PREVENTION

The Act also provides for preventive services to be developed at the community level by a public agency or a nonprofit private agency including educational programs in the schools. Federal grants are not to exceed 75 percent of the costs of these programs. (Title I, Part C, Sections 121, 122 and 123)

STATE PLAN

The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare may make direct grants for rehabilitation and prevention programs in any State until the State submits an approved State plan whereupon the Secretary may then only make grants to the designated State agency. (Title I, Part D,. Sections 131 to 135)

TRAINING AND IMPROVED TECHNIQUES

The Act provides for education and training services for personnel dealing with juvenile delinquents, including grants to educational institutions to establish courses in this field or related fields. The Act also authorizes grants to public or non-profit private agencies for improved techniques and practices in handling delinquent youths or those who are in danger of becoming delinquent.

ADMINISTRATION

The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare has the authority to carry out the provisions of this Act. (The administering office is the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration which is a part of the Social and Rehabilitation Service of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

APPROPRIATIONS

The Act authorizes $25 million for fiscal 1969, $50 million for fiscal 1970, and $75 million for fiscal 1971.

Mr. PUCINSKI. Mrs. Hicks, would you like to add anything to what I have said?

Mrs. HICKS. Mr. Chairman, I was counsel for the juvenile court in Boston, so that this act means a great deal to me, and I do want to see its implementation carried forward, because I honestly feel that unless we can get at our youth and prevent crime that we are certainly going to then have to handle it on a much larger level—on the adult level.

I believe in this act, and I feel that possibly some of the faults may be that the money, in order to implement it, that is going to the States, is not sufficient and that is why maybe some of the States have not filed statements with us, but I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, that this should be given top priority, for if we are not going to deter crime then we realize we are going to live in there by not being able able to walk the streets in safety.

I support your efforts here in obtaining this information and carrying it out.

Thank you.

Mr. PUCINSKI. Mr. Peyser.

Mr. PEYSER. No comment.

Mr. PUCINSKI. Why don't we proceed.

STATEMENT OF A PANEL COMPOSED OF JOHN D. TWINAME, ADMINISTRATOR, SOCIAL AND REHABILITATION SERVICE; ROBERT J. GEMIGNANI, COMMISSIONER, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ADMINISTRATION; HOWARD A. COHEN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR LEGISLATION (WELFARE); AND DR. SALEERN SHAH, CHIEF, CENTER FOR STUDIES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

Mr. TWINAME. Mr. Chairman, if it is all right, I will read the opening statement, and then we will all participate here. Maybe I can introduce to you the other members.

Mr. PUCINSKI. Fine, Mr. Twiname.

You proceed in any way you wish and give us a statement of your views.

Mr. TWINAME. On my left is Mr. Howard Cohen, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation, and as you point out, Mr. Gemignani is our Commissioner of the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration, which is one of the bureaus which I will explain in a moment of the Social and Rehabilitation Service in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

I do welcome this opportunity-the three of us do-to appear before the subcommittee. I regret, and the Secretary regrets, that he is not able to be here in person, particularly since this is an area in which he has great personal interest. During his earlier association with the Department, and as attorney general of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he devoted substantial efforts to this area.

In your letter, you requested that our testimony include both the Administration's plans regarding the extension or termination of the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 and an over

view of the Administration and programs under the Act since its passage in 1968.

If I may interject here, Mr. Chairman, the Administration shares very much the concern you mentioned in your opening statement, and consequently is investing over $750 million in fiscal year 1969 in this field from the various agencies that participate and share responsibilities under different acts for the problem of juvenile delinquency prevention and rehabilitation.

I will now address my remarks, however, to the particular activity under this one Act, so that we can focus on that.

On June 8, 1970, the Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Development, responsible for the administration of the Act, was elevated to the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration, placing it on a par with other administrations in the Social and Rehabilitation Service.

At the same time, some of the Children's Bureau activities in the field of juvenile delinquency together with staff, were transferred to the new administration.

Paralleling this development was the recent decentralization of the program through the placement of full time associate regional commissioners for the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration in each of the 10 DHEW regional offices.

In fact we have doubled the staff since we founded it.

These recent administrative changes are indicative of the Department's renewed commitment to strengthening its leadership role, developing mechanisms for systematic coordination across the range of Departmental programs in the field, and creating an agency which will be a focal point for activities in the juvenile delinquency field.

The following is a brief summary of the activities and accomplishments under the act.

The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 authorized support to States and localities for planning, rehabilitation, and preventive activities, for training of personnel, for innovative programs and treatment models, and for technical assistance.

A total of $30 million has been appropriated by Congress for the implementation of the act for fiscal years 1969 through 1971. Through March 12, 1971, 383 grants were awarded to States in the amount of $15,066,661. Ninety-six of these grants were awarded to States and localities to enable them to prepare or to revise their comprehensive plans for the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency.

Eight were awarded for planning projects and 123 for prevention and rehabilitation action grants. Grants-118 of them were awarded for training activities and 39 for model programs and technical assistance.

In addition to the $28,603,200 expended under the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Administration's program for 196971 (1971 is estimated), $108,056,026 were also expended under other Departmental programs.

I am submitting here for the record a more detailed summary of delinquency related activities within the Department and especially of accomplishments under this act. Also the committee has before it the comprehensive record incorporated in the annual report to the

Congress of Federal Activities in Juvenile Delinquency, Youth Development and Related Fields as submitted by the President earlier this week.

Concurrent with our funding activities we have taken a hard look at what has been happening in the field with the help of some outside evaluation. Some basic conclusions are evident and I will name just two important ones:

A. There are a number of Federal agencies who are, and rightfully should be, addressing the problem of juvenile delinquency. However, their efforts are without overall planning and consequently there has been too little joint funding or other evidence of a more systematic and comprehensive attack on the problem. B. At the same time there has not been developed effective means for feeding back into programs and State planning the knowledge and techniques being learned from all these activities. To address these deficiencies we will shortly present to the Congress a legislative proposal to extend and modify the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 incorporating a new approach, a new strategy. While the administration is increasing its efforts in rehabilitation of delinquent youth, we see that the most positive approach must be in prevention.

This means modifying by joint effort the various institutions in the community, so we can improve their capacity to meet the requirements for favorable youth development, especially of those most vulnerable to delinquent behavior.

In other words, simply more projects will not make a difference. We must modify the functioning of basic institutions which impact on youth development.

The second premise of our strategy is aimed at providing better community based alternatives to divert as many young people as possible from the juvenile justice system.

To develop the specifics of this national strategy we are already beginning under the existing act with the establishment of jointly funded model systems of delinquency prevention in a number of locations.

We are involving the first time a variety of Federal agencies, and their State and local counterparts, in a comprehensive joint planning and joint funding effort which cuts across jurisdictional lines for a multibased attack on delinquency.

We are referring to the program in each location as a "model system." A model system as conceived in this new approach is quite different from the traditional research, development and demonstration project. A detailed statement of these differences has been developed which I have with me for distribution.

A model system is a process of community-wide programing designed to build a bridge between knowledge developing activities (research and development projects), and on going State and local direct service programs for delinquent youth and youth in danger of becoming delinquent.

It facilitates the systematic transfer and utilization of existing and developing knowledge, and draws on the resources of several departments, especially the block grants of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.

Technical assistance is equally necessary to bridge the gaps between the development of effective model systems and their incorporation in comprehensive State plans and action programs.

Model systems are being developed with the aid of model systems development task forces. Members include representatives from other Federal agencies administering programs in the field of youth development and delinquency prevention, State and local planning agency personnel, members of the academic community who have exceptional expertise in the field of juvenile delinquency, as well as other national experts and youth representatives.

These task forces will concentrate their efforts initially in four social settings-the inner city, suburbia, the rural community, and the high school and college campus. The primary target group will be composed of the 3,500,000 youth who annually come to the attention of the police or juvenile courts because of allegedly delinquent behavior-but for whom no services have been provided, and about 500,000 youth who are already within the juvenile court justice and correctional systems.

Because of the nature of this approach, we believe the redirection of the program will have a broad impact upon the total national effort at all levels, Federal, State and local. Among other things we believe it will:

A. Increase value received from present financial investment by Federal, State and local governments through higher program quality resulting from the use of the latest knowledge:

B. Reduce or eliminate duplication;

C. Promote program coordination and linkage among all levels of government;

D. Promote the exchange of information and provide a common body of new and developing knowledge;

E. Stimulate joint funding;

F. Assure greater use of intra- and inter-departmental expertise through the development of model systems, new knowledge and practices, and the joint development of program guides and standards.

In the final analysis, the success of this program will depend upon effective leadership in all levels of Government-a willingness on the part of all departments and agencies involved to pool their resources and work together. We can do no less if we are to be effective in combatting this serious social problem.

We agree with you, Mr. Chairman, this is a serious national and social problem. We will be happy to answer your questions and, of course, discuss this approach further as well as activities under the present act.

Mr. PUCINSKI. Mr. Twiname, what is your own background in this field?

Mr. TWINAME. I have been Administrator for a year of the Social and Rehabilitation Service, and before that was Deputy Administrator for a year. I come from Chicago, and worked there in various projects in the city while I was a businessman with a company in that area. Mr. PUCINSKI. What company were you with?

Mr. TWINAME. American Hospital Supply Corp.

Mr. PUCINSKI. What work have you done in the field of juvenile delinquency?