This September/October 2022 Issue highlights the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Initiative and OJJDP’s support of efforts to prevent and respond to violence by youth.
OJJDP launched Preventing Youth Hate Crimes & Identity-Based Bullying Initiative in October 2021. It focused on combating the effects of bullying and hate crimes through prevention and early intervention, relying on youth input to empower other youth and inform OJJDP’S development of a prevention curriculum. A new OJJDP solicitation, Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence, emphasizes collaborations between schools that operate violence prevention and early intervention programs. It is one of several OJJDP programs using youth violence intervention and anti-gang strategies to deter gun and gang violence. The “News in Brief” section of this issue addresses 1) President Biden’s championing of community-based responses to substance use by youth; 2) Data Snapshot highlights a decline in arrests involving youth; 3) A celebration of 20 years of OJJDP News @ a Glance; 4) OJJDP training offers tools to promote gang desistance; 5) the AMBER Advocate publishes its 50th issue; and 6) Additions to CrimeSolutions Address Youth Alcohol Use and Gender-Specific Programs. Other sections of this issue address “Upcoming Events,” “Looking for Funding,” and “New Publications.”