JRFC mailout letter

October 1, 2014

Dear Facility Administrator:
I am writing to request your participation in an important effort being undertaken
by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Enclosed
you will find the 2014 Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) questionnaire.
Your completion of this questionnaire is an important step in helping OJJDP
identify and address the needs of young persons in residential placement. The
JRFC is a continuing data collection effort undertaken by OJJDP, which asks for
information on characteristics of juvenile facilities and the services provided to
youth housed in these facilities.
The reference date for this survey is Wednesday, October 22, 2014. Please
complete this questionnaire on or shortly after that date and return it by
November 28, 2014, via the online web application (see flyer) or via US mail
using the enclosed postage-paid envelope.
OJJDP has worked closely with professionals at the state, local and facility level
to develop a strong and useful system of collecting information on the juvenile
corrections system. With both the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement
(CJRP) and the JRFC, we have an invaluable source of information that can
inform policy, practice and programming. However, this system relies on your
commitment and your participation.
I trust we can count on your support as we have in the past. This data collection
is being conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of OJJDP. If you have
any questions concerning this questionnaire, please contact Alonzo Johnson of
the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-800-352-7229. Thank you for your time and
assistance in this endeavor.
Sincerely,

Brecht Donoghue
Deputy Associate Administrator for Innovation and Research
Enclosures

FEDERAL ASSURANCES OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND OTHER NOTICES

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002, provides the
authority for conducting this data collection (see, 42 U.S.C. § 5661). We rely on
your cooperation to present a clear picture of the state of juvenile justice
placement in this country. The confidentiality of the information you provide on
this questionnaire is protected by federal law (Title 42, Section 3789g of the
United States Code). This law requires both the U.S. Department of Justice and
the U.S. Census Bureau to hold strictly confidential any information that could
identify individual youth, employees, or private facilities. The penalty for anyone
violating this confidentiality is $11,000. While public facilities are not subject to
this statutory protection, OJJDP’s policy is that the information collected for the
Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) will only be used or revealed for
research or statistical purposes, and it will take appropriate measures to protect
the confidentiality of public facilities. The identities of all youth residing in
facilities are protected. Your compliance with the request for information is
entirely voluntary. If you would like more information concerning this
authorization or the confidentiality protections, please write to Brecht Donoghue
at the address below.
Under the Federal Paperwork Reduction Act, a person is not required to respond
to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control
number. We try to create forms and instructions that are accurate, can be easily
understood, and which impose the least possible burden on you to provide us
with information. We estimate that it will take approximately 2 hours to complete
this questionnaire. This estimate includes time for reviewing the instructions,
searching for and gathering the data, completing the form, and reviewing
answers. If you have comments regarding the accuracy of this estimate, or
suggestions for making this form simpler, you can write to:

Brecht Donoghue
Deputy Associate Administrator for Innovation and Research
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
U.S. Department of Justice
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531