National Center for Juvenile Justice

The NATIONAL CENTER FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE (NCJJ), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the research division of the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JUDGES (NCJFCJ), based in Reno, NV. Since opening in 1973, NCJJ has established itself as a nationally-recognized research center that is responsive on a practical level to the concerns of the juvenile justice system. NCJJ can provide judges, juvenile court personnel, and child protective agencies with information and consultation services to remedy problems, or aid in the administration and effectiveness, of juvenile court processing of cases involving both delinquency and abuse/neglect. Specialty areas include:

Information Systems: NCJJ has developed significant expertise in assisting courts with information system design specifications; sharing information about successful systems; and improving existing systems. NCJJ has also developed specifications for a state-of-the-art automated management information system for dependency proceedings, and has developed sample reports that such a system should generate to assist the court in monitory of neglect and abuse case processing.
Statistics: NCJJ can provide statistics relating to decision points in the juvenile justice system. These figures can be used to compare your court to other courts. National statistics can be utilized for comparison or as base-line information in speeches, newsletters, and funding proposals.
Data Utilization: NCJJ can assist in the design of statistical reports which capture court processing data necessary for program planning and evaluation. We can also provide examples of operational and annual reports. We are currently evaluating pilot efforts in other states to compare the juvenile court's handling of neglect and abuse cases.
Legal Research: NCJJ has developed an invaluable tool for conducting statutes analyses--the Automated Juvenile Law Archive. The Law Archive has been used to update existing analyses and to generate new analyses. The word search capacity is ideal for collecting sample statues and analyzing them across the fifty states.
Court Administration and Program Development: NCJJ is also a resource for questions concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of juvenile court processing, administrative and policy issues, and appropriate responses to difficult court populations. We have assisted courts in addressing their calendaring, case flow management, and other procedural issues as these relate to both delinquency and to neglect and abuse case processing.
Consultation Services: NCJJ is a resource for program evaluation and planning in the larger juvenile justice community. These services are usually provided in response to a request for proposal and are frequently long-term.
Probation: NCJJ has developed a Desktop Guide to Good Juvenile Probation Practice and a training curriculum for new juvenile probation officers. NCJJ routinely responds to requests from probation officers for information about specialized probation functions, case classification, and program descriptions.

For more information, please contact:

Gregg Halemba
National Center for Juvenile Justice
710 Fifth Avenue-Suite 3000
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3000
phone 412-227-6950

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment A:   Program Instruction ACYF-PI-94-12
Attachment B:   Estimated State Court Allotments for FYs 1999-2001
Attachment C:   Standard Forms 424 and 424-A
Attachment D:   List of State Child Welfare Administrators
Attachment E:   List of ACF Regional Administrators

Resources:

Center on Children and the Law, American Bar Association
National Center for State Courts National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Permanency Planning for Children Department