National Publications

January 1998
This report presents six methods for improving services for and oversight and monitoring of detained and committed youth. It explains, in detail, how to improve conditions of confinement using the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), ombudsman programs, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), protection and advocacy systems (P&As), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and self-assessments.

Update Forthcoming 2005
This guide, updated and improved for 2005, describes in detail and with practical explanations how to zealously and effectively represent youth in delinquency cases. The notebook is an invaluable tool for new juvenile defenders or attorneys looking to improve their advocacy in many areas of juvenile defense. It serves as a basis for NJDC training sessions introducing defenders to skills and strategies for handling juvenile cases. Please contact us if you would like to receive a copy upon release.

1979
These twenty-four volumes of comprehensive juvenile justice standards articulate a thorough and balanced vision of how delinquency cases should operate. They are a valuable resource for anyone involved in juvenile justice administration and practice. A condensed version of the set is available from the American Bar Association web store. The text is also available on Westlaw.

May 2001
It is important for juvenile justice professionals and policymakers to understand that the nature and causes of girls' delinquency are often different from those of boys. Research demonstrates that girls in the delinquency system have histories of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, face family problems, suffer from physical and mental disorders, have experienced academic failure and succumb more easily to the pressures of domination by older males. Concerted efforts must be made to develop a continuum of policies, programs, and practices for girls and to identify and address needed changes in the processing, treatment, and overall care of girls in the justice system.

October 2004
This guide to detention advocacy, published with a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, describes how best to keep juvenile clients out of detention at the early stages of delinquency proceedings. The guide presents specific strategies for representing youth at detention hearings as well as advocacy outside the courtroom. It also includes research explaining the harmful effects of detention. Please contact us if you would like a copy of the guide or are interested in arranging a detention-focused training in your area.

August 1997
This report describes ways to strengthen the representation of juvenile offenders and to respond effectively to the criminalization of children's offenses by providing strategies to tackle transfer/waiver hearings, criminal trials and sentencing hearings for juveniles.

2000-2003
Although it has been over 35 years since the United States Supreme Court established a child’s right to counsel in In re Gault (387 U.S. 1 (1967)), methods of delivering juvenile indigent defense across the country remain chaotic and largely ineffective. Our studies have consistently found that most juvenile defenders lack the resources and training they need to provide sufficient representation to their clients. To date, we have published assessments of access to counsel and quality of representation in juvenile delinquency proceedings in 12 states: Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Please see our assessments page for more information about the individual reports.

September 2000
This training curriculum, produced with a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, includes six modules focused, respectively, on adolescent development, communicating with teens, mental health assessments, pathways to violence, special education, and competency evaluations. The information in the modules is sufficiently general to apply to any jurisdiction, but the tools can be adapted to make the subject matter relevant to the daily practice of participants in any training site. Please contact us if you would like a hard copy of the curriculum or are interested in arranging a training session in your area focused on any one or combination of the modules.