Children’s Exposure 

to Violence (CEV)*

To better understand the nature 

and extent of children’s exposure 

to violence, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) within the 

Department of Justice partnered 

with the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention to 

sponsor the National Survey of 

Children’s Exposure to Violence. 

The survey is the most comprehensive effort to date to measure 

children’s exposure to violence, 

abuse, and crime. 

The survey found:

• Sixty percent of American children were exposed to violence, 

crime, or abuse in their homes, 

schools, and communities.

• Almost 40 percent of American 

children were direct victims of 

2 or more violent acts, and 1 in 

10 were victims of violence 5 

or more times.

• A child’s exposure to one type of 

violence increases the likelihood 

that the child will be exposed 

to other types of violence and 

exposed multiple times.

___________

CrimeSolutions.gov

The Office of Justice Programs’ 

CrimeSolutions.gov uses rigorous research to determine what 

works in criminal justice, juvenile 

justice, and crime victim services. 

The database of evidence-based 

programs identifies 20 programs 

as “effective” in addressing 

children’s exposure to violence, 

and another 20 programs are 

identified as “promising,” based 

on program evaluation evidence. 

 www.crimesolutions.gov/TopicDetails.aspx?ID=60

The Department of Justice launched the Defending Childhood Initiative on September 23, 2010, 

to address children’s exposure to violence, as 

both victims and witnesses. Research shows 

that children who have been exposed to 

violence are more likely to abuse drugs and 

alcohol; suffer from depression, anxiety, and 

post-traumatic disorders; fail or have difficulty in 

school; become delinquent or engage in criminal 

behavior; and experience repeated victimization. 

Children’s exposure to violence is often associated with long-term physical, psychological, and 

emotional problems. 

Building on lessons learned from previous 

research, Defending Childhood leverages 

existing resources across the Department to 

focus on preventing, addressing, reducing, 

and more fully understanding childhood 

exposure to violence.

Defending Childhood has several component 

projects that include the following:

• Demonstration program. In 2010, the 

Department awarded grants to eight cities 

and tribal communities to develop strategic 

plans for comprehensive community-based 

efforts to address children’s exposure to violence in the home and the community. 

• National Task Force on Children 

Exposed to Violence. The task force will 

review research and conduct public 

hearings across the nation to collect input 

from experts, advocates, and impacted 

families on policy options for improving the 

prevention, identification, assessment, and 

response to children’s exposure to violence. 

• Partnerships. A number of federal, private, 

and non-profit agencies and organizations 

are part of the Defending Childhood 

Initiative. Federal partners include the 

Department of Health and Human Services, 

the Executive Office of United States 

Attorneys, the Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services, the Office on 

Violence Against Women, and the Office of 

Justice Programs. 

• National Survey on Children Exposed to 

Violence. This survey is the first comprehensive attempt to measure children’s exposure to violence in the home, school, and 

community across all age groups from birth 

to age 17, and the first attempt to measure 

the cumulative exposure to violence over 

the child’s lifetime.

In addition to these efforts, the Initiative 

supports research, evaluation, public awareness campaigns, and training for professionals and affiliates of national organizations.

The Initiative operates on three key principles:

PROTECT 

• Recognize the range of negative effects on 

children who are direct victims or witnesses 

to violence. 

• Understand that violence takes many 

forms, may come from many sources, and 

may occur in various settings.

• Work with community members and 

partners in multiple disciplines to raise 

awareness, educate, and build the capacity 

of those who interact with children.

• Reduce the occurrence of violent incidents 

and reverse belief systems that accept 

childhood exposure to violence as normal 

or inevitable. 

HEAL

• Recognize that proper interventions, 

support, and services can mitigate the 

negative effects of violence and the natural 

resilience of children can be enhanced.

• Develop comprehensive and coordinated 

responses to ensure seamless delivery of 

services and resources.

• Identify and assess children immediately or 

soon after exposure to violence to provide 

support and services tailored to the child’s 

or family’s needs.

• Engage first responders, service providers, 

medical professionals, teachers, and other 

community members to help identify 

children exposed to violence and contribute 

to healing.

THRIVE

• Encourage and support healthy families.

• Provide opportunities for enrichment and 

growth for all children.

• Build positive bonds among family members.

• Provide safe communities in which families 

and children may prosper.

• Support a culture of non-violence in 

households and communities. 

Defending Childhood - Newsletter June 2012

THE THREE GOALS OF THE INITIATIVE:

1. Prevent children’s exposure to violence

2. Mitigate the negative impacts of 

exposure when it does occur

3.Develop knowledge and spread 

awareness about the issue

“Our children are counting 

on us. Our communities 

are counting on us. And 

we cannot—and will not—

let them down.”

—Attorney General Eric Holder
Defending Childhood Task Force 

The task force is composed of 13 leading 

experts, including practitioners, child and 

family advocates, academic experts, and 

licensed clinicians. Joe Torre, founder of 

the Joe Torre Safe at Home® Foundation, 

and a witness to domestic violence as a 

child himself, and Robert Listenbee, Jr., 

Chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender 

Association of Philadelphia, serve as the 

co-chairs of the task force.

Using the testimony from public hearings in Baltimore, 

Albuquerque, Miami, and Detroit; comprehensive research; and 

extensive input from experts, advocates, and impacted families 

and communities 

nationwide, the task 

force will issue a 

final report to the 

Attorney General 

presenting its findings and comprehensive policy 

recommendations 

in the fall of 2012. 

The report will serve 

as a blueprint for 

preventing children’s 

exposure to violence 

and for reducing 

the negative effects 

experienced by 

children exposed to 

violence across the 

United States.

Law Enforcement 

The COPS office has been training and supporting law enforcement response to children’s exposure to violence and, as part of 

the initiative, is developing a resource and strategy guide based on 

input from law enforcement experts in the field and has allocated 

additional resources to develop practical resources and support to 

address children’s exposure to violence. The work of law enforcement is inextricably bound to the initiative’s goals. 

“The critical role that local law enforcement 

officers play in the defense of children cannot 

be overstated. Law enforcement officers 

have a critical responsibility in protecting 

young people from violence and disorder. As 

first responders, they deal with both victims and suspects in the epidemic of youth 

violence that threatens our nation’s children. 

It is also law enforcement who first responds 

to calls of neglect and abuse. It is the responding officers who will 

determine whether society’s resources are made available in a way 

that contributes to breaking the generational cycle that is so often 

present in these kinds of incidents. In effect, they are the gatekeepers between the child and the societal support required to ensure 

the child’s safety and long-term well-being.”

-Bernard Melekian, Director of the Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services (COPS)- 

Communities 

As part of the initiative, the Department of Justice is supporting 35 

communities addressing children’s exposure to a broad range of 

violence. The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) funds 17 

sites and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention funds 10 Safe Start Initiative sites. In 2010, the Department 

awarded additional grants to eight cities and tribal communities 

to develop strategic plans for comprehensive community-based 

responses to children’s exposure to violence. Each of these sites 

received additional support in 2011 to launch, sustain, and expand 

programs, and organizations focused on the development of 

community-based solutions to address the problem. 

Of the eight sites, the Department awarded $2 million grants to 

Boston, MA; Cuyahoga County, OH; Grand Forks, ND; and Shelby 

County, TN, to implement their strategic plans. One million dollars 

was awarded to two tribal communities—Rosebud Sioux, SD, and 

Chippewa Cree, Rocky Boy, MT—for 2 years to continue comprehensive planning and to implement their plans and $500,000 was 

awarded for 2 years to Portland, ME, and Multnomah County, OR, 

for partial implementation of their strategic plans.

Resources

The Defending Childhood Initiative has launched a Web page “Take 

Action To Protect Children,” with Voices from the Field to support 

professionals who address children’s exposure to violence. The 

Web page provides online resources, tips, hotline numbers, and a 

personal call to action tailored for professionals in different fields who work with children who experience or witness violence.

To view the Take Action Web page, go to 

www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/action.

html. 

For more information about the Defending 

Childhood Initiative, go to www.justice.gov/

defendingchildhood. 

“A child’s first encounter with violence can 

be the beginning of a lifetime of trouble. 

That’s the bad news. The good news is 

that, with proper intervention and support, a 

future with violence is not inevitable.” 

— Mary Lou Leary

Acting Assistant Attorney General

“I am not sure if there is any emotion worse 

than fear. I am the product of a violent home 

and lived in fear during my childhood. As 

a child, I was fearful of my own father who 

physically abused my mother. He emotionally abused me and my brothers and sisters.

When I would come home from school and 

see his car in front of our house, I wouldn’t 

go in. I was a very nervous child.

I felt alone, and thought I was the only 

one who had this problem. At that time, I 

certainly did not recognize any connection 

between domestic violence and the feeling 

of inadequacy. I was fortunate to have baseball as an escape, a place to hide, but, even 

there, I carried my insecurity with me .” 

— Joe Torre

SPOTLIGHT

Attorney General’s Task Force on Children’s Exposure to Violence, 

hearing one Baltimore Maryland