Children Exposed to Violence: Criminal Justice Resources

• NCJ Number: 176984
• Author(s): H Connelly
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Series: OVC Others
• Agencies: OVC

Annotation

This report provides an overview of issues related to children who are victims or witnesses of violence and describes private-sector and public-sector resources to help improve the response of the criminal and juvenile justice systems and other agencies to child victims and witnesses of violence.

Abstract

The discussion notes that of the 22.3 million children between ages 12 and 17, at some time in their life about 1.8 million have been the victim of a serious sexual assault, 3.9 million have been the victim of a serious physical assault, and almost 9 million have witnessed serious violence. Child protective services agencies substantiated just under 1 million cases of child abuse in 1997. In addition, 2,200 children are reported missing to police agencies every day. These children can experience numerous subsequent problems; contact with the criminal justice system often poses further trauma. The report describes technical assistance and training resources, funding opportunities, resource centers, and publications useful to adults who provide support and assistance to children exposed to violence. Mail and Internet Web site addresses, telephone numbers, and fax numbers