Juvenile crime -- including gang involvement, sex offending, substance abuse, property theft, and truancy -- continues to be a serious problem in our country. Through wide-ranging training, technical assistance and programs, the NCJFCJ assists judges and juvenile justice professionals in finding better ways to control and prevent juvenile delinquency. Current and ongoing efforts include:

• Publication in 2005 of JUVENILE DELINQUENCY GUIDELINES, a benchbook of best practices involving all aspects of the juvenile delinquency court process. For more information, please click here.
• The Juvenile Sanctions Division provides jurisdictions assistance with implementing effective accountability and community-based sanctions.
• The NCJFCJ's Alcohol and Other Drugs Division provides judges and other professionals with the latest information about substance abuse issues, as well as assistance to jurisdictions planning, implementing or enhancing juvenile drug courts.
• The NCJFCJ's research division, the National Center for Juvenile Justice, has served for three decades as the nation’s primary source of information on the nature of juvenile crime, as well as the juvenile justice system’s handling of these matters. This work has documented, in great detail, the processing of youth through the juvenile justice system, from arrest through detention, adjudication, placement, and transfer to the adult justice system (www.ncjj.org).
• The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) recommends best practices in detention decision making and community alternative resources.
• A high percentage of juvenile offenders are placed on probation by the court. NCJFCJ publications provide the latest information on many of the issues confronting probation officers. One such publication is Fundamental Skills of Juvenile Probation Officers: A Curriculum which provides guidelines and a training curriculum for probation training. The annual Probation Officer Training program focuses on issues that juvenile justice professionals face when dealing with juvenile offenders.
• Juvenile sex offenders present special problems in their case management. In addition to providing training and publications, NCJFCJ hosts an internet discussion group on this issue.
• Juveniles returning to the community after institutional placement have special needs. These are addressed in the NCJFCJ's Reentry Initiative and its related publication.
• Victims of juvenile offenders deserve special attention and services. NCJFCJ has developed a training curriculum on victims issues as well as the series "How to be a Victim Friendly Juvenile Court."
• The National Conference on Juvenile Justice, considered by many to be the premier national conference on juvenile justice, is co-sponsored each March with the National District Attorneys Association. This conference covers a multitude of delinquency-related issues, as do related NCJFCJ conferences which typically include training and education on delinquency issues.
• The Unified Family Court, a court which includes delinquency, dependency, adoptions, divorce, and related matters within a unified jurisdiction, is the focus of the Forum on Family Court training, held every two years.
• Technical assistance on matters of delinquency is offered through NCJFCJ publications and the archives of the recently discontinued electronic newsletter BREVITY.