This is an archive of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP's) electronic newsletter OJJDP News @ a Glance. The information in this archived resource may be outdated and links may no longer function. Visit our website at https://www.ojjdp.gov for current information.
March | April 2016

OJJDP Observes Child Abuse Prevention Month

Picture of fearful little boyEvery April since 1983, families and communities have come together to observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month by renewing their commitment to raise public awareness and increase knowledge about evidence-based strategies to address the problem.

According to the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, sponsored by OJJDP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the reported rate of maltreatment among youth surveyed was 13.8 percent in the year preceding the survey; the reported rate of maltreatment over a lifetime was 25.6 percent. Advances in neuroscience and child development research have taught us that the trauma children experience when they are exposed to physical, sexual, and emotional violence can scar them well into their adult lives.

Following are just a few examples of OJJDP’s ongoing work to assist families, communities, and service providers in promoting the safety and well-being of our nation’s children:

  • The Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Initiative, administered by OJJDP, is raising public awareness about the long-term effects of children’s exposure to violence and supporting practitioners, researchers, and policymakers as they seek solutions to address the problem. Among its many activities in support of Defending Childhood, OJJDP has launched the State Policy Initiative. The program provides technical assistance to help states develop, modify, and implement policy and practice that reduce children’s exposure to violence, consistent with recommendations from the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence.
  • The Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force program helps state and local law enforcement agencies prevent, interdict, and investigate technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children. “Predators use technology in sinister and inventive ways to reach their child victims across state and national boundaries,” said Administrator Listenbee. “Through collaborative efforts, such as Operation Broken Heart, ICAC task forces and their law enforcement partners are countering these attacks by pooling resources and investigative expertise, increasing their ability to identify and arrest sexual predators and protect children.”
  • In its role as a national clearinghouse and resource center, the OJJDP-supported National Center for Missing & Exploited Children offers critical intervention and prevention services to families and has supported law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels in cases involving missing and exploited children.
  • With the support of OJJDP, the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs manages the AMBER Alert program, which issues media alerts on radio, television, highway signs, wireless devices such as mobile phones, and over the Internet when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. The program is in its 20th year of operation and, as of December 2015, has helped rescue 800 children.
  • OJJDP provides funding to the Children's Advocacy Centers, which work to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases and treatment of the victims by providing a continuum of services involving multidisciplinary teams of professionals.
  • With support from OJJDP, The National Academies’ Institute of Medicine and National Research Council have developed guides for victim service providers, legal professionals, and health care professionals who work with children who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. The guides are derived from the OJJDP-commissioned report, Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States, which provides a comprehensive overview of the issues and recommendations for action.

OJJDP's Children’s Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: An Update presents new research findings on child maltreatment. The recently released Child Forensic Interviewing: Best Practices highlights evidence-based approaches to interviewing children in cases of alleged abuse.

Resources:The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction: A Report to Congress

The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction: A Report to Congress is available on the Justice Department’s website. The report details national efforts to combat child exploitation, provides results of a threat assessment, and outlines the goals for ongoing activities—including investigations, prosecutions, outreach, victim services, and policy initiatives—to address the issue.

Visit the National Criminal Justice Reference Service and the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Child Abuse Prevention Month website to find the latest resources and outreach materials on engaging communities in the prevention of child abuse.

OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide provides comprehensive information and resources on risk factors, protective factors, and evidence-based strategies for assisting children and youth exposed to violence and victimization.