NCJ Number
251680
Date Published
June 2018
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Feature articles in this issue include an overview of OJJDP's participation in National Missing Children's Day (May 23, 2018), an address to the AMBER Alert Symposium by Principal Deputy Assistance Attorney General Hanson, OJJDP's convening of the Internet Crimes Against Children Commanders Meeting, a 4-H mentoring program to mitigate the effects of West Virginia's opioid crisis on youth, and an assessment of a program in which collegiate women's mentor at-risk girls.
Abstract
On National Missing Children's Day, the U.S. Justice Department held a ceremony in Washington, DC, that recognized law enforcement officers and citizens who have assisted "children in peril," as well as how OJJDP is helping to recover abducted and missing children and combat child sex trafficking and exploitation. At the National AMBER Alert Symposium on May 15-17, 2018, in Orlando, FL, the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Program's Principal Deputy Assistance Attorney General and National AMBER Alert Coordinator Alan R. Hanson gave the keynote address, reporting data from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children which show that AMBER Alert is a key asset in efforts to protect children. On May 2-3, 2018, OJJDP convened grantees under the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force for its Spring ICAC Task Force Commanders Meeting. At this meeting, OJJDP provided programmatic and administrative updates to all ICAC task forces and facilitated information-sharing and collaboration among investigators, prosecutors, and computer forensic examiners working on these investigations. Another article focuses on a OJJDP-funded 4-H Youth Development Mentoring Program in Cabell County, West Virginia, which serves youth with below-average school performance, poor social skills, and/or weak family bonds. The focus is on mitigating the effects of the opioid crisis on youth.