Debra Oldenettel, M.P.A., is a Program Manager with OJJDP's Special Emphasis Division. Madeline Wordes, Ph.D., is a Senior Researcher with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

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From the Administrator Juvenile offenders face a broad array of adverse risk factors, ranging from family disruption to negative peer influence. As the number of these risk factors increase, so does the probability of a youth's subsequent involvement in delinquency. Accordingly, we should not be surprised that those youth who are at greatest risk of becoming serious, violent, and chronic offenders are often involved with several youth-serving systems. If we are to prevent a career path to criminality for juvenile offenders, we need to develop approaches that are designed to improve communication and collaboration and that lead to more integrated and effective cross-system services. The Community Assessment Center (CAC) concept provides an opportunity to implement this type of approach in a cost-effective way as part of a community's comprehensive and strategic plan to prevent and control delinquency. It is my hope that the information this Bulletin provides will help juvenile justice and other youth-serving professionals to understand how the CAC concept works and to consider the benefits its adoption might provide in their communities. John J. Wilson Acting Administrator