Final Comprehensive Program Plan For Fiscal Year 1995 and Notification Of The Availability Of The FY 1995 Competitive Discretionary Assistance Program and Appliction Kit. OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION FINAL COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 1995 AND NOTIFICATION OF THE AVAILABILITY OF THE FY 1995 COMPETITIVE DISCRETIONARY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND APPLICATION KIT Introduction The Nation's juvenile justice system stands at a crossroads. We are faced with a disturbing increase in violent crimes committed by juveniles and an alarming rise in abuse, neglect, and street violence perpetrated against American youth. In light of this emerging crisis, we can no longer afford a narrow focus by separate disciplines to attack this problem. To effectively address the rising levels of juvenile crime, participants from all community sectors, public and private, and across specializations, must plan collaboratively and comprehensively to reduce violence and build safer and healthier communities. Collectively, we must launch a two-pronged assault on juvenile delinquency and violence, and their causes. Prevention and early intervention programs, coupled with a strong focus on law enforcement and a comprehensive system of graduated sanctions are crucial to this battle. The public's fear of youth violence is well founded. Assuming that juvenile violent crime arrest rates increase annually at the rate they have in the past decade, juvenile violent crime arrests would more than double by the year 2010. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports for 1992-1993 show that the greatest increase in arrests of violent offenders involves children under the age of 18. Offenders under the age of 15 show the greatest increase in offenses involving the use of weapons. No place is a haven. Our neighborhoods, our schools and our homes are becoming increasingly violent. In 1992, 1.55 million violent crimes were committed against juveniles age 12 to 17, a 23.4% increase since 1987. The increased use of weapons, particularly firearms, by juveniles has created a climate of fear both for and of our children. An increased emphasis on law enforcement and corrections has been the most common response to rising levels of juvenile violent crime. Assuredly, our communities have a vital stake in ensuring that serious, violent and chronic offenders are removed from the street. However, providing more detention beds and secure commitment facilities and increasing prosecution of juveniles as adults can only protect our communities in the short term. Such measures alone cannot put an end to youth violence. While we need to take immediate steps to protect our communities today, programs that prevent delinquency and violence tomorrow are the greatest hope for the future. We must intensify our efforts to prevent delinquency by seeking ways to target services to youth and families at risk and to intervene immediately to hold first time juvenile offenders accountable before they become serious, violent, or chronic delinquents or graduate to become adult criminals. Working with our communities, we must integrate a system of support for families and children that will help them live in a safe and healthy environment. America's children should awaken each morning in homes that are free of child abuse and neglect; they should attend schools that are free of drugs, gangs, and guns; and after school, they should be able to play in parks that are safe and return to homes that provide a nurturing and supportive atmosphere. Much of the public debate about juvenile delinquency centers on at- risk youth. If we are to provide early and effective intervention to prevent delinquency, we must begin by more precisely targeting at-risk children and families, but we should not exclude any child who needs services. The road to adulthood has become increasingly hazardous in our society, and many families have broken apart. We must strengthen and preserve families. In particular, we must help families provide their children with the support that young people need to become productive and law abiding citizens. If we are serious about combating crime, we must start early to ensure the healthy development of our children. We know that the early years of life are highly significant in a child's development. It is during that period that children learn empathy from caring adults with whom they have secure attachments and develop a sense of trust derived from parental responsiveness and loving attention. Therefore, it is critical to: * Offer parents the tools they need to nurture their children effectively, through parent training classes and home visitation programs, including parents of offenders and juvenile offenders who are teen parents. * Enable children to enter kindergarten ready for school with a chance to succeed, through programs such as Head Start and HIPPY (Home Instruction Program for Prreschool Youngsters). * Keep students in school, where they can acquire the tools to become self-sufficient through truancy and dropout prevention and intervention programs. * Give youth a positive alternative to being out on the street and the violence this encourages through after-school activities and conflict resolution programs. * Provide youth with positive role models through mentoring programs. There are clear correlations between child abuse and neglect and increased delinquency and violence. A National Institute of Justice study on the cycle of violence reports that childhood abuse and neglect increase the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile and as an adult. The direct connection between violence and child neglect is striking: 12.5 percent of neglected children and 15.8 percent of physically abused children will be arrested for a violent offense by the age of 25. An ongoing OJJDP study on the causes and correlates of delinquency found that adolescents from families in which two or more forms of violence are present (e.g. child and spouse abuse) are almost twice as likely to report committing violent offenses as their peers from nonviolent families. Thousands of alleged incidents of child abuse and neglect are reported to authorities every day. These reports must be handled within systems that are ill-equipped to properly investigate cases, report adequately to the court, or provide effective protective supervision, appropriate foster care, or timely permanent placement. As a result, children may be harmed by the very systems designed to protect them. The juvenile justice system's inability to properly deal with the deluge of abuse and neglect cases is devastating families. In addition to manageable caseloads, child protective service workers, investigators, police officers, and others responsible for protecting children need expert training in child development and investigative techniques. This will enable them to gather the information needed to make legal determinations while displaying sensitivity to the child and the family. To effectively manage their cases, court counselors must have sufficient time to get the critical details needed to make appropriate recommendations regarding such matters as placement and future court action. Social workers must have adequate time to work with families, ensure compliance with court orders, and, above all, ensure the safety of children. Monitoring a child's status in foster care and minimizing the trauma of out-of-home placement is a time consuming responsibility. Judges need the time to thoughtfully and thoroughly deliberate in order to render informed decisions that are in the best interests of the child, justice and society. Finally, necessary resources to meet the treatment needs of the child and the family must be available in the community. The juvenile justice system must also be strengthened if we are to reduce delinquency and juvenile violence. There must be a full range of graduated sanctions designed to meet the needs of each juvenile in the juvenile justice system. We have learned that immediate intervention programs, based on a proper assessment, are a critical need the first time a juvenile commits an offense. A variety of innovative early intervention programs for first-time, nonviolent offenders have been implemented successfully. They include neighborhood resource teams, informal probation, peer mediation, community service, victim awareness programs, restitution, day treatment, alternative education, and outpatient alcohol and drug abuse treatment. These types of programs need to be replicated across America. We must ensure that appropriate sanctions are available for more serious offenders and for offenders who have failed to benefit from the early interventions described above. Such sanctions include drug testing, weekend detention, intensive supervision for probationers, inpatient drug and alcohol abuse treatment, electronic monitoring, community-based residential programs and boot camps. Secure facilities are needed for serious, violent, and chronic offenders who require a structured treatment environment or who threaten community safety. If a review of the nature of the offense, the offender's amenability to treatment, and the offender's record indicate that the juvenile justice system cannot provide appropriate services and adequately protect the community, the prosecution of such offenders in the criminal courts is both appropriate and necessary. Finally, aftercare, or "community care," must be more than an afterthought. Such services must be an integral aspect of all dispositions involving residential placement and include the active involvement of the child's family. It makes little sense to intervene in a significant way in children's lives only to send those children back into the same environment without a support system for the family and child. OJJDP's intensive aftercare program is developing both the programmatic and policy underpinnings for enhancing our efforts in this vital area. Existing research points to the efficacy of a community-wide, comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach. This approach should include family support, prevention programs, immediate and intermediate sanctions, small secure facilities for the most serious offenders, and sound re-entry and aftercare services. As a result of research and evaluation, we can now point to a variety of program models proven to reduce delinquency and control youth violence. In these times of limited resources, program development should be predicated on this knowledge and innovative demonstration programs should be evaluated to measure their impact. Information, technical assistance, and training on the most promising programs should be provided as quickly and broadly as possible. Protecting our communities and protecting our children: this two-part strategy lies at the heart of OJJDP's leadership of the Nation's efforts to prevent and combat delinquency and of the programs proposed in this plan. Community-based, collaborative efforts that involve comprehensive strategies aimed at reducing delinquency and youth violence will be critical to our success. Federal departments whose programs affect youth must work in an interdisciplinary manner, adopting this approach. With the tools now at hand - including enhanced community-oriented policing, delinquency prevention and intervention programs, and new correctional programs and facilities - we have an opportunity to build prevention and intervention strategies that can be implemented to reduce juvenile delinquency and violence across America. OJJDP's Comprehensive Response The Justice Department has called for an unprecedented national commitment of public and private resources to reverse the rising trend of juvenile violence and victimization. OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS, which outlines the two principal components of prevention and intervention, is the centerpiece of this call for action. The prevention component of the Strategy calls for establishing community-based planning teams and collaborative efforts between the juvenile justice system and other service systems, including mental health, health, child welfare, and education. To be effective, delinquency prevention programs should be based on a risk-focused approach in which communities systematically assess their delinquency problem in relation to known risk factors and implement programs to counteract them. A key strategy to counter risk factors for delinquency in young people's lives is to enhance protective factors that fall into three basic categories: 1) individual characteristics (having a resilient temperament or a positive orientation), 2) bonding (positive relationships with adult role models), and 3) healthy beliefs and clear standards. The intervention component of the Comprehensive Strategy is based on a model for the treatment and rehabilitation of delinquent offenders that combines accountability and sanctions with increasingly intensive treatment and rehabilitation. Families must be integrated into treatment and rehabilitative efforts at each stage of this continuum. Aftercare must be a formal component of all residential placements, actively involving the family and the community in supporting and reintegrating the juvenile into the community. The intervention component also calls for a range of graduated sanctions to provide both immediate interventions and intermediate sanctions, including extensive use of nonresidential community-based programs. Many serious, violent, and chronic offenders will require the use of secure detention to protect the community and provide a structured treatment environment. To expand implementation of the Comprehensive Strategy, OJJDP will fund several key initiatives in fiscal year 1995 designed to assist both urban and rural communities to address youth violence. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency and Developmental Research and Programs have identified the most effective, promising programs for use in implementing the Comprehensive Strategy. Reports will be published on: * Effective prevention strategies from birth to age six. * Selected prevention strategies for early childhood and adolescence. * Effective and promising graduated sanctions programs for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. * Use of risk assessment and classification instruments. These reports will be combined with an operations manual, which communities can use as a blueprint to assess their efforts in the areas of prevention and graduated sanctions to design and implement improvements that respond to community-identified needs. Extensive efforts to coordinate and develop solutions to youth violence are ongoing at the Federal level. For example, a national conference, Solving Youth Violence: Partnerships that Work, was held in 1994. OJJDP is providing extensive technical assistance and training to four pilot jurisdictions in an interdepartmental initiative called Project PACT (Pulling America's Communities Together). The Denver metropolitan area, the District of Columbia, the Atlanta metropolitan area, and the State of Nebraska are developing coordinated solutions to violence. Key officials and community leaders are being trained and assisted in assessing the local adult and juvenile violence problem and mobilizing their justice system responses and resources to develop system-wide solutions. Staff are being trained in establishing effective delinquency prevention programs using a risk-focused strategy and in intervention efforts employing a range of graduated sanctions for juveniles in the juvenile justice system. OJJDP is participating in a collaborative effort with the Bureau of Justice Assistance called the Comprehensive Communities Program, in which cities or counties faced with high rates of drug-related crime and violence are developing a comprehensive strategy for crime- and drug- control that requires law enforcement and other government agencies to work in partnership with the community to address these problems by focusing on the environment that fosters them. Program Plan Contents Overview 1992 JJDP Act Amendments Fiscal Year 1995 Program Planning Activities Discretionary Program Activities Discretionary Grant Continuation Policy OJJDP Funding Policy Application and Further Information Strengthening of the Juvenile Justice System Public Safety and Law Enforcement Delinquency Prevention Missing, Exploited and Abused Children Fiscal Year 1995 Programs Fiscal Year 1995 Program Listing Overarching Programs NEW PROGRAMS SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency Information and Statistics Projects OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract Technical Assistance for State Legislatures Contra Costa County, California Continuum of Care Program* Evaluation of SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency Program Overarching Programs CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse Coalition for Juvenile Justice* OJJDP Technical Assistance Support Contract: Juvenile Justice Resource Center National Juvenile Court Data Archive* Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Insular Area Support* Development of OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders Research Program on Juveniles Taken Into Custody-NCCD Children in Custody - Census Contract for the Evaluation of OJJDP Programs Pulling America's Communities Together (PACT) Program Development Juveniles Taken Into Custody (JTIC): Interagency Agreement Juvenile Justice Data Resources Strengthening Juvenile Justice NEW PROGRAMS Mental Health in the Juvenile Justice System Bethesda Day Treatment Center Interventions to Reduce Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Secure Detention and Correctional Facilities (The Deborah M. Wysinger Memorial Program) The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center Technical Assistance to Juvenile Corrections and Detention (The James E. Gould Memorial Program) Strengthening Juvenile Justice CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offender Treatment Program Juvenile Court Training* Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical Assistance Program Native American Alternative Community-Based Program Training for Juvenile Corrections and Detention Staff Technical Assistance to the Juvenile Courts* Due Process Advocacy Program Development Improvement in Correctional Education for Juvenile Offenders Robeson County, North Carolina* P.A.C.E., Center for Girls, Inc.* Juvenile Restitution: Balanced Approach Evaluation of Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical Assistance Program Douglas County, Nebraska* Professional Development for Youth Workers Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania* Public Safety and Law Enforcement NEW PROGRAMS Gangs and Delinquency Research Field-Initiated Gang Research Program Juvenile Transfers to Criminal Court Studies Innovative Firearms Program Gangs, Groups, Individuals, and Violence Intervention Youth Handgun Study/Model Juvenile Handgun Legislation Public Safety and Law Enforcement CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Program Comprehensive Communities Program-Comprehensive Gang Initiative Targeted Outreach with a Gang Prevention and Intervention Component (Boys and Girls Clubs) Comprehensive Gang Initiative Violence Studies* Violence Study-Causes and Correlates Child Centered Community-Oriented Policing National School Safety Center Enhancing Enforcement Strategies for Juvenile Impaired Driving Due to Alcohol and Other Drug Use Training in Cultural Differences for Law Enforcement/Juvenile Justice Officials Delinquency Prevention NEW PROGRAMS Community-Based Gang Intervention Family Strengthening and Support-Including Non-English Speaking Comprehensive Community-Based Services for At-Risk Girls and Adjudicated Juvenile Female Offenders Innovative Approaches in Law-Related Education* Training in Risk-Focused Prevention Strategies Pathways to Success Truancy North Omaha B.E.A.R.S. (Building Esteem and Responsibility Systematically) Program* Training and Technical Assistance for Family-Strengthening Services Youth-Centered Conflict Resolution ASAP: Athlete Student Achievement Pact* Project Mister/Project Sister* Facing History and Ourselves* La Nueva Vida* Henry Ford Heath System* Anti-Crime Youth Council* Delinquency Prevention CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Law-Related Education (LRE)* Teens, Crime, and Community: Teens in Action in the 90s* Satellite Prep School Program and Early Elementary School for Privatized Public Housing Children at Risk Nonviolent Dispute Resolution The Congress of National Black Churches: National Anti-Drug Abuse Program "Just Say No" International* Jackie Robinson Center (JRC)* Cities in Schools--Federal Interagency Partnership Hate Crimes Community Anti-Drug Abuse Technical Assistance Voucher Project Race Against Drugs Missing, Exploited and Abused Children NEW PROGRAMS Lowcountry Children's Center, Inc.* KidsPeace* Multipurpose Educational Curriculum for Young Victims Missing, Exploited and Abused Children CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Parents Anonymous, Inc.* Permanent Families for Abused and Neglected Children* Children as Witnesses to Community Violence Discussion of Comments Overview OJJDP was established by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-415), as amended, to provide a comprehensive, coordinated approach to prevent and control juvenile crime and improve the juvenile justice system. Under Title II, OJJDP administers the State Formula Grants and State Challenge programs in 56 States and territories, funds more than 100 national, State and local projects through its Special Emphasis Discretionary Grant Program and its National Institute for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and funds projects under both Part D (Gangs) and Part G (Mentoring) programs. OJJDP serves as the staff agency for the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, coordinates the Concentration of Federal Efforts Program, and all Federal activities related to juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, and administers the Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program, the Title V Prevention Incentive Grants Program, and programs under the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. 13001 ET SEQ.). 1992 JJDP Act Amendments The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Amendments of 1992 (Public Law 92-586) expanded the role of OJJDP in Federal efforts to prevent and treat juvenile delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system by including three new priorities: strengthening the families of delinquents; improving State and local administration of justice and services to juveniles; and assisting States and local communities in preventing youth from entering the justice system. The Amendments encourage coordination of services, interagency cooperation, and parental involvement in treatment and services for juveniles. Seven new studies were mandated. The Comptroller General is in the process of completing five of these studies: 1) juveniles waived, certified, or transferred to adult court, 2) admissions of juveniles with behavior disorders to private psychiatric hospitals, 3) gender bias in State juvenile justice systems, 4) Native American pass-through under the Formula Grants Program, and 5) access to counsel in juvenile court proceedings. OJJDP is conducting the other two studies: one on the incidence, nature, and causes of violence committed by or against juveniles in urban and rural areas, and a second on the extent and characteristics of juvenile hate crimes. The JJDP Act Amendments of 1992 authorized OJJDP to administer several new grant programs. * Part E, State Challenge Activities, authorizes grants to States participating in the Part B Formula Grants Program that provide up to 10 percent of a State's Formula Grants Program allocation for each of 10 challenge activities in which the State participates. * Part F, Treatment for Juvenile Offenders Who are Victims of Child Abuse or Neglect, authorizes grants to public and nonprofit private organizations for treatment of juvenile offenders who are victims of child abuse or neglect, transitional services, and related research. * Part G, Mentoring, authorizes three-year grants to local education agencies, or to private nonprofit or organizations working in partnership with such agencies, for mentoring programs designed to link at-risk youth with responsible adults to discourage youth involvement in criminal and violent activity. * Part H, Boot Camps, authorizes grants to establish up to 10 military-style boot camps for delinquent juveniles. * Title V, Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs, authorizes grants to local governments for a broad range of delinquency prevention activities targeting youth who have had contact with, or are at-risk of contact with, the juvenile justice system. In fiscal year 1995, funds were appropriated for three of the five programs cited above: Part G Mentoring ($4 million), Title V Prevention Grants ($20 million), and Part E State Challenge Activities ($10 million). These programs are not included in this Plan (except for $1 million of Part G and $1 million of Title V funds committed to the SafeFutures Program), nor are programs authorized and funded under the Title IV Missing Children's Assistance Act and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990, as amended. Fiscal Year 1995 Program Planning Activities The OJJDP program planning process for fiscal year 1995 has been coordinated with the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and the four other OJP Program Bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS); the National Institute of Justice (NIJ); and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). OJJDP's program planning process involved the following steps: * Internal review of existing programs by OJJDP staff. * Internal review of proposed programs by OJP bureaus and selected Department of Justice components. * Review of information and data from OJJDP grantees and contractors. * Review of information contained in State comprehensive plans. * Review of comments made by youth services providers, juvenile justice practitioners, and researchers. * Consideration of suggestions made by juvenile justice policy makers concerning State and local needs. * Consideration of all comments received during the period of public comment on the Proposed Comprehensive Plan. An example of the intra-agency coordination between OJP Program Bureaus involves OJJDP and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) gang initiatives. Although these programs are being implemented in a similar manner, the two initiatives are different in their theoretical approach and program targets. BJA's fiscal year 1995 Comprehensive Gang Initiative is based on a prototype developed through a grant to the Police Executive Research Forum in 1992. The prototype emphasizes prevention, intervention, and suppression and encompasses strategies which bring together cooperative and coordinated efforts of the police, other criminal justice agencies, human service providers, and community programs. This initiative is primarily designed to focus on older teens and adults. In fiscal year 1995, this program is featured in BJA's Comprehensive Communities program. OJJDP's fiscal year 1995 Gang-Free Schools and Communities Program is based on a prevention-based community mobilization model derived from the research of Dr. Irving Spergel and colleagues. This model specifically focuses on juveniles and young adults under age 22. This fiscal year, the program has a specific focus on gang-free schools and public or federally subsidized housing. Another differentiating factor is that OJJDP's fiscal year 1995 initiative will be concentrated within the overarching SafeFutures demonstration program, as part of the comprehensive continuum of care that the program is designed to establish. Discretionary Program Activities DISCRETIONARY GRANT CONTINUATION POLICY OJJDP has listed on the following pages continuation projects currently funded in whole or in part with Part C and Part D funds and eligible for funding in fiscal year 1995, either within an existing project period or through an extension for an additional project period. A grantee's eligibility for continued funding for an additional budget period within an existing project period depends on the grantee's compliance with funding eligibility requirements and achievement of the prior year's objectives. Consideration for continuation funding for an additional project period for previously funded discretionary grant programs is based upon several factors, including: * The extent to which the project responds to the applicable requirements of the JJDP Act. * Responsiveness to OJJDP and Department of Justice fiscal year 1995 program priorities. * Compliance with performance requirements of prior grant years. * Compliance with fiscal and regulatory requirements. * Compliance with any special conditions of the award. * Availability of funds (based on program priority determinations). In accordance with Section 262 (d)(1)(B), 42 U.S.C. 5665a, the competitive process for the award of Part C funds shall not be required if the Administrator makes a written determination waiving the competitive process: 1. With respect to programs to be carried out in areas in which the President declares under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) that a major disaster or emergency exists, or 2. With respect to a particular program described in part C that is uniquely qualified. In implementing the fiscal year 1995 Program Plan, OJJDP will continue the process of developing, testing, and demonstrating both the prevention efforts and the graduated sanctions concept throughout its programs, such as in SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency, while also prioritizing support for applicants that reflect the coordinated, interdisciplinary approaches found in Weed and Seed sites and Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities. This support will be provided through: * New competitive programs to be funded at the State or local level and new programs that provide funds to national organizations to provide services at the State and local level. * Continuation awards, under which OJJDP will negotiate with grantees and task contractors to identify and ensure the provision of site specific technical assistance, training, information, and direct program services to Weed and Seed sites, Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities, and jurisdictions adopting a continuum of care program approach. OJJDP Funding Policy OJJDP focuses its assistance on the development and implementation of programs with the greatest potential for reducing juvenile delinquency and crime and that create and strengthen partnerships with State and local organizations. To that end, OJJDP has defined four programatic themes that constitute the major elements of a sound policy for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention: * Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System * Public Safety and Law Enforcement * Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Intervention * Missing, Exploited and Abused Children OJDDP will also fund a new overarching demonstration program, SafeFutures: Partnerships To Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency, which builds on the knowledge accumulated over 30 years of juvenile justice research. This overarching program builds upon broad-based community planning and support from all sectors and systems to provide a continuum of programs that focus on ameliorating known community risk factors. It stresses addressing the problems of youth along a continuum of prevention and intervention activities, from those aimed at the at-risk child to the serious and violent juvenile offender. Other overarching programs, both new and continuation, that cross programmatic themes will also receive OJJDP funding under this Plan. Application and Further Information Program inquiries are to be addressed to the attention of the OJJDP staff contact person identified in the FY 1995 Competitive Discretionary Program Announcements and Application Kit. For general information, contact Marilyn Silver, Management Analyst, Information Dissemination Unit, (202) 307-0751. This is not a toll-free number. Due dates for all competitive programs are contained in the FY 1995 Competitive Discretionary Program Announcements and Application Kit. Please call the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, toll-free, 24 hours a day, (800) 638- 8736 to obtain a copy. Applications are invited from eligible public and private agencies, organizations, institutions, individuals, or combinations thereof. Eligibility differs from program to program. Please consult the FY 1995 Competitive Discretionary Program Announcements and Application Kit for individual competitive program announcements and specific eligibility requirements. Where eligible for an assistance award, private for profit organizations must agree to waive any profit or fee. Joint applications by two or more eligible applicants are welcome, as long as one organization is designated as the primary applicant and the other(s) as co-applicant(s). Applicants must demonstrate that they have experience in the design and implementation of the type of program or program activity for which they are an applicant. Strengthening of the Juvenile Justice System All parts of the juvenile justice system are straining under the burden of increasing numbers of juveniles offenders. In 1992, the juvenile arrest rate was the highest in 20 years. Between 1982 and 1992, juvenile courts saw a 26% increase in the number of delinquency cases. In 1990, a congressionally mandated study identified several areas in which problems in secure juvenile facilities are substantial and widespread, most notably living space (crowding), health care, security, and control of suicidal behavior. OJJDP is continuing to fund several programs that aggressively address these issues. The limited resources of the juvenile justice system must continue to target the most difficult and intractable problems of juvenile crime. Strengthening the system requires support of all parts of the justice system, including law enforcement, prosecutors and the courts, as well as detention and corrections, including alternative residential placements and aftercare. A sound policy includes the assessment of each offender's needs and risks to the community, and concentrates the more formal, expensive, and restrictive options of the juvenile justice system in two areas: * Youth behavior that is most serious and least amenable to preventive measures and community responses. * Problems of youth and their families that exceed community resources and require more stringent legal resolution. This approach should promote accountability on the part of individual juvenile offenders to their victims. Public Safety and Law Enforcement The epidemic of youth violence is striking fear in communities across the Nation. While violent crime statistics are generally down, violent criminal activity is increasing among the young. Juvenile arrests for violent crime increased 57% between 1983 and 1992. The nearly 54,200 juvenile weapons arrests in 1992 accounted for nearly 1 of 4 weapons arrests. Violent youth gangs, often associated with large urban areas, are emerging in smaller cities. While ultimately the reduction in youth violence depends on overcoming or changing those societal factors that propel troubled youth toward violent behavior, immediate public safety issues require the justice system to incapacitate the small number of serious, violent and chronic offenders responsible for the majority of juvenile violence. However, a sound policy for combating juvenile crime must not indiscriminately treat children as small versions of adults. Law enforcement training on how to deal with juvenile offenders and victims and how to address the problems of youth gangs and the increasing use of guns by juveniles is an integral part of a comprehensive response to the escalating violence. Delinquency Prevention and Intervention By the year 2005, the total population of youths from 15 to 19 years old will grow by an estimated 23 percent. Research has show that the peak age of arrest for serious violent crime is 18 years. It has also shown that we must focus on addressing the root causes of delinquency as well as the symptoms. OJJDP programs encourage a risk-focused approach based on public health and social development models. Communities cannot afford to place responsibility for juvenile crime entirely on the juvenile justice system. We must maximize the use of a community's less formal, less expensive, and less alienating responses to youthful misbehavior, while at the same time maintaining the safety of the public. The science of prevention has taught us that a sound policy for juvenile delinquency prevention must strengthen the most powerful contributing factor to good behavior: a productive place for young people in a law-abiding society. This type of preventive measure can operate on a large scale, providing gains in youth development while reducing juvenile delinquency. Missing, Exploited and Abused Children The Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 5771- 5780, Title IV of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended) established OJJDP as the lead federal agency in matters pertaining to missing and exploited children. The fiscal year 1995 Competitive Discretionary Grant Programs for Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program and Application Kit Notice was published in the Federal Register on January 5, 1995. Fiscal Year 1995 Programs Brief summaries of each of OJJDP's new and continuation programs for fiscal year 1995 are provided below. The programs are organized according to the four areas that constitute the major elements of OJJDP's comprehensive approach to preventing juvenile justice and improving public safety. A number of programs have been identified for funding by Congress with regard to the grantee(s), the amount of funds, or both. Such programs are indicated by an asterisk (*). The 1995 Appropriations Act Conference Report for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Programs identified 13 programs for OJJDP to examine and fund if warranted. Three of the programs are included in this Plan for continuation funding. Nine of the remaining ten have been reviewed and will receive consideration for funding in fiscal year 1995 at the levels indicated in the Final Plan. OJJDP's new overarching demonstration program, SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency Program, is presented first since it addresses the major elements that must be present in an effective strategy to prevent and control delinquency and provide the juvenile justice system with the program resources needed to do its job effectively. This new program focuses on a variety of services and funding resources. Other overarching programs are then presented, followed by programs that seek to strengthen juvenile justice, enhance public safety and law enforcement, prevent delinquency, and address the problem of missing, exploited and abused children. Fiscal Year 1995 Program Listing Overarching Programs NEW PROGRAMS SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency - $7,200,000 Information and Statistics Projects - 525,000 OJJDP Management Evaluation Contract - 360,000 Technical Assistance For State Legislatures - 262,500 Contra Costa County, California: Continuum of Care Program* - 247,000 Evaluation of SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency Program - 150,000 Overarching Programs CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse - $1,031,167 Coalition for Juvenile Justice* - 700,000 OJJDP Technical Assistance Support Contract: Juvenile Justice Resource Center - 650,000 National Juvenile Court Data Archive* - 611,000 Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development - 550,000 Insular Area Support* - 511,000 Development of OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders - 500,058 Research Program on Juveniles Taken Into Custody-NCCD- 450,000 Children in Custody - Census - 450,000 Contract for the Evaluation of OJJDP Programs - 290,000 Pulling America's Communities Together (PACT) Program Development - 261,000 Juveniles Taken Into Custody (JTIC): Interagency Agreement - 200,000 Juvenile Justice Data Resources - 25,000 Strengthening Juvenile Justice NEW PROGRAMS Mental Health in the Juvenile Justice System - $750,000 Bethesda Day Treatment Center - 320,000 Interventions to Reduce Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Secure Detention and Correctional Facilities (The Deborah M. Wysinger Memorial Program) - 300,000 The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center - 300,000 Technical Assistance to Juvenile Corrections and Detention (The James E. Gould Memorial Program) - 200,000 Strengthening Juvenile Justice CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offender Treatment Program - $1,500,000 Juvenile Court Training* - 1,074,000 Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical Assistance Program - 620,000 Native American Alternative Community- Based Program - 600,000 Training for Juvenile Corrections and Detention Staff - 500,000 Technical Assistance to the Juvenile Courts* - 389,943 Due Process Advocacy Program Development - 250,000 Improvement in Correctional Education for Juvenile Offenders - 250,000 Robeson County, North Carolina* - 202,645 P.A.C.E., Center for Girls, Inc.* - 150,000 Juvenile Restitution: Balanced Approach - 100,000 Evaluation of Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical Assistance Program - 80,000 Douglas County, Nebraska* - 67,055 Professional Development for Youth Workers - 50,000 Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania* - 50,000 Public Safety and Law Enforcement NEW PROGRAMS Gangs and Delinquency Research - 500,000 Field-Initiated Gang Research Program - 300,000 Juvenile Transfers to Criminal Court Studies - 275,000 Innovative Firearms Program - 250,000 Gangs, Groups, Individuals, and Violence Intervention - 250,000 Youth Handgun Study/Model Juvenile Handgun Legislation - 202,838 Public Safety and Law Enforcement CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Program - 1,504,924 Comprehensive Communities Program-Comprehensive Gang Initiative - 799,345 Targeted Outreach with a Gang Prevention and Intervention Component (Boys and Girls Clubs) - 600,000 Comprehensive Gang Initiative - 600,000 Violence Studies* - 500,000 Violence Study--Causes and Correlates - 300,000 Child Centered Community-Oriented Policing - 300,000 National School Safety Center - 250,000 Enhancing Enforcement Strategies for Juvenile Impaired Driving Due to Alcohol and Other Drug Use - 150,000 Training in Cultural Differences for Law Enforcement/Juvenile Justice Officials - 100,000 Delinquency Prevention NEW PROGRAMS Community-Based Gang Intervention - $2,000,000 Family Strengthening and Support- Including Non-English Speaking - 1,000,000 Comprehensive Community-Based Services for At-Risk Girls and Adjudicated Juvenile Female Offenders - 600,000 Innovative Approaches in Law-Related Education* - 600,000 Training in Risk-Focused Prevention Strategies - 500,000 Pathways to Success - 450,000 Truancy - 400,000 North Omaha B.E.A.R.S. (Building Esteem and Responsibility Systematically) Program* - 300,000 Training and Technical Assistance for Family-Strengthening Services - 250,000 Youth-Centered Conflict Resolution - 200,000 ASAP: Athlete Student Achievement Pact* - 150,000 Project Mister/Project Sister* - 146,500 Facing History and Ourselves* - 100,000 La Nueva Vida* - 64,000 Henry Ford Health System* - 58,000 Anti-Crime Youth Council* - 50,000 Delinquency Prevention CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Law-Related Education (LRE)* - 2,800,000 Teens, Crime, and Community: Teens in Action in the 90s* - 1,000,000 Satellite Prep School Program and Early Elementary School for Privatized Public Housing - 720,000 Children at Risk - 350,000 Nonviolent Dispute Resolution - 300,000 The Congress of National Black Churches: National Anti-Drug Abuse Program - 250,000 "Just Say No" International* - 250,000 Jackie Robinson Center (JRC)* - 250,000 Cities in Schools--Federal Interagency Partnership - 200,000 Hate Crimes - 200,000 Community Anti-Drug Abuse Technical Assistance Voucher Project - 200,000 Race Against Drugs - 150,000 Missing, Exploited and Abused Children NEW PROGRAMS Lowcountry Children's Center, Inc.* - $250,000 KidsPeace* - 140,000 Multipurpose Educational Curriculum for Young Victims - 75,000 Missing, Exploited and Abused Children CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Parents Anonymous, Inc.* - $250,000 Permanent Families for Abused and Neglected Children* - 225,000 Children as Witnesses to Community Violence - 170,658 Overarching Programs NEW PROGRAMS SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency - $7,200,000 Background The SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency Program rests on two important premises: the first is that public safety can be improved by providing prevention, intervention and treatment services to all at-risk youth. These three elements constitute a continuum of care that should be directed at youth throughout their development. The second premise is that the strategy for implementing this continuum of care lies with a comprehensive, customer-focused approach in which there is broad collaboration between all service agencies, all levels of government, and the public and private sectors. Availability of services, community responsiveness, and partnerships leading to increased public safety constitute the heart of the SafeFutures Program. Many communities throughout the country have been engaged in reform efforts to develop a comprehensive, community-based service delivery system for disadvantaged children. OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS presents a similar approach. Under this strategy, a broad- based community planning board systematically assesses the risk factors present in the environment that are best known to foster delinquent behavior in children. The community then develops a strategy to address identified risk factors for delinquency and increase protective factors that promote healthy and productive behavior. In addition, the board develops a full range of graduated sanctions, beginning with immediate interventions, that are designed to hold juvenile delinquents accountable to the victim and the community, ensure community security and provide a continuum of services that responds appropriately to the needs of each juvenile offender. SafeFutures builds on and expands the model presented in the Comprehensive Strategy. Five sites will be selected: three urban, one rural, and one Native American site. Each must have completed risk assessments and developed a comprehensive delinquency prevention, intervention and treatment plan prior to application to the SafeFutures program. At least one of the sites will be an Empowerment Zone or Enterprise community. Each must have established a multi-disciplinary community team to oversee implementation efforts. Finally, each site must have forged partnerships between government, local businesses and civic organizations, and leveraged resources from a variety of sources. The Native American site must have a Tribal Court. SafeFutures is geared toward communities who have made significant progress in reforming their systems and implementing a strategy to reduce youth violence and juvenile delinquency. It will provide them with additional resources to expand existing efforts and fill in the gaps in service each has identified. PROGRAM GOALS Specifically, SafeFutures will assist communities to: 1. CONTROL AND PREVENT JUVENILE VIOLENCE AND DELINQUENCY BY - a. reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors b. developing a full range of graduated sanctions, beginning with intermediate interventions that are designed to hold delinquents accountable to the victim and ensure community safety c. providing a continuum of services for all youth, with appropriate treatment for juvenile offenders 2. DEVELOP A MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM for at-risk youth and their families, capable of meeting their needs at any point of entry into the system. 3. BUILD THE CAPACITY TO INSTITUTIONALIZE AND SUSTAIN COORDINATED EFFORTS through streamlining the service delivery system, and expanding, and diversifying its sources of funding. 4. DETERMINE WHAT OUTCOMES HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED AND WHETHER A comprehensive strategy involving a concentration of effort and resources is successful at preventing and controlling juvenile delinquency. Many communities have begun this process on their own, while others throughout the country have received support for these planning and implementation activities through OJJDP's Title V Prevention Program and programs designed to intervene with delinquent juveniles. Failure to previously participate under Title V, however, does not preclude selection as a SafeFutures applicant as long as the requirements described in the next section are met. OJJDP will provide each site with up to $1.44 million the first year, with subsequent funding anticipated for four additional years. This amount includes not only OJJDP program dollars, but other federal sources of support which OJJDP has leveraged. In addition, OJJDP will offer all sites a comprehensive technical assistance package. GRANT PROGRAMS Units of general local government or combinations thereof are eligible to apply. Successful applicants must demonstrate the capacity to establish and sustain a continuum of care for the jurisdiction's at-risk and delinquent youth and their families. If the size or makeup of the applicant's local unit(s) does not make jurisdictional-wide services practical or desirable, the applicant may request resources for an identified local area(s) or neighborhood. The applicant must provide evidence of the following: * the presence of risk factors for delinquency in the target area such as high rates of crime, poverty, teenage pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, dysfunctional or single parent families, school drop-outs, unemployment or other risk factors the community identifies; * an established planning board in existence, with balanced representation of public and private agencies, community organizations and residents, including youth representation; * completion of a needs and resources assessment ; * a comprehensive delinquency prevention, intervention, and graduated sanction plan for their jurisdiction; * Federal, State, local and private partnerships, and a commitment to leverage additional resources and coordinate the necessary systemic changes to both the juvenile justice and social services system of care. In addition to providing overall administrative support for the coordination and implementation activities, SafeFutures provides specific support for ten program components. The applicant's proposal must demonstrate how each of the components described below will be implemented, its relationship to others within the continuum of care, and its impact upon at-risk youth and their families. Applicants that can demonstrate that they have adequately addressed, with their own resources, specific program components funded with Part C monies, will have the flexibility to use those designated funds (with the exception of the Day Treatment component) for alternative delinquency prevention activities. Each of the components is grouped below according to major OJJDP goals. Each is described in greater detail under these same goal areas in the Fiscal Year 1995 Program Plan. STRENGTHENING THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND LAW ENFORCEMENT * Serious,Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offender Accountability and Treatment Programs (Part C - $500,000). * Comprehensive Community-Based Services for At-Risk Girls and Adjudicated Female Juvenile Offenders (Part C - $600,000). * Day Treatment Services (Part C - $150,000). * Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Program (Part C - Technical Assistance). * Community-Based Gang Intervention (Part D - $2,000,000). * Mental Health Services for At-Risk and Adjudicated Youth, including treatment services for juvenile sex offenders and victims of sexual abuse (Part C - $750,000). PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES AND ROLE MODELS FOR HIGH- RISK YOUTH * Youth Skills/Pathways to Success (Part C - $200,000). * Mentoring (Part G - $1,000,000). BREAKING THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE THROUGH PREVENTION * Family Strengthening, including services for non-English speaking families (Part C - $1,000,000). * Delinquency Prevention Program (Title V - $1,000,000). Sites funded under this initiative will be eligible for program implementation, training, and technical assistance directly from OJJDP grantees and contractors. In addition, sites will receive training and technical assistance from: Boys and Girls Clubs of America, to develop or enhance a Boys and Girls Club in the target area; National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, to develop or enhance a JuvenileYouth Corps Program; and the Home Builders Institute, to develop an apprenticeship program for high-risk youth in sites which have a local association of home builders. In addition, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Education (DOE), and Labor (DOL), AmeriCorps, and the National Endowment for the Arts have agreed to participate in the SafeFutures Program by making available resources, technical assistance, and linkages to existing grant programs. OJJDP is also seeking other public and private partnerships to support substance abuse prevention, jobs skills development, individual youth assessment and evaluation activities by the SafeFutures sites. EVALUATION Sites will be expected to demonstrate a strong capacity for data collection and analysis in order to support a requisite and stringent evaluation component addressing both process and outcome measures. Partnerships with academic institutions to enhance evaluation efforts are also encouraged. COLLABORATION Applicants are expected to demonstrate how they have linked their activities with other Federal, State, and local programs; national and community foundations; and private sector programs. Federal programs include: HUD's Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities and Hope Six; HHS's Family Preservation and Support Services; DOE's Safe and Drug Free Schools; DOL's Youth Fair Chance; and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Operation Weed and Seed, PACT, Community Oriented Policing Services, Boot Camps, Drug Courts, Comprehensive Communities programs; and the U.S. Attorneys' anti-violence strategies. APPLICATION PROCESS OJJDP will utilize a two stage process to select grantees. All applicants will first submit concept papers. Jurisdictions will be required to document existing legislation, executive orders, memoranda of understanding, and other formal commitments of bona fide partnerships. Preference will given to jurisdictions that demonstrate linkages with other Federal, State and local programs as well as the ability to secure additional financial and programmatic resources. Those best demonstrating an ability to qualify for funding will then be invited to submit full applications. Prospective applicants should obtain a copy of OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS and the forthcoming Implementation Guide for the Comprehensive Strategy. The Guide identifies promising programs, suggests effective community assessment tools and in general offers guidance to communities implementing a continuum of care model. Copies of the Guide will be available from OJJDP in May 1995. OJJDP plans to conduct several workshops to answer questions about SafeFutures requirements prior to the concept paper submission date. To obtain more information regarding these workshops, please contact the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse. INFORMATION AND STATISTICS PROJECTS $525,000 OJJDP recently conducted an independent review of its Information and Statistics Program to help the Office develop a 5-year plan for information and data collection. As a result of this review, $525,000 will be allocated to the following new projects: National Juvenile Statistics Analysis Center; National Indicators of Risk and Protective Factors; Juveniles in the Criminal Justice System; National Program Directory; and Integrated Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, and Child Welfare Data Collection. NATIONAL JUVENILE STATISTICS ANALYSIS CENTER ($200,000) OJJDP is considering the establishment of a center devoted to collecting and analyzing statistics generated by OJJDP programs, State agencies, academic research, and other Federal agencies and programs. This National Juvenile Statistics Analysis Center would focus on two principal activities: 1) retrieving Federal, State and local research and data, and 2) providing quick analyses to inform Federal, State, and local policy and program decisions. The impetus for the Center comes from the recognition that many States are collecting data and performing statistical analyses of their delinquency and juvenile justice systems and that other jurisdictions can benefit greatly from access to this information. The Center would function as a collection point for this research. With an increased national emphasis on juvenile justice issues, there is more need for specific and quick analyses of particular issues. The Center would provide such analyses on a wide range of subjects. Other statistical activities identified as important include: * Analyzing demographic, delinquency, and violence trends, including surveys of delinquency and related youth problems, UNIFORM CRIME REPORT data, and victimization surveys. * Analyzing violent behavior trends and patterns, particularly assaults and robberies, to increase our understanding of these phenomena. * Maintaining national data sets on juvenile justice system handling of juveniles. State studies of disproportionate minority confinement and gender bias being conducted pursuant to the JJDP Act would be of particular interest. * Retrieving statewide data sets for analysis and cultivating State resources for information and statistics. * Maintaining data sets produced under major studies of delinquency and related juvenile problems. * Distributing the results of statistical analyses conducted by others at the State and local level. Once OJJDP determines the specific nature of this project, a subsequent announcement will be made. NATIONAL INDICATORS OF DELINQUENCY, RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS ($225,000) Widespread adoption of the public health model has stimulated interest in viewing juvenile delinquency and other problem behaviors in terms of risk and protective factors. At the same time, interest in developing social indicators of delinquency has grown. Because of these two developments, the collection and analysis of national indicators of risk and protective factors will be explored. State and community level baselines would enable measurement of the impact of delinquency prevention programs on risk and protective factors. A national baseline, with annual comparisons, would permit forecasts of changes in delinquency and youth violence levels and trends. Several projects have laid the foundation for national and state-by-state baselines: Kids Count, the National Youth Survey, OJJDP's Causes and Correlates Research Program, the Six State Communities that Care Pilot Program, and InfoNation. The key issue concerns the feasibility of nationwide establishment, at the State level, of reporting requirements necessary to generate comparable data. OJJDP will explore the feasibility of establishing comparable measurements of risk and protective factors, and prevalence measures for delinquency and other problem behaviors, at the individual, community, State, and national levels. This effort will involve a wide range of expertise, including researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. OJJDP will examine the most direct and efficient manner of gathering these indicators. In particular, OJJDP will explore cooperation with other Federal agencies. Once the nature of this project has been finalized, OJJDP will make a subsequent announcement. JUVENILES IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM Policymakers and legislators seeking data on how juveniles get to criminal court and on rates of conviction and sentencing, treatment, and conditions of confinement have found that existing information is often inadequate to help them make decisions about legislation, policy, and program development. OJJDP, in cooperation with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), seeks to identify and fill these data gaps by working collaboratively with interested State and local officials. Through OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Program, a series of meetings will be convened involving prosecutors, judges, corrections officials, State Statistical Analysis Centers, researchers, and staff from OJJDP, NIJ, and BJS. The purpose of the meetings will be to plan multi-jurisdictional studies of the transfer process and its outcomes. The project also will identify information needs to recommend for inclusion in the BJS National Survey of State Prosecutors. A number of multi-agency planning teams will be invited to assist in the collaborative design of the studies by identifying core data elements and definitions for cross-jurisdictional collection and analysis. The design process will be informed by a literature review and the identification of existing studies and data sets for secondary analysis to fill immediate gaps. A detailed review of the Government Accounting Office's pending waiver study will inform the project as to the feasibility of certain options. No funds will be awarded in fiscal year 1995. NATIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTORY ($100,000) To further develop OJJDP's statistical capability, OJJDP will create a NATIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTORY. This directory will contain the names and addresses of specific juvenile justice programs along with important identifying information and will include prosecutors, juvenile probation departments, juvenile court judges, mental health agencies, youth welfare agencies, and other executive branch juvenile justice agencies. OJJDP will use the directory as a sampling frame for future surveys. An important feature of this project is a series of Quick Response Surveys (QRS). Each QRS addresses a specific problem and is directed to a specific group of respondents. The goal of each QRS will be to provide vital information quickly on emerging problems and issues. QRS' will be made possible through Census Bureau development of program and facility directories on juvenile courts, detention centers, and long-term State confinement facilities. These surveys will address such issues as: characteristics of assaultive behaviors, juveniles in police lock-ups, juvenile sex offenders, family issues, and overcrowding. The initial phase of this project will focus on developing a directory structure, collecting core information, and developing a QRS strategy. These funds will be transferred to the Census Bureau through an interagency agreement. INTEGRATED JUVENILE JUSTICE, MENTAL HEALTH AND CHILD WELFARE DATA COLLECTION Recent research has documented the co-occurrence of delinquency, mental health problems, drug and alcohol abuse, and child abuse and neglect. However, linkage of client data from the juvenile justice system with data from the mental health and child welfare systems is not possible with current data collection mechanisms. Information is needed on how the child welfare and mental health systems function as diversion programs and as providers of alternative incarceration for problem youth not served by the juvenile justice system. Ways of linking these data collection systems would be explored in order to: 1) understand the interrelationships of the three systems, 2) develop models that coordinate the actions of the three systems, and 3) integrate them into a continuum of care. OJJDP will support a planning effort to map out steps toward integrated juvenile justice, mental health, and child welfare data collection. OJJDP will carry this work out in collaboration with other Federal agencies that have an interest in the objectives of this program, including the National Institute of Mental Health; the Center for Mental Health Services; the National Institute on Drug Abuse; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse; the Administration on Children, Youth and Families; and the Social Security Administration. This project will also involve practitioners and researchers from the mental health, juvenile justice, and child welfare fields. OJJDP's Statistics and Systems Development Program will provide staff support for this planning activity, including conducting a literature review, identifying useful data sets for secondary analysis, and convening planning meetings. The results will include recommendations for future implementation steps. OJJDP's current Statistics and System Development Program grantee, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, will conduct this program activity. No funds will be awarded in fiscal year 1995. OJJDP MANAGEMENT EVALUATION CONTRACT $360,000 The purpose of this contract is to provide OJJDP with an expert resource capable of performing independent, management-oriented evaluations of selected OJJDP programs. Evaluations will determine the effectiveness and efficiency of either individual projects or groups of projects. Evaluations could include demonstrations, tests, training, and technical assistance programs. Evaluations will be requested through work orders issued by OJJDP and carried out in accordance with work plans prepared by the contractor and approved by OJJDP. Each evaluation will be defined by OJJDP and costs, method, and timetable determined through negotiation between OJJDP and the contractor. The contract will be funded through a competitive award in fiscal year 1995. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR STATE LEGISLATURES $262,500 State legislatures are being pressed to respond to public fear of juvenile crime, and a loss of confidence in the capability of the juvenile justice system to respond effectively. For the most part, State legislatures have had insufficient information to properly address juvenile justice issues. Consequently, OJJDP will award a grant to the National Conference of State Legislatures to identify, analyze, and disseminate information to help State legislatures make more informed decisions about legislation affecting the juvenile justice system. A complementary task will involve supporting increased communication between State legislators and State and local leaders who influence decision making regarding juvenile justice issues. A $262,500 grant will be awarded to the NCSL in fiscal year 1995. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM* $247,000 The purpose of this program is to develop and implement a model continuum of care program for youth in the Juvenile Justice System. The model proposes three specific components: 1) development of risk and needs assessment instruments that reflect law enforcement and juvenile justice consensus; 2) establishment of linkages and coordination among several major planning efforts; and 3) the implementation and coordination of existing programs. Grant funds will be used to fund several positions charged with building the continuum of care infrastructure, improving coordination, and managing the implementation. This grant will also contribute funding to an Employment Aftercare Program for youth returning to the community from secure institutional confinement and will provide technical support for a community education effort, designed to build public awareness and involvement in the reform of the juvenile justice system and the provision of services. EVALUATION OF SAFEFUTURES: PARTNERSHIPS TO REDUCE YOUTH VIOLENCE AND DELINQUENCY $150,000 OJJDP will fund five communities (three urban, one rural, and one Native American) under the SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency. SafeFutures will provide a range of coordinated services to meet the needs of at-risk youth and families and juveniles in the juvenile justice system. This Program will also serve to strengthen the juvenile justice system and develop the ongoing sustainability of service collaboration within the jurisdiction. The evaluation of each of the five sites will be supported by this Program and will consist of both process and impact components. The process evaluation, to begin during the first year, will include an examination of planning procedures and the extent to which the sites' implementation is consistent with the principles of a continuum of care/graduated sanctions model. The evaluation process will identify the key factors responsible for successful implementation. It will also be important for the evaluation to identify substantial obstacles to successful implementation of the SafeFutures continuum model. The selected evaluator will be responsible for developing a cross-site monograph that discusses Program implementation for use by other communities that want to develop and implement a community strategy to address serious, violent, and chronic delinquency. The evaluator will develop a research design for the impact evaluation within the first year. Data collection for the impact evaluation would begin during the second year of the evaluation and will address the effects of the community's SafeFutures Program on the clients served. Furthermore, it will address the efficacy of the structure and operation of the SafeFutures model. OJJDP will award a single cooperative agreement for up to $150,000 for first-year funding of this multiyear evaluation program. Significant funding for the evaluation is anticipated in the second and subsequent years of this evaluation. OVERARCHING PROGRAMS CONTINUATION PROGRAMS JUVENILE JUSTICE CLEARINGHOUSE $1,031,167 As part of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse provides support to OJJDP in: 1) collecting, synthesizing, and disseminating information to the public on all aspects of juvenile delinquency; 2) developing publications; and 3) preparing specialized responses to information requests from the public. The Clearinghouse maintains a toll-free number for information requests. It also reviews reports, data, and standards relating to the juvenile justice system in the United States and develops specialized resource products for the juvenile justice community. The Clearinghouse serves as a center for acquiring and disseminating information on juvenile delinquency, including State and local juvenile delinquency prevention and treatment programs and plans; availability of resources; training and educational programs; statistics; and other pertinent data and information. It also serves as an information bank for the collection and synthesis of data and knowledge obtained from research and evaluation conducted by public and private agencies, institutions, or individuals concerning all aspects of juvenile delinquency. Recognizing the critical need to inform juvenile justice practitioners and other policymakers on promising program approaches, the Clearinghouse continually develops and recommends new strategies to communicate the research findings and program activities of OJJDP and the field to the practitioner community. The entire NCJRS, of which the OJJDP-funded Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse is a part, is administered by the National Institute of Justice under a competitively awarded contract. COALITION FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE* $700,000 The Coalition for Juvenile Justice supports and facilitates the purposes and functions of each State's Juvenile Justice State Advisory Group (SAG). The Coalition, acting as a Federal advisory committee, reviews Federal policies and practices regarding juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, prepares and submits an annual report and recommendations to the President and Congress, and provides advice to the OJJDP Administrator. The coalition is also authorized to develop an information center for the SAGs and to conduct an annual conference to provide training for SAG members. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. OJJDP TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT CONTRACT: JUVENILE JUSTICE RESOURCE CENTER $650,000 This contract provides technical assistance and support to OJJDP, its grantees, and the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the areas of program development, evaluation, training, and research. Support of this program will be supplemented in fiscal year 1995. NATIONAL JUVENILE COURT DATA ARCHIVE* $611,000 The National Juvenile Court Data Archive collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates automated data and published reports from the Nation's juvenile courts. The Archive's reports examine referrals, offenses, intake, and dispositions in addition to specialized topics such as minorities in juvenile courts and specific offense categories. The Archive also provides assistance to jurisdictions in analyzing their juvenile court data. In fiscal year 1995, the Archive will enhance the collection, reporting, and analysis of more detailed data on detention, dispositions, risk factors, and treatment data using offender-based data sets from a sample of juvenile courts. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the National Center for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. JUVENILE JUSTICE STATISTICS AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT $550,000 The purpose of the Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development (SSD) Program is to improve Federal, State, and local juvenile justice statistics on juveniles as victims and offenders. The SSD Program helps OJJDP to formulate a comprehensive program for the collection, analysis and dissemination of national statistics on juveniles as victims and offenders, and to document the juvenile justice system's response. A major product to be completed will be a national report on juvenile offending and victimization. Work on this product will consist mainly of report production followup, including the completion of a detailed technical appendix and preparation of additional products for dissemination. The SSD program will focus on the following areas in fiscal year 1995: 1) juveniles in the criminal justice system; 2) development and testing of a training curriculum for improving information systems; 3) integration of juvenile justice, mental health, and child welfare data collection; and 4) improving information on juvenile detention. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the National Center for Juvenile Justice. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. INSULAR AREA SUPPORT* $511,000 The purpose of this program is to provide supplemental financial support to the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau), and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Funds are available to address the special needs and problems of juvenile delinquency in these insular areas, as specified by Section 261(e) of the JJDP Act, 42 U.S.C. 5665(e). DEVELOPMENT OF OJJDP'S COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS $500,058 The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), in collaboration with Developmental Research and Programs, Inc. (DRP), has completed Phase I of a collaborative effort to support development and implementation of OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS. This effort involved assessing existing and previously researched programs in order to identify effective and promising programs which can be used in implementing the Comprehensive Strategy. A series of reports, which will be combined into a Guide to the Comprehensive Strategy, has been completed on early intervention for ages 0 to 6, prevention from childhood to adolescence, graduated sanctions, risk and needs assessments, and an operations manual. Phase II, to be carried out in fiscal year 1995, will include: 1) convening a national forum on youth violence; 2) information dissemination; 3) program development and implementation activities; 4) providing information to national, State and local organizations; 5) providing training and technical assistance to Title V Prevention, Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offender Treatment and SafeFutures sites; and 6) conducting a series of regional training sessions for representative groups of key leaders. The national forum and regional training sessions will contribute to implementation of the National Juvenile Justice Action Plan being formulated by the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The program will be implemented by NCCD ($274,627) and DRP ($225,431) under cooperative agreements. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. RESEARCH PROGRAM ON JUVENILES TAKEN INTO CUSTODY- NCCD $450,000 The Research Program on Juveniles Taken into Custody was designed in response to a statutory requirement to produce a detailed annual summary of juvenile custody data. During the next 24-month period, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) will continue to implement and refine the State Juvenile Correctional System Reporting Program. It is anticipated that individual-level data for 1993 will be representative of more than 75 percent of the at-risk juvenile population. In addition, NCCD will prepare two additional reports for OJJDP. These reports will provide a detailed summary and analysis of the most recent data regarding: 1) the number and characteristics of juveniles taken into custody; 2) the rate at which juveniles are taken into custody; and 3) the trends demonstrated by the data. The 1994 data collection will expand coverage by collecting data from several small, nonautomated State systems. In order to better understand the data collected under the State Juvenile Corrections System Reporting Program, NCCD will conduct a State Juvenile Corrections Organizational Survey to identify critical dimensions of corrections administration that may explain variation in results. NCCD, in cooperation with the National Center for Juvenile Justice, will assess the proportion of all court commitments that are covered by the State Juvenile Corrections Reporting Program as compared with direct commitments by local authorities. NCCD will also conduct a pilot data collection and research effort on a small sample of detention centers to generate data and information on juveniles in detention. This program will be implemented by the current grantee, NCCD. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. CHILDREN IN CUSTODY - CENSUS $450,000 Under this ongoing collaborative program between OJJDP and the U.S. Bureau of the Census, OJJDP proposes to transfer funds to the Census Bureau to conduct the 1995 biennial census of public and private juvenile detention, correctional, and shelter facilities. The census describes juvenile custody facilities in terms of their resident population, programs, and physical characteristics. It provides information on trends in the use of juvenile custody facilities for delinquent juveniles and status offenders. The Census Bureau's Center for Survey Methods Research will also continue to develop and test a roster-based data collection system designed to significantly improve information on juveniles in custody. The Bureau's Governments Division will create a new directory of facilities. The program will be implemented under an interagency agreement with the U.S. Bureau of the Census. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. CONTRACT FOR THE EVALUATION OF OJJDP PROGRAMS $290,000 This contract will be extended and supplemented in the amount of $290,000 to complete evaluation reports on OJJDP's Boot Camp Pilot Program, to continue the evaluation of the Disproportionate Minority Confinement and Title V Prevention Program evaluations, and to provide other evaluation services required by OJJDP prior to the award of a new competitive contract. The contract supplement will be awarded to Caliber Associates. A new competitive contract will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. PULLING AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES TOGETHER (PACT) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT $261,000 Project PACT is an initiative through which Federal agencies work with State and local agencies and communities to develop a strategic plan to help reduce crime and violence by building healthier communities. The role of the Federal government in Project PACT is to support the community's identification of needs, formulation of a coordinated community response, and development of resources to implement a community action plan. OJJDP will continue to provide PACT cities with technical assistance and information on programs and services that offer the best hope for success in the development of antiviolence strategies for juvenile offenders and victims. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) has provided the Project PACT jurisdictions of Metro Atlanta, Metro Denver, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C., with technical assistance for the past year. NCCD will continue to provide such assistance through fiscal year 1995 by responding to requests for assistance in implementing juvenile justice reform through OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS. This program will be implemented by NCCD. No additional applications would be solicited in fiscal year 1995. JUVENILES TAKEN INTO CUSTODY (JTIC): INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT $200,000 The U.S. Bureau of the Census is working with OJJDP and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency to develop a comprehensive national statistical reporting system that is responsive to the information requirements of the JJDP Act, the needs of the juvenile justice field for data on juvenile custody populations, and the needs of State legislatures and juvenile justice professionals for data to assist in making informed planning and policymaking decisions. The Census Bureau acts as the data collection agent for the JTIC program under an interagency agreement. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. JUVENILE JUSTICE DATA RESOURCES $25,000 This program enhances the availability of juvenile justice data sets for secondary analysis. The project takes data files from OJJDP research and statistical programs and prepares them for use by other researchers. Data files made available during fiscal year 1994 include the 1993 Children in Custody Census, Juveniles Taken Into Custody, and the Causes and Correlates Research Program. This program will be implemented under an interagency agreement with the University of Michigan. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. STRENGTHENING JUVENILE JUSTICE NEW PROGRAMS MENTAL HEALTH IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM $750,000 This program addresses the mental health and juvenile justice systems' lack of coordinated and adequate mental health treatment for at-risk and delinquent youth. The program will target juveniles with mental health problems and impairments (including learning disabilities), those who are at risk of becoming status or delinquent offenders, status offenders, and delinquents with undiagnosed or untreated mental health problems, including offenders in secure and non-secure residential care. Fiscal year 1995 funds will provide up to $150,000 to each of the five jurisdictions participating in the SafeFutures Program. Their planning process would be expected to provide comprehensive, coordinated, and collaborative approaches among juvenile justice, youth service, and mental health agencies to improve mental health services for juveniles in these five communities. A particular focus of the fiscal year 1995 funding will be to target victims of child abuse and juvenile sex offenders. BETHESDA DAY TREATMENT CENTER $320,000 Pennsylvania's Bethesda Day Treatment Center is a private nonprofit agency established to provide intensive day treatment and a variety of other services that promote the social adjustment of juvenile offenders in the community. For four years, OJJDP has provided funds to the Center to develop and document intensive, outpatient, community-based treatment and care centers for juveniles at risk of delinquency and those who have been referred to court and are in the preadjudication or postadjudication stages of the juvenile justice system. Center services were initially designed to help youth in rural areas or small towns who committed offenses related to family supervision and control. More recently, the program has demonstrated its effectiveness in larger cities, including Kalamazoo, Michigan and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with juveniles who commit serious delinquent acts. Bethesda Day Treatment Center's services include intensive supervision, counseling, and coordination of a range of services necessary to develop skills that enable youth to function appropriately in the community. Services are client, group, and family focused. Client- focused services include intake, casework, service and treatment planning, individual counseling, intensive supervision, and study skills. Group- focused services include group counseling; life and jobs skill training, cultural enrichment, and physical education. Family-focused activities include family counseling, home visits, parent counseling, and family intervention services. Day treatment services cost about 50 percent less than secure placement, pose a minimal risk to community safety, and can be implemented quickly. With management systems and funding in place, it takes only 6 to 9 months from startup to full implementation of a program. The Bethesda Day Treatment Center will offer to replicate the day treatment model in the five SafeFutures sites. Successful applicants will be eligible to submit applications to the Bethesda Day Treatment Center for up to $30,000, with a $30,000 local contribution, in training and technical assistance services. Other local jurisdictions will also be eligible to receive services from the grantee under the same terms. Interested jurisdictions should contact the Bethesda Day Treatment Center at (717) 568-1131. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY CONFINEMENT IN SECURE DETENTION AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES (THE DEBORAH WYSINGER MEMORIAL PROGRAM) $300,000 National data and studies have demonstrated that minority juveniles are over-represented in secure facilities across the country. In response to this problem, OJJDP issued regulations in 1989 requiring States participating in the Formula Grants Program to gather and assess data to determine the existence of disproportionate minority confinement and, if it existed, to design strategies to address the problem. To date, 47 States have completed the required data analyses, with all but five determining that minority juveniles are overrepresented in secure facilities. Analysis of the data indicates that in a majority of States minority juveniles are disproportionately represented at several points of decision-making in the juvenile justice system. This competitive Special Emphasis program will provide funds to States, local units of government, and nonprofit organizations to demonstrate effective interventions designed to eliminate the disproportionate confinement of minority juveniles in secure detention or correctional facilities, adult jails and lockups, and other secure institutional facilities. Activities appropriate for funding under this initiative include such programs as: * Training and education programs for law enforcement and juvenile justice practitioners. * Diversion programs for minority youths who come in contact with the juvenile justice system. * Prevention programs in communities with high numbers of minority residents. * Programs to increase the capacity of community-based organizations to provide alternatives to detention and incarceration for minority youths. * Aftercare programs designed to assist minority youths returning to their communities from secure institutions. Grants will be available in amounts ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 for the implementation and evaluation of interventions designed to reduce disproportionate minority confinement. In addition to the general selection criteria applied to all OJJDP competitive applications, OJJDP will consider the relationship of the application to the State's development of multiple strategies to address the State's problem based on minority overrepresentation indices as identified in the Phase I data collection analysis. Three to six competitive applications will be funded in fiscal year 1995 at $50,000 to $100,000 each. THE JUVENILE JUSTICE PROSECUTION CENTER $300,000 For several years, OJJDP has supported prosecutor training activities through the National District Attorneys' Association (NDAA). This project will establish a Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center to provide prosecutor training and implement workshops on juvenile justice related executive policy, leadership, and management for chief prosecutors and juvenile unit chiefs, and provide background information to prosecutors on juvenile justice issues and programs. The project will be implemented by the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI), based on planning and input by prosecutors familiar with juvenile justice needs. APRI is the research and technical assistance affiliate of NDAA. The project will utilize a working group of chief prosecutors and juvenile unit chiefs to support the project's staff in providing training, technical assistance, and juvenile justice related research and program information to practitioners nationwide. The expectation is that within the next three years a self-supporting Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center will be established through links with State prosecutor training programs. The award for the Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center will be made to APRI. No additional applicants will be considered in fiscal year 1995. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO JUVENILE CORRECTIONS AND DETENTION (THE JAMES E. GOULD MEMORIAL PROGRAM) $200,000 The purpose of this program is to continue OJJDP's capability to provide technical assistance for juvenile corrections and detention. A major responsibility of the grantee will be to plan and convene the annual Juvenile Corrections and Detention Forum. The forum provides an opportunity for 100 juvenile corrections and detention leaders to meet and discuss issues, problems, and solutions to corrections and detention problems. A second objective is to provide workshops and training conferences on current and emerging national issues in the field of juvenile corrections and detention. The grantee will provide limited technical assistance through document dissemination. OJJDP will award a competitive grant to an organization experienced in this area of expertise to provide these services. STRENGTHENING JUVENILE JUSTICE CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offender Treatment Program $1,500,000 In fiscal year 1993, under a competitive announcement, OJJDP awarded funds to enable two jurisdictions (Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.) to develop a plan for systematic graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders. The plan combines accountability and sanctions with increasingly intensive community-based intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation services as the seriousness of a juvenile's offenses increases or a particular offense warrants. The plan's basic elements are to: 1) assess the existing continuum of secure and nonsecure intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation services in each jurisdiction; 2) define the juvenile offender population; 3) develop and implement a program strategy; 4) develop and implement an evaluation; 5) integrate private nonprofit, community-based organizations into juvenile offender services; 6) incorporate an aftercare program as a formal component of all residential placements; 7) develop a resource plan to enlist the financial and technical support of other Federal, State, and local agencies, private foundations, or other funding sources; and 8) develop a victim assistance component using local organizations. In fiscal year 1994, these jurisdictions each qualified for $500,000 implementation grants. Two additional jurisdictions are being selected for combined planning and implementation awards of $500,000 each under a fiscal year 1994 competitive program. In fiscal year 1995, each of the original jurisdictions will receive continuation awards of $500,000 for second year implementation. Also in fiscal year 1995, up to $100,000 will be available to each of the five SafeFutures sites to refine and implement action plans for graduated sanctions systems in the target areas. The Bureau of Justice Assistance will transfer $1,500,000 to OJJDP to implement this program in fiscal year 1995. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. JUVENILE COURT TRAINING* $1,074,000 The primary purpose of this project is to continue and refine the training and technical assistance program offered by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The training objectives are to supplement law school curricula and provide judges with current information on developments in juvenile and family case law and available options for sentencing and treatment. Emphasis will also be placed on drug testing, gangs and violence, and intermediate sanctions. The project will provide both basic training to new juvenile and family court judges and specialized training to experienced judges. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. INTENSIVE COMMUNITY-BASED AFTERCARE DEMONSTRATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $620,000 This initiative is designed to support implementation, delivery of training and technical assistance, and evaluation for a statewide intensive community-based aftercare model in four states competitively selected to participate in this demonstration program. In fiscal year 1994, the Johns Hopkins University was awarded funds to test its intensive community-based aftercare model in four demonstration sites in Denver, Colorado; Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada; Camden and Newark, New Jersey; and Richmond, Virginia. Each of the four sites will receive up to $100,000 to support program implementation in fiscal year 1995. An independent evaluation contractor is providing an initial evaluation design and documenting the implementation process under a separate grant. The Johns Hopkins University will receive a supplemental award of $220,000 to provide training and technical assistance to the four selected sites and to OJJDP's Youth Environmental Service Program, Boot Camp Pilot Program, and SafeFutures Program sites. This is the second budget period of a three-year project. BJA will contribute $500,000 to the support of this program in fiscal year 1995. NATIVE AMERICAN ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAM $600,000 This program is designed as a collaborative effort between OJJDP and other public and private organizations concerned about juvenile delinquency among Native Americans. Its purpose is to develop community-based alternative programs for Native American youth who are adjudicated delinquent and to develop a re-entry program for Native American delinquents returning from institutional placements. A multicomponent design has been developed in the four project sites. Fiscal year 1995 funding will support continued implementation of these projects. Training and technical assistance will also be provided to integrate the critical elements of OJJDP's intensive supervision and community-based aftercare programs with cultural elements traditionally used by Native Americans to control and rehabilitate offending youths. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, the Navajo Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, and the Pueblo of Jemez are the project sites initially funded in fiscal year 1992. The National Indian Justice Center provides the sites with training and technical assistance. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. TRAINING FOR JUVENILE CORRECTIONS AND DETENTION STAFF $500,000 OJJDP will continue the development and implementation of a comprehensive training program for juvenile corrections and detention management staff through its interagency agreement with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). The program is designed to offer a core curriculum for juvenile corrections and detention administrators and mid- level management personnel in such areas as leadership development, management, training of trainers, legal issues, cultural diversity, the role of the victim in juvenile corrections, gang activity, juvenile programming for specialized needs of offenders, and overcrowding. The training is conducted at the NIC Academy and regionally. This program is a continuation activity, implemented in fiscal year 1995 under an interagency agreement with NIC. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE JUVENILE COURTS* $389,943 The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ), the research division of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, provides four types of technical assistance under this grant: 1) information resources; 2) onsite consultation; 3) off-site consultation; and 4) a cross- site consultation. Emphasis will be placed on intermediate sanctions for handling juveniles involved in drug-related offenses and gang activities and other emerging issues confronting the juvenile court. The current grantee, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, will implement the program. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. DUE PROCESS ADVOCACY PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT $250,000 In fiscal year 1993, OJJDP funded the American Bar Association (ABA), in partnership with the Juvenile Law Center (JLC) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Youth Law Center (YLC) of San Francisco, California to develop due process advocacy program strategies. The goals of the program are: 1) to increase juvenile offenders' access to legal services; 2) to improve the quality of preadjudication, adjudication, and dispositional advocacy for juvenile offenders; and 3) to ensure due process to all juveniles in the juvenile justice system. The strategies will be made available to State and local bar associations and other relevant organizations so that they can develop approaches to increase the availability and quality of counsel for juveniles. The ABA, JLC, and YLC have completed an assessment of the current state of the art with regard to legal services, training, and education. In fiscal year 1995, they will develop strategies to improve access, availability, and the quality of counsel and provide a comprehensive report on these issues. During this second funding cycle, training materials will be developed and tested in selected sites. Training materials will be adjusted based on experience in the test sites and a dissemination strategy developed. The ABA will establish mechanisms for networking with legal service providers such as public defender offices and children's law centers. Fiscal year 1995 funding will support the second six months of the second year budget for this 3-year effort. No new applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. IMPROVEMENT IN CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS $250,000 The purpose of this program is to assist juvenile corrections administrators in planning and implementing improved educational services for detained and incarcerated juvenile offenders. In fiscal year 1992, the National Office for Social Responsibility (NOSR) was awarded a three-year cooperative agreement to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the literature and to produce a report documenting state of the art practices in educational reform. The results of this effort were utilized to develop a training and technical assistance program to improve educational services for incarcerated juveniles. In fiscal year 1995, NOSR will be awarded up to $250,000 to provide training and technical assistance to three sites to be competitively selected. No additional applications would be solicited for this training and technical assistance program during fiscal year 1995. ROBESON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA* $202,645 This grant to the State of North Carolina will continue implementing a pilot program for African-American males, ages 12 to 15, who, in lieu of confinement, will be supervised in the community and assigned to a weekend academy where they will receive intensive services including counseling, tutoring, conflict resolution, and job training. In the first year, 100 juveniles were expected to be served. Second-year funds will be used to continue and expand the program. P.A.C.E. CENTER FOR GIRLS, INC.* $150,000 The P.A.C.E. Center for Girls, Inc., headquartered in Orlando, Florida, will expand its program to several new sites and provide technical assistance to jurisdictions that wish to adopt the P.A.C.E. program model. P.A.C.E. provides juvenile court judges with an alternative program for at-risk teenage girls arrested for status and minor delinquent offenses. Fiscal year 1995 funds will support the second year of implementation. JUVENILE RESTITUTION: BALANCED APPROACH $100,000 OJJDP will continue to support the juvenile restitution training and technical assistance program in fiscal year 1995. The project design is based on practitioner recommendations for current needs in the field. OJJDP initiated a survey on how best to integrate and institutionalize restitution as a key component of juvenile justice dispositions. In addition to the survey, a working group was convened to help map out the course of OJJDP's support for optimum development of the components of restitution. These components include community service, victim repara- tion, victim-offender mediation, offender employment and supervision, employment development, and potential program elements designed to establish restitution as an important alternative in improving the juvenile justice system. This project is guided by the need to provide a balance of community protection and offender competency development and accountability in the provision of community-based sanctions. The Division of Applied Research of Florida Atlantic University was competitively selected in fiscal year 1992 to implement this project. The grant will be extended into fiscal year 1995 to enable the grantee to provide technical assistance and support to States and localities seeking to implement the balanced approach. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. EVALUATION OF INTENSIVE COMMUNITY-BASED AFTERCARE DEMONSTRATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $80,000 This supplement will allow the evaluation grantee, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), to provide additional assistance in data collection in fiscal year 1995 to the four States implementing the Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Demonstration and Technical Assistance Program. The initial stage of this evaluation will assess the process used by the four demonstration states to implement an intensive community-based aftercare program, evaluate technical assistance provided to these States, and develop a preliminary impact evaluation research design. This supplemental award will provide for the initiation of data collection efforts as soon as the research design for the impact evaluation is completed. This program will be implemented by NCDD. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEBRASKA* $67,055 This grant for a youth pre-trial diversion program in Douglas County, Nebraska was initially funded in fiscal year 1994 for a two-year project period. Fiscal year 1995 funding will support second-year implementation. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUTH WORKERS $50,000 The primary purpose of this program is to promote professional development of youth service and juvenile justice system providers through formal training. The program will include an inventory of existing training programs and their effectiveness, a needs assessment training survey, development of curricula for several program settings, design of a dissemination strategy, and an implementation plan for the third year of a three-year program. Initially funded in fiscal year 1992, the Academy for Educational Development, Inc., located in Washington, D.C., will continue the project for six months to train trainers in the new curricula. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. LACKAWANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA* $50,000 With fiscal year 1994 funds, the District Attorney's Office in Lackawanna County created a Comprehensive Juvenile Crime Unit to investigate, prosecute, and prevent juvenile crime and to coordinate with other county agencies that are helping youth avoid delinquent behavior and become productive citizens. The primary activity will be to establish a Juvenile Justice Task Force to work with the Juvenile Probation Office to assess the needs and services of Lackawanna County. The Task Force will also review the last five years of the Juvenile Probation Office files to determine demographics, numbers of juvenile crimes committed, recidivism, and school district disciplinary and rehabilitation programs. Fiscal year 1995 funds will complete implementation of this program. PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT NEW PROGRAMS GANGS AND DELINQUENCY RESEARCH $500,000 In fiscal year 1994, OJJDP channeled its gang-related activities into the Comprehensive Gang Program, made possible by an increased Part D appropriation. The National Gang Assessment and Resource Center, funded under the fiscal year 1994 Program Plan, will provide a national baseline study of the presence and characteristics of violent gangs. This year, OJJDP proposes to supplement this baseline study with two studies designed to develop detailed information on various aspects of gangs in gang-plagued cities identified in the baseline studies. The main purpose of these supplemental studies is to examine gang behavior as a subset of overall delinquency. This program will fund the addition of gang studies to ongoing studies of juvenile delinquency, including serious, violent, and chronic delinquency. Specific issues to be examined include assessing the relationship of gang participation to other forms of delinquency and violence associated with gang membership and determining the proportion of violent youth crime accounted for by youth gangs. Proposals are encouraged that incorporate gang studies into ongoing studies of large samples of juveniles. OJJDP will provide up to four assistance awards in amounts ranging from $100,000 to $150,000 each under this program. FIELD-INITIATED GANG RESEARCH PROGRAM $300,000 OJJDP's Field-Initiated Research Program offers support for research ideas generated in the field rather than by OJJDP. Fiscal year 1995 Field- Initiated Research Program funding will be directed to the support of research on gangs, reflecting the growth in violence among youth gangs. Priority research topics include evaluation of prevention and intervention approaches aimed at diverting at-risk youth from becoming gang members, factors related to joining and leaving gangs, ethnographic studies on the dynamics of gang creation or joining, or other topics identified by applicants. OJJDP will provide up to three assistance awards ranging from $75,000 to $125,000 each under this program. JUVENILE TRANSFERS TO CRIMINAL COURT STUDIES $275,000 States are increasingly enacting new legislation mandating transfer of juveniles to criminal courts. This trend includes the development of innovative procedures such as blending traditional features of juvenile and criminal justice procedures and sanctions and statutes that categorize juvenile offenders into different classes according to the seriousness of the offense, designating juvenile or criminal court for each class. Research in this area has been limited. Few studies have evaluated juvenile and criminal court handling of serious or violent juvenile offenders. OJJDP proposes to support two studies in fiscal year 1995. The first will compare juvenile and criminal court handling of juveniles. This comparison would be made between a State(s) that allows for judicial waiver of serious or violent juvenile offenders and a State(s) that mandates criminal court handling for specified categories of offenders. The second study will evaluate an innovative system of blending criminal and juvenile justice systems to handle serious or violent juvenile offenders. Funding for the initial phase of each of these studies will be competitively awarded and will be up to $150,000 each for up to two grant awards. INNOVATIVE FIREARMS PROGRAM $250,000 The purpose of the Innovative Firearms Program is to assist State and local jurisdictions to develop and implement new or enhanced projects to prevent the possession and use of firearms by juveniles and control illicit firearm trafficking. Law enforcement, prosecutorial agencies, schools, community groups, and juvenile justice system representatives may participate in the program. The grantee(s), in cooperation with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), OJJDP, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, will also work with U.S. Attorneys to develop and implement State and local projects related to the new Youth Handgun Safety Act that prohibits the possession of a handgun or ammunition by, or the private transfer of a handgun or ammunition to, a juvenile. BJA and OJJDP will also work with local jurisdictions to develop a program to reduce firearms crimes by juvenile gangs through improved enforcement of firearms laws and other laws and regulations, such as tax and business laws, that are used to control firearm sales. OJJDP and BJA will jointly fund this program at $500,000. BJA will administer the program. GANGS, GROUPS, INDIVIDUALS, AND VIOLENCE INTERVENTION $250,000 Little is known about the interrelationships among gang participation, group delinquency, and individual violence. The dynamics of a juvenile's movement in and out of these relationships is not well understood. How these patterns of delinquency contribute to the careers of serious and violent offenders is also unknown. Nor do we have a clear understanding of the prevention and intervention program implications of these patterns of delinquency. This project will involve a systematic review, assessment, and synthesis of existing research results on gangs, other types of group involvement, and individual serious and violent delinquency to determine the implications for prevention and juvenile/criminal justice system interventions. The framework to be used in conducting this review of existing knowledge is a criminal career model, including onset, acceleration, maintenance, and desistance elements. Implications for OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders project will be drawn. Recommendations will be made for prevention programs and interventions in the juvenile and criminal justice systems that take into account meta- analyses of prevention and intervention programs. One cooperative agreement will be competitively awarded to implement this project in fiscal year 1995. The results of this program will be of interest to other OJP agencies addressing serious, violent and chronic offender careers. The results also will be shared with OJP agencies through the Gangs Working Group and with other Federal agencies through the National Gang Consortium. YOUTH HANDGUN STUDY/MODEL JUVENILE HANDGUN LEGISLATION $202,838 Reducing and preventing gun violence is a primary concern of Federal, State, and local governments. This violence affects youth not only as perpetrators but also as victims and witnesses. There is a need to know about the various State laws concerning youth and handguns. This project will collect, analyze, and compare selected provisions of State firearms codes, particularly as they pertain to juveniles. The purpose is to develop a body of information about key provisions of State firearms codes. The results of this study will assist in formulating laws, policies, and programs to reduce firearms-related violence. The product to be developed is a guide to selected State firearm provisions. This study, and the development of a model juvenile handgun law, are mandated by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. In order to immediately begin collecting study data to assist in developing the model law, a total of $75,290 was transferred to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for a joint award to the National Criminal Justice Association for the purpose of collecting, examining, and analyzing existing and proposed State firearms codes. The Crime Act requires the Attorney General, through the Administrator and the National Institute for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, to develop a Constitutional and enforceable model juvenile handgun law. This model law will guide the States in their development of laws concerning juvenile handgun possession. The model law will be stated in a format designed to enable States to determine which provisions are best suited to their individual needs. This effort is being assisted by the National Criminal Justice Association under a grant in the amount of $127,548. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTINUATION PROGRAMS LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $ 1,504,924 This continuation award will supplement the contract between OJJDP and Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin. Fiscal year 1995 funds will be used to conduct a nationwide training and technical assistance program designed to improve law enforcement's capability to respond to serious juvenile crime, to contribute to delinquency prevention, and to address issues of missing and exploited children and child abuse and neglect. Technical assistance under this contract is provided in response to a wide variety of requests from Federal, State, local, and county agencies with responsibility for the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency and juvenile victimization. The contract supports continuation of the Police Operations Leading to Improved Children and Youth Services (POLICY) series of training programs and other law enforcement training programs offered by OJJDP. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM-COMPREHENSIVE GANG INITIATIVE $799,345 Under the Comprehensive Communities Program, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provides funds to communities to implement a Comprehensive Gang Initiative. Funding for fiscal year 1995 would be a joint BJA and OJJDP effort, with OJJDP transferring $799,345 to BJA to support continued implementation of the Comprehensive Gang Initiative. The program includes a training curriculum and the provision of technical assistance to model demonstration sites by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). Four competitively selected demonstration sites were funded during fiscal year 1993 with technical assistance provided by PERF. Four additional sites will be funded in fiscal year 1995 through a competitive process. Applications will be solicited by BJA. TARGETED OUTREACH WITH A GANG PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION COMPONENT (BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS) $600,000 This program is designed to enable local Boys and Girls Clubs to prevent youth from entering gangs and to intervene with gang members in the early stages of gang involvement to divert them from gang activities and into more constructive programs. The National Office of Boys and Girls Clubs will provide training and technical assistance to existing Gang Prevention and Intervention sites and expand the gang prevention and intervention program to other Boys and Girls Clubs, including those in the SafeFutures sites. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. COMPREHENSIVE GANG INITIATIVE $600,000 Under the Comprehensive Gang Initiative, BJA has developed a model comprehensive approach to gang issues that carefully balances prevention, intervention, and suppression approaches. The model incorporates strategies that bring together cooperative and coordinated efforts of the police, other criminal justice agencies, human services providers, and community programs. Funds in the amount of $600,000 will be transferred to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). In fiscal year 1995, BJA will provide continuation funding for the four currently funded project sites. VIOLENCE STUDIES* $500,000 The 1992 Amendments to the JJDP Act required OJJDP to conduct studies on violence. Sites were selected and grants awarded in Columbia, South Carolina; Los Angeles, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Washington, D.C. Building on the results of OJJDP's Program of Research on Causes and Correlates, these studies address the incidence of violence committed by or against juveniles in urban and rural areas of the United States. In fiscal year 1993, OJJDP initiated these studies by supporting a planning phase and providing funding to each of four programs with fiscal year 1994 funds. Awards will be required to continue studies in two of the four designated sites in fiscal year 1995. No additional applications would be solicited in fiscal year 1995. VIOLENCE STUDY-CAUSES AND CORRELATES $300,000 OJJDP proposes to support additional analyses of data collected under its Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency, conducted at the State University of New York at Albany, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Colorado. Because of the richness and scope of the data base, many issues have yet to be addressed. The main purpose of additional analyses to be conducted under this program is to inform the further development of OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS. In addition to conducting analyses specifically related to the Comprehensive Strategy, the grantees will produce an updated summary of their research results. This program will be implemented by the grantees noted above. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. CHILD CENTERED COMMUNITY-ORIENTED POLICING $300,000 In fiscal year 1993, OJJDP provided support to the New Haven, Connecticut, Police Department and the Yale University Child Development Center to document a child-centered community-oriented policing model, which is being implemented in New Haven. The basic elements of the model are a 10-week training course in child development for all new police officers, and child development fellowships for all community-based district commanders who direct neighborhood police teams. The fellowships provide 4 to 6 hours of training each week over a 3-month period at the Child Study Center. The program also includes: 1) 24-hour consultation from a clinical professional and a police supervisor to patrol officers who assist children in violent situations; 2) weekly case conferences with police officers, educators, and child study center staff; and 3) open police stations, located in neighborhoods and accessible to residents for police and related services, community liaison, and neighborhood foot patrols. In fiscal year 1994, Community Policing funds transferred from the Bureau of Justice Assistance supported a technical assistance and training grant to allow the Yale/New Haven project to serve as a host site for jurisdictions interested in replicating the essential elements of the model. In fiscal year 1995, OJJDP funds will support the continuation of this project in two to four replication sites. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. NATIONAL SCHOOL SAFETY CENTER $250,000 The purposes of this collaborative program between OJJDP and the Department of Education are: 1) to provide training and technical assistance regarding school safety for elementary and secondary schools and, 2) to identify methods for diminishing crime, violence, and illegal drug use in schools and on campuses, with special emphasis on gang- related crime. The National School Safety Center maintains a library and clearinghouse with specialized information, does research on school safety issues, and develops publications and training programs. The program focuses on preventing drug abuse and violence in schools and providing State personnel trained in school safety to give technical assistance to localities. The Department of Education contributed $1 million to the program in fiscal year 1994. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the National School Safety Center at Pepperdine University. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. ENHANCING ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES FOR JUVENILE IMPAIRED DRIVING DUE TO ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG USE $150,000 Through a $75,000 interagency agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation, OJJDP ($75,000) is supporting an initiative on Enhancing Enforcement Strategies for Juvenile Impaired Driving Due to Alcohol and Other Drug Use. The goals of this program are: 1) to increase the use of the arrest sanction among law enforcement agencies in cases where juvenile drivers are impaired by alcohol and other drugs, by developing and testing a model comprehensive program in selected demonstration sites and by disseminating training and technical assistance materials for police, prosecutors, judges, and probation officers on effective procedures and law enforcement strategies, and 2) to increase community reliance on a unified systemwide response to juvenile impaired driving by involving the criminal justice system and other elements of the community in encouraging enforcement efforts that use the arrest sanction. This three-phase program is entering its third and final phase. To date, the grantee, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), has developed a draft comprehensive Juvenile Driving Under the Influence Enforcement Working Model, training curricula, and technical assistance materials. Five sites have been selected and are testing the model and receiving training and technical assistance from PERF. The demonstration sites are Albany County, New York; Astoria, Oregon; Hampton, Virginia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the third phase of the program, the observations and lessons learned from the demonstration sites will be categorized, analyzed, consolidated, and organized into a replicable model. The model will be presented to law enforcement and other interested public and private organizations through a variety of "how-to" materials. Program work products will be developed as a series of discrete, stand-alone publications to be published and distributed with the notation that the materials, like the various model components, must be coordinated in order to produce the desired result -- a cooperating local criminal justice system that supports its police in the use of the arrest sanction as a principle deterrent to juvenile impaired driving. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. TRAINING IN CULTURAL DIFFERENCES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT/JUVENILE JUSTICE OFFICIALS $100,000 Under a previous OJJDP award, The American Correctional Association (ACA), in collaboration with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), developed and tested a 2-1/2 day cultural diversity training curriculum that is applicable to all juvenile justice system components. The curriculum has been presented by ACA and PERF trainers, and has been well received by training attendees, particularly juvenile justice/law enforcement trainers. In addition, the ACA has received numerous requests from juvenile justice agencies to provide the training to their personnel. In recognition of the need for and benefits of cultural diversity training, OJJDP will continue support for the above project in fiscal year 1995. The purpose of the additional funding is to enable the grantee to implement additional State and regional training-of-trainers programs across the country in response to requests from the field. The competitively awarded grant to the ACA for this project will be supplemented in fiscal year 1995 in the amount of $100,000. DELINQUENCY PREVENTION NEW PROGRAMS COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION $2,000,000 This program is designed to help communities build coalitions to reduce gangs and violence in public housing developments in partnership with public and federally subsidized housing residents. Fiscal year 1995 funding will establish the program in public and federally subsidized housing developments in the five SafeFutures sites. Under this program, community-based groups that can demonstrate a successful record of providing services to public housing youth and residents will be eligible to receive funds for a community coalition to address the needs of youth at risk for gang involvement. Program components will include: 1) prevention and intervention activities directed at elementary school through high school gang violence; and 2) on-site technical assistance to community-based groups, including members of the local public housing resident association, and residents who are parents of youth to be served. Each grantee must conduct a community assessment of current conditions and programs directed at youth and at preventing violence that uses a planning committee composed of residents and representatives from those sectors of the community which the residents believe can help reduce youth violence. Based on this assessment, the committee will develop and initiate its local program. Under an interagency agreement between OJJDP and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, $250,000 will be provided for the technical assistance and training component of this program. FAMILY STRENGTHENING AND SUPPORT-INCLUDING NON- ENGLISH SPEAKING $1,000,000 Strengthening and supporting families, including non-English speaking families, is a priority area in the JJDP Act and a key component of the comprehensive approach to delinquency prevention and control envisioned in OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY TO ADDRESS SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC DELINQUENCY and the proposed SafeFutures: Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency. OJJDP will provide funding to each of the five communities selected to implement a SafeFutures Program. Funds will be used to initiate or expand family-strengthening intervention and treatment programs, including programs for English and non-English-speaking families, that involve juveniles who are parents and are in the juvenile justice system, and that enlist schools and other local entities in family programming. A major family-strengthening research project funded by OJJDP was recently completed. The grantees, the University of Utah and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, produced a user's guide, STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S FAMILIES: PROMISING PARENTING and FAMILY STRATEGIES FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, and an executive summary that reviews both the current impact of family characteristics on risk for delinquency and the most promising family change interventions. Given the multiple variations of intervention strategies, the project recommends the organization of family- strengthening programs and services according to the family's level of functioning and the child's age. A representative group of 25 particularly promising programs were identified. Under this program area, OJJDP will support implementation of new or expanded family-strengthening efforts designed to improve parental functioning as part of an overall plan to prevent delinquency or intervene with juveniles and their families who are in the juvenile justice system. Communities that compete and are selected as SafeFutures sites will be eligible to receive funding under this program. Family Strengthening and Support Program funds will be available to the five selected SafeFutures communities at $200,000 per site. COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES FOR AT-RISK GIRLS AND ADJUDICATED JUVENILE FEMALE OFFENDERS $600,000 This program will focus on providing comprehensive, gender-specific prevention, intervention, treatment, and alternative services that include an intensive aftercare component for juvenile female offenders and girls who are at high-risk of entering the juvenile justice system. The program will be part of the SafeFutures program. Applicants must assess existing community services for at-risk and adjudicated female juvenile offenders and document the need for a new or improved comprehensive prevention, intervention, treatment, or alternative service project in their target area. An aftercare component will be required to assist juvenile female offenders who are returning to the community from an out-of-home placement. While intervention services should be provided in the least restrictive environment, the increase in arrests of female juvenile offenders indicates that community-based intervention is not always possible. In order to offer needed prevention and intervention services to as many juveniles as possible, this program will focus on girls in nonresidential and nonsecure residential programs such as day treatment and group homes. One hundred and twenty thousand dollars will be available to each of the five SafeFutures grantees to coordinate community service providers, assess existing services, identify local resources to supplement funded services, and provide training for project staff. INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN LAW-RELATED EDUCATION* $600,000 The purpose of this competitive program is to support and advance the practices of law-related education (LRE) for the prevention of delinquency within and outside the classroom. Funds will be available for assistance awards to support up to six projects, at up to $150,000 each, that promote innovative methods, techniques, approaches, or delivery related to LRE. The promising approaches or ideas submitted will be judged on their applicability to delinquency prevention, on whether the proposed approach differs from previously funded efforts of OJJDP, and on the extent to which they provide an innovative approach consistent with accepted LRE program principles. TRAINING IN RISK-FOCUSED PREVENTION STRATEGIES $500,000 OJJDP will provide additional training in fiscal year 1995 for communities interested in developing a risk-focused delinquency prevention strategy. This training is designed to support OJJDP's Title V Delinquency Prevention Program and similar federally funded programs by providing the knowledge and skills necessary for local, State, and private agency officials and citizens to identify and address risk factors that are known to lead to violent and delinquent behavior in children and youth. In fiscal year 1994, this training was offered in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, and to State and local officials engaged in planning associated with Department of Health and Human Services prevention programs. OJJDP will award a contract to provide the training, including the following: 1) orientation training on risk and resiliency-focused prevention theories and strategies for State, local and private community leaders; 2) identifying, assessing, and addressing risk factors; 3) training for trainers in selected States to provide statewide capacity to train communities on risk-focused prevention; and 4) development of training curricula, materials, and media to increase the capacity of States and localities to conduct risk-focused prevention training. This training will be provided through a competitive contract award. PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS $450,000 This project will support a collaborative effort among OJJDP, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The project will promote vocational skills, entrepreneurial initiatives, recreation, and arts education for after-school, weekend hours, and summer that make a variety of opportunities available to at-risk youth outside the regular school curriculum. Hours considered to be outside the regular school curriculum include after-school, weekend hours, and summer; however, the project would not need to, but may, cover the full year. This program will be jointly funded by OJJDP ($200,000), BJA ($200,000), and NEA ($50,000). Through a competitive concept paper and application process, it will fund five sites, at up to $50,000 each, for the first year of a two-year project period. Prospective applicants will be asked to submit a pre-application concept paper. Based on OJJDP's review of these papers, those best demonstrating an ability to qualify for funding will be invited to submit full applications. Applicants interested in applying for this program must demonstrate that collaboration has taken place with existing education, business, arts, and community groups, and youth-serving agencies in the development of its program including, where appropriate, collaboration with existing after-school, weekend, and summer youth programs. The applicant should develop and submit written documentation of existing and proposed collaboration as part of the application process, such as memoranda of understanding, legislation, executive orders, and/or other formal commitments of bona fide partnership (e.g., collapsed funding streams, wrap-around services, multi- service centers, and procedures for service coordination). Prospective applicants must serve at-risk youth who are 6 to 18 years of age, but a project would not need to cover the full age range. TRUANCY $400,000 The Truancy Project will be part of a joint effort with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the under the YOUTH OUT OF THE EDUCATION MAINSTREAM INITIATIVE (Initiative). The Initiative will address the needs of truants, dropouts, children who are afraid to go to school, children who have been suspended or expelled, and children in the juvenile justice system who need to maintain or enhance their educational status and be reintegrated into the school system upon their release from residential placement. The Initiative proposes a series of activities that includes regional hearings, training and technical assistance, and related support services for communities that wish to comprehensively address the needs of these youth. The training and technical assistance services will help jurisdictions direct their efforts at model prevention and intervention programs that address the needs of the students through a wide range of collaborative services. These models will make collaborative multi-disciplinary services available to students from agencies within the school, law enforcement, social services, and community organizations. These services would include student and parent attendance policy review, attendance review boards, parental notification of absences, individual education programs for students with special needs, mental health counseling, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, career and vocational courses, tutorial assistance, in-school suspension, parenting training, law enforcement partnerships, and transitional programs assisting students reentering the mainstream school. The National School Safety Center (NSSC) will work with jurisdictions to develop and implement model programs to address the problems of youth out of the education mainstream. Those jurisdictions that have current programs working with these students, but would like to expand and improve support services to better address the needs of these youth, may also request training and technical assistance services through NSSC. Funds for implementing the truancy component of the Initiative will be awarded to the NSSC as a supplement to its current grant. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Bureau of Justice Assistance are each contributing $200,000 to this effort. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. NORTH OMAHA B.E.A.R.S. (BUILDING ESTEEM AND RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEMATICALLY) PROGRAM* $300,000 The North Omaha B.E.A.R.S. Program will enhance and expand its delinquency prevention program over a three-year period. This program focuses on at-risk youth ages 7-14 from the city of Omaha, Nebraska, using athletic participation as a means of providing tutoring, social enhancement and other services to Omaha youth. Funds will be used to enhance the linkages between the B.E.A.R.S. Program and the community. These funds will also be utilized to expand the number of at- risk juveniles and juveniles in the juvenile justice system being served by this program. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILY- STRENGTHENING SERVICES $250,000 Prevention, early intervention, and effective crisis intervention are critical elements in a community's family support system. In many communities, support services are geared toward intervention following a traumatic event, or toward the point when a child comes into contact with the justice system as a result of repeated behavioral problems. Over the years, OJJDP's program support and technical assistance has focused primarily on youth in the juvenile justice system. Technical assistance and training have not generally been available to community organizations and agencies focused upon family-oriented prevention services or early intervention initiatives. Currently, training is being provided to communities interested in implementing risk focused prevention. Following this training, communities will be better able to apply for and use Title V funds to support prevention programs. Title V funds, along with funds available through the State Challenge Activities Grant Program, provide resources through State agency recipients of formula grant funds for jurisdictions and communities wanting to strengthen family support services, develop services where gaps exist, or augment and retool existing services to respond to new populations. In fiscal year 1995, OJJDP will support a program to provide technical assistance and training to public and private nonprofit agencies and organizations interested in structuring or enhancing family strengthening program models in communities where such services are designed as part of community-wide efforts to prevent delinquency and reduce violence. Such assistance will be offered for a selected number of family support models that have been demonstrated to be effective in diverse communities. OJJDP will award a competitive grant to an organization experienced in this area of expertise to provide these services. YOUTH-CENTERED CONFLICT RESOLUTION $200,000 Violence in and around school campuses, conflict among students within schools, and conflicts between schools related to intramural activities have become increasingly problematic for school administrators, teachers, parents, and community leaders. While experts may debate the merits and impact of the varied contributing factors, most would agree that public school curricula, for the most part, do not provide for the systematic development of problem- and conflict-resolving skills. Inclusion of problem-solving skills in school curricula and community activities can be expected to provide a continuum in problem-solving skills and approaches that will enhance school discipline and lead to improved functioning in a democratic society. OJJDP will award a grant to a qualified organization to develop, in concert with other established organizations currently providing conflict resolution services, a national strategy for broad-based education, training, and utilization of conflict resolution skills. In support of this task, the grantee would conduct four regional technical assistance workshops on the use of the joint publication being developed by the Departments of Justice and Education, CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS: A GUIDE TO PROGRAM SELECTION AND IMPLEMENTATION. This guide will be available late summer 1995. A complementary task may include the compilation of a compendium of model programs for this publication. ASAP: ATHLETE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT PACT * $150,000 The Sports Museum of New England will refine and continue developing the Athlete Student Achievement Pact (ASAP) mentoring program. ASAP focuses on at-risk school aged youth demonstrating poor academic achievement or participation. Through a signed agreement between a mentor and the student, tutoring is provided to assist these youth in their academic progress, and by acting as role models, to help students understand how to become successful in society. This program also utilizes high profile sports figures as role models for these youth. The overall purpose of this program is to reduce gang involvement, drug use, delinquency and drop-out rates within the target population. PROJECT MISTER/PROJECT SISTER* $146,500 This school-based delinquency prevention program will provide at-risk youth in three alternative high schools in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington with expanded counseling and case management services, pre-employment training, job search and placement, and parenting education. Many youth in these schools are teen parents and gang members. Most have been out of school at least once. Funds will support a full time case manager and job developer, and part-time parenting lab instructors. The goals of the program are to reduce the dropout rate, provide employment opportunities within two weeks of school completion, and prevent teen pregnancy. FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES* $100,000 Facing History and Ourselves (FHO) is a national program aimed at promoting citizenship through increased awareness of racism and examples of positive actions for participating in democracy. This awareness-training is conducted through in-depth examination of the Holocaust as a historical case study in which youth study the roles and actions of various persons such as bystanders, victims, rescuers, and resisters. FHO, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, serves approximately 600,000 youth beginning in the eighth grade in 39 states. This grant will enable FHO to expand to reach more approximately 40,000 more youth through 350 newly trained teachers. LA NUEVA VIDA* $64,000 La Nueva Vida is a residential treatment program that has recently expanded to create a school-based prevention program. It has been active in four schools where special classes on prevention-related subjects are presented twice a week. With the funds provided through this grant, La Nueva Vida proposes to establish a youth leadership development program in the public housing areas of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Youth aged 16 to 21 will receive leadership training and supervision as they engage in cross-age teaching and mentoring type relationships with younger children in the public housing areas in Santa Fe. HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM* $58,000 The Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) will implement a two-year Program called Reducing Youth Violence through School-Based initiatives in the Northern High School area of Detroit. The Program will develop and test a health care based violence prevention program through school- based health centers being established by HFHS at seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and the high school in this area. Participants will include teachers, family members, community programs and agencies, as well as student and health center staff. The initial program activities will involve an assessment of the problem in these school areas, and a coordinated planning process. The Program will then test approaches to violence prevention, evaluate the effort, and if it is successful, seek implementation funding from State, local and private funding sources. ANTI-CRIME YOUTH COUNCIL* $50,000 The Anti-Crime Youth Council program was developed as a forum in New Haven, Connecticut in which students could get together to discuss crime and be empowered to develop and implement solutions. The Council holds monthly public forums either in the evening on a weeknight or during the school day. The youth have developed several committees, focusing on areas such as law enforcement and community service. One hundred and fifty students are currently involved in the Council. This grant will facilitate the operation and expansion of the Council program in Connecticut. Delinquency Prevention CONTINUATION PROGRAMS LAW-RELATED EDUCATION (LRE)* $2,800,000 The national Law-Related Education (LRE) Program, titled "Youth for Justice", includes five coordinated LRE projects and programs operating in 48 States and four non-State jurisdictions. The Program's purpose is to provide training and technical assistance to State and local school jurisdictions that will result in the institutionalization of quality LRE programs for at-risk youth. The focus of the program during fiscal year 1995 will be on linking LRE, violence reduction and youth action. The major components of the program are coordination and management, training and technical assistance, preliminary assistance to future sites, public information, program development, and assessment. This program will be implemented by the current grantees, the American Bar Association, the Center for Civic Education, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law, and the Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. TEENS, CRIME, AND COMMUNITY: TEENS IN ACTION IN THE 90S* $1,000,000 This continuation program is conducted by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) in partnership with and the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law (NICEL). Teens in Action in the 90s is a special application of the Teens, Crime, and Community program, which operates on the premise that teens are disproportionately victims of crimes, and they can contribute to improving their schools and communities through a broad array of activities. Under the fiscal year 1995 award, NCPC and NICEL will work through the National Teens, Crime, and Community Program Center to harness the energies of young people toward constructive activities designed to reduce crime and violence. The Program Center will be enlarged to serve as a formal clearinghouse for information and materials dissemination and to provide technical assistance and training. With fiscal year 1995 funds, NCPC and NICEL will significantly expand the number of communities participating in this program. This program will be implemented by the current grantee. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. SATELLITE PREP SCHOOL PROGRAM AND EARLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR PRIVATIZED PUBLIC HOUSING $720,000 This is a continuation of a demonstration program under which OJJDP supports the operation of an early elementary school program on the premises of the Ida B. Wells Public Housing Development in Chicago, Illinois. The program is a collaborative effort among OJJDP, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the Westside Preparatory School and Training Institute to establish a prep school for children in kindergarten through 4th-grade who live in the Development. On October 1, 1991, the Wells prep school opened with kindergarten and 1st-grade students. In September 1993, a 2nd grade was added and in September 1994, a 3rd grade was added. The prep school operates as an early intervention educational model based on the Marva Collins Westside Preparatory School educational philosophy, curriculum, and teaching techniques. The Westside Preparatory School, a private institution located in Chicago's inner-city Weed and Seed neighborhood, has had dramatic success in raising the academic achievement level of low-income minority children. Fiscal year 1995 funds will be used to continue the operation and management of the Wells prep school and to add a 4th grade. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. CHILDREN AT RISK $350,000 OJJDP, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse of Columbia University have undertaken a joint program to help communities rescue high-risk pre-adolescents from the interrelated threats of crime and drugs. The program tests a specific intervention strategy for reducing and controlling illegal drugs and related crime in target neighborhoods and fosters healthy development among youth from drug- and crime-ridden neighborhoods. Multi-service, multi- disciplinary, neighborhood-based programs are established to provide a range of opportunities and services for pre-adolescents and their families who are at high risk of involvement in illegal drugs and crime. Simultaneously, the criminal and juvenile justice systems are targeting resources to reduce illegal drug use and crime in the neighborhoods where these young people reside. OJJDP funds are used for the delinquency prevention component of the program. The Center has received funding from a number of foundations that has been matched by OJJDP and BJA. Based on the proposals submitted, six communities were selected to receive funds beginning in fiscal year 1992 to implement programs over a three-year period: Austin, Texas; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Memphis, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; Savannah, Georgia; and Seattle, Washington. Foundation and government funding ranging from $500,000 to $1 million was allocated to each community. The program will be implemented by the current grantee in each of the six communities. OJJDP funds will be transferred to BJA to implement the program. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. NONVIOLENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION $300,000 This program is a joint effort of OJJDP and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to test a variety of strategies to train teenage students to constructively manage anger, resolve conflicts, learn the importance of mutual respect, and be responsible for their actions. Organizations or agencies in jurisdictions participating in the Comprehensive Communities Program will be selected to implement program models. To qualify, applicants must have demonstrated successful work in programs that include collaborative efforts among educators, counselors, criminal justice representatives, and parents or caretakers. Applications will be solicited and awarded by BJA on a competitive basis under the Comprehensive Communities Program. THE CONGRESS OF NATIONAL BLACK CHURCHES: NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG ABUSE PROGRAM $250,000 OJJDP will continue to fund The Congress of National Black Churches' (CNBC) national public awareness and mobilization strategy to address the problem of drug abuse and enhance drug abuse prevention efforts in targeted communities. The goal of the CNBC's national mobilization strategy is to summon, focus, and coordinate the leadership of the black religious community, in cooperation with the Department of Justice and other Federal agencies and organizations, to mobilize groups of community residents to combat drug abuse and drug-related crime activities among adults and juveniles. CNBC operates this program in 31 cities. The program will be expanded in fiscal year 1995 to address family violence intervention issues and target up to six additional cities for a total of 37 cities. Consideration will be given to expanding to SafeFuture sites when selecting the six new CNBC locations. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. "JUST SAY NO" INTERNATIONAL* $250,000 This two-year program is designed to assist "Just Say No" International to expand its Youth Power anti-drug program to public housing projects in Oakland, California, and Baltimore, Maryland. In fiscal year 1994, Just Say No expanded the program to Oakland, California and, in fiscal year 1995, will expand into Baltimore, Maryland. JACKIE ROBINSON CENTER (JRC)* $250,000 The Jackie Robinson Center (JRC) provides a comprehensive program of cultural education, sports, and counseling services for at-risk youth. This is the second year of the three year program designed to support expansion of the program to new sites in New York City. CITIES IN SCHOOLS-FEDERAL INTERAGENCY PARTNERSHIP $200,000 This program is a continuation of a national school dropout prevention model developed and implemented by Cities in Schools, Inc. (CIS). CIS provides training and technical assistance to States and local communities, enabling them to adapt and implement the CIS model. The model brings social, employment, mental health, drug prevention, entrepreneurship, and other resources to high-risk youth and their families at the school level. Where CIS State organizations are established, they will assume primary responsibility for local program replication during the Federal interagency partnership. This program is jointly funded by OJJDP and the Departments of the Army, Health and Human Services, and Commerce under an OJJDP grant. The project will be implemented by the current grantee. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. HATE CRIMES $200,000 The Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is developing a multipurpose curriculum for hate crime prevention in the schools and sanctions for juveniles who commit hate crimes. This curriculum is being pilot tested in the 8th grade of the Collins Middle School in Salem, Massachusetts. Once the pilot is evaluated and the curriculum redesigned, EDC will test the revised curriculum in two additional sites to ensure that it is geographically and demographically representative. In consultation with the Office of Victims of Crime, EDC will develop a dissemination strategy for the curriculum and other products, including a judges' guide for dealing with hate crimes. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. COMMUNITY ANTI-DRUG-ABUSE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHER PROJECT $200,000 In July 1991, OJJDP entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (NCNE) to extend its outreach to community-based grassroots organizations around the country that are working effectively to solve the problems of youth drug abuse. This project has three goals: 1) to allow various neighborhood groups to inexpensively purchase needed services through the use of technical assistance vouchers disbursed by NCNE; 2) to demonstrate the cost- effective use of vouchers to help neighborhood groups secure technical assistance for anti-drug-abuse projects to serve high-risk youth; and 3) to extend OJJDP technical assistance to groups that are traditionally excluded because they lack the administrative sophistication, technical and grantsmanship skills, and resources to participate in traditional competitive grant programs. In order to accomplish these goals, NCNE : 1) provides support to community groups in developing and implementing a strategy under the "Weed and Seed" program; 2) functions as a clearinghouse for information on community anti-drug- prevention initiatives; and 3) reviews all technical assistance applications and select 15-25 eligible community-based anti-drug programs for award of vouchers. This continuation award is designed to provide more than $90,000 in vouchers to 20-30 organizations and to provide clearinghouse services to an additional 300 community groups. Vouchers, which range in value from $1,000 to $10,000, can be used for planning, proposal writing, program promotion, legal assistance, financial management, and other activities. Selection of awardees and amounts is determined by the degree to which applicants meet the following criteria: * Not previously funded by OJJDP or NCNE. * Lack of access to traditional funding sources. * Need for technical assistance and training. * Small budget. * Comprehensiveness of youth anti-drug programs. * Clarity and feasibility of strategies presented on application. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. RACE AGAINST DRUGS $150,000 Race Against Drugs (RAD) is a unique drug awareness, education and prevention campaign designed to help young people understand the dangers of drugs and live a non-impaired lifestyle. With the help and assistance from 21 motorsports organizations, and the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Child Safety Council, it has become a fun and exciting addition to drug abuse prevention programs. RAD now includes national drug awareness and prevention activities at schools, malls and motorsports events; television public service announcements, posters, and signage on T-shirts, hats, decals, etc.; and specialized programs like the "Adopt-A-School Essay and Scholarship" and "Winner's Circle" programs. Curriculum materials include the BE A WINNER ACTION BOOK for 6-8 graders, a RAD ADULT GUIDE and a RAD COLORING BOOK for K-4 graders. This program will be supplemented and expanded to provide additional and updated curriculum materials, reach additional program sites, and demonstrate the Winner's Circle Program in Seattle, Washington. It will be funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) ($25,000), OJJDP ($25,000), and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (C-SAP) ($100,000). It will be implemented by the current grantee, the National Child Safety Council. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. MISSING, EXPLOITED AND ABUSED CHILDREN NEW PROGRAMS Lowcountry Children's Center, Inc.* $250,000 The Lowcountry Children's Center, Inc., is a community-based program that offers services to children who are victims of violence. The Center is a nonprofit organization located in Charleston, South Carolina. Its mission is to coordinate a full range of services for abused and victimized children and their families. A major goal of the program is to restore child victims and their families to a healthy level of functioning. One Center currently provides an initial assessment, psychological testing, and individual, group, and family therapy. In addition, lay and expert testimony in court hearings, investigative/law enforcement services, on- going multidisciplinary case coordination and case tracking, professional training, and case and program consultation services are provided by the center. OJJDP funds will enable the Center to provide the array of services necessary to create a model comprehensive program of intervention for these children and their families. The Center will also focus on program evaluation and research to determine effective interventions in particular types of case-enabling the model created by this funding to be fully evaluated and, if successful, replicated. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. KIDSPEACE* $140,000 This program provides therapeutic foster care to children in crisis. Eighty percent of the children who are referred to the project are victims of child abuse. However, these children may be referred for delinquency, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy or other problems. The program now serves children in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, and Indiana. The grant will enable the program to expand into one additional state in fiscal year 1995. MULTIPURPOSE EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR YOUNG VICTIMS $75,000 Funds for this program will be transferred to the Office for Victims of Crime. The project will develop curriculum and training materials for use by school personnel, youth groups, and victim services providers to teach adolescents about the impact of crime on victims, about available victim assistance resources, and about strategies for providing effective peer support for young victims of crime. The program is expected to enhance victim service provider outreach activities targeting youth at risk and promote violence prevention. MISSING, EXPLOITED AND ABUSED CHILDREN CONTINUATION PROGRAMS Parents Anonymous, Inc.* $250,000 Parents Anonymous, Inc., (PA) will continue the program started in fiscal year 1994 and expand services in communities that have existing PA chapters to families and youth at highest risk of delinquency. The main focus of this program is to prevent child abuse and neglect through the creation of parent support groups. PERMANENT FAMILIES FOR ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN* $225,000 This is a national project to prevent unnecessary foster care placement of abused and neglected children, to reunify the families of children in care, and to ensure permanent adoptive homes when reunification is impossible. The purpose is to ensure that foster care is used only as a last resort and as a temporary solution. Accordingly, the project is designed to ensure that government's responsibility to children in foster care is acknowledged by the appropriate disciplines. Project activities include national training programs for judges, social service personnel, citizen volunteers, and others under the Reasonable Efforts Provision of 42 U.S.C. 671(a)(15), training in selected lead States; and development of a model guide for risk assessment. The program will be implemented by the current grantee, the National Council of Family and Juvenile Court Judges. No additional applications will be solicited in fiscal year 1995. CHILDREN AS WITNESSES TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE $170,658 This project develops, implements, and evaluates after-school interventions to protect elementary-school-age children in Washington, D.C. from the aftereffects of exposure to violence. The intervention program is expected to prevent or reduce the occurrence of certain negative psychological symptoms among children exposed to community violence. It should also help children develop coping skills that can reduce the likelihood of their future involvement in violence. The program is administered by Howard University and managed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). OJJDP funds will be transferred to NIJ to complete this program in fiscal year 1995. DISCUSSION OF COMMENTS OJJDP published its proposed Comprehensive Plan for fiscal year 1995 in the Federal Register on December 30, 1994, 59 FR 68080, for a 45-day period of public comment. The Office received 58 letters commenting on the proposed plan. All comments have been considered in the development of the Final Comprehensive Plan for Fiscal Year 1994. The majority of the letters OJJDP received provided positive comments about the overall plan and its programs. The following is a summary of the substantive comments and the responses by OJJDP. Unless otherwise indicated, each comment was made by a single respondent. Comment: A respondent noted agreement with an emphasis on prevention and early intervention and the establishment and utilization of a system of graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders. The respondent further noted that this is a prudent and logical approach that covers the entire spectrum of responses to youth involved with the juvenile justice system and addresses community concerns about the escalation of youth violence. Response: OJJDP's COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS, VIOLENT, AND CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS incorporates the two principal components of delinquency prevention and improving the juvenile justice system's response to delinquent offenders through a system of graduated sanctions and a continuum of treatment alternatives. The delivery of services must be provided with a balance of: 1) community protection and public safety; 2) juvenile offender accountability; 3) competency development; 4) individualization; and 5) representation of the interests of the community, victim and juvenile. By taking these factors into account in each program component, a new direction in the administration of juvenile treatment services is fostered. Comment: A respondent encouraged the "renewed" focus on aftercare. In addition, the respondent suggested that special attention be given to the coordination of mental health, medical, substance abuse, educational, independent living, and crisis intervention services well in advance of discharge. It was further suggested that these services should be an automatic extension of care given while in placement. Response: OJJDP's Intensive Community-Based Aftercare for High Risk Juvenile Offenders Project (IAP) incorporates this approach. The IAP model is currently being implemented in four competitively selected jurisdictions, following a multi-year research and development initiative conducted by Johns Hopkins University and California State University (Sacramento). Each Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offender Treatment Program site and the SafeFutures jurisdictions are expected to incorporate aftercare services as a key component of the graduated sanctions continuum. OJJDP will provide technical assistance on implementing the IAP model, as necessary, in these and other jurisdictions. Comment: A respondent recommended the use of "teen mentors" or peers as role models, presenters and speakers in programs for youth, based on the writer's success in using such youth in delivering various positive messages. Response: OJJDP agrees that involving peers as role models in delinquency prevention and intervention can be effective and that "peer- related prevention must be an essential part of comprehensive prevention programming." (Pransky, 1991) As reflected in the "Ensure Education" issue area of the SafeFutures program, peer mediation is addressed through "encouraging the development of positive values and teaching critical social skills, including conflict resolution and peer mediation." Comment: Two respondents recommended that input on prevention and intervention programs be sought and utilized from youth involved in the program. It was suggested that by making these involved youth part of the process, they will stay involved and programs will be improved. Response: OJJDP agrees with the respondents. Research has demonstrated that "Young people are more likely to be active program participants if they themselves are involved in creating and running [the program]" (Pransky, 1991). Comment: A respondent recommended that OJJDP support the development and/or acquisition of videos and provide information and training on promising and effective programs to assist in replication. Response: Through OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC), the Office makes available a variety of program materials developed through OJJDP funded grants and contracts. This material includes videos, manuals, surveys, program summaries and directories of promising programs. In addition, JJC collects and disseminates similar materials on other programs of various types not funded by OJJDP. JJC can be reached by calling 1-800-638-8736 or sending an Internet message to "askncjrs@ncjrs.aspensys.com". OJJDP routinely provides training and technical assistance on promising programs such as Law-Related Education and the Intensive Community-Based Aftercare for Juveniles Program. Comment: A respondent recommended that OJJDP identify and promote existing and new programs. It was suggested that these programs be identified by soliciting responses from police, court, school, and media personnel. Response: Since 1992, OJJDP has annually awarded the Gould-Wysinger Award to State and local programs in order to recognize exceptional achievements in juvenile justice programming. This program is designed to both recognize and acknowledge outstanding local programs and to encourage replication in communities facing similar challenges. Each year, projects are nominated by each State's Formula Grants program agency, in consultation with the State Advisory Group. Winners of the award are published in OJJDP's JUVENILE JUSTICE MAGAZINE and in an OJJDP Bulletin with a short description of each program along with a contact name and phone number for more information on the program. Since 1992, a total of 72 programs have received the Gould-Wysinger Award. It has also been recognized that identifying promising programs for delinquent and at-risk youth in the juvenile justice system is a key concern of juvenile justice practitioners and others. In 1992, OJJDP awarded a grant to the National Center for Juvenile Justice to identify programs that effectively address the needs of juvenile offenders. During the data collection process, 3,000 juvenile court judges, probation administrators, and line staff nominated more than 1,100 programs in 49 States. The result is WHAT WORKS: PROMISING INTERVENTIONS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE, a directory of 425 intervention programs deemed effective by the practitioners who use them. This directory and descriptions of those programs having received the Gould-Wysinger Award are available from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse by calling 1-800-638- 8736, or sending an Internet message to askncjrs@ncjrs.aspensys.com". Comment: A respondent recommended that "vocational education" be provided to youth in various parts of the juvenile justice system, including "community service, probation and to suspended students in an atmosphere conducive to youth involvement." It was further recommended that a "recreational hook" be used to "get kids involved and build upon that 'activity' in order to allow youth to learn 'practical trades' and skills that can later be used in industry." Response: OJJDP agrees in principle with the respondent and recognizes the need for comprehensive service delivery, including supplementing traditional academic education with vocational training. OJJDP also intends to address a number of these issues in the SafeFutures Program, including ensuring education, increasing the effectiveness of juvenile justice by providing youth vocational training and meaningful job opportunities, addressing truancy and school dropouts through alternative education, and providing a continuum of services to respond appropriately to the needs of each juvenile offender. OJJDP also agrees that "recreation", including cycling, baseball, football, and basketball, can be an effective "hook" to get youth involved in prevention services. However, it should be made clear that recreation ALONE is not an effective intervention. Wrap-around services that address the needs and risk factors of the youth involved are a necessity. For example, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America have successfully and consistently used recreation and other activities to reach out to at-risk youth in order to make available prevention and intervention services available once inside the clubs. Comment: A respondent recommended that "job training skills" be incorporated with the education process so as to allow youth "to stay involved in a program by keeping them interested." Students who have been suspended should be allowed to 'prove' themselves in a program that offers a variety of job opportunities. An 'apprenticeship' period should be created so they can be educated in the "field" by subsidizing their employment and allowing them to earn credits toward their High School Diploma. After graduation, this job opportunity should be available on a full time basis. Response: OJJDP is entering into a collaborative effort with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Endowment for the Arts to promote business vocational skills, entrepreneurship, recreation, and arts programs for afterschool, weekend hours, and summer. Apprenticeships and other job skills programs would be developed with the involvement of the business sector. The Pathways to Success Program will be implemented as part of the SafeFutures Program to provide vocational, job, and other skills training as part of a comprehensive service delivery system. Five additional Pathways to Success grants will be competed and awarded independent of the SafeFutures Program. It is also possible that various components of the SafeFutures Program can be effectively linked with school-to-work opportunities in the applicant's State, if available. Created through the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, this collaborative initiative between the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor prepares youth for first jobs in high- skill, high-wage careers, to achieve high academic and occupational standards, and for further postsecondary education and training. The initiative has three core elements, including: 1) school-based learning consisting of classroom instruction based on high academic and occupational skill standards that integrates work-based learning and school-based learning; 2) work-based learning which includes work experience, structured training and mentoring at job sites; and 3) connecting activities, which include a variety of activities that build and maintain bridges between school and work. Examples of connecting activities include courses that integrate classroom and on-the-job instruction, matching students with participating employers and training job-site members. For more information on School-to-Work Opportunities, contact the School-to-Work Opportunities Information Center at (202) 260-7278. Comment: A respondent recommended that the prevention component of the Program Plan include youth suicide and teenage grief as well as provide a holistic approach to preventing delinquent behavior. Response: Teenage grief and suicidal patterns are common signs of psychological disturbances in juveniles at high risk of getting involved in delinquent behavior or social acting out. To address psychological needs, OJJDP is looking to mental health services to provide evaluation (diagnosis), prevention, and treatment of mental disorders for high-risk juveniles and juveniles in the juvenile justice system. Under the SafeFutures program, funds will be available to establish or enhance mental health services in the juvenile justice system and to promote, develop, and implement mental health services for at-risk children, including victims of child abuse. Comment: After studying OJJDP's proposed Comprehensive Program Plan for fiscal year 1995, one respondent commented that the Plan is still addressing symptoms rather than the core problem of family dysfunction. Response: OJJDP recognizes the critical importance of strong families and their essential role in nurturing strong, healthy children. The Office also recognizes the link between dysfunctional families and juvenile delinquency. OJJDP has long supported family-related studies and programs designed to strengthen families and family strengthening remains a program priority. In 1988, OJJDP launched a major parenting initiative entitled EFFECTIVE PARENTING STRATEGIES FOR FAMILIES OF HIGH-RISK YOUTH. An interdisciplinary team comprised of family researchers at the University of Utah and policy scientists at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation conducted an extensive literature review focused on the causes and correlates of delinquency, and the effectiveness of prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies for high- risk families. The results of the study are summarized in a publication entitled STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S FAMILIES: PROMISING PARENTING STRATEGIES FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, USER'S GUIDE. The fiscal year 1995 OJJDP Comprehensive Program Plan provides funding support for family strengthening activities that build on the findings and recommendations of this study. Comment: A respondent noted that various segments of OJJDP's Proposed Comprehensive Program Plan touched on the lack of employment skills as a major contributor to juvenile crime, but did not thoroughly addressed this problem area and the need for early career and/or employment preparation. The suggested strategy for addressing this area is to teach employment skills and career preparation to all school children by incorporating instruction into the curriculum of every grade level, beginning in kindergarten. Response: OJJDP has long recognized the importance of providing juveniles with the skills they need to increase their employment potential and pursue the career of their choice. For this reason, many of the OJJDP supported programs have components that address this area. For example, the national Cities in Schools (CIS) dropout prevention program teaches job skills at the elementary, middle and high school levels. CIS has also established a number of alternative schools. A key component of their program is not only to provide young people with job skills, but to provide them with career exploration through job shadowing. Youth are also encouraged to pursue entrepreneurial activities. Several other fiscal year 1995 programs have components that address this issue. OJJDP also partners with other agencies such as the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and others and hopes to expand those partnerships in the future. Comment: One respondent was concerned that the Family Strengthening Program did not place greater emphasis to prevention or acknowledge a role for community-based organizations. Response: OJJDP remains committed to addressing the wide range of family strengthening needs that encompass prevention, intervention and treatment. The OJJDP Publication, STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S FAMILIES: PROMISING PARENTING AND FAMILY STRATEGIES FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, USER'S GUIDE, stresses that there is no "one-size-fits-all" family strategy for preventing delinquency. Several types of parenting programs are needed. There are programs designed for parents of infants, children and adolescents. Some programs are best suited for well-functioning families, while others address the needs of dysfunctional families. OJJDP also remains committed to encouraging the involvement of community-based organizations. The Family Strengthening Program calls for the creation or expansion of programs "that enlist schools and other local entities in family programming." "Other local entities" includes community-based organizations. Many of the representative 25 programs that the researchers identified as particularly promising classified themselves as "prevention" programs and most included relevant community- based organizations in aspects of their program strategy. OJJDP will continue to emphasize family strengthening through prevention, intervention and treatment utilizing a range of available resources that are community-based. Comment: One respondent felt that the Proposed Comprehensive Program Plan outline was unclear as to which programs allow a community-based organization to compete for funding and that many of the eligibility requirements seem to exclude community organizations with experience, providing only limited opportunities for these qualified organizations to receive OJJDP funding. Response: OJJDP recognizes the importance of community-based organizations, particularly in the planning phase of any collaborative project. The SafeFutures Program specifically calls for community-based collaboratives. Community-based organizations have the experience to operate a broad range of programs. In cases where only local units of government are eligible for awards, community-based organizations should pursue the option of partnering with them as a service provider or administering agency. Comment: A community-based organization commented that despite its varied experiences in a number of areas, including mentoring, it would be unable to compete for Part G Mentoring Funds, Title V Incentive Grants, and Part E State Challenge Activities. The respondent organization felt that these activities should require that funds go to community-based organizations that have significant experience providing culturally appropriate programs to at-risk ethnic minorities. Without this requirement, a real partnership will not be achieved. Response: For the activities mentioned above, community organizations can still qualify for support but they must do so through a local unit of government. For example, $1 million in fiscal year 1995 Part G Mentoring Program funding is being awarded through the SafeFutures program. Mentoring is a logical component of a continuum of care for youth-at-risk. Under Part G and the SafeFutures Program, mentoring programs are required to be conducted either by LEA's (local education agencies) or by non-profit private organizations (including community- based organizations) or public agencies in partnership with LEA's. Comment: One respondent questioned whether the Native American Alternative Community-Based Program will receive additional funding in fiscal year 1995. Response: Continuation funding of $600,000 will be available for this program in fiscal year 1995. Comment: One respondent commented that the description of the Juvenile Justice Prosecutor Training Project is vague and that training should include cultural awareness and how poverty-related and misunderstood cultural behaviors affect decisions. Response: The Juvenile Justice Prosecution Training Center will support prosecutor training in areas of need identified by a working group of chief prosecutors. OJJDP expects that cultural differences and poverty-related problems among juvenile offenders will be covered in the training. In addition, OJJDP continues to support training in cultural differences for juvenile justice officials under a grant to the American Correctional Association for the Training in Cultural Differences for Law Enforcement/Juvenile Justice Officials Program. Comment: A respondent noted that the description of INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY CONFINEMENT IN SECURE DETENTION AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES PROGRAM indicates that the application process is open to new applicants. However, the program is listed under Continuation Programs. It is unclear if additional organizations can apply. Response: This project was inadvertently listed under the Continuation Programs section. New applicants will be eligible to apply for OJJDP funding in fiscal year 1995. Comment: A respondent noted that the Nonviolent Dispute Resolution Program is listed under Continuation Programs, indicating that only prior recipients can apply. The description, however, seems to contradict this by indicating a competitive application process. Response: This is a competitive program being administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance for cities which have been selected to receive funds under the Comprehensive Communities Program. OJJDP is contributing funds to the program. Comment: One State official commented that OJJDP should notify the State Formula Grants Program Agency when a project is selected for funding within a given State. Response: OJJDP agrees that in the interest of comprehensive planning and interagency coordination, cognizant State agencies should be notified when OJJDP awards funds directly to projects operating with the State. A formal notification process will be initiated to provide information on all discretionary grant awards to State agencies. Comment: One respondent proposed that OJJDP adopt a policy to provide periodic updates to State agencies on projects selected for funding under the SafeFutures Program. Response: The SafeFutures Program is based on a continuum of care model that calls for maximum coordination and cooperations among agencies serving juveniles. OJJDP encourages States having SafeFutures sites to include SafeFutures in the comprehensive planning undertaken for the Formula Grants Program and make maximum use of Formula Grant, Title V, and Challenge Grant funds to enhance juvenile justice and delinquency prevention activities in SafeFutures sites. While the level of State agency participation expected in SafeFutures should obviate the need for "periodic updates" by OJJDP, funded sites will be required to provide the cognizant State agency with a copy of their quarterly progress report. Comment: A national organization expressed concern about the level of support in the fiscal year 1995 Program Plan for programs to address disproportionate minority confinement. Response: OJJDP is strongly committed to supporting State efforts to address the disproportionate confinement (DMC) of minority juveniles in secure custody in States where such condition exists. The Office has supported demonstration efforts under the Special Emphasis discretionary grant program, as well as research, program evaluation, and training and technical assistance in this area. Many States are allocating significant amounts of their Formula Grants Program funds to address Section 223(a)(23) of the JJDP Act. OJJDP is working with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice's Committee on Ethnic and Cultural Diversity to find other ways to improve our DMC programming. OJJDP looks forward to cooperative efforts with the Coalition and others committed to improving juvenile justice by addressing the DMC issue. Comment: One respondent suggested that OJJDP add language to the section which describes organizations with whom OJJDP would coordinate the SafeFutures Program to include Youth Corps that are certified by the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps and provide participants with a six to twelve month, full-time, crew- based, highly structured, and adult supervised work and learning experience, and that promote the development of citizenship, life and employment skills. Response: OJJDP concurs with the importance of coordinating the SafeFutures program with Youth Corps programs that have a component serving a juvenile population. The Office has incorporated appropriate language into the fiscal year 1995 Final Comprehensive Program Plan. Comment: A number of respondents representing juvenile justice agencies across the country wrote in support of continued and/or increased funding for the Balanced and Restorative Justice Project (BARJ), a key component of OJJDP's Juvenile Restitution Program. They noted that the BARJ Project has advanced the implementation of the "Balanced Approach" and the use of restitution and community service in a number of juvenile justice systems and that additional jurisdictions are interested in implementing this major shift in system philosophy and practice through BARJ Project training and technical assistance. Response: The BARJ Project will receive continuation funding of $100,000 in fiscal year 1995 and a similar amount is anticipated as a supplement from fiscal year 1996 funds. This will give the Project a twelve-month budget of $200,000 to complete its activities under this multi-year funded Program. State and local jurisdictions interested in adopting the balanced and restorative justice approach should also request technical assistance through OJJDP's technical assistance support contract under the Formula Grants program or seek local support for implementation funding. Comment: A respondent recommended giving youth access to their police chief and officers through programs funded under the Final Comprehensive Program Plan. Response: In fiscal year 1993, OJJDP provided support to the New Haven, Connecticut Police Department and the Yale University Child Development Center to document a child-centered community-oriented policing model. This is a continuation program of OJJDP and the Bureau of Justice Assistance and will serve as a model for other sites to replicate. Comment: A respondent stated that OJJDP has omitted a key group of professionals who have been trained in diversion and have demonstrated success in working to divert juveniles from the juvenile justice system, recommending that OJJDP include parks and recreation professionals in the SafeFutures Program. Response: OJJDP agrees that those within the "justice system" cannot make a difference alone. This is a key premise of the SafeFutures Program. OJJDP encourages local jurisdictions to develop a continuum of care that includes professionals representing all aspects of youth development, especially those who are in a position to promote positive youth development. OJJDP agrees with the National Parks and Recreation Association that the perception of public recreation should move beyond "fun and games" to the status of an essential service (National Parks and Recreation Association, 1994). OJJDP will work with the Association and other parks and recreation organizations during fiscal year 1995 to highlight the many outstanding delinquency prevention and intervention programs that are being implemented by local parks and recreation departments across the country and to further the evaluation of these programs. Due to the fact that OJJDP is not requiring the involvement of specific types of professionals, it is ultimately up to the jurisdictions chosen to implement the SafeFutures program to identify key resources to support a continuum of care. It is expected that parks and recreation professionals will be an integral part of this group. One possibility for parks and recreation professionals is involvement in the development and implementation of the "Pathways to Success" program within the SafeFutures program. This program emphasizes, in part, recreational alternatives during after-school and weekend hours. Comment: One respondent felt that the budget for Training for Family- Strengthening Services ($250,000) should be increased to support trained individuals who provide technical assistance for family strengthening. Response: One million dollars in Family Strengthening and Support funds will be available to the five SafeFutures program sites. These funds can be used for both training/technical assistance and direct service programs in the five sites. An additional $250,000 will be available for training/technical assistance in other communities interested in improving their Family Strengthening Service programs. Further support can be drawn from other OJJDP training/technical assistance projects, including the newly established National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Center. Comment: One respondent questioned why virtually all funds for law- related education were being awarded on a non-competitive basis to the Law-Related Education National Training and Dissemination Program, with only $200,000 in competitive funding being made available for "Innovative Approaches in Law-Related Education," thereby limiting opportunities for other organizations to seek funding for new law-related education programs. Response: Eighty percent of the funds set aside for Law-Related Education are earmarked for the Law-Related Education National Training and Dissemination Program (Youth for Justice). OJJDP proposed to set aside $500,000 of the remaining $700,000 for a competitively awarded impact evaluation. However, because Department of Education funds were not available for a joint evaluation project, $600,000 of the $700,000 is being made available to support the "Innovative Approaches in Law-Related Education" program. One hundred thousand dollars will be awarded to fund the Facing History and Ourselves Program. Shay Bilchik Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention