JJDPA (Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act)

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is the principal federal program through which the federal government sets standards for juvenile justice systems at the state and local levels, providing direct funding for states, research, training, and technical assistance, and evaluation.

The JJDPA was originally enacted in 1974. Although the JJDPA has been amended several times over the past 40 years, its basic composition has remained the same. As it was passed in 1974, the JJDPA focused largely on preventing juvenile delinquency and on rehabilitating juvenile offenders.