Wyoming has long been out of compliance with the core requirements of the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act (JJDPA)

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (CFDA 16.540 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) provides $570,000 to the University of Wyoming to address Wyoming's non-compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The project will engage stakeholders statewide to develop a coordinated plan, share resources, and establish standard policies to ensure all juveniles' needs are met. Key activities include:

• Developing a standardized statewide effort to monitor compliance and move towards a standard where law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities participate in compliance inspections and implement uniform policies.
• Actively involving practitioners and stakeholders to gain buy-in and develop creative strategies for sharing resources, achieving compliance, creating a standardized monitoring system, and identifying and addressing racial and ethnic disparities.

Additionally, the University of Wyoming will provide a $84,462 sub-award to the County of Albany to continue implementation of methodologies to attain or maintain compliance in preventing juveniles from being confined in adult jails or lockups, with the objective of decreasing the number of juveniles detained. The project period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027.

The state's rural nature, decentralized juvenile justice system, and lack of resources significantly contribute to this noncompliance. To achieve compliance with the JJDPA, wyoming needs to develop a coordinated plan, share resources, and establish standard policies to ensure that all juveniles' needs are met. This plan should include a standardized statewide effort to monitor compliance and move towards a standard where law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities participate in compliance inspections and implement uniform policies. To accomplish this, the university of wyoming's wyoming survey & analysis center will contract with the national partnership for juvenile services to engage stakeholders across the state to develop a coordinated response to wyoming's compliance issues and create policies and procedures to address the state's unique challenges. The project will actively involve practitioners and stakeholders to gain buy-in and develop creative strategies for sharing resources, achieving compliance, creating a standardized monitoring system, and identifying and addressing racial and ethnic disparities.