JJDPA Reauthorization 2009: An Update

1. JJDPA Reauthorization 2009: An Update DMC Action Network Annual Meeting May 15, 2009

2. Background • JJDPA authorizes federal funds to go to the states for juvenile justice. • Expectation that states comply with core requirements and write plans for delinquency prevention and intervention, including “addressing” DMC. • OJJDP has reporting, oversight and technical assistance responsibilities. • Each state has an advisory group to guide plans and decide how to allocate funds.

3. Core Protections • Jail Removal • Juveniles should not be placed in adult jails • Applies pre and post-trial • “Sight and Sound” Separation • Applies to juveniles who are temporarily placed in adult jails • Must be separated from adult inmates by “sight and sound”

4. Core Protections, cont. • De-institutionalization of status offenders (DSO) • Status offenders cannot be locked up unless they violate a valid court order • Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) • States must “address” problem of over-representation

5. JJDPA History • First passed 1974 • JJDPA last reauthorized 2002, without major substantive changes, but changed “Disproportionate Minority Confinement” to “Disproportionate Minority Contact”. • Last substantive reauthorization 1992, which was when DMC became a core protection. • Much research and programmatic progress since then, so JJDPA is due for an update.

6. Senate Activity 2008 • Summer 2008: S. 3155 passed by Senate Judiciary Committee. • Bill as passed included substantial developments: • Extending jail removal and sight and sound separation protections to youth charged as adults; • Phase-out of Valid Court Order loophole allowing incarceration of status offenders; • More detail about DMC reduction; • Added improving conditions of confinement to data collection, OJJDP’s TA, and state plan; and • Incentive grants – mental health and best practices • No further activity in 110th Congress.

7. Senate Activity 2009 • New bill S. 678, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009. • Introduced March 2009. • Much like S. 3155 as amended, with technical tweaks. • Markup and vote expected in Senate Judiciary in June. • No comprehensive bill yet in House. • .

8. DMC Core Requirement:Incorporates What We Know Works Implement policy, practice, and system improvement strategies by: • Establishing coordinating bodies of jj stakeholders • Identifying and analyzing key decision points • Developing and implementing data collection and analysis • Developing and implementing work plans with measurable objectives • Publicly reporting efforts • .

9. DMC Action Network Model for DMC Reduction

10. Other Advances Relevant to DMC • States can plan and use formula funding for alternatives to incarceration. • Incentive grants have opportunities to increase evidence-based programming. • Mental health screening, assessment, and service provision enhancements can divert youth who need those services so they receive them outside the juvenile justice system. • .

11. More information: www.act4jj.org or: Dana Shoenberg, Senior Staff Attorney Center for Children’s Law and Policy Phone: (202) 637-0377 ext.107 Email: dshoenberg@cclp.org