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Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role (2014)

Chapter: 6 The Path Forward

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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
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6

The Path Forward

Previous chapters of this report have set forth a blueprint for the federal government to facilitate juvenile justice reform in states, localities, and tribal jurisdictions based on a developmental approach. In Chapters 3 through 5, the committee made recommendations for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). In this chapter, the committee responds directly to the agency’s request for an explicit roadmap by restating those previous recommendations specifically directed to OJJDP and adding prioritized action steps for each recommendation. First we present the recommendations and action steps aimed at improving OJJDP’s internal capacity to guide system reform. Then we outline the recommendations and associated action steps aimed at OJJDP’s efforts to assist state, local, and tribal jurisdictions and to collaborate with national organizations to promote reform. The action steps have been broken down into Years 1, 2, and 3 (with corresponding fiscal years [FY], assuming Year 1 begins in fiscal year 2015), to provide the OJJDP administrator and leadership with the temporal road map for implementation they requested.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION STEPS

A successful transformation effort will require that the OJJDP administrator and executive staff build internal capacity and garner external support from other agencies in the federal government, foundations, and national organizations. In addition, the administrator and executive staff will need to embark immediately upon a process of modifying policies and addressing staffing issues, possibly using the recent example of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s transformation as a guide (Office of the Inspector General, 2004; U.S. General Accounting Office, 2003).

The committee stresses the need for OJJDP staff and leadership to be fully engaged in guiding reforms in the field. OJJDP staff should guide the work and develop the changes needed in training and technical assistance (TTA) delivery, solicitations, grant monitoring, etc. As noted in Chapter 3, changing the organization involves managing the climate as well as the process. This will require involving employees at all levels of the agency in the discussions and decisions about the process for implementing change. The first step, to be taken personally by the OJJDP administrator, will be to create a Change Management Team with representatives of every part of the agency. This team will work with the administrator to implement the action steps. The administrator and Change Management Team should anticipate that agency staff will express and experience a range of reactions to the changes that follow. The team should be prepared to engage staff throughout the organization by broadly sharing the rationale for and the scope of the changes, as well as how it will affect staff. This will require the administrator and Change Management Team to develop a full understanding of existing, as well as changing, structures, personnel, and culture within the organization.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

The administrator should also immediately form a group of external advisers—a Transition Advisory Group—to assist with implementation as outlined below. External consultants and advisers are necessary to the transition phase, as they will bring specific knowledge and expertise in adolescent development, family engagement, racial disparities, data collection, research methodology, and curriculum development that will inform the work of the agency staff. However, consultants and advisers cannot be a substitute for staff by performing staff functions or providing leadership. For these reforms to be durable over time, it will be necessary for the staff of OJJDP to cultivate necessary staff expertise and become the leaders of change.

Improving Internal Capacity

Recommendation 3-1: OJJDP should develop a staff training curriculum based on the hallmarks of a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform. With the assistance of a team of external experts, it should implement the training curriculum on an ongoing basis and train, assign, or hire staff to align its capabilities with the skills and expertise needed to carry out a developmentally oriented approach to juvenile justice reform.

Action Steps for Recommendation 3-1
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Create an external advisory group (the Transition Advisory Group) to work with an intra-agency team of staff and leadership at all levels of OJJDP (the Change Management Team) to develop, within 3-5 months, a curriculum to inform all professional staff about (1) advances in developmental science and their implications for juvenile justice system improvement and (2) the hallmarks of a developmental approach. Develop staff evaluation measures and goals that align with the skills needed to drive a developmentally appropriate juvenile justice reform agenda. Ensure that an accountability process is in place to evaluate staff on measures and goals.
Within 6 months, using the curriculum, initiate an agency-wide training activity to train staff on the developmental approach. Review and evaluate the training curriculum to assess quality and impact. Incorporate lessons learned in updated training programs.
Within 9 months, train, assign, and hire staff with appropriate skills and knowledge aligned with the goals of implementing a developmental approach. Continue training and reinforce on an ongoing basis at staff meetings and seminars. Continue training on an ongoing basis and routinely assess skills and knowledge of staff.
Develop partnerships with other federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; universities; or foundations to engage expert staff through the use of interagency agreements, details, and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) authority. Implement partnerships with other federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; universities; or foundations to engage expert staff through interagency agreements, details, and IPA authority. Continue use of interagency agreements, details, and IPA authority to maintain the necessary level of expertise on staff.
Following the training of key staff, re-examine all grant making, guidance, and leadership activities to identify specifically how to introduce or strengthen developmentally appropriate reforms that include approaches for ensuring compliance with core protections, including those described in Recommendation 4-5. Implement changes in all grant making, guidance, and leadership activities to ensure that developmentally appropriate reforms become integral to all core activities, including ensuring compliance with core protections. Assign responsibility to staff along with accountability measures. Continue and evaluate.
Not applicable. Establish a mechanism for monitoring progress on agency transformation. Review and assess progress annually.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 3-2: OJJDP should establish a better balance between grant monitoring and system reform efforts by examining more efficient ways to monitor grants and compliance with the core protections from the JJDPA.

Action Steps for Recommendation 3-2
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
In the first 3 months, re-examine the grant monitoring systems to determine less resource-intensive options. Within 6 months, develop a grant management process that uses either (1) a random audit of representative samples and in-depth reviews of selected programs, (2) a rotating schedule of full reviews with monitoring or remediation plans in the intervening years, (3) a process of contracting out the monitoring functions, or (4) other possible methods. Institute a new grant monitoring system. Continue and evaluate.
Consistent with Recommendation 4-4, develop a competitive grant process for the demonstration project, predicated upon documented compliance with core protections. Continue to monitor compliance with the core protections as part of demonstration project implementation. Continue and evaluate.

Recommendation 3-3: OJJDP should take a leadership role in local, state, and tribal jurisdictions with respect to the development and implementation of administrative data systems by providing model formats for system structure, standards, and common definitions of data elements. OJJDP should also provide consultation on data systems as well as opportunities for sharing information across jurisdictions.

Action Steps for Recommendation 3-3
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Within 6 months, develop model formats for collecting data regarding juvenile offenders, juvenile offending, and positive youth development. Convene meetings with localities that have made sufficient progress in order to facilitate the exchange of information about innovative data practices, management, and organization. Review and evaluate.
Following the development of the model formats, compile and share information regarding effective data collection practices and uses across localities, states, and tribal jurisdictions. Continue to compile and share information. Continue to compile and share information.
Work with other governmental agencies (e.g., Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institutes of Health) whose data collection mechanisms may complement efforts central to OJJDP’s mission to promote a developmental perspective. Document partnership outcomes. Analyze and reevaluate.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 3-4: OJJDP should focus research efforts toward specific projects related to a developmental perspective on juvenile justice, capitalizing on an integration of its research and program efforts.

Action Steps for Recommendation 3-4
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Initiate ad hoc research groups, composed of OJJDP staff as well as external researchers, to identify within 6 months priority research centered on a developmental perspective. Continue using the ad hoc groups to review and update priority research areas. Continue using the ad hoc groups to review and update priority research areas. Evaluate progress and research objectives.
Following the identification of priority research, develop research Requests for Proposals (RFPs), solicitations, and funding opportunities with language specific to a developmental perspective. Issue research RFPs, solicitations, and funding opportunities that incorporate language specific to a developmental perspective. Continue to ensure that research RFPs, solicitations, and funding opportunities incorporate language specific to a developmental perspective. Reassess on an ongoing basis.
Develop common outcome measures for research RFPs recommended by an ad hoc research group for data collection and research. Issue RFPs that require researchers to use common outcome measures recommended by the ad hoc research group for data collection and research. Continue and reassess on an ongoing basis.
Recruit staff with research and practice experience regarding developmental science. Continue to recruit and retain staff with research and practice experience regarding developmental science. Continue to recruit.
Develop research practitioner partnerships and visiting fellowships to contribute to the setting of research agendas regarding appropriate basic and applied research. Promote research practitioner partnerships and visiting fellowships to contribute to the setting of research agendas regarding appropriate basic and applied research. Continue to promote.

Assisting External Entities to Promote Reform

Recommendation 4-1: OJJDP should promote the development and strengthening of the State Advisory Groups (SAGs) to be juvenile justice reform leaders by supporting meaningful family and youth engagement, fostering partnerships, delivering strategic training and technical assistance aimed at facilitating reform, and ensuring that SAG members and staff are knowledgeable about the hallmarks of a developmental approach to juvenile justice.

Action Steps for Recommendation 4-1
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
As part of the curriculum developed under Recommendation 3-3 and in consultation with stakeholders, ensure that the curriculum being developed can be used to inform all stakeholders (including SAGs) about advances in developmental science and their implications for juvenile justice system improvement. With the Transition Advisory Group, develop a methodology to verify satisfactory completion and use of the curriculum. Verify that all SAG members are trained in the OJJDP curriculum on developmental science and corresponding juvenile justice system practices.
Develop standards for the hiring and training of staff who serve the SAGs, based on the hallmarks of a developmental approach. Issue guidance for hiring SAG staff based on the standards. Verify that SAGs are implementing the guidance for the hiring of staff.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 4-2: OJJDP should develop a portfolio of training and technical assistance, properly balanced to be both strategic and tactical, to support the implementation of a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform. OJJDP should coordinate with agencies and organizations proficient in providing training and technical assistance based on the hallmarks of a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform. This proficiency should include historical experience working in system improvement efforts.

Recommendation 4-3: All applicants for technical assistance or demonstration grants sponsored by OJJDP should be required to show how they would use the assistance, either strategically or tactically, to implement or strengthen a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform.

Action Steps for Recommendations 4-2 and 4-3
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Based upon the curriculum developed pursuant to Recommendation 3-3, require providers of training and technical assistance (TTA) to demonstrate mastery of a developmental approach. Require TTA providers selected in Year 1 to demonstrate knowledge of the jurisdiction where they are to be deployed. Ensure that TTA providers are able to facilitate connections among jurisdictions with similar issues. Continue and evaluate for success in accomplishing intended purpose.
Consistent with Recommendation 3-4, establish a competitive process to evaluate applicants for strategic or targeted technical assistance, based on excellence of the application and readiness to engage in reform. Implement a competitive process to evaluate applicants for strategic or targeted technical assistance based on the excellence of the application and readiness to engage in reform. Continue and evaluate for success in accomplishing intended purpose.
As part of the curriculum development under Recommendation 3-3, create guides for TTA work plans that have concrete objectives, strategies to be employed, outcomes, progress measures, and timelines. Require TTA providers to implement the guides for TTA work plans that have concrete objectives, strategies to be employed, outcomes, progress measures, and timelines. Continue and evaluate for success in accomplishing intended purpose.
Develop an evaluation plan for assessing the impact of implementing the developmental perspective in localities and states. Begin data collection for the evaluation plan for assessing the impact of implementing the developmental perspective in localities and states. Conduct the evaluation and continue annually.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 4-4: OJJDP should establish new approaches for identifying racial and ethnic disparities across the juvenile justice system, promulgate new guidelines for reducing and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities, build the internal capacity and/or establish partnerships for assisting states with these new requirements, and strengthen the role of State Advisory Groups (SAGs) in monitoring the new guidelines by providing training and technical assistance to SAGs.

Action Steps for Recommendation 4-4
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Within 6 months, issue new guidelines for reducing racial disparities. Review and assess impact of racial disparities guidelines. Review and assess impact of guidelines.
Within 12 months, create recommendations for data collection systems for each of the justice system decision points, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender. Require jurisdictions to implement data collection systems for each of the decision points, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender; submit the data to OJJDP and develop plans for reducing disparities at the decision points where disparities are apparent from the data. Collect and evaluate the outcomes of the plans.
Within 12 months, working with the Transition Advisory Group and training and technical assistance (TTA) providers, establish training program for State Agency Groups (SAGs) on new racial disparities guidelines. Provide TTA to SAGs in monitoring the new guidelines. Continue and assess efficacy of TTA program.
As part of development of a data collection template and new guidelines on racial disparities, establish a process for phasing out use of the Relative Rate Index (RRI). Provide guidance to jurisdictions on phasing out use of the RRI. Begin to phase out use of the RRI in favor of new measures in the template (disaggregated data by decision points).

Recommendation 4-5: In partnership with other federal agencies and the philanthropic community, OJJDP should develop a multiyear demonstration project designed to provide substantial technical assistance and financial support to selected states and localities to develop a comprehensive plan for reforming the state’s juvenile justice system based on a developmental approach. The demonstration grant should include a requirement for strategies that reduce racial and ethnic disparities and the unnecessary use of confinement as well as other hallmarks of a developmental approach. OJJDP should ensure that State Advisory Group (SAG) members in states with demonstration sites are intimately involved in their state’s pilot projects and help disseminate lessons learned to other states’ SAGs.

Action Steps for Recommendation 4-5
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Within 6 months, develop partnership with foundations. Within 12 months develop, in partnership with foundations, a multiyear demonstration grant program that incorporates the hallmarks of the developmental approach, emphasizes strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities, and includes a training and technical assistance component. Launch a demonstration project in selected states and localities that have demonstrated an ability and willingness to accomplish multisystem initiatives to incorporate the hallmarks of the developmental approach into a reform effort of the juvenile justice system, including strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities. Assess and evaluate the development, implementation, and lessons learned that enhance the tenets of a developmentally focused reform. Continue to add cohorts of demonstration grantees as the program is taken to scale.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 5-2: OJJDP should initiate and support collaborative partnerships at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels and should use them strategically to advance the goal of a developmentally appropriate juvenile justice system.

Action Steps for Recommendation 5-2
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
As part of training OJJDP staff and management, include federal agency leaders, management, and staff in training about advances in developmental science and the implications for system-involved youths. Work with federal agency partners to integrate federal programs and target resources, as appropriate, in coordinated grant strategies, and to provide joint training and technical assistance and shared best practices using the developmental approach. Continue, assess, and evaluate.

Recommendation 5-3: OJJDP should establish and convene, on an ongoing basis, a Family Advisory Group to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, composed of youths and families whose lives have been impacted by the juvenile justice system.

Action Steps for Recommendation 5-3
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Within 3 months, work with members of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to formally establish a Youth and Family Advisory Group to the council. Within 6 months, work with the council and identified stakeholder groups to secure nominations for the Youth and Family Advisory Group. By 12 months, fully establish the new group and convene its first meeting. Within 6 months, work with the new Youth and Family Advisory Group for recommendations of two system-involved youths and two members of system-involved or legacy families to represent the Youth and Family Advisory Group on the coordinating council or to serve as liaisons. Work with the Youth and Family Advisory Group on a formal process for nominating members to the coordinating council and for providing advice to the coordinating council on all matters related to the juvenile justice system. Continue to implement a process for representation of the Youth and Family Advisory Group in all relevant coordinating council deliberations.
Work with the Youth and Family Advisory Group to develop and implement a training program for coordinating council members on mechanisms for creating and embedding family-focused policies and practices to institutionalize the active and meaningful involvement of family members. Develop a methodology to monitor and evaluate the training program; make changes as needed to institutionalize the active and meaningful involvement of family members. Use methodology to monitor and evaluate.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 5-4: OJJDP, with the support of the Attorney General, should use the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention strategically to implement key components of developmentally oriented juvenile justice reform through interagency, intergovernmental (federal-state-local partnering), and public-private partnering activities with specific measurable objectives.

Action Steps for Recommendation 5-4
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Within 6 months, work with all members of the coordinating council to develop a strategic plan for collectively improving outcomes for system-involved youths. Based upon the hallmarks of a developmental approach, outline a plan that defines a common outcome; establishes joint strategies; leverages resources; outlines agreed-upon roles and responsibilities; establishes compatible policies and procedures; and develops mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results. Within 12 months, disseminate the plan to all stakeholders and begin to work with each member of the council to issue guidance on implementation of the plan. To monitor, evaluate, and report on results derived from coordinating council engagement, work with members of the council to reinforce agency accountability for collaborative efforts through agency plans, reports, and outcome measures; reinforce individual accountability through performance management systems. Work with each agency, through the coordinating council, to publicly issue reports on progress based upon the accountability measures. Continue, assess, and evaluate.

Recommendation 5-5: OJJDP should work with its federal agency and Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention partners (i) to blend or leverage available federal funds to support OJJDP demonstration projects and (ii) to provide guidance to eligible grantees on leveraging federal funding at the state or local level.

Action Steps for Recommendation 5-5
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Consistent with Recommendation 4-4, within 6 months work with members of the coordinating council to review the rules and requirements for all relevant federal funding streams. Within 9 months, identify mechanisms to blend or leverage funding to support the demonstration project. Within 12 months, establish necessary interagency agreements. Consistent with Recommendation 4-4 launch a demonstration project in selected states and localities. Review implementation of blended or leveraged funding mechanisms, improve as needed. Continue to identify opportunities for blending, assess implementation, improve as needed.
Within 12 months, work with members of the coordinating council to develop guidance for grantees on the allowable blending and leveraging of federal funding streams. Issue guidance to the grantees with members of the coordinating council. Reassess guidance as part of review process, improve as needed. Continue to assess and improve guidance as needed.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×

Recommendation 5-6: OJJDP, with support of the attorney general, should support and participate in an American Bar Association project to formulate a new and updated volume of standards for juvenile justice based on the developmental approach.

Action Steps for Recommendation 5-6
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 (FY 2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Collaborate with the American Bar Association (ABA) to begin plans for a review and update of the Standards for Juvenile Justice. Work with ABA to select and appoint members of a task force. Participate in and support the task force in collaboration with the ABA. Continue participation. Disseminate draft standards for review and support completion in subsequent years, if process is not completed during Year 3.
Provide support including funding as appropriate. Continue support, including funding as appropriate. Continue support, including funding as appropriate.

Recommendation 5-7: OJJDP should increase its capacity to provide training and technical assistance by initiating or capitalizing on partnerships with national organizations that provide training and guidance to their membership and recognize the need for enhanced training in the hallmarks of a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform.

Action Steps for Recommendation 5-7
Year 1 (FY 2015) Year 2 - FY (2016) Year 3 (FY 2017)
Consistent with Recommendation 4-2, develop partnerships with national organizations that participate in training and demonstrate mastery of the developmental approach. With national partners, develop a strategy for targeted training and technical assistance (TTA) for decision makers at all juvenile justice decision points. Continue developing and sustaining partnerships; continue implementing strategy for targeting TTA to decision makers. Continue developing and sustaining partnerships; continue implementing strategy for targeting TTA to decision makers.
As part of the curriculum developed under Recommendation 3-3, ensure the development of a curriculum tailored to individual stakeholders’ particular decision point(s) that communicates developmental science and its implications for that stakeholder’s role in juvenile justice system improvement. Initiate training activities for stakeholder groups on the curriculum. Review and evaluate the training curriculum to determine success in accomplishing the intended purpose.

CONCLUSION

The committee notes that if this prioritized plan is implemented over the next 3 years as outlined, the developmental approach should be fully embedded in the organization’s culture at the end of that period. The agency should then be well positioned to facilitate and sustain support for reforming the juvenile justice system based on the hallmarks of a developmental approach:

  1. Accountability Without Criminalization;
  2. Alternatives to Justice System Involvement;
  3. Individualized Response Based on Assessment of Needs and Risks;
  4. Confinement Only When Necessary for Public Safety;
  5. A Genuine Commitment to Fairness;
Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
  1. Sensitivity to Disparate Treatment; and
  2. Family Engagement.

Reform of the nation’s juvenile justice systems grounded in advancing knowledge about adolescent development is a widely supported goal, crossing the usual lines of political disagreement. The 2013 NRC report summarized the scientific foundation for a developmental approach to reform and distilled its implications for reform. This report sets forth a detailed and prioritized strategic plan for the federal government to support and facilitate developmentally oriented juvenile justice reform. The chapters lay out a plan for OJJDP to accomplish three key tasks: organizing itself and setting its priorities so that it has the capacity and commitment to carry out its mission; providing guidance and support to enable states, tribal entities, and localities to reform their juvenile justice systems based on a developmental approach; and forging the partnerships that will be needed to achieve and sustain developmentally based reform.

System change in juvenile justice necessitates a shared commitment among the various actors and stakeholders to the goal of reform based on a developmentally informed approach. Adequate funding is of course necessary to hire and retain well-qualified staff at all levels of the organization and system—staff who have been trained on adolescent development and are immersed in a culture that embraces the hallmarks of a developmental approach.

The available literature recognizes that system change is a complex process and involves a long-term commitment from the organization as change agent and from its personnel. The committee believes that for OJJDP to succeed in redefining itself as an agent for juvenile justice reform, it will require support for the change from its parent agencies within DOJ; the intellectual, technological, and financial resources needed to carry out this change; and the ability to mobilize staff and manage them throughout the overhaul process. The vision for juvenile justice reform must eventually permeate all things that the organization does. The pivotal component of the plan is to strengthen the role, capacity, and commitment of OJJDP, the lead federal agency in the field. By carrying out the recommendations in this report, the federal government will both reaffirm and advance the promise of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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Suggested Citation:"6 The Path Forward." National Research Council. 2014. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18753.
×
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In the past decade, a number of state, local, and tribal jurisdictions have begun to take significant steps to overhaul their juvenile justice systems - for example, reducing the use of juvenile detention and out-of-home placement, bringing greater attention to racial and ethnic disparities, looking for ways to engage affected families in the process, and raising the age at which juvenile court jurisdiction ends. These changes are the result of heightening awareness of the ineffectiveness of punitive practices and accumulating knowledge about adolescent development. Momentum for reform is growing. However, many more state, local, and tribal jurisdictions need assistance, and practitioners in the juvenile justice field are looking for guidance from the federal government, particularly from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the Department of Justice.

Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform identifies and prioritizes strategies and policies to effectively facilitate reform of the juvenile justice system and develop an implementation plan for OJJDP. Based on the 2013 report Reforming Juvenile Justice, this report is designed to provide specific guidance to OJJDP regarding the steps that it should take, both internally and externally, to facilitate juvenile justice reform grounded in knowledge about adolescent development. The report identifies seven hallmarks of a developmental approach to juvenile justice to guide system reform: accountability without criminalization, alternatives to justice system involvement, individualized response based on needs and risks, confinement only when necessary for public safety, genuine commitment to fairness, sensitivity to disparate treatment, and family engagement. Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform outlines how these hallmarks should be incorporated into policies and practices within OJJDP, as well as in actions extended to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions to achieve the goals of the juvenile justice system through a developmentally informed approach.

This report sets forth a detailed and prioritized strategic plan for the federal government to support and facilitate developmentally oriented juvenile justice reform. The pivotal component of the plan is to strengthen the role, capacity, and commitment of OJJDP, the lead federal agency in the field. By carrying out the recommendations of Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform, the federal government will both reaffirm and advance the promise of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

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