3 Graduated Sanctions for Youthful Offenders ................................................. 5 The Program Model .......................................................................................