Priorities and Focus Areas
The GJJAC has identified five primary priority areas:
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Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO): DSO refers to the practice
of eliminating or preventing the placement of status offender and non-offender youth in secure facilities. The federal
JJDP Act provides that stat us offenders and non offenders (such as runaways, truants, at-risk youth, children in need
of services, and youth in need of mental health and substance abuse treatment) not be detained or confined in secure
juvenile detention or correctional facilities.
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Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI): JDAI was established by
the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 1992. The objectives of JDAI are to reduce the number of children unnecessarily or
inappropriately detained; to minimize the number of youth who fail to appear in court or re-offend pending adjudication;
to redirect public funds toward successful reform strategies; and to improve conditions of confinement. For additional
information regarding the JDAI initiative visit http://www.aecf.org/.
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Restorative Justice: Restorative Justice is a collaborative
community based approach to juvenile justice that holds juvenile offenders accountable to the people and communities
they have harmed; enhances community safety and security; provides offender rehabilitation and reintegration; and
respects the rights of victims in the process.
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Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC): DMC refers to addressing juvenile
delinquency prevention and system improvement efforts designed to reduce the disproportionate number of juvenile members
of minority groups who come into contact with the juvenile justice system (at all points of the system, from law
enforcement referral, or arrest, through incarceration in a juvenile rehabilitation facility).
- Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention: The Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (GJJAC) has met in several communities during the two years where we heard growing fear and concern about gangs. The GJJAC added “Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention” to their priorities in November 2007. The GJJAC intends to work with communities to help institute proven prevention and intervention strategies that build trust, reduce delinquency, and support the success of young people and the safety of everyone in the community.
Focus Areas
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Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in Rural and Underserved Areas - The GJJAC recognizes
the unique needs and challenges of juvenile justice systems in rural and underserved communities. The GJJAC offers
technical assistance (word) to these communities
for community collaboration, grant writing, program planning and capacity building, and to address individual
needs of rural communities.
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Gender Specific Services for Girls - The increase in
the percent of total arrest and in detention rates for girls poses challenges for a juvenile justice system
designed primarily to meet the needs of boys. Data from research findings and from national surveys point
to the need for establishing gender-specific programming and “best practices” for meeting the
needs of girls in the juvenile justice system. The GJJAC is interested in increasing the capacity of the
juvenile justice system and service providers to meet the needs and offer gender specific services for girls.
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Mental Health Services - Communities are challenged
in meeting mental health needs of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. Training, protocol among community
agencies, and policy are examples of possible technical assistance.
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The GJJAC has a commitment to evaluation and research-based or promising programs. Funded projects are
required to have objective independent evaluations that utilize the outcome-based Logic Model.
Technical Assistance (word) is available to
assist with Logic Model development and other evaluation needs.
Policy Briefs
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