On Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007, 2:00-4:00 p.m. (eastern time), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will present the videoconference “Addressing the Needs of Juvenile Status Offenders and Their Families.”

In 2004, 18% of all juvenile arrests involved status offenses—nondelinquent, noncriminal acts that are considered illegal only for juveniles (e.g., truancy, running away, underage drinking, curfew violations, being “ungovernable”). Research has clearly linked status offending behavior with later delinquency.

The videoconference is designed to raise awareness about status offending and to highlight legislative reforms, policies, programs, and practices that have shown promise in effectively intervening with status offenders and their families and steering these youth toward a positive future. Judges, attorneys, policymakers, and professionals from law enforcement, juvenile justice, child welfare, social services, and other youth-serving agencies will find this a useful information source.

OJJDP’s co-sponsors for the videoconference are the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

NCJFCJ will host a downlink at its Reno headquarters office (11 a.m. Pacific time). Please contact our office if you're interested in attending. The videoconference will be available for online viewing from desktop computers and group viewing at satellite download sites. Registration is free at http://www.trc.eku.edu/jj/default.asp. Please click here for more information about the videoconference.