[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26881-26885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12116]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

[OJP(OJJDP)-1315]


Missing and Exploited Children's Program Proposed Program Plan 
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of proposed program plan for Missing and Exploited 
Children's Program for FY 2001.

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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 FY 2001 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 2001 Missing 
and Exploited Children's Program Plan.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to John J. Wilson, Acting 
Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 
810 Seventh Street NW., Washington, DC 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald C. Laney, Director, Child 
Protection Division, 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 initiate or continue funding in FY 2001. Taking 
into consideration comments received on this Proposed Program Plan, the 
Administrator will develop and publish a Final Program Plan describing 
the program activities OJJDP intends to fund during FY 2001 using Title 
IV funds.
    Other than solicitations for programs specified by Congress, 
notices of solicitations for competitive grant applications described 
in the Final Program Plan will be published in the Federal Register at 
a later date. No

[[Page 26882]]

proposals, concept papers, or other types of applications should be 
submitted in response to this proposed plan.

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 and 
taken to or illegally retained in 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.

Introduction to the Fiscal Year 2001 Proposed Program Plan

    In 1984, Congress enacted the Missing Children's Assistance Act, 
which established the Missing and Exploited Children's Program (MECP) 
within OJJDP. Under the Act, OJJDP 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 2000, 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.
    MECP's Team Hope Program developed and published an informational 
brochure and doubled its cadre of specially trained parents who help 
guide families searching for their children. In FY 2000, the program 
provided advice, mentoring, and information about existing resources to 
more than 800 families.
    OJJDP chairs the Federal Agency Task Force on Missing and Exploited 
Children as part of its coordination responsibilities. In FY 2000, the 
task force continued to focus on enhancing and coordinating the Federal 
response to international child abductions. The task force is 
developing a parent-to-parent guide, which provides important 
information to families seeking the return of children abducted to or 
illegally retained in foreign countries, and a publication to guide law 
enforcement officers in investigating international parental 
abductions. Both publications are expected to be available in spring 
2001.
    In FY 2000, OJJDP's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force 
(ICAC Task Force) added 20 new regional task forces and is now 
providing forensic, investigative, and prevention services in 31 
States. Under this program, State and local law enforcement agencies 
develop multijurisdictional and multiagency responses to online 
victimization of children. Since this program was developed in 1998, 
task force agencies have arrested more than 250 offenders, identified 
hundreds of investigative targets, seized more than 500 computers, 
provided training to more than 3,800 prosecutors and law enforcement 
officers, and reached thousands of children, parents, and educators 
with information about safe online practices for children and 
teenagers.
    In FY 2000, the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children's (NCMEC's) CyberTipline reached the 20,000-report mark and 
played an increasingly important role in ensuring that reports of 
suspicious online activity from children, parents, and private citizens 
were received by the appropriate law enforcement agencies. In 
partnership with OJJDP, NCMEC hosted a national investigative planning 
session and provided two week-long policy orientation seminars for the 
new ICAC Task Forces. NCMEC also expanded its Protecting Children 
Online training program with a course tailored to the specific needs of 
State and local prosecutors and provided training for more than 700 law 
enforcement managers and investigators regarding online crimes against 
children.
    In FY 2000, through a cooperative agreement with Fox Valley 
Technical College (FVTC), OJJDP provided training or technical 
assistance to more than 4,500 prosecutors and law enforcement, social 
services, and health and family services professionals. FVTC integrates 
current research, state-of-the-art practice and knowledge, and new 
technologies into courses designed to increase skills and abilities, 
enhance service coordination and delivery, and improve the 
investigation and handling of missing and exploited children cases. 
FVTC also provided specialized technical assistance 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. In FY 
2000, FVTC also completed development of a new child fatality 
investigative course to improve the way child deaths are investigated.
    Finally, the Deputy Attorney General 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 NCMEC Law 
Enforcement Officer of the Year Award was presented to Captain David 
Bailey from the Lancaster, Ohio, Police Department.

Fiscal Year 2001 Programs

    In FY 2001, OJJDP proposes to continue its concentration on 
programs that are national in scope and that promote awareness of and 
enhance the Nation's response to missing and exploited children and 
their families. While funds are not available for new program 
initiatives in FY 2001, OJJDP is interested in obtaining input from the 
field on program and service needs that will assist in its planning for 
both FY 2001 and future programming.

Continuation Programs

    FY 2001 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 additional applications will be solicited for any of these 
programs in FY 2001.

National Resource Center and Clearinghouse

    In FY 2001, Congress provided funding to continue and expand the 
programs, services, and activities of the National Center for Missing 
and Exploited Children, 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 the following 
activities:
    <bullet> Provide a toll-free hotline (1-800-843-5678) where 
citizens can report investigative leads and parents and other 
interested individuals can receive information about missing children.
    <bullet> Provide technical assistance to parents, law enforcement, 
and other agencies working on missing and exploited children issues.
    <bullet> Promote information sharing and provide technical 
assistance by networking with regional nonprofit organizations, State 
missing children clearinghouses, and law enforcement agencies.
    <bullet> Develop publications that contain practical, timely 
information.

[[Page 26883]]

    <bullet> Provide information regarding programs offering free or 
low-cost transportation services that assist in reuniting children with 
their families.
    In FY 2000, NCMEC's toll-free hotline received approximately 
103,000 calls ranging from citizens reporting information about 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 photographs, and 
sponsored a national training workshop for State missing children 
clearinghouses and relevant nonprofit organizations. NCMEC also assists 
the State Department in carrying out its Hague Convention 
responsibilities by processing incoming applications for children 
abducted to the United States and broadening its efforts to recover 
American children abducted to foreign countries. Both law enforcement 
and parents may contact NCMEC for assistance in locating missing 
children who may have been trafficked. NCMEC also provides general 
advice and information to parents who need help getting started in the 
search for a missing child, which may include children trafficked into 
the sex industry.
    In FY 2000, NCMEC continued to perform the national resource center 
and clearinghouse functions and broadened the Protecting Children 
Online training program with a new course for prosecutors. NCMEC and 
the University of New Hampshire also released a research report 
pertaining to the frequency and prevalence of young people receiving 
unwanted sexual solicitations or being unwillingly exposed to 
pornography via the Internet.
    Funding will be provided to NCMEC in FY 2001 to continue the 
functions of the national resource center and clearinghouse and 
operation of the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center which 
provides training to improve investigative responses to missing 
children cases.

Internet Crimes Against Children Regional Task Force Program

    In FY 2000, 20 new awards were made to jurisdictions competing to 
participate in the ICAC Task Force program. The following agencies 
received regional ICAC Task Force awards: Massachusetts Department of 
Public Safety; Michigan State Police; Seattle, Washington, Police 
Department; Utah Office of the Attorney General; Nebraska State Patrol; 
Connecticut State Police; Maryland State Police; Clark County, Nevada 
(Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department); Delaware County, 
Pennsylvania, Office of Prosecuting Attorney; Knoxville, Tennessee, 
Police Department; Alabama Department of Public Safety; Cuyahoga 
County, Ohio Office of Prosecuting Attorney; Hawaii Office of the 
Attorney General; North Carolina Division of Criminal Investigation; 
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; Phoenix, Arizona, Police 
Department; Saint Paul, Minnesota, Police Department; San Diego, 
California, Police Department; Sedgewick County, Kansas, Sheriff's 
Department; and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
    Other FY 2000 ICAC Task Force program activities included 
partnering with SEARCH Group, Inc., of Sacramento, CA, to develop and 
deliver a hands-on investigative course and a national 3-day training 
workshop focusing on emerging technology and its relevance to criminal 
activities and ICAC investigative efforts. Also in FY 2000, OJJDP 
introduced the Investigative Satellite Initiative (ISI), which broadens 
the impact of the ICAC Task Force program by building the forensic and 
investigative capacities of State and local law enforcement agencies. 
Under the ISI program, agencies lacking the resources to commit to 
full-time regional task forces may still acquire OJJDP funds to train 
and equip local officers to respond to child pornography and cyber-
enticement cases.
    In FY 2001, OJJDP will continue to fund the 30 regional ICAC Task 
Forces and plans to make up to 35 new ISI awards.

Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance 
Program

    In FY 1998, Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) was competitively 
awarded a 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 to 
professionals working on missing and exploited children issues. 
Training focuses on investigative techniques, interview strategies, 
comprehensive response planning, media relations, case management, and 
other topics related to missing and exploited children cases.
    Under the Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical 
Assistance Program, FVTC offers five courses: Child Abuse and 
Exploitation Investigative Techniques, Child Abuse and Exploitation 
Team Investigation Process, Child Sexual Exploitation Investigations, 
Missing and Exploited Children, and Responding to Missing and Abducted 
Children. 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 relating 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 
levels; and performs special projects as directed by OJJDP. These 
projects include designing response protocols for missing and exploited 
children cases, assisting communities to formulate policies and 
procedures, and reviewing child protection legislation. In FY 2001, 
FVTC will continue to provide training and technical assistance 
services related to missing and exploited children issues. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association's Safe Return 
Program

    Since FY 1992, OJJDP has awarded funds to the Safe Return Program 
of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association of 
Chicago, IL. This program facilitates the identification and safe 
return of memory-impaired individuals who are at risk of wandering from 
their homes. In FY 2000, the Safe Return Program increased its 
registration database to more than 53,000 individuals and assisted in 
the return of 980 wanderers.
    In FY 2001, the program will continue the national registry program 
and the 24-hour toll-free hotline. In addition, the Safe Return Program 
will expand training and technical assistance 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 Federal Bureau of 
Investigation's National Crime Information Center's (NCIC's) 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.

[[Page 26884]]

National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, and Thrownaway 
Children (NISMART 2)

    Under the Missing Children's Assistance Act, 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 completed 
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 contracted with the University of New Hampshire Survey Research 
Laboratory and Westat, Inc., to carry out specific components of the 
study. The NISMART 2 study is (1) revising and enhancing NISMART 1 
definitions, (2) surveying approximately 23,000 households by telephone 
to determine how many children are missing on an annual basis, (3) 
surveying law enforcement agencies to determine the annual frequency of 
child abductions, (4) surveying approximately 10,000 youth by telephone 
to understand what happens during missing children episodes, (5) 
interviewing directors of residential facilities and institutions to 
determine how many residents run away, and (6) analyzing data on 
thrownaway children from a related survey of community professionals. 
The findings from this study will provide updated estimates on the 
number of missing children each year in the United States. Preliminary 
findings will be available in late 2001, and a final report will be 
completed in FY 2002. An OJJDP Bulletin documenting the scope of the 
research, definition revisions, and methodology changes was published 
in FY 2000.
    OJJDP support for NISMART 2 will continue in FY 2001. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

Parent Resource Support Network (Team Hope)

    In FY 1997, OJJDP competitively awarded a cooperative agreement to 
Public Administration Services (PAS) to develop and maintain a parent 
support network, known as Team Hope. The goal of this project is to 
stimulate development of a network of screened and trained parent 
volunteers to provide assistance and advice to other parents searching 
for their children.
    In FY 2001, PAS will train additional parent volunteers, continue 
to provide mentoring services to families searching for their missing 
children, and expand services to parents searching for children 
abducted to or illegally retained in foreign countries. No additional 
funding will be provided in FY 2001.

Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center Program

    In FY 1997, OJJDP, in partnership with NCMEC and the FBI, and under 
a grant to Fox Valley Technical College, 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 cases from a management perspective and offer information 
about coordination and communication issues, resource assessment, legal 
concerns, and policy development for police chiefs and sheriffs. The 
Responding to Missing and Abducted Children (REMAC) course offers 
modules focusing on investigative techniques for all aspects of missing 
children cases. In FY 2000, 424 police chiefs and sheriffs and 409 
investigators participated in at least one of the JRLETC programs.
    Congress appropriated additional funds in FY 2001 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 will award continuation 
funding to FVTC to support regional REMAC courses, with additional 
funds supporting NCMEC's CEO seminars and onsite technical assistance 
program.

Association of Missing and Exploited Children's Organizations

    OJJDP provides funds to the Association of Missing and Exploited 
Children's Organizations (AMECO) to improve--at the State and local 
levels--the quality, availability, and coordination of services 
provided to missing and exploited children and their families and to 
improve the capacity and capabilities of missing children nonprofit 
organizations. Although 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 2001, OJJDP proposes to provide additional funds to AMECO to 
hire full-time staff to support the expansion of services for parental 
abduction cases, provide parent-to-parent mentoring, support bi-annual 
meetings, and develop and disseminate written protocols, policies, 
procedures, and standards for nonprofit organizations for both domestic 
and international parental abduction cases.
    No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

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, CA, to develop State and local 
uniform reporting definitions and generic child fatality review team 
protocols for consideration by communities working on enhancing the 
investigation of child deaths.
    NCCFR developed a model for integrating data among the Criminal 
Justice, Vital Statistics, and Social Services Child Abuse Indices. 
NCCFR also selected a National Advisory Board, which is composed of 
representatives from across the country and from relevant disciplines.
    In FY 2001, OJJDP will provide continued support to NCCFR to 
continue its information dissemination and technical assistance 
activities related to child fatality investigations. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2001.

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 2000, WAGO identified additional cases to be included in the 
database and began the interview data collection process. In FY 2001, 
OJJDP proposes to continue to provide funding support to WAGO to ensure 
the vitality and investigative relevance of its child homicide 
database. This funding will support continued data collection,

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database maintenance, and case consultation activities. The database 
information is available to Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
agencies to help them identify cases with similar characteristics. Law 
enforcement database inquiries can be made by calling WAGO at 800-345-
2793.
    No additional funding will be provided in FY 2001.

FBI Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit

    In FY 1997, OJJDP entered into an interagency agreement with the 
FBI's Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit (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 
2000 activities included refining the interview protocol, identifying 
incarcerated offenders who met requirements of the research criteria, 
conducting field tests of the interview protocol, and starting the 
interviews.
    In FY 2001, CASKU will enhance data collection efforts and continue 
data analysis.

National Child Victimization Conference Support

    In FY 2001, OJJDP will provide funding support to national 
conferences focusing on child abduction, exploitation, and 
victimization issues. These conferences frequently include workshops on 
child prostitution. This funding support will include conferences 
sponsored by the National Children's Advocacy Center, Dallas Police 
Department and Children's Advocacy Center, the American Professional 
Society on the Abuse of Children, and the San Diego Child Maltreatment 
Conference.

    Dated: May 9, 2001.
John J. Wilson,
Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 01-12116 Filed 5-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P