Contact Your Senators for Juvenile Justice!

Please join advocates around the country in asking for an Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the main federal agency for juvenile justice.  Go to change.org and send a letter to your Senators!  The following piece introduces the letter campaign on change.org:

Make Juvenile Justice a Priority: Appoint an OJJDP Administrator

It has been two years since President Obama was inaugurated and no permanent Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has been appointed.  The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is the federal agency responsible for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention issues, and is tasked with assisting State and local governments in addressing juvenile delinquency.

Over the past decade, OJJDP suffered a drastic depletion of funding and support, and the agency’s commitment to the most important issues confronting youth has diminished.  It is crucial that the Administration provide leadership, clear direction and resources to assist States create and sustain juvenile justice systems that cost less, enhance public safety and treat court-involved youth appropriately.

If you believe that it is urgent to stop putting youth in adult jails and prisons, to end the over-incarceration of youth of color in the justice system, and instead to devote more resources to effective juvenile justice programs such as alternatives to detention and incarceration, contact your Senators to urge them to ask the White House to make juvenile justice a priority by appointing an OJJDP Administrator now!