35th anniversary of JJDPA

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) of 1974 provides funds to states that follow a series of guidelines regarding the rights of juvenile offenders. However, the bill was never voted on for renewal in the Senate yet. On July 31, 2008, the bill was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee with broad bipartisan support.

In December 2008, Senator Patrick Leahy sent a letter to then President-elect Obama on several key issues. One of the issues were justice assistance.

From Leahy's website:

Justice Assistance

Experience shows that crime tends to escalate in a worsening economy. As we work to protect jobs and spur our worsening economy, we must help our cities, towns, and rural communities combat the drug and crime problems that threaten public safety and the well-being of many who have lost hope, particularly our young people. Effective state and local law enforcement is vital to our efforts to combat the scourge of drugs and crime, and the federal government in the past has been an effective partner. Unfortunately, for the last eight years, state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country have been stretched thin as they have shouldered both traditional crime-fighting duties and new homeland security demands. They have faced continuous cuts in federal funding during the Bush years, and time and time again our state and local law enforcement officers have been unable to fill vacancies and to get the equipment they need.

I strongly support restoring the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and Edward Byrne Justice Assistance grant programs that offer practical support to local law enforcement agencies. These programs enable local communities to substantially increase the number of law enforcement officers, provide training and assistance for local prevention programs and law enforcement, and encourage innovative crime prevention programs and new law enforcement technologies. These proven programs should be reauthorized, supported and fully funded.

I also support reauthorizing and funding the Crime-Free Rural States grant program. Drug-related crime is not just a big-city issue. It is a growing problem in rural communities across the country. We need to support practical programs that provide vital resources to some of the nation’s most vulnerable, cash-strapped communities to address crime in their neighborhoods.

Any effective approach to crime must include a significant emphasis on prevention and treatment, particularly for young people. This is vitally needed so that our children can be kept safe, on a productive path, and out of the criminal justice system, and so that if they do stray, they can be given the opportunity to turn away from crime and become productive members of the community. Reauthorizing and fully funding the important programs in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act should be an important part of this effort.

Here is the entire text of Leahy’s letter to Obama here as a PDF file.

As we look at OJJDP under Obama Administration, the JJDPA is much needed to be reauthorized.

Reporter John Kelly of Youth Today wrote:

Labor Day marked the 35th anniversary of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The act is overdue for reauthorization, and a bill that would do so has been introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

The act requires states to comply with juvenile justice standards pertaining to four core principles: deinstitutionalization of youth who are status offenders; keeping all youth who are not tried as adults from placement in adult lockups; separating juveniles tried as adults from adult jail populations; and addressing racial disparities in the juvenile justice system (disproportionate minority contact, or DMC).

And more:

State juvenile justice leaders find staff at the federal juvenile justice office helpful, though slow to respond at times, and the officials bemoan the dwindling resources flowing to states from the federal office.
These are findings of a survey conducted by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, which was released this week.

The coalition polled state-designated juvenile justice specialists in each state and six territories about the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The results, presented in a report titled A Pivotal Moment, indicate that most states value the work done by OJJDP but feel its influence is compromised by its decreasing budget.

"The sky is not falling, but the ground beneath is not as firm as it used to be," said CJJ Deputy Executive Director Tara Andrews, summarizing the sentiments of states about work on JJDPA compliance at a panel discussion following announcement of the report.