Issues of serious and violent crime relating to juveniles are at the forefront of legislative in law enforcement and judicial efforts in the District of Columbia. Agencies across the city have focused on reaching youth before they commit or become victims of violent crime.

Truancy
Truancy is a collective problem impacting students, parents, school officials and the public at large. Preventing truancy requires the support of families, schools, businesses and communities. Truancy prevention awareness is inexpensive relative to the cost of students who drop out of school and/or enter the juvenile justice system according to cost-benefit studies.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
The Annie E. Casey Foundation provided funding to the CJCC to facilitate the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) in the District of Columbia. A central tenant to JDAI is “all youth involved in the juvenile justice system should have opportunities to develop into healthy and productive adults as a result of policies, practices, and programs that maximize their chances for personal transformation, protect their legal rights, reduce their likelihood of unnecessary or inappropriate incarceration, and minimize the risks they pose to their communities.” The District launched JDAI in 2006. Following the principles of JDAI, the goals for DC include:

Compliance Monitoring
The District of Columbia’s Compliance Monitor is responsible for insuring that the District’s policy governing juvenile delinquents and status offenders is in compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (JJDP Act). Through the 2002 reauthorization, the JJDP Act establishes four core protections with which states must comply to receive funding under the Act. “Each participating state must develop and implement a strategy for achieving and maintaining compliance with the following four core protections as part of its annual Formula Grants State Plan: