Federal Legislation / JJDPA Reauthorization

The Congress Project
Through the Congress Project, CCLP works closely with juvenile justice advocates, as well as members of Congress and their staffs, to advance the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which expired in the fall of 2007. For more information, click here.


JJDPA Reauthorization
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is the single most important piece of federal legislation affecting youth in juvenile justice systems across the country. It is the primary vehicle through which the federal government sets standards for state and local juvenile justice systems, and provides direct funding for states, research, training and technical assistance, and evaluation. Since the original enactment of the JJDPA in 1974, the periodic reauthorizations have been very contentious, as the Act's opponents have sought to weaken its protections for youth, reduce prevention resources, and encourage the transfer of youth to the adult criminal justice system. For more information, click here.


The Act4JuvenileJustice 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 and developed a fact book on Juvenile Justice issues. For more information, click here.


JJDPA Implementation
To facilitate the timely and effective implementation of the reauthorized JJDPA when passed and signed into law, CCLP is already working to ensure that juvenile justice professionals are well equipped to put the law’s provisions into practice for youth in the system. For more information, click here.