The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), through its sub-grant 09-JF-CM-001 with Auburn University at Montgomery, is pleased to offer technical assistance and training opportunities regarding the processing/custody of juveniles.

 BACKGROUND: This technical assistance and training will focus upon the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (JJDPAct ) and the federal regulations that guide the custodial handling of juveniles. The federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (the “JJDPA”), as most recently amended by Congress in November 2002, is administered by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), requires that in order for a State to be eligible to receive federal grant funds to assist with the implementation of the JJDPA’s core requirements, the State must have in place a system of annually monitoring facilities that hold youth in short-term detention or long-term confinement pursuant to public authority. 

Each State must monitor its designated facilities for compliance with three of the four core requirements of the JJDPA: 
(1) the deinstitutionalization of status offenders (DSO) 
(2) the sight and sound separation of juveniles from adult inmates (sight and sound separation) 
(3) the removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups (jail removal) 

The JJDPA requires that each State must have a compliance system in place to collect data, inspect facilities, and respond to violations. Subsequent to completing the site inspection and monitoring duties, the State must then submit to the USDOJ OJP OJJDP an annual report detailing the results of the compliance monitoring activities and the violations recorded. 

To assure compliance in Alabama, training and technical assistance is offered by AUM/ADECA's Compliance Monitoring team, with almost twenty years of experience in Alabama. They can offer sessions that are targeted to your group's needs and time constraints. They are also available for on-site technical assistance. Trainers will also discuss scenarios that will assist agencies in assessing their responses to juvenile custodial questions. 

For More Information

If you would like to have more information about this opportunity, please contact Linda Wright, Director of the Alabama Crime Prevention Clearinghouse & Training Institute at Auburn University at Montgomery, by phone at 334-244-3961 or by email at lwright3@aum.edu.