Resources Office of Tribal Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Office for Victims for Crime National Institute of Justice Community Capacity Development Office United National Indian Tribal Youth

More than half of the American Indian and Alaska Native population are youth. Many native youth are challenged with overcoming the obstacles to living a safe and happy childhood, receiving a sound education, and being equipped to compete for jobs in the modern economy. Obstacles such as violence, victimization, single-parent households, and child maltreatment place incredible burdens on native youth who reside in urban, suburban and rural areas. For example, American Indian youth age 17 or under had an alcohol violation arrest rate (681) nearly double that of youth of all races (362). The community and the tribal government are focusing juvenile justice efforts on protective factors.

Some of these protective factors are:

• life ways (i.e., culture),
• family integration and stability,
• identification of youth in need of services, and
• resiliency.

Resiliency is the ability to "bounce back" and to be resistant to the effects of adversity presented by peers, family, and community life.

In the Office of Justice Programs, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and other OJP bureaus provide direct funding, training, and technical assistance and conduct research and evaluation to prevent, treat, and control juvenile delinquency and address juvenile victimization.

OJJDPs Tribal Youth Program helps tribal communities prevent juvenile delinquency, reduce violent crime, and improve tribal juvenile justice systems. For more information, visit TYP's Web page.

Another federal partner that addresses youth programs and services is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/.

The United National Indian Tribal Youth organizations (UNITY) also works with Indian Country to create an environment for positive youth development at http://www.unityinc.org/.

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