State resources
Each state profile has a collection of resources at the bottom comprising information and links for juvenile justice leadership and stakeholders, and policy (legal) research.
Juvenile Justice Leadership:
Website links are included for the State Advisory Group, state-wide agency/agencies responsible for administering or operating Juvenile Justice programs and services; and state-wide Court Offices of Administration and Court-led organizations or committees with specific state-wide Juvenile Justice focus.
A State Advisory Group (SAG) consists of 15-33 members appointed by the state’s Chief Executive Officer (typically the Governor) to assist states with development and implementation of juvenile justice plans that must comply with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) for related federal funding.
Stakeholders:
Website links are included for state-specific, juvenile justice related governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, collaborations, work-group websites, committees, or individual publications identified as influential on state-wide juvenile justice policy, practice, and/or research, etc.
Also see: OJJDP’s state contact resource list
Policy (Legal) Research:
Because the term “code” can refer to either a compilation of statutes or a compilation of regulations, “statute” or “regulation” will be used as applicable. Links were obtained from state websites and are provided as an ‘unofficial’ resource for the public.
- Statutes are compilation of state laws in effect, organized by topic (codified) from the legislature. A statute incorporates (consolidates) new laws that amend it. Links are included to locate titles and chapters that contain juvenile-related statutes, but chapter links are not exhaustive for all aspects of juvenile justice.
- Regulations (also known as “Administrative Law”) are detailed procedural requirements written by an executive branch government agency when a statute authorizes or delegates rulemaking to it. Judges may choose to yield or defer to agency regulations when making decisions, but do not have to follow them. Links are included for the state and at times, juvenile-related areas.
- (State-wide) Court Rules are usually written by a rules committee and approved/issued by the state’s Supreme Court. Links are included for state-wide court rules and at times, family or juvenile court-specific rules, when located on-line. “Administrative [Court] Orders”, Court Forms, Local (county) court rules, Judicial Benchbooks, etc. may also support statutory requirements with additional structure or guidance for delinquency and dependency cases, but links to those document types are not always included.
- Other State (Program) Guidance (non-regulatory): State agencies issue non-regulatory state guidance (which may be labeled as [Program Office] Bulletins, Policies, Procedural Clarifications, etc.) that can include procedures and/or forms, etc. that may (or may not) be required for training and/or audit compliance by regional offices and/or provider agencies. Complete lists are typically available on an annual basis in State Bulletin or State Registers via the Governor’s Office. These documents are important to determine current practice, as updates to regulations have a more formal and complex (lengthy) approval process and may not yet incorporate the newest laws. These document types often serve as an interim step before new regulations are in effect.
