Feature articles address National Bullying Prevention Month (October); reorganization of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); OJJDP's State Relations and Assistance Division; OJJDP's observation of National Gang Violence Prevention Week; the availability of the America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2018; a "Staff Spotlight" on OJJDP's Stephanie Rapp; probation risk assessment and behavioral health screening for youth; and "Upcoming Events" and "News in Brief."
National Bullying Prevention Month (October) is a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about bullying and highlight approaches communities can adopt to stop this harmful behavior. "OJJDP Reorganizes to Better Serve the Juvenile Justice Field" describes OJJDP's revision of its policies and structural reorganization to facilitate consistent communication between OJJDP and the states, improve monitoring and performance related to the four core requirements of the JJDP Act, and increase coordination of research efforts. "State Relations and Assistance Division: Reimagining the Title II Formula Grants Program" describes how OJJDP recently brought its Title II Formula Grants Program work and the agency's core protections work back together into the State Relations and Assistance Division. "OJJDP Observes National Gang Violence Prevention Week" (September 16-22, 2018) highlights the Trump administration's commitment to addressing this serious problem. "America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2018" focuses on six measures of the status of children's well-being in the United States. The "spotlight" on OJJDP's Stephanie Rapp focuses on her 10 years of work in raising public awareness about bullying and strategies to address this problem. "Research Central: Risk Assessment and Behavioral Health Screening for Youth in Probation" is a project that examined whether using a risk assessment for reoffending coupled with mental health and substance-use screening protocols improves case processing, service allocation, and recidivism rates.