[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1175-1180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-354]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
[OJP (OJJDP)-1256]
RIN 1121-ZB90
Notice of the Fiscal Year 2000 Missing and Exploited Children's
Program Proposed Program Plan
AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, Justice.
ACTION: Proposed program plan for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) is publishing its Missing and Exploited Children's Program
Proposed Program Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 and soliciting public
comment on the overall plan and priorities. After analyzing the public
comments on this Proposed Program Plan, OJJDP will issue its final FY
2000 Missing and Exploited Children's Program Plan.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by March 7, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be mailed to Shay Bilchik,
Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
810 7th Street NW., Washington, D.C. 20531.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald C. Laney, Director, Missing and
Exploited Children's Program, 202-616-3637. [This is not a toll-free
number.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Missing and Exploited Children's Program
is administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP). Pursuant to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974, as amended, Section 406 (a)(2), 42
U.S.C. 5776, the Administrator of OJJDP is publishing for public
comment a Proposed Program Plan for activities authorized by Title IV
of the JJDP Act, the Missing Children's Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5771
et seq., that OJJDP proposes to continue in FY 2000. Taking into
consideration comments received on this Proposed Program Plan, the
Administrator will develop and publish a Final Program Plan that
describes the program activities OJJDP intends to fund during FY 2000
using Title IV funds.
OJJDP does not propose any new Missing and Exploited Children's
programs for FY 2000. No proposals, concept papers, or other types of
applications should be submitted.
Background
For the purposes of Title IV, the term ``missing children'' refers
to children who have been abducted by either a family or nonfamily
member and includes children who have been abducted within the United
States and those who have been abducted from the United States to a
foreign country. The term ``child exploitation'' refers to any criminal
activity that focuses on children as sexual objects and includes sexual
abuse, child pornography, and prostitution.
The issues involving missing and exploited children are complex and
diverse. Since 1984, OJJDP has supported a variety of research projects
designed to provide the knowledge needed to make informed policy
decisions and meet the information needs of the field. These projects
include the first National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted,
Runaway, or Thrownaway Children (NISMART); Abduction Homicide
Investigation Solvability Factors; Obstacles to the Recovery and Return
of Parentally Abducted Children; and the Missing Children and Criminal
Justice Response to Parental Abduction Cases. This research indicated
that abduction and exploitation can have a devastating impact on
children and families. Lessons learned from research also provide the
basis for this proposed program plan.
A decade ago, NISMART (1988) provided valuable data on family and
nonfamily abductions and on child exploitation. The following are some
of the major findings at that time: an estimated 354,100 family
abductions annually; between 3,200 and 4,600 short-term nonfamily
abductions reported yearly to law enforcement; an estimated 114,600
attempted nonfamily
[[Page 1176]]
abductions; 446,700 runaways; and approximately 127,100 thrownaway
children.
The NISMART findings are in the process of being updated (see the
program description under ``Continuation Programs'' below). Preliminary
results from NISMART 2, the second national study to measure the
incidence of missing, abducted, runaway, or thrownaway children, are
expected to be available in mid-2000. NISMART 2 will:
Update information on the characteristics of the children
involved in missing child episodes and the nature of these episodes.
Update estimates of the number of these episodes reported
to police, the number of children known to be missing, and the number
of missing children who are recovered.
Include an aggregate estimate of missing children in all
categories.
Estimate the incidence of sexual assault and exploitation
of children and youth by both family and nonfamily perpetrators.
Analyze any significant changes in the numbers of missing,
abducted, runaway, or thrownaway children since 1988, the focal year
for the initial NISMART data collection.
Improve criteria for the identification and classification
of missing child episodes.
Permit the identification and counting of children
involved in certain categories of episodes (e.g., lost children) whose
importance was first recognized during the data analysis for the
initial NISMART study.
The information from NISMART 2 will enable parents and the public
to better understand the dimensions of the problem and identify those
factors that place children at greatest risk of becoming missing.
Practitioners and policy makers need this new information to design
programs and policies that will ensure the safety of our Nation's
children.
The initial NISMART study did not report on the number of children
who are abducted within the United States and who are taken to or
illegally retained in foreign countries, nor will NISMART 2. While
accurate data on the number of children illegally abducted is unknown,
in 1998 the U.S. Department of State maintained a caseload of
approximately 1,000 outgoing (from the United States to another
country) international abduction cases. An estimated 19 children are
abducted from the United States or are illegally retained in foreign
countries each week. The average age of these children is 5\1/2\ years
old. Most incidents involve a formal determination of custody prior to
the abduction. Only 30 percent of these cases are resolved with the
return of the child to the United States.1 It is reasonable
to project that these abductions will increase as the trend continues
toward a global society characterized by fewer restrictions on
international travel and increasing numbers of cross-cultural
marriages, separations, and divorces.
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\1\ Chiancone, J., and Girdner, L.1998. Issues in Resolving
Cases of International Child Abductions. Unpublished manuscript.
Chicago, IL: American Bar Association.
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In 1993, OJJDP awarded a research grant to the Washington State
Attorney General's Office to identify the characteristics of successful
child abduction homicide investigations. The study examined cases from
urban, suburban, and rural areas and included both large and small law
enforcement agencies. The study found that in most instances, the
offender was known to the victim, the victim was abducted within one-
quarter mile of his or her last known location, and the victim was
selected on the basis of opportunity. Sex was the motivating factor
behind offenders' behavior in the great majority (70 percent) of the
cases. More than two-thirds of the time, the initial call to law
enforcement was to report a runaway or missing child. The research
indicated that for these cases, timely, thorough, and well-organized
neighborhood canvassing is critical to identifying the offenders.
The advent of the information age has exposed children to a new
threat. Industry experts estimate that more than 10 million children
currently go online and, by the year 2002, 45 million children will use
cyberspace to talk with friends, explore the universe, or complete
homework assignments. In cyberspace, children are a mouse click away
from exploring museums, libraries, and universities. Unfortunately,
they are also a mouse click away from sexual exploitation and
victimization.
While providing almost limitless opportunities to learn, the
Internet has also become the new schoolyard for predators seeking
children to victimize. Cloaked in the anonymity of cyberspace, sex
offenders can seek victims with little risk of detection. They can roam
from chatroom to chatroom trolling for children susceptible to
manipulation and victimization. Chatroom stalking circumvents
conventional safeguards and provides sex offenders virtually unlimited
opportunity to have unsupervised contact with children. This
development has important implications for parents, educators, and law
enforcement.
Victimization of children can have devastating effects on the child
and the family. There are clear linkages between early childhood
victimization and later violent behavior, such as school violence, drug
abuse, and adult criminality. Since 1986, OJJDP has sponsored three
longitudinal studies to improve understanding of serious delinquency,
violence, and drug use. Referred to as the Program of Research on the
Causes and Correlates of Delinquency, these studies have confirmed the
linkage between early childhood victimization and maltreatment and
later criminal behavior. A history of childhood maltreatment is
associated with at least a 25 percent increased risk of involvement in
serious and violent delinquency, drug use, poor school performance,
mental illness, and teenage pregnancy. A history of childhood
maltreatment nearly doubles the risk that a teenager will experience
multiple problems during adolescence.2 Furthermore, in a
1996 study of 1575 court cases, Widom confirmed that neglect may be as
damaging as physical abuse.3 A 1997 study conducted by the
Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of
South Carolina, also demonstrated that childhood victimization is a
risk factor in developing major mental health problems and alcohol
abuse.4
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\2\ Kelley, B.T., Thornberry, T.P. and Smith, C.A. 1997. In the
Wake of Childhood Maltreatment. Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
\3\ Widom, C.S. 1996. The Cycle of Violence Revisited. Research
Preview. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, National Institute of Justice.
\4\ Kilpatrick, D., and Saunders, B.1997. Prevalence and
Consequences of Child Victimization. Research Preview. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
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Children who have been abducted and returned to their families
often live in fear of being reabducted. When a child is returned to his
or her family after an extended period of time, even limited
psychological support is seldom provided to either the child or the
family. Almost four-fifths of victims and families of missing children
do not receive mental health or counseling services.
For families of missing and exploited children, the impact of these
crimes can have equally devastating effects. Emotions range from fear
and anger to a sense of helplessness. Parents are often on their own
when searching for their children. Like the victims of abductions, many
parents do not receive
[[Page 1177]]
the necessary support or counseling services to help them cope with
this personal tragedy. When a child returns, the process of
reunification typically takes no more than 15 minutes with no
psychological or social service support. In most cases, the only
nonfamily person present is a police officer.
These findings provide the research basis for the programs and
activities set forth in the proposed Fiscal Year 2000 program plan.
Background to the Fiscal Year 2000 Program Plan
In 1984, Congress enacted the Missing Children's Assistance Act,
establishing the Missing and Exploited Children's Program (MECP) within
OJJDP. Under the Act, MECP is responsible for coordinating Federal
missing and exploited children activities, providing a national
resource center and clearinghouse, and supporting research, training,
technical assistance, and demonstration programs to enhance the overall
response to missing children and their families.
In FY 1999, OJJDP's Missing and Exploited Children's Program made
significant advances in the course of meeting its responsibilities to
provide services to children, parents, educators, prosecutors, law
enforcement, and other professionals and interested persons working on
child safety issues. Some of the notable accomplishments are summarized
below.
OJJDP supported work on a soon to be released Spanish version of
the publication, When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide.
This is the first document published by OJJDP to be translated into a
foreign language. Written by parents for parents, the Guide provides
firsthand insights into what families should do and expect when their
children are missing. Copies of the English and Spanish versions of the
Guide are available through OJJDP's Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse
(JJC) at 800-638-8736.
MECP continued to build on the parents helping parents theme
through the Team Hope Program. Team Hope uses specially trained parents
to serve as mentors and provide advice to families who are undergoing a
missing child episode. In FY 1999, more than 20 parent volunteers began
assisting other parents with advice and information about available
resources to assist their search for their children.
MECP released two additional publications in the Portable Guide
series: Forming a Multidisciplinary Team To Investigate Child Abuse and
Use of Computers in the Sexual Exploitation of Children. Additional
guides scheduled for release in FY 2000 include Cultural Competence and
Child Abuse Investigations, Risk Profiles for Abduction and Appropriate
Interventions, and Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction and
Enforcement Act (UCCJEA): Implications for District Attorneys and
Investigators.
MECP chairs the Federal Agency Task Force on Missing and Exploited
Children as part of its coordination responsibilities. In FY 1999, an
ad hoc subcommittee completed an assessment of the Federal response to
international child abductions. That assessment resulted in a series of
recommendations regarding agency roles, responsibilities, and
jurisdiction, sent in a special report to the Attorney General and
subsequently forwarded to Congress for review and consideration.
In FY 1999, MECP, in a collaborative process with representatives
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Customs
Service, Postal Inspection Service, National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children and the OJJDP Internet Crimes Against Children Task
Forces (ICAC Task Force), developed investigative and operational
standards (Standards) for the ICAC Task Force Program. The Standards
were designed to coordinate investigations, foster information sharing,
ensure the probative quality of undercover operations, and facilitate
interagency case referrals through standardization of investigative
practices. As such, they express broad themes that pertain to target
selection, supervision and management practices, media releases,
undercover conduct, and evidence collection procedures.
In FY 1999, NCMEC played a critical role in making the electronic
world of cyberspace a safer place for children. More than 700 law
enforcement personnel, ranging from executives to frontline personnel,
participated in NCMEC-sponsored Protecting Children Online courses.
More than 8,500 leads were received by the CyberTipline from children,
parents, and other individuals concerned about the safety of children
on the Internet. Some of these leads resulted in the arrest of
individuals using the Internet to identify children for sexual
molestation while others led to the recovery of children enticed from
home by sex offenders.
In FY 1999, through a cooperative agreement with Fox Valley
Technical College (FVTC), OJJDP sponsored training or technical
assistance for more than 4,500 law enforcement, prosecutors, social
services, and health and family services professionals. Training and
technical assistance integrates current research, state-of-the-art
practice and knowledge, and new technologies into courses that are
designed to increase skills and abilities, enhance service coordination
and delivery, and improve the investigation and handling of missing and
exploited children's cases. Specialized technical assistance was
provided to State and local practitioners and juvenile justice agencies
relating to Internet crimes against children, information sharing,
response planning, child protection legislation, and multidisciplinary
team development.
Finally, the Attorney General again participated in the annual
Missing Children's Day Ceremony to commemorate America's missing
children and to recognize extraordinary efforts by law enforcement
officers working to reunite children and their families. The Attorney
General presented the NCMEC Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award
to Postal Inspector Robert Adams, Fort Worth, TX, and Texas Ranger Matt
Cawthon and Detective Thomas Noble of the Bellmead, TX, Police
Department in recognition of their excellent work in recovering missing
children. The Attorney General also presented for the first time, the
Child Exploitation Unit Award for outstanding service, to the Dallas
Police Department.
Fiscal Year 2000 Programs
In FY 2000, OJJDP proposes to continue its concentration on
programs that are national in scope, promote awareness, and enhance the
Nation's response to missing and exploited children and their families.
While no funds are expected to be available for new program initiatives
in FY 2000, input from the field on the continuation programs proposed
and on program and service needs that should be considered and
addressed will assist the Office in making final plans for FY 2000 and
in determining future program priorities.
Continuation Programs
FY 2000 Title IV continuation programs are summarized below.
Available funds, implementation sites, and other descriptive
information are subject to change based on the plan review process,
grantee performance, application quality, fund availability, and other
factors. No competitive applications would be solicited for any of
these programs in FY 2000.
National Resource Center and Clearinghouse
In FY 1999 Congress provided funding to continue and expand the
programs, services, and activities of the
[[Page 1178]]
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a national
resource center and clearinghouse dedicated to missing and exploited
children and their families. As provided in Title IV, the functions of
the Center include, but are not limited to, the following:
Provide a toll-free hotline where citizens can report
investigative leads and parents and other interested individuals can
receive information concerning missing children.
Provide technical assistance to parents, law enforcement,
and other agencies working on missing and exploited children's issues.
Promote information sharing and provide technical
assistance by networking with regional nonprofit organizations, State
missing children clearinghouses, and law enforcement agencies.
Develop publications that contain practical, timely
information.
Provide information regarding programs offering free or
low-cost transportation services that assist in reuniting children with
their families.
In FY 1999, NCMEC's toll-free hotline received more than 115,000
calls ranging from citizens reporting information concerning missing
children to requests from parents and law enforcement for information
and publications. NCMEC also assisted in the recovery of hundreds of
children, disseminated millions of missing children's photographs,
distributed nearly 2.5 million publications, and sponsored a national
training workshop for State missing children clearinghouses and
relevant nonprofit organizations. NCMEC also continues to assist the
State Department in carrying out its Hague Convention responsibilities
by processing incoming applications for children abducted to the United
States and is broadening its efforts to recover American children
abducted to foreign countries.
In FY 1999, NCMEC continued to perform the national resource center
and clearinghouse functions and broadened the ICAC training program
with development of 1-day awareness seminars for communities seeking to
improve their response to these offenses. NCMEC is also sponsoring
research to determine the incidence of young people receiving unwanted
sexual solicitations or who are unwillingly exposed to pornography via
the Internet and the context in which the exposure or solicitation
occurred and to evaluate current knowledge of children and parents in
how to respond to these episodes. Efforts this year involved
development and field testing of the survey instrument. Preliminary
results are expected in FY 2000.
A 1-year cooperative agreement will be awarded to NCMEC in FY 2000
for continued performance of national resource center and clearinghouse
functions and operation of the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Center.
Internet Crimes Against Children Regional Task Force Development
In 1998, the Missing and Exploited Children's Program (MECP)
awarded $2.4 million to ten State and local law enforcement agencies to
develop and implement regional multijurisdictional, multiagency
responses to prevent and combat Internet crimes against children
(ICAC). ICAC Task Forces serve as regional sources of prevention,
education, and investigative expertise to provide assistance to
parents, teachers, law enforcement, and other professionals working on
child victimization issues. In FY 1999, ICAC Task Forces worked with
representatives from the MECP, FBI, United States Customs Service,
Postal Inspection Service, and the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC) to develop investigative and operational
standards for the ICAC Task Force Program. These standards are designed
to coordinate investigations, foster information sharing, ensure the
probative quality of undercover operations, and facilitate interagency
case referrals through standardization of investigative practices.
On November 9, 1999, OJJDP, in cooperation with the National School
Boards Association and NCMEC, sponsored a national teleconference
titled On-Line Safety for Children: A Primer for Parents and Teachers.
The teleconference was designed to raise awareness of Internet safety,
encourage the development of safe on-line practices, and identify
strategies for preventing Internet crimes against children. The
teleconference was directed toward educators, school administrators,
law enforcement, community leaders, parents, policy makers, and others
who are interested in child safety on the Internet.
In FY 2000, MECP plans to sponsor a series of town meetings to
promote awareness of the importance of community-wide interdiction and
intervention as it relates to Internet crimes against children. Based
on the availability of funds, MECP will also make supplemental awards
to the ten jurisdictions currently participating in the ICAC program,
and will support a minimum of eight new ICAC sites.
Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance
Program
In FY 1998, Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) was awarded a 3-
year cooperative agreement to provide training and technical assistance
to law enforcement, prosecutors, and health and family services
professionals. The purpose of this program is to ensure the provision
of up-to-date, practical training and technical assistance for
professionals working on missing and exploited children issues.
Training focuses on investigative techniques, interview strategies,
comprehensive response planning, media relations, lead and case
management, and other topics related to missing and exploited
children's cases.
Under the Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical
Assistance Program, FVTC offers five courses: Responding to Missing and
Abducted Children, Child Sexual Exploitation Investigations, Child
Abuse and Exploitation Investigative Techniques, Missing and Exploited
Children, and Child Abuse and Exploitation Team Investigation Process.
FVTC also provides technical assistance and support to the Federal
Agency Task Force on Missing and Exploited Children and its related
subcommittees; develops documents and publications related to missing
and exploited children; convenes special focus groups or meetings to
facilitate communication and problem solving among youth service
workers and professionals at the Federal, State, and local level; and
performs special projects as directed by OJJDP such as the design of
protocols for handling and responding to cases involving missing and
exploited children, establishment of a response planning system, and
conducting a case review of child protection legislation. FVTC would
continue to provide these training and technical assistance services in
FY 2000.
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association's Safe Return
Program
OJJDP administers the Safe Return program designed to facilitate
the identification and safe return of memory-impaired persons who are
at risk of wandering from their homes. In FY 1999, the Safe Return
Program increased its registration database to more than 53,000
individuals and assisted in the return of 980 wanderers.
In FY 2000, the program will continue the national registry and the
24-hour toll-free hotline. In addition, the Safe Return Program would
continue work
[[Page 1179]]
on the model community program and expand training and technical
efforts focusing on law enforcement and emergency personnel.
National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
OJJDP proposes to continue to transfer funds to the Department of
Justice's Justice Management Division through a reimbursable agreement
to continue NCMEC's online access to the FBI's National Crime
Information Center (NCIC) Wanted and Missing Persons files. The ability
to verify NCIC entries, communicate with law enforcement through the
Interstate Law Enforcement Telecommunication System, and be notified of
life-threatening cases through the NCIC flagging system is crucial to
NCMEC's mission of providing advice and technical assistance to law
enforcement.
NISMART 2
Under the Missing Children's Assistance Act, Title IV, OJJDP is
required to conduct periodic studies of the scope of the problem of
missing children in the United States. The first national study was
conducted in 1988, with results published in 1990. In FY 1995, OJJDP
funded NISMART 2, the second national study of missing, abducted,
runaway, and thrownaway children in the United States. Temple
University received funding in FY 1995 to conduct this study, which
builds on the strengths and addresses some of the weaknesses of the
initial NISMART study. Temple has contracted with the University of New
Hampshire Survey Research Laboratory and Westat, Inc., to carry out
specific components of the study and provide extensive background
knowledge about the particulars of the original NISMART study.
Specifically, the NISMART 2 study will (1) revise and enhance NISMART
definitions, (2) survey approximately 23,000 households by telephone to
estimate how many children are missing on an annual basis, (3) survey
law enforcement agencies to determine the annual frequency of child
abductions, (4) survey approximately 10,000 youth by telephone to
understand what happens during missing children episodes, (5) interview
directors of residential facilities and institutions to determine how
many residents run away, and (6) analyze data on thrownaway children
from a related survey of community professionals. The findings from
these surveys will provide updated estimates on the number of missing
children each year in the United States. Preliminary NISMART 2 findings
will be available in mid-2000, and a final report will be completed in
FY 2000. An OJJDP Bulletin documenting the scope of the research,
definition revisions, and methodology changes will be published in FY
2000.
OJJDP support for NISMART 2 would continue in FY 2000.
Parent Resource Support Network (Team Hope)
In FY 1997, OJJDP entered into a competitively awarded 3-year
cooperative agreement with Public Administration Services (PAS) to
develop and maintain a parent support network. The goal of this project
is to stimulate development of a network of screened and trained parent
volunteers who will provide assistance and advice to other victim
parents.
In FY 2000, PAS would train additional parent volunteers and engage
in activities to market the program.
Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center Program
In FY 1997, OJJDP, in partnership with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, the FBI, and OJJDP grantee Fox Valley
Technical College (FVTC), developed and implemented the Jimmy Ryce Law
Enforcement Training Center (JRLETC) program. JRLETC offers two law
enforcement training tracks that are designed to improve the national
investigative response to missing children cases.
JRLETC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) seminars approach missing
children's cases from a management perspective and offer information
regarding coordination and communication issues, resource assessment,
legal concerns, and policy development for police chiefs and sheriffs.
The Responding to Missing and Exploited Children (REMAC) course offers
modules focusing on investigative techniques for all aspects of missing
children cases.
In FY 1999, 371 police chiefs and sheriffs and 323 investigators
participated in at least one of the JRLETC programs.
Congress appropriated $1.25 million in FY 1999 to continue
operation of the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center. OJJDP,
NCMEC, the FBI, and FVTC will continue to provide training and
technical assistance through the JRLETC and the onsite technical
assistance program to respond to the numerous requests for assistance
from JRLETC graduates.
Under the JRLETC appropriation, OJJDP awarded $500,000 to FVTC to
support regional REMAC courses, with the remaining $750,000 awarded to
NCMEC to continue the CEO seminars and onsite technical assistance
program. NCMEC also will draft a model policy to assist law enforcement
executives plan response protocols for their communities. The
International Association of Police Chiefs is currently reviewing the
final draft of the policy and MECP anticipates publication by the
second quarter of FY 2000.
Association of Missing and Exploited Children's Organizations
MECP provides funds to the Association of Missing and Exploited
Children's Organizations (AMECO) to improve, at the State and local
level, the quality, availability, and coordination of services provided
to missing and exploited children and their families, and to improve
the capacity and capabilities of nonprofit organizations (NPO's)
serving missing children and their families. While many AMECO member
agencies serve parents and children who are the victims of domestic
abduction, few are trained or equipped to provide specialized services
to those involved in international abductions. Until recently, little
attention has been given to the need to coordinate with local service
providers and expand their services for children and their families.
In FY 2000, additional funds would be provided to AMECO to hire
full time staff to support the expansion of services for international
parental abduction cases, support semiannual meetings, and develop and
disseminate written protocols, policies, procedures, and standards for
NPO's for both domestic and international parental abduction cases.
National Center on Child Fatality Review
In FY 1997, OJJDP awarded a grant to the National Center on Child
Fatality Review (NCCFR) in Los Angeles, California, to develop State
and local uniform reporting definitions and generic child fatality
review team protocols for consideration by communities working on
enhancing their child death investigations. NCCFR developed a model for
integrating data among the Criminal Justice, Vital Statistics, and
Social Services Child Abuse Indices. NCCFR is funded by a National
Advisory Board, which is composed of representatives from across the
country and from relevant disciplines.
In FY 1999 the NCCFR will continue its efforts to standardize and
coordinate information and resources relating to child death review
activities. This includes the development of a Web site
[[Page 1180]]
that will be used to post national data on child abuse and neglect
related fatalities, offer Internet-based training, provide information
about each State's CFR activities, and offer information and resources
to professionals and practitioners throughout the country. NCCFR will
also produce and publish a national newsletter titled Unified Response,
expand the NCCFR list-serve, and develop and distribute training
materials using the Internet, CD-ROM, or videotape and other media.
In FY 2000, OJJDP would provide continuation support to NCCFR.
Investigative Case Management for Missing Children Homicides
In FY 1993, OJJDP awarded a competitive grant to the Washington
State Attorney General's Office (WAGO) to analyze the solvability
factors of missing children homicide investigations. During the course
of that research, WAGO collected and analyzed the specific
characteristics of more than 550 missing child homicide cases. These
characteristics were recorded in WAGO's child homicide database.
In FY 1999, WAGO identified additional cases for inclusion in the
database and began the interview data collection process. In FY 2000
OJJDP proposes to continue to provide funding support to WAGO to ensure
the vitality and investigative relevance of its child homicide
database. This funding would support data collection, database
maintenance, and case consultation activities. The database can be used
by Federal, State, and local law enforcement to perform link analyses
by identifying cases with similar characteristics. Law enforcement
database inquiries can be made by calling WAGO at 800-345-2793.
FBI Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit (CASKU)
In FY 1997, OJJDP entered into a 3-year interagency agreement with
the FBI's CASKU to expand research to broaden law enforcement's
understanding of homicidal pedophiles' selection and luring of their
victims, their planning activities, and their efforts to escape
prosecution. This information is being used by the FBI and OJJDP in
training and technical assistance programs. FY 1999 activities included
refinement of the interview protocol, identification of incarcerated
offenders meeting requirements of the research criteria, and field
tests of the interview protocol.
In FY 2000, OJJDP would continue funding support to CASKU to begin
data collection efforts and preliminary analyses.
National Child Victimization Conference Support
In FY 2000, MECP proposes to provide funding support to national
conferences focusing on child abduction, exploitation, and
victimization issues. This funding support would include the
conferences sponsored by the National Children's Advocacy Center,
Dallas Police Department and Children's Advocacy Center, and American
Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.
Dated: January 4, 2000.
Shay Bilchik,
Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
[FR Doc. 00-354 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P
