A new NCCD Focus article, "Structuring Decisions in Adult Protective Services," describes the value of structured decision frameworks in the growing field of adult protective services (APS). The article highlights findings on risk factors for future adult maltreatment from research literature as well as NCCD's efforts to develop an actuarial-based risk assessment for APS in partnership with the New Hampshire Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services under a grant from the National Institute of Justice. Complete listing and access info »

This report analyzes prison and jail populations in the US as a whole and in four key states -- California, Florida, New York, and Texas -- to determine 1) how many prisoners are nonserious offenders and what it costs to lock them up, 2) what proven effective alternatives are in use and what they cost, and 3) what savings could be realized if a portion of the nonserious offenders were sentenced to alternatives instead of prison and jail. Complete listing and access info »

A review of the types of violence to which children are exposed, the effects of that violence on their development, and promising approaches for improving outcomes Complete listing and access info »

Girls, many as young as 11-13 years old are victims in US commercial sex markets -- pornography, stripping, escort services and prostitution. They are forced into the sex trade against their will and subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The most common image of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation is one of individuals being smuggled across foreign borders or children being abducted from Third World countries and being forced into slave labor. These egregious crimes are indeed happening and warrant immediate action. But another less known or misunderstood form of this heinous crime is the domestic commercial sexual exploitation of girls and young women throughout the United States. The NCCD Center for Girls and Young Women (The Center) is deeply concerned about the failures of our system to identify and protect these girls and to let them fall through the cracks, open to the false promises of a "better life." Complete listing and access info »

Youth gangs pose a significant challenge for communities across the United States, in urban, suburban, and rural areas alike. Nationwide, 23% of students report the presence of gangs at their schools (Dinkes, Kemp, & Baum, 2009), and approximately 35% of law enforcement agencies indicate gang problems (such as gang-related crime) in their jurisdictions (Egley & O'Donnell, 2009).(see footnote 1) Self-reported youth surveys show varying estimates of gang membership, from single digits among a national sample of students to about 30% among high-risk youth in large cities (Howell & Egley, 2009).

For this Focus, NCCD analyzed data from national, state, and local youth surveys and drew on the results of previous gang research to provide a snapshot of youth gangs. This includes a summary of risk factors for gang membership and selected characteristics of gang-involved youth. California, which has faced significant and disproportionate levels of gang membership for decades, serves as a state case study. The local data highlight the San Francisco Bay Area cities of Oakland and Richmond; both Oakland and Richmond have entrenched gang problems and very high homicide rates.(see footnote 2)
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