July 2006

CJJ Government Relations Alert

News from the Hill: SMALL, HARD-WON VICTORIES ON FEDERAL JJ APPROPRIATIONS

Many thanks to members of State Advisory Groups (SAGs) and juvenile justice leaders who continue to make calls and send letters in support of restored federal juvenile justice appropriations for fiscal year 2007 (FY 07).

The mandates and programs under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) become far less effective in the absence of sufficient funds to ensure that they can be well implemented. In recent years, state and national juvenile justice leaders have had to be ever vocal and vigilant to keep the most basic of funds to the states intact. Yet, your tireless efforts and calls for improved appropriations have not gone unnoticed.

The House and the Senate appropriations subcommittees have taken some positive action in response to your calls and those of many others promoting effective delinquency prevention and juvenile justice policies and programs for at-risk and adjudicated youth and their families.

Restoring $50 million to the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program is a significant victory after it was zeroed out in the President’s proposal, especially given the pressures on the budget and deep cuts to many domestic programs.

Here are the juvenile justice numbers (rounded) following yesterday’s mark-up by the Senate CJS Subcommittee to Appropriations, courtesy of Miriam Rollin, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. The full Senate appropriations committee votes tomorrow, July 13.

No funds have been appropriated for State Challenge Grants in the past four years.

* Formula Funds/Title II in the Senate CJS Subcommittee Mark-up includes a $9 million earmark for assisting small nonprofits with federal grant applications.

** Title V in the Senate CJS Subcommittee Mark-up includes $60 million (of the $65 million) in earmarks, including $10 million for tribal youth programs, $20 million for GREAT (gang resistance education and training), $25 million for grants to enforce state laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors and $5 million for Big Brothers & Big Sisters.

Justice Programs Mark-up

SAGs and state juvenile justice programs may blend funding across streams of federal justice funding. Here are some of the numbers (in millions) for other justice appropriations after the CJS Subcommittee to Appropriations Mark-up yesterday, courtesy of Ann Yom at the National Sheriffs Association. Overall, the Office of Justice Programs took a 14% decrease from FY 06, but JAG saw an increase.

Byrne-JAG Formula: $470; House passed $444; FY 06 was $321
Byrne Discretionary: $125
Boys and Girls Clubs: $85
Drug Courts: $15
Meth Hot Spots: $85

Looking Ahead to Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA)

In the upcoming 12-24 months, JJDPA, as well as other major legislation affecting youth, including No Child Left Behind and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, will be considered for reauthorization by the Congress. CJJ and close colleagues from other national organizations have begun the process of educating about the value of the JJDPA and its reauthorization. Later this summer, look for surveys to the field and a dedicated Web site as two elements of the larger effort.

In the past few weeks, Nancy Gannon Hornberger from CJJ, in collaboration with Mark Ferrante, the National Juvenile Justice Specialist Representative, Neelum Arya of the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, and Liz Ryan of the Campaign 4 Youth Justice, convened a conference call discussion series on the JJDPA. We have “asked the experts” about experiences implementing the JJDPA in the states by inviting juvenile justice specialists and DMC (disproportionate minority contact) coordinators to participate in the first series of calls.

In September and October, CJJ and its partners will convene another identical conference call series on the JJDPA—open to all by RSVP—devoting a one hour call each week to each of the following focus topics:

1. Federal assistance to states: Does the Act provide for sufficient federal assistance for state and local JJDP programs in terms of guidance and support given to states (e.g., funding and technical assistance) and demands placed on the states (state plans, specific use of funds)?
2. SAGs and State Plans: Is the way the Act defines the composition and function of the State Advisory Groups effective? What more could be done (if anything) to strengthen the effectiveness of State Advisory Groups? How beneficial are state plans to the process of improving juvenile justice and coordination of state efforts?
3. Research and Evaluation: Does the Act provide for adequate development and dissemination of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention research and evaluation? What is of greatest value for state and local efforts? What more could be done?
4. Core Requirements: What is your sense of the value of the core requirements in the Act, regarding DMC, DSO, jail removal, separation? Do they create meaningful accountabilities, compliance standards and receive appropriate focus in your state? What more could be done to improve the effectiveness of the core requirements?
   

Get involved! If you are interested in participating in the September-October call series on the JJDPA, please send an email message to Nancy Gannon Hornberger at gannon@juvjustice.org.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the CJJ Government Relations Committee or Government Relations Program, please contact Linda Hayes (lhayes@harnettlaw.com), committee chair, or Nancy Gannon Hornberger (gannon@juvjustice.org and 202-467-0864, ext. 111), CJJ acting executive director.

Urgent Action Alert from NJJN

Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are discussing legislation that may require youth adjudicated delinquent of sexual offenses to register on a national sex offender registry list. H.R. 4472, the final House bill, requires youth in the juvenile justice system to register on the national sex offender registry (and also on state registries that currently exclude juvenile adjudications). S. 1086, the final Senate bill, excludes juvenile offenders from the registry list. The differences between these bills are currently being reconciled.

Members of Congress need to hear from their constituents that the House bill ignores the research showing that youth sex offenders have low re-offense rates (3-8%), that they are highly responsive to treatment, that over 90% of arrests of children for sex offenses represent a one-time event that will never recur, and that adding juveniles to the national registry list would only cause confusion as to which offenders pose real threats to public safety, and is an unnecessary and counterproductive intrusion into state jurisdiction over juvenile matters.

How You Can Help:
Contact your Representative or Senator by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and faxing letters to their offices. Fax numbers and other information are available at http://capwiz.com/cj/home/. Please urge them to support language excluding juvenile offenders from the national sex offender registry and to share these concerns with members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Suggested points to make:

• I’m calling to urge you to support Senate language excluding juvenile offenders from a national sex offender registry and to urge members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to support the Senate language in House/Senate negotiations.
• I am deeply concerned about public safety. The research shows that juvenile offenders have a very low recidivism rate and are highly responsive to treatment.
• By including juveniles on the national registry, we confuse the public and impede youth sex offenders from rehabilitating and becoming productive members of society.
• States are better equipped and have adequate legislation to fully address juvenile sex offenders. We do not need increased federalization of these issues.
• Again, I urge Representative or Senator [insert name] to adopt the Senate language keeping juveniles off a national sex offender registry and to contact House and Senate Judiciary Committee members.
  

For more information:
Please contact Elizabeth Kehoe, National Juvenile Defender Center, 202-452-0010, ext. 103, ekehoe@njdc.info or Sarah Bryer, National Juvenile Justice Network, 202.467.0864, ext. 105, bryer@juvjustice.org.

CJJ Conference News (September 7-10 with service projects on September 6)

DMC Conference Registration

Don’t forget to register for the 11th Annual DMC Conference, “Law Enforcement Solutions for Reducing Racial Disparities and Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) in Juvenile Justice,” taking place September 7 through 10 (with service projects on Sept. 6, see below). If you have made your hotel room reservation, and have not yet registered for the conference, please do so by visiting www.cvent.com and entering event code 4HN8DJY92SU. The deadline to register is Friday, August 25. For a working draft of the agenda or for more information, contact Lindsay Wood: wood@juvjustice.org and 202-467-0864, ext. 124.

DMC Conference Last Call for Presentations

CJJ is still accepting presentation proposals for the 11th Annual DMC Conference. To download the Call for Presentations, visit www.juvjustice.org and click on “Conferences & Events.” Deadline for submission is this Friday, July 14.

DMC Conference Service Project

On September 6, CJJ is arranging opportunities for fall conference attendees to lend a hand in the New Orleans recovery effort through the light repair of youth service buildings and other projects. The projects are scheduled from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6. Transportation will be provided by CJJ. If interested in volunteering, please RSVP to Lindsay Wood at wood@juvjustice.org by August 1, so that we may get a solid head count.

Fall CJJ Committee Meetings

On September 7, during the 11th Annual DMC Conference, CJJ will convene its fall committee meetings. Please see the schedule below. For further information, contact Lindsay Wood: wood@juvjustice.org and 202-467-0864, ext. 124.

CJJ Board of Directors' News

Detention Reform News

Minnesota: Congratulations to the Minnesota SAG, recently designated a formal Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) site. With active engagement from the Minnesota SAG and Minnesota DMC Coordinator, the state is currently developing risk assessment instruments in the pilot sites and collecting detention data on which to base decision-making.

Montana: This month, CJJ detention reform project director Eve Munson and Bart Lubow of the Annie E. Casey Foundation met with the Montana SAG and Youth Justice Council about JDAI. The Montana Board of Crime Control and the Youth Justice Council have since been in touch with CJJ about the possibility of statewide detention reform and the initial stages of education and outreach are underway.

Nebraska: Nebraska recently enacted the provisions of LB 1181, which was amended into LB 1114. These legislative reforms to the juvenile detention process now require juvenile detention probable cause hearings to be held within 48 hours of arrest (as opposed to “within a reasonable time”) and status hearings every 14 days thereafter while the youth is placed in a detention facility awaiting a treatment placement. The legislation also clarifies that placement of a juvenile in detention is not to be considered as a treatment service. For more information about the legislation, visit http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/documents/bills.htm. For a Center for Policy Alternatives (CPFA) fact sheet and model legislation on juvenile detention reform, visit http://www.stateaction.org/issues.

Tennessee: After passing legislation that requires the development and implementation of an objective, statewide risk assessment instrument, Tennessee will highlight detention reform at its Joint Conference on Juvenile Justice, August 6-9, 2006. The conference is a collaborative effort between the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Tennessee Juvenile Court Services Association. For more information, visit http://www.tjcsa.com/events.html or http://www.tennessee.gov/tcjfcj/calendar.html.

Upcoming CJJ National Awards

National Juvenile Justice Network News

NJJN Welcomes New Members

The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) welcomes two new members: Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) and North Carolina’s Action for Children.

FFLIC: A statewide membership organization, FFLIC uses education, direct action organizing and peer advocacy to improve the lives of Louisiana’s youth. FFLIC works to ensure that the voices of parents and families are recognized in the process of state juvenile justice reform. Recently it has been conducting focus groups with members across the state to gather information and suggestions for Louisiana’s Office of Youth Development.

Action for Children: Action for Children has been instrumental in helping the state juvenile justice agency move from a focus on larger facilities to smaller, more therapeutic treatment facilities and is currently working on the school to prison pipeline, with a special emphasis on suspensions from school. In addition, the organization has issued a report, convened stakeholders and is now writing another report on county and race variation of suspensions and effective strategies for reducing suspensions. Most recently, Action for Children has become involved in efforts to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 18.

With the addition of FFLIC and Action for Children, NJJN now has two members from the state of Louisiana and its first member from the state of North Carolina, a total of 28 NJJN members in 27 states.

Teleconference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Youth in Juvenile Institutions

On Tuesday, July 18th at 3:00 EST, NJJN will host a teleconference on ways to improve conditions for LGBT youth in juvenile institutions. The three speakers will discuss three different paths to improved care for LGBT youth: administrative reforms, model legislation and litigation.

In specific, the call will cover:

1. Soon to be released standards for care of LGBT youth in institutions put out by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Child Welfare League of America;
2. New York’s model legislation, the SAFETY Act; and
3. The ACLU’s most recent successful lawsuit in Hawaii on behalf of LGBT youth.
   

Limited spots are available on this teleconference. To register, please e-mail your name, address and affiliation to info@njjn.org.

NJJN News from the States

DC: Thanks in large part to the efforts of Justice 4 DC Youth, DC legislators successfully defeated a provision in the mayor’s “Omnibus Crime Bill” that would have established a new juvenile delinquency offense for young people who miss a court date. The measure would have saddled youth with increased criminal convictions and cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to implement — money better spent on services to youth and families to help ensure appearance in court.

New York: As a result of the New York Juvenile Justice Coalition’s advocacy efforts, New York’s Safe Harbor Act for Exploited Children, which prohibits the prosecution of sexually exploited youth (e.g. youth picked up for prostitution), passed the New York State Assembly in June. This landmark bill would prohibit the prosecution of sexually exploited youth and create a range of services. While the bill did not pass the New York State Senate this year, the Assembly and Senate did pass legislation requiring New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to conduct a study on sexually exploited youth by December 2006. The study must include information on the following: 1) the prevalence of sexually exploited youth within New York State; 2) the unique service needs of sexually exploited youth; 3) the types of programs and services that best meet such needs; and 4) the capacity of current children’s services to meet such needs. OCFS has hired the research agency Westat to conduct the study and has invited several members of the Juvenile Justice Coalition’s Sexually Exploited Youth Working Group to serve on an advisory board to help guide the study. For more information on the legislation, go to http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A11365.

Resources and Information of Note

Campaign 4 Youth Justice - Case Profiles Project

The Campaign 4 Youth Justice (C4YJ), a national initiative dedicated to ending the practice of trying, sentencing and incarcerating children under 18 in the adult criminal justice system, is inviting participation in the C4YJ Case Profiles Project. As part of the Project, C4YJ is gathering personal stories from youth prosecuted under age 18 in the adult criminal justice system, as well as personal stories from their parents and families. C4YJ hopes to establish a platform for families to voice their concerns to policymakers, the public and the media. The campaign will highlight these voices through reports, policy briefs, publications, newsletters and the C4YJ Web site. If you would like to share your story, please contact Maheen Kaleem at mkaleem@campaign4youthjustice.org. For a Case Profiles Outreach Packet, visit http://www.campaign4youthjustice.org/story.htm.

2005 Crime Rise in Context

In June, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program released its preliminary 2005 Annual Crime Report indicating a 2.5% increase in violent crime between 2004 and 2005. Following up on the UCR report, the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., based policy group, has released a concise breakdown of the data entitled “2005 Crime Rise in Context: One-Year Crime Change Masks Regional, Racial, Geographical Impact of Crime.” Find the report at www.justicepolicy.org.

National Council on Crime and Delinquency

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency has released a fact sheet on youth in the adult criminal system. Topics covered included minimum age and transfer provisions by state, the number of youth serving sentences of life without parole, the incarceration of youth in state facilities for adults and felony youth defendants. Take a closer look at http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006may_factsheet_youthadult.pdf.

OJJDP Census

As part of its National Report Series, OJJDP has published its “Juvenile Residential Facility Census, 2002: Selected Findings,” a biannual survey of juvenile facilities. With data collected from 3,534 juvenile facilities, the report concludes that a significant number of juvenile facilities are overcrowded but that the number of juvenile offenders in custody nationwide decreased 7% between 2000 and 2002. Find the full report at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/211080.pdf.

Essence of Leadership Awards

The National Human Services Assembly invites nominations for its Essence of Leadership Awards offered in four categories: excellence in national executive leadership, excellence in national board leadership, excellence by a member of the media and excellence in national civic or public leadership. Nomination submissions are due by July 31. For more information, visit http://www.nassembly.org/nassembly/documents/award_criteria.pdf.

MacArthur Foundation Awards $4.2 Million for Juvenile Justice Reform

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded six grants totaling nearly $4.2 million to accelerate its Models for Change initiative. Four grants at a total of $1.4 million will aid efforts in Illinois, while two additional grants will be divided amongst the four states currently participating in the initiative: Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Washington. Specific organizations receiving funds include Loyola University Chicago School of Law's Civitas ChildLaw Center, the Chicago Area Project, Community Justice for Youth, the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice Project, the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, and the National Juvenile Defender Center.

Report on Conditions of Confinement

The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons has released “Confronting Confinement,” a report on the internal and external effects of violence and abuse in U.S. jails and prisons that includes 30 recommendations on how correctional facilities can be both safer and more effective. The report, whose Commission contributors include corrections administrators, scholars, law enforcement and former prisoners, found that there is a high level of violence in America’s prisons, inadequate health care, insufficient programming and barriers to community and family connections. Read about and download the report at http://www.prisoncommission.org/report.asp.