U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Selects AIR to Lead State Training and Technical Assistance Center to Improve Youth Outcomes
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has selected the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to lead the creation of a new center dedicated to improving outcomes for young people involved in the juvenile justice system.
AIR is partnering with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) and the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) to operate the State Training and Technical Assistance Center (STTAC). The Center assists state agencies and other organizations in tackling a number of difficult problems that juvenile justice systems face, including disproportionate minority representation, mental health and substance abuse, deinstitutionalizing status offenders, and gang involvement.
The Center works with a range of organizations – including state government agencies, tribes, and non-profits – that receive funding from the OJJDP either through the Title II Formula Grants program or the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants (JABG) program. The Title II Formula Grants program provides grants to organizations to run projects that try to reduce juvenile delinquency or improve the juvenile justice system. The JABG program provides funding to state government agencies that distribute financial support to local or tribal programs that promote accountability.
The Center also will work to enhance the capacity of state agencies to address the disproportionate number of minority youth in the juvenile justice system. Center experts will work with the agencies to improve their overall service delivery, enhance their data collection efforts, and increase their implementation of evidence-based programs.
About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.
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