In 1974, Congress enacted the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) (Public Law No 93-415, 42 U.S.C. 5601 et. seq.). This landmark legislation provided, for the first time, a unified national program to address juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention. It also established the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to provide support to states and local governments, for the provision of viable juvenile justice prevention and intervention services. The initial Act mandated that participating States: 1) Remove status offenders, within two (2) years of the enactment, from secure detention and correctional facilities; and, 2) Not place juveniles in any institution where they would have contact with adults convicted of criminal charges. These two mandates came to be known as the first two-of-four Core Requirements of the Act, referred to thereafter as 1) Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders; and, 2) Sight and Sound Separation.
On November 2, 2002, the JJDPA was reauthorized by Congress as the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Act (Public Law, No. 107-273, 116 Stat. 1758). This reauthorization resulted in the addition of a third mandated core requirement for States to uphold, the removal of juveniles from adult jails, referred to as the "Jail Removal" core requirement. This reauthorization also supported further establishment of the OJJDP's mission, while introducing important changes that streamlined the organization's operations, bringing a more focused approach to the agency's role. The provisions of the 2002 reauthorization took effect in FFY 2004.
After sixteen years post 2002 reauthorization, the JJDP Act has once again been reauthorized under the title of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (JJRA 2018). The JJRA 2018 was passed by a unanimous bi-partisan vote and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 21, 2018.
For more information on the chronological timeline for the JJDPA/JJRA, visit:
The Four Core Requirements of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (2018)
There are four core requirements of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018.
- Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders:
Pursuant to Section 223 (a) (11) of the JJDPA, the state must ensure that juveniles who are charged with or who have committed an offense that would not be criminal is committed by an adult (status offenders) and juveniles who are not charged with an offense (non-offenders) are not placed in secure detention or secure correctional facilities, apart from those permitted by statutory and regulatory exceptions as allowed by the JDDPA and Consolidated Regulation 28 CFR Part 31. Further information can be found in OJJDP's Guidance Manual for Monitoring Facilities Under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002.
- Sight and Sound Separation:
Pursuant to Section 223 (a) (12) of the JJDPA, the state must ensure juveniles alleged to be or found to be delinquent, status offenders and non-offenders shall not be detained or confined in any institution in which they have contact with adult inmates.
- Jail Removal:
Pursuant to Section 223 (a) (13) of the JJDPA, the state must ensure no juvenile is detained or confined in any adult jail or lockup, apart from those permitted by statutory and regulatory exceptions as allowed by the JJDPA and Consolidated Regulation 28 CFR Part 31. Further information can be found in OJJDP's Guidance Manual for Monitoring Facilities Under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002.
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities:
Pursuant to section 223 (a) (22) of the JJDPA, states must address specific delinquency prevention and system improvement efforts designed to reduce, without establishing or requiring numerical standards or quotas, the disproportionate number of juveniles from minority groups who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.
See more information about how Kentucky addresses this requirement here:
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