The Act 4 JJ Campaign

In order to further build-up the infrastructure and ensure the necessary focus on the JJDPA reauthorization, the NJJDP Coalition officially launched the Act 4 Juvenile Justice Campaign on March 9, 2007. Since its formation, the Act 4 Juvenile Justice Campaign has written a Statement of Principles detailing the priorities for reauthorization and organized under four categories:

1. Keeping children and youth out of the justice system.
2. Ensuring equity and competence.
3. Ensuring responses appropriate to a young person’s age and stage of development.
4. Strengthening the federal partnership with state and local governments.

Currently over 200 national, state and local organizations have signed on to the Statement of Principles. Using the Statement as a guide, the Act 4 JJ Campaign has thoroughly analyzed the JJDPA consulting with experts nationwide and state and local organizations that are affected by the provisions of the legislation on a day-to-day basis. From these consultations, the Campaign has created a list of specific recommendations including:

• Requiring public reporting and transparency.
• Strengthening the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) and Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) core mandates.
• Focusing the JJDPA on juvenile justice and keeping children safe.
• Expanding the JJDPA to cover all youth under the age of 18.