David Kindler
Robert Listenbee
The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator, Robert Listenbee, officially announced Friday the reorganization of the office.
Listenbee made the announcement during the keynote speech at this year’s Coalition for Juvenile Justice conference in Washington, D.C. When appointed to the position in late March, Listenbee became the OJJDP’s first permanent administrator in four years.
Plans for a reorganization of the agency have been in the works since last summer. The most recent major reorganization of the OJJDP occurred in 2003 under former administrator J. Robert Flores.
The newly-restructured model creates several new divisions within the OJJDP and shuffles several administrative positions.
Under the new structure, three new offices -- the Youth Development, Prevention and Safety Division; the Juvenile Justice Systems Improvement Division; and the State and Community Development Division -- will be managed by the OJJDP’s Deputy Administrator for Programs, a position currently held by Marilyn Roberts.
Previously, the Deputy Administrator for Programs oversaw three divisions similar to those announced Friday -- the State Relations and Assistance Division, the Demonstration Programs Division and the Child Protection Divisions, as well as a Grants Management Unit.
The new structure replaces the Deputy Administrator for Policy position, which previously oversaw the Office of Policy Development as well as a communications unit -- with a Deputy Administrator for Operations.
Nancy Ayers, the current OJJDP Deputy Administrator for Operations, will oversee two new offices; a Budget and Administration Division and an Innovation and Research Division.
The office’s Chief of Staff, a position that previously answered to the OJJDP Administrator, will now be subordinate to the Principal Deputy Administrator.
“We believe that our new structure allows us to better integrate our research, policy, program and capacity development activities to support the field and our partners,” Listenbee said. “I expect that this reorganization will position us to more effectively and efficiently serve the youth and families of our nation.”