JJPDA

In late July, Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s campaign circulated a proposed criminal justice plan. It specifically referenced juvenile justice, which might be the only time that subject has come up thus far in the 2020 election.

Since 2013, the Justice Department has not enforced a requirement that states study, and attempt to address, racial disparities in their juvenile justice systems. The department has been issuing states a “pass” on the disproportionate minority contact (DMC) requirement of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the central piece of federal policy on juvenile justice.

The Justice Department last week published proposed new rules related to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) that will require most states to make significant improvements or face the loss of federal funds at a time when the appropriation has dropped significantly.

For the first time in years, The House Education and the Workforce Committee publicly discussed juvenile justice yesterday. Scores of advocates, and the committee’s Democratic leadership, hope to translate that into legislation.

For the first time in a long while, there are active bills in both chambers aimed at reauthorizing the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. A Senate version with leaders from both parties awaits a markup by the Senate Judiciary, and the House version landed in the Education and Workforce Committee.

There are a handful of programs that drive much of the federal investment on youth in crisis, namely those involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems (or both). Sadly, recent developments call into question whether taxpayers are getting what they paid for when it comes to these vital programs.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention issued its broad solicitation for training and technical services this week, a large contract meant to replace a number of smaller projects on singular issues including youth in custody, state advisory groups and racial disparities.

Liz Ryan, a prominent national juvenile justice advocate focused on the removal of juveniles from the adult criminal justice system, will step down from the helm of an organization she founded eight years ago in December.