Notice of the Fiscal Year 2000 Missing and Exploited Children's Program Proposed Program Plan

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