Frequently Asked Questions

According to Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2014 National Report, a report funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP): "There is no national recidivism rate for juveniles. Each state's juvenile justice system differs in organization, administration, and data capacity. These differences influence how states define, measure, and report recidivism rates. This also makes it challenging to compare recidivism rates across states." In addition, view the report Measuring and Using Juvenile Recidivism Data To Inform Policy, Practice, and Resource Allocation and Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, which are sponsored by OJJDP and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Also see Measuring Juvenile Recidivism an online interactive resource from the Pew Charitable Trusts' Public Safety Performance Project.

You may also wish to conduct a search of the Abstracts Database, which contains a number of reports on recidivism at the state level. Also see the recidivism data collection from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Information about and access to findings from Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) recidivism studies is available on the Recidivism and Reentry section of the BJS website. Also see BJS's Prisoner Recidivism Data Analysis Tool, which you can use to calculate recidivism rates for persons released from state prisons in 2005.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) annually recognizes individuals, organizations, teams, and programs that demonstrate outstanding service in supporting victims and victim services. 

Sign up for the National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) Subscription List to receive email notification about future award nomination periods, along with other NCVRW announcements.

Data on the number of juveniles in residential placement are available in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) resource, Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook and in the data snapshot based on the Juvenile Residential Facility Census. Additional information is available on the Statistics section of the OJJDP website.

Through the National Gang Center, you may subscribe to GANGINFO Exchange, which is a discussion group dedicated to youth gangs and gang related issues. Visit the Gangs Special Feature for topical resources.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) publication, Juvenile Justice Journal, Vol. IX, No. I: Causes and Correlates provides information and resources regarding the causes of delinquency. For additional information, see these OJJDP resources:

• Model Programs Guide Literature Review: Risk Factors for Delinquency
• Causes and Correlates of Girls' Delinquency
• Causes and Correlates of Delinquency Program

For information on how the needs of youth with education-related disabilities impact the juvenile justice system, review these Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and OJJDP-sponsored publications:

• Model Programs Guide Literature Review: Youths with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System
• Functional Impairment of Delinquent Youth
• Seven Things Juvenile Courts Should Know About Learning Disabilities
• Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System

The following resources from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) contain information on truancy prevention:

• OJJDP Model Programs Guide: Truancy/Unexcused Absences
• Model Programs Guide Literature Review: Truancy Prevention
• Truancy Reduction: Keeping Students in School
• Tool Kit for Creating Your Own Truancy Reduction Program

Data on federal drug offenders sentenced to prison are available in the Federal Justice Statistics Series of reports from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Also see the Research section of the U.S. Sentencing Commission website for additional federal sentencing data.

The address of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is:

Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Department of Justice
999 N. Capitol St., NE
Washington, DC 20531