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.

Leahy reintroduces Juvenile Justice Reauthorization Bill but with some few revisions.

Leahy Introduces Juvenile Justice Reauthorization Bill

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, March 24, 2009) – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) today introduced legislation to reauthorize expiring programs in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act will authorize key programs designed to protect children and reduce juvenile crime.

Leahy introduced legislation to reauthorize the JJDPA in the last Congress after months of research and debate, and the legislation was reported by the Judiciary Committee, which Leahy chairs, in September 2008. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act will increase federal funding of prevention, intervention and treatment programs designed to reduce the incidence of juvenile crime. The reauthorization legislation aims to balance providing federal support and guidance to state programs, and respecting the individual criminal justice policies of states.

A key goal of the JJDPA is to help reduce crime and recidivism among youths. The legislation urges states to make improvements to juvenile justice systems, and provides common sense guidelines, procedural protections and restrictions on the pretrial detention of juveniles in adult jails and the detention of children who commit status offenses like truancy.

Leahy said, “The basic goals of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act include keeping our communities safe by reducing juvenile crime and advancing programs and policies that keep children out of the criminal justice system. Many prominent Vermont representatives of law enforcement, the juvenile justice system, and prevention-oriented non-profits have spoken to me in support of this reauthorization. This bill pushes forward new ways to help children move out of the criminal justice system, return to school, and become responsible, hard-working members of our communities. I hope all Senators will join us in supporting this important legislation.”


Read more.

But here is some revisions of the bill to the Administrator's role:

Section 203. Annual Report. This section modifies several existing reporting requirements in the OJJDP Administrator’s annual report, including requiring data on conditions of confinement (isolation and restraints), release from custody, status offenders and the number of pregnant juveniles.

This section also requires that the Administrator include a description of the criteria used to determine what programs qualify as evidence based and promising programs under JJDPA titles II and V, and a comprehensive list of those programs that have been determined to meet the criteria, as well as a description of funding provided to Indian Tribes under this Act.

Section 204. Allocation of Funds. This section clarifies that funds should be allocated to States under Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) based on the most recent census data available.

This section authorizes the reinvestment of funds withheld due to noncompliance with one or more of the core requirements as an “incentive grant” aimed at helping States to regain compliance. It also requires that the Administrator provide support and technical assistance to the States in achieving and maintaining compliance with the Act.

Section 206. Authority to Make Grants. This section amends the Administrator’s grant-making authority to add truancy prevention and reduction activities to the list of after-school programs that provide at-risk juveniles and juveniles in the system with a range of age-appropriate activities. Also added to the list are projects that support the establishment of partnerships between a State and a university, institution of higher education, or research center designed to improve the recruitment, selection, training and retention of professional personnel.

Did the OJJDP Administrator respond to Senate committee's written questions from JJDPA hearing?

It doesn't appear that way.

This month, Senator Patrick Leahy had pressed Mukasey for answers to DOJ witness questions. The full text of Leahy’s letter follows. A PDF, and listing of unanswered questions, is available online. One of the questions remained unanswered in relation to OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores was:

12/5/07 hearing and testimony
Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act
J. Robert Flores
Administrator
Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention

Senators didn't received response from Flores 12/13/07
Leahy( 1), Kennedy( 1),
Feingold( 1)

Here were the statements of Senators Leahy and Feingold from the JJDPA hearing on 12/5/07:


Statement of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Statement of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Member, Senate Judiciary Committee

Former OJJDP Adminstrator Shay Bilchik testified at the hearing and submitted his written answers to the committee. Here was Bilchik's testimony:
Testimony of Shay Bilchik.

Here was an excerpt of Bilchik's written answer to one of the committee:

Pg. 7


Questions from Senator Feingold:

2. Why is federal investment and involvement in state and local juvenile justice efforts important?

As a former Administrator of the OJJDP, I urge you to ensure that juvenile justice retains an active “home” that is focused on delinquency prevention and control, rehabilitation, and child protection within the U.S. Department of Justice at OJJDP- - with an administration guided by experts and whose actions are both timely and transparent to the public.

It should also be made clear that it is the intent of Congress that these functions of the OJJDP are to be under the control of, and performed by that office and not delegated to other departments within the Department of Justice.

This splintering and fragmentation of OJJDP has been taking place in recent years and has undermined the ability of the office to fulfill its leadership role.

Here's the link of Bilchik's written answers: Response to Questions - Shay Bilchik

See more testimonies and other witnesses' written answers to the committee minus Flores. Click here.

On a side note: Congressman and Chairman Henry Waxman of Oversight and Reform Committee still hasn't received a response from AG Mukasey on documents relating to the grant making policies. Waxman had a hearing with Flores in June 2008 despite no response of documents from Mukasey.

Waxman's letter to Mukasey on March 13, 2008:

I am writing to request documents relating to the grantmaking policies and practices in
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Justice
Department. Concerns about this issue were brought to my attention by Congressman Timothy
Walz.

In order to examine these allegations, I request that you provide the Committee the
following information

1. A list of all applicants for discretionary grants from the OJJDP for Fiscal Year 2007,
including the proposed funding amount, category ofjuvenile delinquency addressed,
whether the application received external peer review, the applicant's technical
evaluation scores, and, if the applicant was funded, the amount awarded;

2. For discretionary grants awarded in Fiscal Year 2007, all documents related to their
award, including grant applications; records and notes from their technical evaluation; the
offrcial decision memoranda; and communications within OJJDP and between OJJDP
officials and any outside entity;

3. All communications to or from OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores relating to all
grants considered for awards in Fiscal Year 2007; and

4. All OJJDP and DOJ policies governing the grant competition and award process.

Please provide these documents to the Committee by April 4, 2008. In addition, please
provide the Committee with a briefing on the OJJDP's grantmaking policies and practices,
including the issues raised in the Youth Today article, by March 28,2008.

Hundreds of Senate hearing questions remain unanswered by Mukasey; One is the Reauthorization of the JJDPA.

From Senator Leahy's website:

WASHINGTON (Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, urging the Justice Department to respond to hundreds of hearing questions that remain unanswered by Department witnesses who have testified before the Committee. Several questions date back over one year.

More than 300 questions sent to Justice Department witnesses who testified at 11 Judiciary Committee hearings remain unanswered. The full text of Leahy’s letter follows. A PDF, and listing of unanswered questions, is available online.

Here are one of the questions unanswered in the Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). From the Leahy's letter:

Senate Committee on the Judiciary Overdue Written Responses to Questions Submitted to the Department of Justice Following Full Committee Hearings in the 11oth Congress, as of November 17, 2008

12/5/07
Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Act
J. Robert Flores
Administrator
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
12/13/07
Leahy( 1), Kennedy( 1),
Feingold( 1)

JJDPA bill is stalled.

Youth Today:

Movement of a bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act was stalled by partisan tension over judicial nominees.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to consider amendments to the bill, which finances most operations of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and six other bills. But committee chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) called the meeting to recess because only one Republican, Arlen Specter (Pa.), was present.

Eight committee members must attend a meeting to conduct business, and two must be members of the minority party.

Other Republican members did not attend the meeting because federal district and appeals court nominees have not been placed on the agenda for committee meetings.

"The Republicans have decided not to show up," Leahy announced to a committee room teeming with juvenile justice advocates. He said he believed the decision was "not responsible, but it is their prerogative."

Among the amendments the campaign opposed: Sen. Jeff Sessions' (R-Ala.) proposal to remove incentive grants, and those by Sens. Sessions and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that called for extensive evaluation of OJJDP by the Government Accountability Office.

The committee may revisit the bill next week or on July 31, but it is uncertain what will change if the fight over judicial nominees continues.