Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Meeting 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

810 Seventh Street, NW. 

Washington, DC 20531 

Thursday, June 13, 2019 

10 a.m.–Noon ET 

SUMMARY 

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (“Coordinating 

Council” or “Council”) held a meeting on June 13, 2019. The meeting was hosted by the U.S. 

Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Office of Juvenile Justice and 

Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Council members participated in person and via phone, and 

members of the public observed. 

Elizabeth Wolfe, OJJDP Training and Outreach Coordinator, and Designated Federal Official 

of the Coordinating Council, along with other staff members, supported the meeting. 

Caren Harp, OJJDP Administrator and Vice-Chair of the Coordinating Council, led and 

moderated the meeting. 

Matt M. Dummermuth, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, provided introductory 

remarks. 

Victor Vieth, Director of Education and Research at the Zero Abuse Project, and Founder of 

the National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC), presented on the Child Advocacy 

Studies Training (CAST). 

Andrea Darr, Director of the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice, provided an overview 

of the center’s implementation of the Handle with Care program. 

WELCOME, OPENING REMARKS, INTRODUCTIONS 

Elizabeth Wolfe welcomed everyone to the Coordinating Council meeting. She reviewed 

logistics and the agenda, and noted that the meeting would be webcast and open to the public for 

observation. 

Remarks by OJJDP Administrator Caren Harp 

Administrator Harp, welcomed the participants, noting that one element of the Council’s job is to 

collaborate and to report out on that collaboration. She reported that OJJDP and the U.S. 

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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are working together to leverage HHS 

resources to support homeless youth and bring the resources to the state advisory groups. OJJDP 

also is collaborating with the Department of Defense. 

Administrator Harp explained that OJJDP needs to know about interagency collaborations and 

seeks members’ recommendations regarding issues raised in Council meetings. The office will 

use those pieces of information in preparing its Council report after the end of the fiscal year. 

Remarks by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Dummermuth provided introductory remarks on the 

serious problem of child abuse. He described DOJ’s commitment to support innovative and 

effective approaches to improving community responses to child abuse and neglect and 

children’s exposure to violence. 

PRESENTATION: CHILD ADVOCACY STUDIES TRAINING 

Victor Vieth, Director of Education and Research at the Zero Abuse Project, and Founder of 

the National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) 

Administrator Harp welcomed, thanked, and introduced the presenter. 

Mr. Vieth presented on how Winona State University partnered with NCPTC to create the 

intensive, interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Training Studies (CAST) minor for undergraduates. 

CAST educates future professionals to prevent, identify, and respond to child maltreatment more 

effectively. Among other features, CAST provides students with real-world experience in a 

classroom setting. The program has been implemented nationally in other colleges and 

universities. CAST programs for graduate students have been established in medical schools, law 

schools, and seminaries. 

PRESENTATION: HANDLE WITH CARE 

Andrea Darr, Director of the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice 

Ms. Darr provided an overview of the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice’s 

implementation of the Handle with Care program, which aims to ensure that children who are 

exposed to trauma receive appropriate interventions so they can succeed in school to the best of 

their ability. The program is currently being put into practice in 27 states. 

Handle with Care alerts a child’s school or child care agency that the child was on the scene of a 

police action in the last 24 hours and was exposed to a traumatic event—such as an incident of 

domestic violence, a shooting in the neighborhood, or a drug raid at the home. Police are trained to 

identify children at the scene, find out where they go to school or daycare, and send the school or 

agency an e-mail, text, or fax requesting that the child’s teachers and school staff be on the alert for 

possible academic, emotional, or behavioral problems. 

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WRAP-UP AND ADJOURNMENT 

The Council will meet next on September 12, 2019. 

Administrator Harp expressed thanks to the panelists for all of the information and 

recommendations they provided. 

Public comments may be sent to Elizabeth Wolfe, OJJDP Training and Technical Assistance 

Coordinator, at Elizabeth.Wolfe@ojp.usdoj.gov. 

The meeting was adjourned at noon. 

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