OJJDP Comprehensive Strategy
The Comprehensive Strategy was developed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) as a way for communities to prevent and immediately intervene in adolescent problem behavior as well as to develop a systematic approach to serious, chronic and violent juvenile offenders. The Comprehensive Strategy operates on five basic principles: strengthen families; support core social institutions; promote delinquency prevention as the most cost-effective approach; intervene immediately and effectively when delinquent behavior occurs; and identify and control the small group of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders.
The Commission on Children & Families
The Oregon Legislature created the State Commission on Children and Families in 1993. Each of Oregon's thirty-six counties participates in the State Commission on Children and Families Act and has a local Commission comprised of citizen volunteers appointed by the local government entity. Local Commissions on Children and Families advise the County on children and family issues. The work of the Commission includes:
The Tillamook County Commission on Children and Families is comprised of fourteen volunteer community members who serve on staggered terms and are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. They are the designated planning body in Tillamook County for current planning efforts happening in the State of Oregon including, Juvenile Crime Prevention Plan, Comprehensive Plan for Health and Human Services (HB2004 and SB555), Alcohol and Drug Prevention Planning (in conjunction with Mental Health provider and Local Alcohol and Drug Planning Committee), Early Childhood System of Supports, Perinatal Home Visiting Plan, and Child Care Improvement Plan. Our Mission - "to engage the community in creating and responsibly maintaining a healthy, safe and supportive environment in which each child can achieve his or her full potential." Our Vision - " Children and families have access to a continuum of community-based services and supports that help to build "assets" in our children while strengthening the skills of adults to nurture, protect, support, educate and guide our children." In order to achieve this vision the community must be accountable for the well being of all children and families.
Comprehensive Planning
The Commission developed their first comprehensive plan under the 1993 enabling legislation in 1994 ( for the 1995-1997 biennium). An update to this plan was provided in 1997. During fiscal year 1997 and 1998 the Commission began a to develop a process for making a thorough update to the comprehensive plan. The focus of this process was to bring together key community partners to work together to develop a Comprehensive Prevention Plan. At the time that this process was underway the Commission had several pending plans under development with various partners - the juvenile crime prevention plan and the alcohol and drug prevention plan. The questions that the group asked themselves were: Is there a common framework? How can we use it for planning? How can we use it to link our plans together? What are the components of a combined planning process? The group looked at the Oregon Commission on Children and Families framework and determined that the framework would work for our planning effort.
The Commission, as a result of planning efforts that took place during 1998, applied to become a partner with the Governor's Office in an application to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for a technical assistance grant. The focus of the grant application was to implement the Comprehensive Strategy for serious and chronic juvenile offenders. Oregon was awarded the grant in 1999 and immediately began working with OJJDP. During the time the State was working to implement the Comprehensive Strategy, legislation was being developed and was adopted during the 1999 legislative session that established the requirement that counties develop coordinated comprehensive plans engaging multiple partners and systems.