Abstract:The United States Congress enacted the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act (Pub. L. No. 93-415, 42 U.S.C. § 5601 et seq.) in 1974. This landmark legislation established the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It supports states and communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs and to improve the juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety, holds offenders accountable, and provides treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of juveniles and their families. The contact with the juvenile justice system should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them:
- Engage youth and families
- Ensure reforms take a developmental approach. Young people are not “small adults.”
- Address children’s exposure to trauma early.
- Involve law enforcement
- Address disproportionate minority contact (DMC) and the
- school-to-prison pipeline.
- Embrace philanthropy.
- Build confidence in the juvenile justice system.
Vita:Dr. Robert L. Listenbee
Ex Oficio Director, Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Washington, USA, received B.A. degree from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Robert Listenbee was the Administrator of the OJJDP until January 2017. Before he got appointed by former US President Barack Obama to lead the OJJDP he was Chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia for 16 years and a trial lawyer for 27 years. In this capacity, he created a specialized unit to deal with juvenile sexual assault cases and in the development of 3 specialty court programs that divert youth out of the juvenile justice system and reduce their risk of residential placement. He also took an initiative to create the Juvenile Defender Association of Pennsylvania and played a central role in the Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Initiative.
As co-chair of the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, he was instrumental in the development of recommendations for launching a coordinated national response. He also served as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, which advises the President and Congress.
In 2011, he was honored as a Champion for Change for his leadership in reforming the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania.
