Frequently Asked Questions

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) website provides access to information about programs and efforts aimed at improving the justice system's response to people with mental illness. Following are examples of BJA-supported efforts:

• Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program
• Police-Mental Health Collaboration Toolkit
• Council of State Governments Justice Center Mental Health Program

The Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative serves as a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) and advises the U.S. Attorney General on justice information sharing and integration initiatives. It represents more than thirty independent organizations spanning the spectrum of law enforcement, judicial, correctional, and related bodies. For further information, visit the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative website.

The National Juvenile Court Data Archive (Archive) houses the automated records of cases handled by courts with juvenile jurisdiction. The Archive was established by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to promote access to automated juvenile court data sets, which include information for juvenile justice research and policymaking efforts.

Additionally, Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics (EZAJCS) was developed to facilitate independent analysis of national estimates of delinquency cases processed by the nation's juvenile courts. EZAJCS allows users to perform unique analyses on the age, sex, and race of juveniles involved in these cases as well as the referral offense, the use of detention, adjudication and case disposition.

Information on the types of juvenile court cases that have been waived to criminal court is available in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) fact sheet, Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 2018. Additional information is available on the Juveniles in Court section of the OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book.

The Juveniles in Court section of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Statistical Briefing Book provides the number of delinquency cases in juvenile courts. Also see the National Juvenile Court Data Archive webpage for additional data.

Information about forensic computer investigations can be found on the Digital Evidence and Forensics section of the National Institute of Justice site. This page contains general information about the topic and also provides access to publications and guides that have been developed for those involved in such investigations.

Access the Wrongful Convictions section of the National Institute of Justice website for information and resources.

Information about mental health courts is available on the following websites:

• Bureau of Justice Assistance: Mental Health Courts Program
• Council of State Governments: Mental Health
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation

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.

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