About

On October 2014, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) was awarded funding by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to support the School-Justice Partnership Project. The purpose of the project was to enhance collaboration and coordination among schools, mental and behavioral health specialists, law enforcement and juvenile justice officials to help students succeed in school and prevent negative outcomes for youth and communities.

The OJJDP partnered with the Department of Education and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to implement a multidisciplinary initiative to improve school climates, respond early and appropriately to student mental health and behavioral needs, avoid referring students to law enforcement and juvenile justice as a disciplinary response, and facilitate a proactive and supportive school reentry process in the rare instances in which a youth is referred. The larger goal of the project was to enhance collaboration and coordination among schools, mental and behavioral health specialists, law enforcement and juvenile justice officials at the local level to ensure adults have the support, training, and a shared framework to help students succeed in school and prevent negative outcomes for youth and communities.

OJJDP selected NCJFCJ to support implementation and sustainability of the multidisciplinary initiatives that could be expected to achieve positive school discipline reforms and significantly reduce the number of student suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to court for non-serious behaviors in those project sites selected to receive Education, SAMHSA and Justice funds. The NCJFCJ developed tools, training materials, and other resources, including information to educate key stakeholders on collateral consequences and issues related to expungement for jurisdictions throughout the nation. The NCJFCJ directly supported a limited number of sites identified as needing assistance in implementing school discipline approaches, such as those school communities that DOJ staff identify as needing training and technical assistance.