On April 21, the Senate held an oversight hearing to address concerns about OJJDP’s process for monitoring compliance with the four core protections in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act most recently authorized in 2002.

Wisconsin has been at the center of the firestorm, and the hearing was no less disconcerting as to the allegations of fraud related to Wisconsin’s reporting on compliance

– particularly in the mid-2000’s but also alleging changes have not been made to address concerns that have been identified.

This is way too complicated to try to resolve in this post, but you can access a Juvenile Justice Information Exchange post on this as well as get to the actual hearing/written testimony provided (if you want to watch, go to 28 minutes into testimony!).

If there is good news in this it is that there seems to be strong support for reauthorization of the Act, something we have been supportive of (particularly if additional funding to accomplish the goals of the Act is provided). If there is bad news – and there is reason to be very concerned – the likelihood that Wisconsin will have its federal formula funds released and/or new funds awarded seems unlikely in the near future.  This will be a problem in terms of continuing to support the initiatives in the What Works Wisconsin project, including more recent work on building capacity through training and assistance to counties working on improving practice, reducing confinement, and reducing racial disparities.

Watch for more in the weeks and months ahead.
by Jim Moeser