In terms of “juvenile justice centers”, while their names might vary from organization to organization except for any information in their titles that relate specifically to their location, their functions may be very different. For many people, a “juvenile justice center” might be related to the particular juvenile justice system of a county or state. In other words, a juvenile justice center of this sort would be one charged with officiating judicial courts, corrections, and probation, and intervening when children are at risk of abuse.
The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) is one of several not-for-profit juvenile justice centers around the United States. Located in Reno, Nevada, the NCJJ is affiliated with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), but receives no remuneration as a result of this connection.
Instead, this juvenile justice center subsists on fundraisers and other sources of charitable donations. As for its primary contribution to the NCJFCJ and, in turn the world, the NCJJ offers research resources and technical assistance to other juvenile justice centers as a means of securing justice for juveniles tried in juvenile and criminal court.
Regarding its research activities, the National Center for Juvenile Justice features many State and national projects under its banner. Like the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, it is a publisher, putting out a newsletter known as “The Juvenile Law and Family Digest” specifically for NCJCFCJ members and other professionals. The NCJJ is also notable for its devotion to the compilation of large amounts of data on juvenile justice systems. The National Juvenile Court Data Archive and the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project act as sources of vital information for juvenile justice centers across America.
As for the technical assistance side of things, the National Center for Juvenile Justice deals specifically with offering informational assistance to juvenile court staff and practitioners, but at the same time does not discriminate against average citizens and aims to disseminate materials to all parties in a timely, cost-effective fashion. The NCJJ’s technical services include on-site visits to those in need, as well as workshops for agencies on a particularly problematic area of technical assistance and pre-prepared informational packets tailored to the needs of the requesting party.