Video competition on federal juvenile justice legislation

Youth ages 13-21 are encouraged to show and discuss in a short video the impact of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) on real life people since the law was passed forty years ago. The deadline for submissions is July 1.

There are four elements concerning the care and treatment of youth in the justice system per JJDPA (according to Wikipedia):

• Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) -- the deinstitutionalization of status offenders and non-offenders requires that youth who are runaways, truants or curfew violators cannot be detained in juvenile detention facilities or adult jails;
• "Sight and Sound" -- The "Sight and Sound" separation protection disallows contact between juvenile and adult offenders (i.e. if juveniles are put in an adult jail or lock up under the limited circumstances the law allows for, they must be separated from adult inmates);
• "Jail Removal" -- The "Jail Removal" disallows the placement of youth in adult jails and lock ups except under very limited circumstances;
• Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC) -- The DMC provision requires states to address the issue of over-representation of youth of color in the justice system.

The video competition is sponsored by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and is part of the organization's 40th anniversary celebration of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The winning videos will be shown at CJJ's Youth Summit in August.