Recognizing the importance of state legislatures in juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded a sixth year grant to NCSL in 2002. The Juvenile Justice Project works with state legislators and legislative staff to craft comprehensive approaches to prevent juvenile crime and improve juvenile justice systems. The Project is a joint effort of the NCSL Children and Families and Criminal Justice programs.
Services include on-site technical assistance, research and information, meetings and publications on a wide range of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention issues including:
 Prevention in early childhood to address risk factors associated with delinquency such as abuse or neglect, unpreparedness for school, domestic violence, neighborhood disorganization and certain health and mental health problems;
Interventions for youth at risk including drop out prevention, truancy, and broad-based community violence initiatives;
Initiatives that involve the private sector and other government agencies, such as child welfare and education, in efforts to fight juvenile crime;
Graduated sanctions that provide swift and certain punishment when a youngster first commits a crime followed by progressively tougher sanctions if the juvenile continues to offend;
Pre-adjudication detention and post adjudication placement in community based programs and secure correctional settings;
Programs that work with juvenile offenders; and
Strategies to treat juveniles like adults including waiver to adult court and opening up juvenile records and procedures to the public, crime victims and other agencies.
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