History and Current Strategy

1. Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO), Section 223(a)(11), which states that status offenders and juveniles who are not charged with any offense, but who are aliens or alleged to be dependent, neglected or abused, shall not be placed in secure detention/correctional facilities. This provision excludes juveniles who are charged with or who have committed a violation of 922 (x)(2) of title 18 US Code, or of a similar State law, juveniles charged with or who have committed a violation of a valid court order, and juveniles held in accordance with the Interstate Compact;
2. Sight and Sound Separation (Separation), Section 223 (a)(12), which states that accused and adjudicated delinquents, status offenders and non-offending juveniles will not be detained or confined in any institution where they may have contact with adult inmates. Moreover, the JJDPA of 2002 mandates that professionals who work with both adults and juveniles, including in co-located facilities, receive training and certification;
3. Removal of Juveniles from Adult Jails and Lockups (Jail Removal), Section 223(a)(13), which states that juveniles cannot be detained in any adult jail or lockup. However, the JJDPA offers an exception for juveniles who are accused of non-status offenses and detained in a jail or lock-up for a period not to exceed 6 hours, during processing or release, while awaiting transfer to a juvenile facility, or when making a court appearance. The JJDPA also provides for a “rural exception,” which allows juveniles who are accused of delinquency offenses to be detained in an adult facility for up to 48 hours, after being taken into custody and while awaiting an initial court appearance. Juveniles cannot have sight or sound contact with incarcerated adults.
4. Reduction of Disproportionate Minority Contact [previously Confinement] (DMC), Section 223(a)(22), which broadens the scope of the previously authorized disproportionate minority confinement requirement to include the over-representation of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system at any point. It specifically mandates the states to “address juvenile delinquency prevention efforts and system improvement efforts designed to reduce, without establishing or requiring numerical standards or quotas, the disproportionate number of juvenile members of minority groups who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.”
   

• Strengthen and engage state-based members seeking to improve juvenile justice; Actively support the participation and leadership of diverse constituents, including youth.

• Reauthorization of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
• Eliminating disparate treatment of youth of color
• Reducing reliance on secure detention
• Infusing adolescent brain science and youth development principles into juvenile justice policy and practice
• Limiting transfer of youth to adult criminal court
• Improving family- and community-connected mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment
• Ensuring adequate and timely appointment of effective legal counsel
• Improving conditions of confinement
  

• Educational opportunities, including conferences & other meetings
• Reports such as bulletins & papers
• Web site and other Internet based learning opportunities
• Education of key decision-makers and policy makers
  

• Identify and address emerging issues and urgent juvenile justice concerns.
• Develop and publicize positions on juvenile justice issues, practices and policies.
• Build strategic alliances and collaborations with national, state and local organizations and agencies.
• Promote and advocate for more research and implementation of evidence-based and promising practices.
• Develop, cultivate and strengthen relationships with policy makers.
• Build and enhance capacity, knowledge base and skills of members.
  

• Highlight and publicize what’s happening on the local/state level and what’s working in the areas of reform, change, practice and policy.
• Develop tools to improve a state’s opportunities to enact change and reform.
• Develop and provide an infrastructure for peer-to-peer support and peer learning.
• Build and enhance capacity, knowledge base and skills of members.
  

• Ensure implementation of a multiyear fund raising plan to diversify and strengthen CJJ’s long range viability.
• Expand opportunities for growth in membership and programs.
  

Each year, a new leader is chosen to represent the concerns of CJJ’s members, and to give visibility and voice to the needs and interests of juvenile justice advocates, youth and families, nationwide.

A member, who is elected by the CJJ Board of Directors to become National Chair, first serves a year as Vice Chair-Chair Elect, then assumes the role of National Chair for a one-year term. After serving as National Chair, the leader contributes another year as Immediate Past Chair. CJJ National Chairs have included: