A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Parental Involvement Programs

Justice Issues

Child Abuse and Neglect Discretionary Activities

This program’s intent is to improve the national, state, community, and family activities for the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect through research, demonstration service improvement, information dissemination, and technical assistance. A specific portion of funds each year is made available for projects in the area of child sexual abuse prevention/treatment.

Grants or contracts are provided for:

• technical assistance to public and private nonprofit agencies
  
• demonstration, research, and service projects to identify, prevent, and treat child abuse and neglect
  
• research into the incidence, causes, prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

Under this program, states, local governments, nonprofit institutions, and organizations engage in activities related to the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect are eligible to apply for grants. All public and private agencies may apply for contracts.

Emily Cooke, Acting Director
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect
P.O. Box 1182
Washington, DC 20013
(202) 205-8586

Child Abuse and Neglect State Grants

This program assists states in improving their child protective services systems; in developing, strengthening, and carrying out child abuse and neglect prevention, treatment, and research programs; and in developing, strengthening, and carrying out child abuse and neglect prevention, treatment, and research programs; and in developing, implementing, and operating programs and procedures for responding to reports of medical neglect of disabled infants through state grants. To receive a grant, a state must meet the eligibility requirements stated in the authorizing legislation and the implementing federal regulations; and use funds only for the activities specified in the authorizing legislation and implementing federal regulations.

Only states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Republic of Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands can apply.

Regional Contacts: Regional Administrator, ACF, through the HHS field office, Appendix VIII. Headquarters contact:

Donna Litton
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect
Program Policy and Planning Division
P.O. Box 1182
Washington, DC 20013
(202) 205-8640

The Child Development-Community Policing (CD-CP) Program

Many of our children live in communities where violence, fear, and despair are commonplace. OJJDP’s Child Development–Community Policing Program (CD-CP), is a project in which the New Haven, Connecticut, Police Department and the Yale University Child Study Center developed a collaborative effort between law enforcement and mental health professionals in order to help these children and their families. CD-CP, initiated in 1991, is an innovative partnership between police and mental health professionals in New Haven, Connecticut, which aims to address the psychological burdens on children, families, and the broader community of increasing levels of community violence. In the CD-CP program, child developmental principles are applied to the day-to-day practice of community policing and clinical practice is informed by an understanding of crime, violence, and the community derived from contact with the police. The project includes a 10-week training course in child development for all new police officers and child development fellowships for community-based district commanders who direct neighborhood police teams. A three-pronged system of support services is also provided to help maintain communication among community members, police and related services personnel, and Child Study Center Staff. The CD-CP program has provided a wide range of coordinated police and clinical responses, including: round-the-clock availability of consultation with a clinical professional and a police supervisor to patrol officers who assist children exposed to violence; weekly case conferences with police officers, educators, and child study center staff; open police stations located in neighborhoods and accessible to residents for police and related services; community liaison and coordination of community response; crisis response; clinical referral; interagency collaboration; home-based follow-up; and officer support and neighborhood foot patrols.

Robert Hubbard
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 307-5940

Children's Advocacy Center Program (Includes efforts of four Regional Children's Advocacy Centers and the National Network of Children's Advocacy Centers)

This program provides training, technical assistance, and funding to local communities seeking to establish or strengthen children’s advocacy centers or multidisciplinary teams. Two million in funding is administered by the National Network. The National Network and the four Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers provide training and technical assistance and share information to assist communities through a variety of means. Support and information are provided through national regional conferences, through mentoring programs pairing established CAC programs with communities developing such programs, and through dissemination of resource materials and information.

Robin Delaney-Shabazz
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 307-5940

Family Violence and Prevention and Services--Grants to States and Indian Tribes

This program assists states and Indian Tribes in the prevention of family violence and the provision of immediate shelter and related assistance for victims of family violence and their dependents.

Federal funds are used by states for grants to local public agencies and non-profit private organizations to prevent incidents of family violence and to provide immediate shelter and related assistance to victims of family violence. States must give special emphasis to the support of community-based projects of demonstrated effectiveness carried out by non-profit private organizations, particularly those projects where the primary purpose is to operate shelters for victims of family violence, and those which provide counseling, advocacy, and self-help services to victims and their children. States and Indian Tribes may not impose an income eligibility standard on individuals receiving services supported by funds appropriated under this act and federal funds may not be used as direct payment to any victim of family violence. No less than 70 percent of funds distributed must be used for immediate shelter and related assistance, and no less than 25 percent for related assistance.

This is a state grant program, and thus, the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and certain federally-recognized Indian Tribes are eligible to apply.

William Riley
Office of Community Services
Administration for Children and Families
370 L’Enfant Promenade, SW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20447
(202) 401-5529

Missing Children's Assistance

This program ensures that there is effective coordination among all federally funded programs related to missing children. Establish and operate a national resource center and clearinghouse designed to:

• provide technical assistance to local and state governments, public and private nonprofit agencies and individuals in locating and recovering missing children
• coordinate public and private programs that locate, recover, or reunite missing children with their legal custodians
• disseminate nationally information about innovative and model missing children’s programs, services, and legislation; and
• provide technical assistance and training to law enforcement agencies, state and local governments, elements of the criminal justice system, private non-profit agencies, and individuals in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of the missing and exploited child case; and in locating and recovering missing children.
• Periodically conduct national incidence studies to determine the actual number of children reported missing each year, the number of children who are victims of stranger abductions, the number of children who are victims of parental kidnappings, and the number of missing children who are recovered each year.
• Provide to state and local government, public and private non-profit agencies, and individuals information to facilitate the lawful use of school records and birth certificates to identify and locate missing children.

The administrator shall make such arrangements as may be necessary and appropriate to facilitate effective coordination among all federally funded programs relating to missing children (including the preparation of an annual comprehensive plan for facilitating such coordination). Provide for the furnishing of information derived from the national toll-free telephone line where individuals may report information regarding the location of missing children.

The Administrator of the program is authorized to make grants to and enter into contracts with public agencies or private non-profit organizations, or combinations thereof, for research, demonstration projects, or service programs designed to:

• educate parents, children, and community agencies and organizations in ways to prevent the abductions and sexual exploitation of children
  
• to provide information to assist in the locating and return of missing children
  
• to aid communities in the collection of materials which would be useful to parents assisting others in the identification of missing children
  
• to increase knowledge of and develop effective treatment pertaining to the psychological consequences, on both parents and children, of (a) the abduction of a child, both during the period of disappearance and after the child is recovered; and (b) the sexual exploitation of a missing child
  
• to collect detailed data from selected states or localities on the actual investigative practices utilized by law enforcement agencies in missing children’s cases
  
• to address the particular needs of missing children by minimizing the negative impact of judicial and law enforcement procedures on children who are victims of abuse or sexual exploitation and by promoting the active participation of children and their families in cases involving abuse or sexual exploitation of children
  
• to address the needs of missing children and their families following the recovery of such children
  
• reduce the likelihood that individuals under 18 years of age will be removed from the control of such individuals legal custodians without such custodians’ consent; and
  
• to establish or operate statewide clearinghouses to assist in recovering or locating missing children.

Ron Laney
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 616-3637

Reducing Parental Kidnaping and Reuniting Families: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

NCMEC serves as a national resource center and clearinghouse dedicated to missing and exploited children’s issues; including a 24-hour toll free hotline. NCMEC has distributed thousands of publications with practical advice for law enforcement, parents, prosecutors, and other professionals working on missing children’s issues. Through an on-line network linking 49 states’ missing children clearinghouses, the center is able to transmit case information and photographs of missing children instantaneously.

Through the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center, OJJDP, NCMEC and the FBI are working to improve the national response to missing children’s cases through a training and technical assistance program for law enforcement. In addition, the FBI and Criminal Division participate in the Hardiman Task Force, that was created to make available the combined resources and expertise of federal law enforcement agencies to assist state and local governments in the most difficult cases of missing and exploited children nationwide, as identified by the chief of the Task Force, in consultation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Ron Laney
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 616-7323

Title I Program for Neglected and Delinquent Children

This program provides funds to meet the special education needs of children in institutions or community day school programs for neglected or delinquent children, and children in adult correctional institutions. Funds may be used for education or educationally related services. Services must be used to supplement, not supplant, those normally provided with state funds. State education agencies (SEAs) may apply for funds under this program. State agencies responsible for the education of neglected or delinquent children may apply to SEA’s for subgrants.

Mary Jean LeTendre
Compensatory Education Programs
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Department of Education
Portals Building, Room 4400
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-6132
(202) 260-0826

Victims of Child Abuse and Neglect

This program is designed to develop model technical assistance and training programs to improve the courts’ handling of child abuse and neglect cases. Facilitate the adoption of laws to protect children against the potential second assault of the courtroom proceeding; to address the present situation in which many states have adopted innovative procedures that have far outpaced federal law, leaving those children who do enter the federal system inadequately protected; to address the inconsistency and disparity among state laws on child abuse; to train criminal justice system personnel on up-to-date, innovative techniques for investigating and prosecuting child abuse cases; and, to promote a multi disciplinary approach to coordinating the investigations and prosecution of child abuse cases and, thereby, limiting the number of pre-trial interviews a child must go through as well as better assure the accuracy of each interview. Provide technical assistance, information and support to CASA programs, as well as assist communities in developing new programs, provide support to existing and developing state organizations on issues such as the development of goals and objectives, state legislation, and state standards to strengthen local programs. Assist communities in developing child-focused programs designed to improve the resources available to children and families; provide support to non-offending family members; enhance coordination among community agencies, professionals, and provide medical support to health care and mental health care professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that respond to child abuse cases.

Emily C. Martin
Training and Technical Assistance Division
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20031
(202) 307-5940

Youth Initiative/Youth Gangs

This program is designed to prevent and reduce the participation of youth in gangs that engage in illicit drug-related activities; to promote involvement of youth in lawful activities; to prevent the abuse of drugs by youth; to support coordination of activities of local police departments, education, employment and social service agencies; to provide information on the treatment and rehabilitation options available to youth; to coordinate support between schools and state federal governments; and to provide technical assistance to eligible organizations.

State and local governments, federally-recognized Indian Tribal Governments, U.S. Territories and possessions, public and non-profit private agencies, organizations (including community-based organizations with a demonstrated experience in the field), institutions and individuals may apply for funding for this program.

Family and Youth Services Bureau
Administration for Children and Families
P.O. Box 1182
Washington, DC 20013
(202) 205-8078

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