Juvenile Justice: National Report Calls on President, Department of Justice and Congress to Strengthen Federal-State Partnership

First-of-its-kind Report Uncovers Successes and Challenges of State Compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

On the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) released the results of a groundbreaking report, A Pivotal Moment: Sustaining the Success and Enhancing the Future of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

The release was anchored by a panel of speakers providing expertise from a variety of backgrounds in the field of juvenile justice.

“We are truly at a pivotal moment," Tara Andrews, CJJ deputy executive director and the report’s author, told the packed audience on Tuesday evening. "This report, based on a nationwide survey of states, shows the undeniable value and effectiveness of the JJDPA. States are eager to see the JJDPA strengthened and reauthorized... this is Congress’ and the President's opportunity to make sure our youth and communities are safe."
The first-of-its-kind report, based on survey responses from state staff and governor-appointed JJDPA advisors in 53 of the 56 distinct U.S. states and territories, explores the current status of state implementation of the JJDPA and calls upon the federal government to reauthorize as well as enhance and strengthen the Act. According to the report, 85% of states report that they are in compliance with the JJDPA standards and requirements to protect court-involved children and communities, despite increasing burdens due to diminished federal resources to assist them. “The nationwide responses – urban, rural, representing geographic diversity and various regions of the country – demonstrate the states’ unflagging commitment to the youth protections and safeguards, as well as the delinquency prevention goals, of the JJDPA,” according to Nancy Gannon Hornberger, CJJ executive director.
David Schmidt, CJJ national chair, director of New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency and a citizen-volunteer chairperson of the New Mexico JJDPA State Advisory Group, stated that, "The continuance and improvement of the Act is so vitally important.” He cited juvenile justice reforms over the last 35 years made possible through the work of the JJDPA. Before the JJDPA was in place, “girls seeking shelter from abuse and harm were locked up rather than appropriately cared for, and children – including non-delinquent children – were held in jail with adults and subjected to rape, assault and abuse.”

He also said it is time to do more. “We now have an opportunity to carry our successes forward and address other critical issues.” Schmidt listed top concerns, including eliminating juvenile life without parole sentences, ending racial and ethnic disparities, ensuring juvenile access to counsel at all points in the court process, and stemming both the flow of young children into the juvenile justice system and of teens into the criminal justice system.

Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, special assistant to President Obama for justice and regulatory policy for the White House Domestic Policy Council, acknowledged the instrumental progress made in delinquency prevention, and added, "There is still too much juvenile crime and too much juvenile incarceration. We are at a unique moment to resolve both." He told the audience that the Obama administration considers advancing juvenile justice a key concern and cited work underway to address gang violence prevention, drug policy, and supportive transitional and re-entry services.

In addition to successes, the report highlights urgent issues identified by states and territories, including the need to bring concerted focus to resolving racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice. "CJJ and the states are urgently concerned about the disproportionately high contact that minority youth have with the justice system,” said Gannon Hornberger. “All of us – the Congress, the President, the U.S. Department of Justice, national partners, states and localities – are challenged to do what we must to achieve racial equity as we improve youth outcomes and community safety.”

Other major concerns cited by states are the need to increase alternatives to detention and incarceration for all youth, and to provide home and family-connected care for status offenders, such as students who are truant or youth who run away from home. States also reported that more must be done to include Native American tribal communities in the JJDPA and broader juvenile justice reform efforts.
A Pivotal Moment underscores the critical loss of federal funding for states and territories, as well as the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, necessary for optimal implementation of the JJDPA. Andrews stated, "All states are very concerned with the dramatic drops in federal funding for the research, evaluation, training and technical assistance necessary to fulfill the promise of the JJDPA.”
Echoing this concern from a state perspective was Shari Morris, juvenile justice compliance monitor for the Maryland Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention. "Funding is always an issue," she remarked. While she spoke of her determination to do more with less to effectively monitor JJDPA goals, she noted, “I hope that the CJJ report, among other things, will spur the President and the Congress to provide better funding for delinquency prevention and for services for system-involved families.

You can find an executive summary of the report and fact sheet, along with the report itself on the Coalition for Juvenile Justice website.