• 1 in 5 of all violent crimes with juvenile victims occurs between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days.

    1 in 5 of all violent crimes with juvenile victims occurs between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on school days.

  • Students are more apt to be victims of serious violent crime away from school than at or on the way to school.

    Students are more apt to be victims of serious violent crime away from school than at or on the way to school.

  • A juvenile is a youth at or below the upper age of original jurisdiction in a State.

    A juvenile is a youth at or below the upper age of original jurisdiction in a State.

  • As of 2009, 45 States and the District of Columbia had statutes allowing transfer to criminal court via judicial waiver.

    As of 2009, 45 States and the District of Columbia had statutes allowing transfer to criminal court via judicial waiver.

  • All States have provisions for trying certain juveniles as adults in criminal court.

    All States have provisions for trying certain juveniles as adults in criminal court.

  • As of 2009, 14 States and the District of Columbia had concurrent jurisdiction provisions that gave prosecutors discretion to file certain cases in juvenile or criminal court.

    As of 2009, 14 States and the District of Columbia had concurrent jurisdiction provisions that gave prosecutors discretion to file certain cases in juvenile or criminal court.

  • In 2008, courts with juvenile jurisdiction disposed nearly 1.7 million delinquency cases.

    In 2008, courts with juvenile jurisdiction disposed nearly 1.7 million delinquency cases.

  • Delinquency offenses are acts committed by juveniles that would be crimes if committed by adults.

    Delinquency offenses are acts committed by juveniles that would be crimes if committed by adults.

  • The 2008 juvenile court delinquency caseload was more than 4 times the caseload in 1960.

    The 2008 juvenile court delinquency caseload was more than 4 times the caseload in 1960.

  • In 2008, nearly 90% of young adults had completed high school, a slight increase since 1975 when it was 84%.

    In 2008, nearly 90% of young adults had completed high school, a slight increase since 1975 when it was 84%.

  • In 2009, the juvenile male arrest rate for Violent Crime Index Offenses was 4.3 times the rate for females.

    In 2009, the juvenile male arrest rate for Violent Crime Index Offenses was 4.3 times the rate for females.

  • In 2009, 21% of all persons under age 18 lived at or below the poverty level.

    In 2009, 21% of all persons under age 18 lived at or below the poverty level.

  • In 2009, an estimated 1,770 children died as a result of child abuse or neglect. Infants and toddlers (ages 0-3) accounted for 81% of these victims.

    In 2009, an estimated 1,770 children died as a result of child abuse or neglect. Infants and toddlers (ages 0-3) accounted for 81% of these victims.

  • Persons ages 7-17 are about as likely to be victims of suicide as they are to be victims of homicide.

    Persons ages 7-17 are about as likely to be victims of suicide as they are to be victims of homicide.

  • One-fourth (25%) of all persons arrested for robbery in 2009 were under age 18.

    One-fourth (25%) of all persons arrested for robbery in 2009 were under age 18.

  • Nationally, fewer than 71,000 juvenile offenders were held in residential placement facilities on February 24, 2010.

    Nationally, fewer than 71,000 juvenile offenders were held in residential placement facilities on February 24, 2010.

  • The proportion of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled between 1970 and 2010 from 12% to 27%.

    The proportion of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled between 1970 and 2010 from 12% to 27%.

  • Nationally, females accounted for 13% of juvenile offenders in residential placement in 2010.

    Nationally, females accounted for 13% of juvenile offenders in residential placement in 2010.

National Projects

Juvenile and Family Law Digest

In an effort to keep juvenile justice professionals informed of significant judicial decisions in matter relating to juvenile and family law, the Center produces a publication entitled Juvenile and Family Law Digest which is distributed to members of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and other practitioners in the field. The Digest includes monthly summaries of recent case law and classifies each entry under one of over 250 categories relating to juvenile and family law matters.

State Training and Technical Assistance Center (STTAC)

NCJJ has been awarded a grant in partnership with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to provide technical assistance and training to states, tribes, territories and local communities nationwide in support of their delinquency programming funded under the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG) and Title II funding streams. The goal of the JJ-TTA is to provide high-quality proactive and responsive national, state, and local training and technical assistance (TTA) that builds their capacities and competencies to plan, establish, operate, coordinate and evaluate delinquency prevention and juvenile justice system improvement projects. Through this work we hope to move states and sub-grantees beyond compliance to higher levels of planning, improved use of data, increased implementation of evidence-based approaches, and systems transformation.

The MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change Initiative

The Center is the Technical Research Center to MacArthur's juvenile justice reform efforts in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, and Washington. The goals of Models for Change include: 1) developing useful and responsive models of documentation and assessment of efforts; 2) documenting and assessing the planning and implementation phases of targeted areas of improvement; 3) providing baselines and measuring intermediate outcomes of efforts at the state and pilot levels and on five key "vital sign" outcomes and assessing the impact; and 4) developing a toolkit for planning, implementing, and measuring model systems efforts. Visit the Models for Change Web site to learn more about this project.

National Juvenile Court Data Archive

The Archive annually collects more than one million automated case records from more than 2,100 juvenile courts representing 80% of the juvenile population. Currently the Archive houses over 25 million records dating back to the 1970s. These records are the basis for the annual Juvenile Court Statistics reports (a reporting series dating back to 1927) that present a national description of the workloads and activities of the Nation's juvenile courts.

In addition to the annual Juvenile Court Statistics series of reports, products stemming from the Archive include OJJDP Bulletins, and Fact Sheets, the juvenile court information on OJJDP's Statistical Briefing Book Web site, the interactive, web-based analysis packages Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics and the Juvenile Court Statistics Databook that enable users to conduct their own national analyses of the automated records of delinquency cases.

Visit the National Juvenile Court Data Archive web site to learn more about the project.

National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project

This project serves as OJJDP's statistical analysis center for responding to the research needs of the Office and the juvenile justice community. The project has completed dozens of reports and Web-based products on a wide range of topics. These reports are based on analyses of the major juvenile justice national data sets (e.g., the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, Juvenile Residential Facility Census, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the National Incident-Based Reporting System, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and the National Crime Victimization Survey). The most notable is the Juvenile Offenders and Victims series of reports, bulletins, and fact sheets that have become a standard in the field. The Web-based products are available through the OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book Web site, a site maintained by the project, that presents the most current statistics on juvenile offenders and the juvenile justice system. The project has also prepared a series of web-based, interactive data analysis and presentation tools that enable users to perform custom analyses of data covering a range of juvenile justice topics. Visit the Data Analysis Tools section of the Statistical Briefing Book to find out what is available. The project, like its predecessor project the Juvenile Justice Statistics and Systems Development Program, also works with national and local data collectors to improve the quality of their data.

National Juvenile Probation Census Project

The National Juvenile Probation Census Project (NJPCP) funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, will develop a reliable count of the number and characteristics of youth under juvenile probation supervision in the United States and an understanding of the juvenile probation offices that supervise them. The project includes two distinct data collections: the Census of Juvenile Probation Supervision Offices (CJPSO) and the Census of Juveniles on Probation (CJP). NCJJ is partnering with Westat on this project, bringing complementary strengths to the work. Westat, the prime contractor, is a nationally recognized leader in survey methodology, sampling, and large-scale data collection and has expertise in designing nationally representative samples. Westat’s partner, NCJJ, brings an unmatched national juvenile justice reputation, substantial expertise in administrative records extraction and analysis, and extensive research experience in juvenile justice issues. The project team will employ multiple resources to update the current NJPCP roster, using an approach based on each state’s organization of juvenile probation supervision. After evaluating the current data collection instruments and incorporating stakeholder input, we will revise them to enhance coverage and clarity while minimizing respondent burden. We will field the surveys, collect the data, and develop analytic data files that support reliable state and national estimates. The project team will present findings at national probation and juvenile justice conferences.

National Resource Center for Legal and Judicial Issues

The RCLJI is a national collaborative training and technical assistance project funded for a 5-year period by the Children’s Bureau at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The principal collaborators are the ABA’s Center for Children and the Law (lead agency), the National Center for State Courts, and the Permanency Planning for Children department of NCJFCJ. NCJJ was hired to act as the project’s evaluator and began working on the project in fall 2009. The RCLJI is one of more than a dozen resource centers funded by HHS, with this resource center focused on supporting and improving the shared needs between Child Welfare Agencies and Court Improvement Projects on a wide variety of topics affecting youth in the child welfare and justice systems.

National Survey of Juveniles Charged as Adults in Criminal Court

The 2009 Survey of Juveniles Charged as Adults in Criminal Courts (SJCACC) will collect information about the case processing of defendants younger than age 18 in criminal courts. This information is critical to understanding how many youth are charged in criminal court, the characteristics of these youth, the pathways that lead them to criminal court, and the final disposition of their cases. Westat and NCJJ bring complementary strengths and expertise to the 2009 Survey of Juveniles Charged in Adult Criminal Courts. Westat, the prime contractor, is a nationally recognized leader in survey methodology, sampling, and large-scale data collection and has expertise in designing nationally representative samples for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) surveys. Westat’s partner, NCJJ, is a national expert on the transfer of juvenile offenders to criminal courts and brings expertise in administrative records extraction and analysis, and extensive research experience in juvenile justice issues to the design and implementation of this survey. In addition, the related work NCJJ has already undertaken for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, including extensive research into state laws and jurisdiction-specific reports on criminal processing of youth, has served as essential groundwork for this study.