The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) invests in mentoring programs and services to help ensure positive outcomes for youth. Successful mentoring relationships have been shown to increase youth's self-esteem, improve academic achievement, and steer them away from delinquency, substance use, and other high-risk…

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) invests in mentoring programs and services to help ensure positive outcomes for youth. Successful mentoring relationships have been shown to increase youth's self-esteem, improve academic achievement, and steer them away from delinquency, substance use, and other high-risk…

There are more than 43,500 juvenile offenders in residential placement across the country. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) reentry programs help ensure that youth have the tools to become productive, law-abiding members of society upon their return. OJJDP's Second Chance Act programs provide specialized…

The Second Chance Act authorizes federal grants for comprehensive reentry planning, direct pre- and postrelease services, and sustainable justice system improvements that promote positive youth and family outcomes, reduce recidivism, and increase public safety. This "In Focus" briefly describes two types of Office of Juvenile Justice and…

A consistent relationship with a caring adult can make all the difference in a young person's life. Successful mentoring relationships have been shown to increase self-esteem, improve academic achievement, and decrease the likelihood of substance abuse and delinquent acts by youth. To help ensure positive outcomes for youth, the Office of Juvenile…

The Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) is administered biennially and collects information from all secure and nonsecure residential placement facilities that house juvenile offenders, defined as persons younger than age 21 who are held in a residential setting as a result of some contact with the justice system (that is, they are…

Nationally, 45,567 juvenile offenders were held in 1,772 residential placement facilities on October 26, 2016. Facilities that hold juvenile offenders vary in their operation, type, size, confinement features, screening practices, and services provided. To better understand the characteristics of these facilities, the Office of Juvenile Justice…

Implementation science is about finding ways to integrate research evidence into decisions made in real-world settings. The overall goal of implementation science in the juvenile justice field is to find different strategies to encourage and facilitate the use of research on what works and what doesn't work, in order to improve the policies and…

In October 2018, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) administered the 10th Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC). JRFC began in 2000 with data collections occurring every other year. JRFC routinely collects data on how facilities operate and the services they provide. It includes questions on facility ownership…

This bulletin is part of a series that presents the results of the Northwestern Juvenile Project--a longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago, IL. The authors examine youth's perceptions of barriers to mental health services, focusing on youth with alcohol, drug, and mental health…

Research suggests that the arts can have a positive impact on youth development, from birth through adolescence. This review explores recent research on arts-based programs and arts therapies. Programs were considered arts-based if at least one of the main components was an arts-related activity, or if there was a deliberate use of arts in the…

This toolkit was developed as a resource to help young people in juvenile corrections and treatment programs prepare for reentry and success in the community. The purpose of this guide is to encourage re-entry youth to begin thinking and planning for success at the earliest point possible while in placement. As such, the guide is organized into…

This literature review discusses the intersection of the educational and the juvenile justice systems. Specifically, it outlines the academic characteristics and challenges of youth in the juvenile justice system (including those in detention and long-term secure residential facilities, and under probation supervision) and interventions aimed at…

This fact sheet provides an overview of the nation's gang problem and summarizes findings from the 2012 survey. Of the 2,538 survey recipients, 2,199 (87 percent) responded to the survey. In 2012, there were an estimated 30,700 gangs (an increase from 29,900 in 2011) and 850,000 gang members (an increase from 782,500 in 2011) throughout 3,100…

Comprehensive reentry efforts for juveniles begin once they enter a residential facility and continue upon their return to the community. The research examined in this literature review highlights that youths returning from out-of-home placements have specific needs that should be considered in reentry planning, chief among them are mental health…