Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) 2008 Annual Request for Information (ARI)

1. Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) 2008 Annual Request for Information (ARI) Presented by CSR, Incorporated August 2008

2. ARI Areas of Inquiry • Key current and emerging juvenile justice issues and how they affect a respondent’s State or territory • Policies and practices relating to a youth’s right to effective assistance of counsel • Problems identified in most recent 3-year plans • Promising practices a State or territory is using • Total juvenile justice budget and budgets for juvenile crime prevention (request by OJJDP Administrator) • Recommendations for the President and Congress • Recommendations for the OJJDP administrator • Types of assistance OJJDP could offer

3. Methods and Response Rate • Respondents from 47 of 55 States and territories (85%) entered at least some data • Partially completed responses were included in the analysis (n = 23) • All respondents answered questions 1 to 3 • Web-based ARI accepted data between January 28 and April 30, 2008

4. Key Current and Emerging Issues • The top 5 issues reported by respondents were: • Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) (n = 40) • Mental health assessment and treatment (n = 38) • Juvenile reentry (n = 28) • Detention reform (n = 26) • Community-based programs (n = 25) • DMC and Mental health were also the top 2 issues in 2007.

5. Top Five Juvenile Justice Issues

6. Current and Emerging Juvenile Justice Issues • Issues were grouped into five categories: • Justice System • Core Requirements • Service System • Research to Policy and • Emerging Social Trends

7. Current and Emerging Juvenile Justice Issues by Category

8. Promising Practices Used To Address Most Common Problems • DMC • Applying reliable and accurate data • School-based programs • Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) model • DMC taskforce • Schoolhouse adjustment program • Youth/law enforcement forums • Evidence-based programming for youth and evaluation • Mental health assessment and treatment • Expedite processing of evaluations

9. Promising Practices Used To Address Most Common Problems (cont.) • Juvenile Reentry • Providing emotional, social, educational, and economic assistance • Mentoring and advocacy services • Clinical intake assessments • Prerelease individual contacts • Post-release family therapy • Case management • Aftercare support program • Detention Reform • Implementing Annie E. Casey Detention Reform guidelines

10. Juvenile’s Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel • Respondents were asked about laws and policies pertaining to juvenile legal representation • Does a juvenile have the right to waive counsel? • If so, are there age restrictions on waiver? • What is the process for appointing counsel?

11. A Youth’s Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel Juvenile Right to Waive Counsel Process for Appointing Counsel

12. Recommendations to the President and Congress • Increase or restore previous levels of funding • Increase research on effective programs and best practices for the different areas • Reconsider zero-tolerance and get-tough policies • Provide more alternative programs for juveniles • Revisit punitive juvenile legislation • Increase focus on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and drug-related crimes

13. Recommendations to the OJJDP Administrator • Increase funding and support of research studies specific to juveniles • Reconsider zero-tolerance and get-tough policies • Increase funds for Native American juvenile justice • Increase focus on truancy and the use of prescription drugs among the juvenile population • Provide assistance with evaluation • Help implement evidence-based models

14. Categories of Assistance OJJDP Could Offer States/Territories • Dissemination of research findings (conferences, bulletins, toolkits, etc.) • Conducting new research • Developing evidence-based programs • Developing assessment tools • Providing training and technical assistance with evaluation • Developing model policies and regulations

15. Primary Issues by Population Density • Analysis was conducted to ascertain whether primary juvenile justice issues were affected by population density • Results indicated that: • DMC was the primary issue in urban areas, and • Mental health treatment and assessment was the primary issue in rural areas

16. Primary Issue by Population Density State Population Density Issues Ranked: Primary Mainly Urban Mainly Rural Total Lack of Prevention Services 0 2 2 Disproportionate Minority Contact 10 3 13 Juvenile Justice Data Collection System 0 1 1 Substance Abuse 0 1 1 Gender-Specific Services 0 1 1 Mental Health 0 6 6 Detention Reform 2 1 3 Coordination of Services 1 0 1 Data Analysis 2 0 2 Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders 0 2 2 Funding Concerns 1 0 1 Community-Based Programs vs. Secure Treatment 0 3 3 Juvenile’s Right to Effective Counsel 1 0 1 Zero Tolerance/School Disciplinary Problems 0 1 1 Waiver/Transfer 1 0 1 The Adam Walsh Act 0 1 1 Sight and Sound Separation 1 1 2 TOTAL 19 23 42

17. Primary Juvenile Justice Issue and Tribal Youth Density • The primary juvenile justice issue was compared among areas with low, medium, and high tribal youth population density. Results indicated that: • Where tribal youth population is highest, the primary concern is delinquency prevention • Where tribal youth density is medium, the primary concern is mental health treatment and assessment, and • Where tribal youth density is low, the primary concerns are DMC and detention reform

18. Primary Juvenile Justice Issue by Tribal Youth Population Density

19. Discussion • How was the online process? • How was the timing of the survey? • Were there particular challenges to responding to the ARI this year? • Did the questions elicit the desired responses? • How should the draft report be revised? • How could the process be improved?