Notice of the Fiscal Year 1996 Missing and Exploited Children's Program Final Program Plan and Announcement of Discretionary Competitive Assistance Grant

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[CJP (OJJDP) No. 1107]

ZRIN No. 1121-ZA54

Notice of the Fiscal Year 1996 Missing and Exploited Children's

Program Final Program Plan and Announcement of Discretionary

Competitive Assistance Grant

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of final program plan and announcement of a

discretionary assistance grant.

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SUMMARY: The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) pursuant to the Missing Children's

Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771-5780) is authorized to support research,

demonstration, or services programs to educate parents, provide

information, aid communities, increase knowledge, address the needs of

missing children and their families, and establish or operate statewide

clearinghouses to assist in locating and recovering missing children.

OJJDP published its Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program

Fiscal Year 1996 Proposed Program Plan in the Federal Register on July

17, 1996, for a 60-day period of public comment. The Office received

three letters commenting on the Proposed Plan. All comments have been

considered in the development of the Final Program Plan for the Title

IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 1996.

DATES: Applications under this program must be received by 5 p.m.

e.s.t., February 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be received by mail or hand-delivered to:

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Missing and

Exploited Children's Program, c/o Juvenile Justice Resource Center,

1600 Research Boulevard, Mail Stop 2K, Rockville, Maryland, 20850.

Application kits can be obtained by contacting the Juvenile Justice

Resource Center at the above address or at 301-251-5535.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shay Bilchik, Administrator, Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 633 Indiana Avenue NW.,

7th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20531.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments on Proposed Fiscal Year 1996 Program Plan

One letter contained several comments on the Proposed Plan, while

the other two letters provided just one comment each. One of the

single-comment letters commented on Goal 1 of the Proposed Plan,

Increase Awareness of Problems Relating to Missing and Exploited

Children, and one expressed interest in the proposed Parent Resource

Support Network Program.

The following is a summary of the substantive comments on the

Proposed Plan and OJJDP's responses. Each comment was made by a single

respondent.

Comment: Support was expressed for OJJDP's goal of ``increasing

awareness of problems relating to missing and exploited children'',

with a suggestion that this goal would be furthered by the inclusion of

parents of children who are victims of violent crimes.

Response: OJJDP agrees and will include parents of children who are

victims of violent crime in this goal.

Comment: Strong support was given to the proposed Parent Resource

Support Network Program.

Response: The Final Program Plan includes establishment of this

Network through a competitive award.

Comment: With regard to the establishment of a Parent Resource

Support Network, a data bank of missing children should be established

by the grantee. The grantee should work closely with the National

Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Response: The successful applicant will be expected to establish a

working relationship with NCMEC because NCMEC serves as the national

clearinghouse and resource center for missing and exploited children

under a cooperative agreement with OJJDP. Cooperation between the

Parent Resource Support Network and NCMEC will eliminate service

duplication and enhance coordination of the national response to

missing children cases. Applicants for the award to establish the

Parent Resource Support Network may address the need for access to a

missing children data base in their applications.

NCMEC currently has procedures that its case managers use to

provide followup information to parents of missing children. In

addition, OJJDP plans to work with its grantees, other missing children

agencies or organizations, and interested parties to develop protocols

for State clearinghouses, nonprofit organizations, and NCMEC and to

incorporate joint followup procedures and to provide information to

parents of missing children and to law enforcement officials.

Comments: Three specific recommendations were made concerning the

proposed Parent Resource Support Network: (a) Develop a computerized

listing of all parents of missing children; (b) fund an annual

conference for the parents of missing children; and (c) provide

detailed information about how the money is to be spent for training

and technical assistance.

Response: (a) Absent compelling evidence, OJJDP believes that the

development of an computerized listing of parents of missing children

would duplicate ongoing NCMEC efforts and would not be a prudent use of

OJJDP funding.

(b) Because of the limited amount of available funds, OJJDP

believes that a national conference for missing children parents would

not be the best use of Title IV funding.

(c) Because the provision of accurate and appropriate advice is

critical to the goals of the Parent Support Network, Missing Children

program staff will have significant involvement with the grantee in

curriculum development and the delivery of training. The successful

applicant will set aside funds for training purposes.

Comment: Concern was expressed over the continuing need to rely on

figures from the 1988 National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted,

Runaway, and Thrownaway (NISMART) Children.

Response: Under an OJJDP grant, Temple University was awarded a

competitive cooperative agreement in F.Y. 1995 to undertake the second

NISMART study. The study is scheduled to be completed by 1999.

Comment: More information is needed about NCMEC's operations. The

fact that so much program responsibility has been placed in the hands

of one agency requires a system of checks and balances to assure

NCMEC serves both missing children and their parents and law

enforcement.

Response: As stated in the proposed plan, OJJDP will continue

funding NCMEC in FY 1996, the third year of funding under a

competitively awarded cooperative agreement. NCMEC's activities are

carried out under the terms of that agreement. Some information

maintained by NCMEC is confidential and not available for

dissemination. NCMEC's access to various databases and its strong

working relationships with law enforcement agencies

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improves its capacity to assist in the recovery of missing children and

ability to deliver services to parents.

Further, NCMEC's quarterly fiscal and program reports are available

to the public and NCMEC provides additional information through annual

reports and other publications. Interested parties should contact NCMEC

at 703-235-3900. In addition, OJJDP program staff provide ongoing

oversight of NCMEC expenditures and activities. NCMEC provides services

that Title IV establishes as the responsibility of a national resource

center and clearinghouse. OJJDP believes that NCMEC has always carried

out these responsibilities conscientiously, responsibly, and in a

manner intended to serve the best interests of Americas missing

children and their families.

Introduction to the Fiscal Year 1996 Program Plan

In 1995, local law enforcement reported 969,264 persons as missing

to the FBI's National Crime Information Center Missing Person File. The

FBI estimates that 85-90 percent of these reports represented persons

under the age of 18. Many of these children were runaways, others are

taken by noncustodial parents and used as pawns in contentious domestic

situations, and still others are abducted by nonfamily members.

Whatever the reason, each day in America too many children are reported

missing to law enforcement.

Title IV of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of

1974, as amended by the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984,

established the Missing and Exploited Children's Program in the Office

of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). In addition to

providing assistance for research, demonstration, and service programs,

the Missing Children's Assistance Act authorizes the use of Title IV

funds to establish and support a national resource center and

clearinghouse dedicated to missing and exploited children issues.

Fiscal Year 1996 Title IV funding is focused primarily on programs

that are national in scope. The Office will continue to support the

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which

serves as the national clearinghouse and resource center. Since 1984

NCMEC has assisted in the recovery of more than 32,000 children,

disseminated millions of publications, promoted information sharing

through their online communications network linking 49 State

clearinghouses, and provided technical assistance to parents, state and

local missing children service agencies, and law enforcement

professionals. OJJDP recently awarded NCMEC additional funding to

enhance the technical capacity of State clearinghouses communications

network through the provision of new computers, scanners, and software.

As the competitively funded Title IV Training and Technical

Assistance grantee, Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) of Appleton,

Wisconsin will offer training courses pertaining to investigation of

child abuse and of missing and exploited children and provide technical

assistance to jurisdictions upon request. FVTC annually trains more

than 4,000 prosecutors and professionals from law enforcement and child

services agencies. FVTC also facilitated OJJDP's national training

workshop for State clearinghouses and nonprofit organizations held in

September 1996.

OJJDP has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Association

of Missing and Exploited Children Organizations (AMECO) to develop

national standards for nonprofit organizations that serve missing and

exploited children and their families. AMECO will develop a

standardized intake form, produce a quarterly newsletter covering

missing and exploited children issues, and set standards for nonprofit

agency efforts to locate and return missing children.

Under an interagency agreement with the FBI, OJJDP is providing

funding to support new research by the Bureau's Child Abduction Serial

Killer Unit (CASKU) to broaden law enforcement's understanding of

homicidal pedophiles. This information will be used in FBI and OJJDP

training initiatives. CASKU will also provide research-based

information regarding investigative and interview strategies to law

enforcement agencies.

Several important initiatives for missing children were initiated

in FY 1995. OJJDP formed the Federal Agency Task Force for Missing and

Exploited Children to complement the investigative work of the Morgan

P. Hardiman Task Force, which was created by the 1994 Crime Act to

assist State and local law enforcement with the most difficult missing

and exploited children cases. The Federal Agency Task Force also

focuses on broad coordination and policy issues. In May 1996, the

Federal Agency Task Force released Federal Resources on Missing and

Exploited Children: A Directory for Law Enforcement and Other Public

and Private Agencies. The Directory contains information regarding

services ranging from the immediate delivery of specialized forensic

and investigative services at the scene of an abducted child

investigation to longer term training and prevention programs that

improve community safety and enhance investigative resources of

available Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.

Fiscal Year 1996 Title IV funds will support the establishment of a

support network to assist parents of missing children. This program,

which is described in the request for proposals that follows this Plan,

will further OJJDP's strategic vision of programs that provide services

on a national scope.

Grant Program Announcement: Parent Resource Support Network

Purpose: To provide information, advice, and technical assistance

to parents who are searching for a missing child.

Background: The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted,

Runaway, and Thrownaway (NISMART) Children (Finkelhor, Hotaling, and

Sedlak, 1990) estimated that in 1988 there were 4,600 nonfamily child

abductions, 354,000 family child abductions, and 450,000 runaway

children. NISMART also estimated that 200-300 stereotypical kidnappings

take place annually of which an estimated 43 to 147 resulted in the

murder of the child. Although these categories of missing children

should be treated individually, a common factor links them: The victim

parents who are searching for their children.

Research indicates that almost all families of missing children

rely primarily on law enforcement personnel for information, support,

and intervention following a child's disappearance. Indeed, State and

local law enforcement agencies have the primary responsibility to

investigate missing children cases. However, in an era of dwindling

budgets and high violent crime rates, law enforcement agencies are hard

pressed to concentrate resources on investigating missing children

cases. Particularly for longer-term cases, this concentration of

resources on violent crime often unintentionally places parents in a

self-help status.

OJJDP has conducted several focus groups composed of parents

representing the categories of stereotypical kidnaping, nonfamily

abductions, and family abductions. The focus group members discussed

government's response to their missing child incidents and suggested

areas for enhancement. A common theme expressed in these focus groups

was the need for a system to put victim parents in touch with one

another. Victim parents cited support and advice from

[[Page 65438]]

other victim parents as both useful and credible.

Parents of missing children often express an interest in supporting

other parents who are going through the ordeal of locating and

recovering a missing child. These parents are determined to make their

personal tragedies and experiences meaningful and actively seek

opportunities to help other parents. They represent a reservoir of

experience and caring that goes largely untapped. This program seeks to

tap that reservoir to provide support to families of missing children.

Program Strategy: OJJDP will award a single cooperative agreement.

The successful applicant will be expected to develop a recruiting and

screening strategy, a case management system to track referrals and

assistance provided, and a training curriculum for parent volunteers.

Eligibility Requirements: Applicants must be a State agency or

local unit of local government, or a private nonprofit organization.

Goal: To support parents of missing children through the provision

of accurate and appropriate information and other technical assistance

services.

Objectives: The selected grantee will:

1. Develop a structure composed of parent volunteers who will

provide support and technical assistance to other parents whose

children are or have been missing.

2. Assist parents with support through information and advice

regarding available programs and services.

3. Ensure that appropriate support through information and advice

has been received by parents who are seeking assistance.

Selection Criteria: Applications will be rated by a peer review

panel on the extent to which they meet the criteria below.

Problem(s) To Be Addressed (10 points)

Applicants must clearly identify the need for this project and

demonstrate an understanding of the program concept.

Goals and Objectives (10 points)

Applicants must establish goals and objectives for this program

that are clearly defined, measurable, and attainable.

Project Design (35 points)

Applicants must present a clear workplan that contains program

elements directly linked to the achievement of the project objectives.

Applicants must explain in clear terms how parent volunteers will be

recruited, screened, trained, and matched with victim parents. The

workplan must indicate significant milestones in the project, the

nature of products to be delivered, and due dates for products.

Management and Organizational Capability (35 points)

Applicants' management structure and staffing must be adequate and

appropriate for the successful implementation of the project.

Applicants must present a workplan that identifies responsible

individuals, their time commitment, major tasks, and milestones. Key

staff should have significant experience in missing children issues.

Special preference shall be given to applicants who demonstrate working

relationships with OJJDP's Title IV national resource center and

clearinghouse and its training and technical assistance grantees.

Budget (10 points)

Applicants must provide a proposed budget that is complete,

detailed, reasonable, allowable, and cost effective for the proposed

activities.

Format: The narrative may not exceed 35 pages in length (excluding

forms, assurances, and appendixes) and must be submitted on 8\1/2\- by

11-inch paper, double spaced on one side of the paper in a standard 10-

or 12-point font.

Award Period: This project will be funded for 18 months and may be

renewed for another 18 months based on grantee performance and

availability of funds.

Award Amount: Up to $125,000 is available for the first 18 months

of this project.

Delivery Instructions: All application packages should be mailed or

delivered to the Office Of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,

c/o Juvenile Justice Resource Center, 1600 Research Boulevard, Mail

Stop 2K, Rockville, Maryland 20850; 301-251-5535.

Note: In the lower left hand corner of the envelope, you must

clearly write ``Parent Support Network.''

Due Date: Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the original

and five copies of the application package are mailed or delivered by 5

p.m. EST on February 10, 1997.

Contact: For further information call Michael Medaris, Program

Manager, Missing and Exploited Children's Program, 202-616-3637, or

send an e-mail inquiry to [email protected].

References

D. Finkelhor, G. Hotaling, and A. Sedlak. 1990. Missing, Abducted,

Runaway, and Thrownaway (NISMART) Children in America, First Report:

Numbers and Characteristics, National Incidence Studies. Washington,

DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S.

Department of Justice.

C. Hatcher, C. Barton, L. Brooks. 1993. Families of Missing Children

Final Report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention

L. Girdner and P. Hoff. 1994. Obstacles to the Recovery and Return

of Parentally Abducted Children: Research Summary. Washington DC:

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S.

Department of Justice.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 1993. Nonprofit

Services Provider's Handbook: Building an Effective Organization

Serving Missing and Exploited Children and Their Families.

Arlington, Va.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 1995. Recovery

and Reunification of Missing Children: A Team Approach. Arlington,

Va.

Dated: December 6, 1996.

Shay Bilchik,

Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

[FR Doc. 96-31487 Filed 12-11-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410-18-P