Challenge Activity A

• NCJ Number: 165930
• Author(s): M Beyer; S Morris; M Soler
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 11 pages
• Contract Number(s): OJP-94-C-004
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: OJJDP Challenge Activities Program Areas

Annotation

Information on Challenge Activity A under the 1992 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 focuses on the health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system, mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system, educational needs of youth in the juvenile justice system, and education through vocational instruction.

Abstract

The 1992 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 added Part E, State Challenge Activities, to the programs funded. The purpose of Part E is to provide initiatives for States that participate in the Formula Grants Program to develop, adopt, and improve policies and programs in one or more of 10 specified Challenge areas. Challenge Activity A, the subject of this paper, addresses the development and adoption of policies and programs to provide basic health, mental health, and appropriate education services, including special education, for youth in the juvenile justice system, as specified in standards developed by the National Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention prior to October 12, 1984. This paper's section on the health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system includes a description of a Washington State facility that has a strong medical unit that provides acute and chronic services for 200 incarcerated delinquents. A review of the mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system focuses on severe symptoms and chronic, widespread symptoms. A review of the education needs of youth in the juvenile justice system addresses the academic needs of youth with disabilities and the academic needs of youth who are ineligible for special education. A section on education through vocational instruction includes an example of educational/vocational services developed for school dropouts that is also applicable in a juvenile correctional facility. A listing of programmatic and organizational resources, a 13-item bibliography, 34 notes, and appended standards for the administration of juvenile justice