Youth Today Exchange

Question and Answer Session Part 2 (Questions 6 through 11)

(Click here for Part 1; view all the event videos here.)

6. Where should OJJDP be housed?

Asked by Jeffery Butts, Public/Private Ventures

The gist: Was this the right name for the juvenile justice program? Would it have been more protected had it been in HEW, then HHS? There was always the tension between law enforcement and social services. Would it be more protected politically if it was in a different agency?

7. Should the administrator have more authority to choose grants? (Another question follows.)

Asked by Jeff Slowikowski, acting OJJDP administrator, and Marion Mattingly, Juvenile Justice Update

The gist: There is nobody who could say you have to make this award; that dynamic has changed … the assistant attorney makes those awards. I think the question to the group is about leadership it the juvenile justice field. When you as a presidential appointee are coming in to be an advocate of the juvenile justice community and as a representative of this administration.  How do you balance that when you may not have the support of a Janet Reno or an Eric Holder? If  you don’t have the leadership at the higher level, then you don’t have the authority to make the grants that you may believe need to be made to move the field forward. What advice do you have for somebody coming into this role?

Asked by Marion Mattingly

The gist: Shouldn’t [OJJDP be] strengthened? Should the administrator be a presidential appointee?

8. Pushing the states to spend on juvenile justice reform

Asked by Tara Andrews, Coalition for Juvenile Justice

The gist: We’re seeing state budgets shrinking period, and in terms of investments [given to] justice and juvenile justice reform efforts, it’s a struggle to keep programs that exist in place, let alone innovate. What then comes the role of OJJDP to urge the states and locals to continue to invest in these programs particularly when the federal funding is not matching what it was doing before?

9. OJJDP’s role during reauthorization of the JJ Act

Asked by Mark Soler, Center for Children’s Law and Policy

The gist: What’s the role of OJJDP, particularly the administrator, during the reauthorization process?

10. Disseminating research to the field

Asked by Doug Dodge, former OJJDP staffer

The gist: Did you have any suggestion about how this [juvenile justice information] can be better disseminated and reach the field?

11. Final question

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