[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15826-15829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8054]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

[OJP (OJJDP)-1400]


Proposed Program Plan for the Missing and Exploited Children's 
Program for Fiscal Year 2002

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed program plan for Missing and Exploited 
Children's Program for fiscal year 2002.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is 
publishing this notice of its Proposed Program Plan for the Missing and 
Exploited Children's Program for fiscal year (FY) 2002, and soliciting 
public comments on the overall plan and priorities. After analyzing the 
public comments, OJJDP will issue the Final Program Plan for the FY 
2002 Missing and Exploited Children's Program.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 3, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Terrence S. Donahue, Acting 
Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 
810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531. In the lower left hand 
corner of the envelope clearly write, ``Proposed Program Plan for the 
Missing and Exploited Children's Program Comments.''

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), a component of the Office of Justice Programs in 
the U.S. Department of Justice. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 
406(a)(2) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act 
of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5776, the Acting 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 in FY 2002. Taking into consideration comments received on 
this Proposed Program Plan, the Acting Administrator will develop and 
publish a Final Program Plan describing the program activities OJJDP 
intends to fund during FY 2002 using Title IV funds.
    Except for programs earmarked 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 
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 both 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 2002 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, MECP is responsible for (1) coordinating 
Federal activities designed to help missing and exploited children; (2) 
providing a national resource center and clearinghouse; and (3) 
supporting research, training, technical assistance, and demonstration 
programs that enhance the Nation's overall response to missing children 
and their families.
    In FY 2001, MECP made significant advances in the course of meeting 
its responsibilities to provide services to children, parents, 
educators, prosecutors, law enforcement, and other professionals and 
persons working on child safety issues. Some of MECP's notable 
accomplishments are summarized below.
     MECP chairs the Federal Agency Task Force on Missing and 
Exploited Children as part of its coordination responsibilities. In FY 
2001, the task force continued to focus on enhancing and coordinating 
the U.S. response to international child abduction. The task force 
developed a parent-to-parent guide that provides important information 
to families seeking the return of children abducted to or illegally 
retained in foreign countries, and a publication designed to assist law 
enforcement officers who investigate international parental abductions. 
Both publications are expected to be available in the spring of 2002.
     In FY 2001, OJJDP's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC 
) Task Force added 41 new ICAC Investigative Satellites to the 30 
regional task forces, and it now provides forensic, investigative, and 
prevention services in 35 States. Through the ICAC program, more than 
140 State and local law enforcement agencies have developed 
multijurisdictional and multiagency responses to the online 
victimization of children. Since the program was developed in 1998, 
task force agencies have issued more than 1,021 search warrants and 
1,080 subpoenas, seized more than 900 computers, provided training to 
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 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children's (NCMEC's) CyberTipline reached the 23,000-report mark and 
played an increasingly important role in ensuring that reports of 
suspicious online activity made by children, parents, and private 
citizens were received by the appropriate law enforcement agencies. 
NCMEC expanded its Protecting Children Online training program by 
adding a course tailored to the specific

[[Page 15827]]

needs of State and local prosecutors, and it provided this training to 
more than 1,421 law enforcement unit commanders and prosecutors.
     In FY 2001, through a cooperative agreement with Fox 
Valley Technical College (FVTC), OJJDP provided training and technical 
assistance to more than 11,725 prosecutors and professionals in law 
enforcement and social, health, and family services. 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 cases involving missing and exploited 
children. In FY 2001, FVTC also provided specialized technical 
assistance to State and local practitioners and juvenile justice 
agencies. This technical assistance addressed Internet crimes against 
children, information sharing, response planning, child protection 
legislation, and development of multidisciplinary teams. In FY 2000, 
FVTC completed the development of a new child fatality investigative 
course that improves the way child deaths are investigated.
     Finally, John Ashcroft, Attorney General, participated in 
the annual Missing Children's Day Ceremony to commemorate America's 
missing children and to recognize the extraordinary efforts made by law 
enforcement officers who work to reunite children with their families. 
The Attorney General presented the NCMEC Law Enforcement Officer of the 
Year Award to Postal Inspector David Dermeyer of the U.S. Postal 
Inspection Service in Memphis, TN; Postal Inspector Rey Santiago of the 
U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Tulsa, OK; and Detective Liz Eagan of 
the Tulsa, OK, Police Department.

Fiscal Year 2002 Programs

    In FY 2002, OJJDP proposes to continue its concentration on 
national programs that promote awareness of and enhance the Nation's 
response to missing and exploited children and their families. Although 
no funds are available for new programs in FY 2002, OJJDP is interested 
in obtaining input from the field on program and service needs to help 
plan programming for both FY 2002 and the future.

Fiscal Year 2002 Program Listing

National Resource Center and Clearinghouse
Internet Crimes Against Children Regional Task Force Program
Missing and Exploited Children's Training and Technical Assistance 
Program
National Crime Information Center
NISMART 2
Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center Program
Missing and Exploited Children Non-Profit Organizations and Family 
Support Program
National Center on Child Fatality Review
National Child Victimization Conference Support

Continuation Programs

     The FY 2002 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.

National Resource Center and Clearinghouse

    In FY 2001, Congress provided funding to continue and expand the 
programs, services, and activities of 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:
     Providing a toll-free hotline (800-843-5678) that citizens 
can use to report investigative leads and that parents and other 
interested individuals can use to receive information about missing 
children.
     Providing technical assistance to parents, law enforcement 
agencies, and other agencies working on issues involving missing and 
exploited children.
     Promoting information sharing and providing technical 
assistance by networking with regional nonprofit organizations, State 
missing children clearinghouses, and law enforcement agencies.
     Developing publications that contain practical, timely 
information.
     Providing information regarding programs that offer free 
or low-cost transportation services to help reunite children with their 
families.
    In FY 2001, NCMEC's toll-free hotline received more than 155,000 
calls, ranging from citizens reporting information about missing 
children to parents and law enforcement officers requesting information 
and publications. NCMEC also assisted in the recovery of hundreds of 
children, disseminated millions of photographs of missing children, and 
sponsored a national training workshop for State missing children 
clearinghouses and relevant nonprofit organizations. NCMEC also 
assisted the U.S. Department of State in carrying out its Hague 
Convention responsibilities by processing incoming applications for 
children abducted to the United States, and by broadening its efforts 
to recover American children abducted to foreign countries.
    In FY 2001, NCMEC continued to perform functions associated with 
the national resource center and clearinghouse, and it broadened the 
Protecting Children Online training program with additional courses for 
prosecutors. In cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI), NCMEC released Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis, a 
publication designed to help law enforcement officers investigate the 
sexual exploitation of children by acquaintance molesters.
    A 1-year cooperative agreement will be awarded to NCMEC in FY 2002. 
The award will enable NCMEC to continue the functions of the national 
resource center and clearinghouse and the operation of the Jimmy Ryce 
Law Enforcement Training Center, which provides training to improve 
investigative responses to cases involving missing children. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2002.

Internet Crimes Against Children Regional Task Force Program

    In FY 2001, 41 new awards were given to jurisdictions interested in 
participating in the ICAC Task Force Program Investigative Satellite 
Initiative (ISI), which broadens the impact of the ICAC Task Force 
Program by augmenting the forensic and investigative capacities of 
smaller State and local law enforcement agencies. Under ISI, agencies 
lacking the resources to establish 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.
    Other FY 2001 ICAC Task Force Program activities included 
partnering with SEARCH Group, Inc., of Sacramento, CA, to deliver a 
hands-on investigative course and a national 3-day training workshop 
that focused on emerging technology and its relevance to criminal 
activities and ICAC investigative efforts.
    In FY 2002, OJJDP will continue to fund the 30 regional ICAC Task 
Forces and will solicit applications for new regional sites in FY 2002.

[[Page 15828]]

Missing and Exploited Children's Training and Technical Assistance 
Program

    In FY 1998, FVTC was awarded a cooperative agreement to provide 
training and technical assistance to law enforcement officers, 
prosecutors, and health and family services professionals. The Missing 
and Exploited Children's Training and Technical Assistance Program is 
designed to ensure that professionals working on issues involving 
missing and exploited children receive up-to-date, practical training 
and technical assistance. 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 cases.
    The Missing and Exploited Children's Training and Technical 
Assistance Program offers five courses: Responding to Missing and 
Abducted Children, Child Sexual Exploitation Investigations, Child 
Abuse and Exploitation Investigative Techniques, Child Fatality 
Investigations, and Child Abuse and Exploitation Team Investigation 
Process. In addition to offering these courses, FVTC 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 levels; and performs special projects, as 
directed by OJJDP. These special projects include designing protocols 
for handling and responding to cases involving missing and exploited 
children, establishing a response planning system, and conducting a 
case review of child protection legislation. No additional applications 
will be solicited in FY 2002.

National Crime Information Center

    The ability to verify National Crime Information Center (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. 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 
Wanted and Missing Persons files through NCIC. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2002.

NISMART 2

    Under the Missing Children's Assistance Act, Title IV, OJJDP is 
required to conduct periodic studies to assess the scope of the missing 
children problem in the United States. The original National Incidence 
Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART 
1) was conducted in 1988, with results published in 1990. In FY 1995, 
OJJDP funded NISMART 2, the second national study to measure the 
incidence of each category of missing children. Temple University 
received funding in FY 1995 to conduct the study, which builds on the 
strengths and addresses some of the weaknesses of NISMART 1. Temple 
University has contracted with the University of New Hampshire Survey 
Research Laboratory and Westat, Inc., to implement specific components 
of the study and provide extensive background knowledge about the 
particulars of NISMART 1. Specifically, NISMART 2 will do the 
following:
     Revise and enhance NISMART 1 definitions.
     Survey approximately 23,000 households by telephone to 
determine how many children are missing on an annual basis.
     Survey law enforcement agencies to determine the annual 
frequency of child abductions.
     Survey approximately 10,000 youth by telephone to 
understand what happens during missing children episodes.
     Interview directors of residential facilities and 
institutions to determine how many residents run away.
     Analyze data on thrownaway children from a related survey 
of community professionals.
    The findings from these surveys will provide updated annual 
estimates on the number of missing children in the United States. 
Preliminary findings will be available in the summer of 2002, and a 
final report will be completed by the end of FY 2002. An OJJDP Bulletin 
that documents the scope of the research, definition revisions, and 
methodology changes was published in FY 2000.
    OJJDP support for NISMART 2 will continue in FY 2002. No additional 
applications will be solicited in FY 2002.

Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center Program

    In FY 1997, OJJDP, in partnership with NCMEC, the FBI, and FVTC, 
developed and implemented the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training 
Center (JRLETC) program. JRLETC offers two law enforcement training 
tracks designed to improve the national investigative response to cases 
involving missing children.
    JRLETC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) seminars examine cases 
involving missing children 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 that focus on comprehensive investigative 
techniques for cases involving missing children. In FY 2001, 1,864 
police chiefs and sheriffs participated in the CEO training and 319 law 
enforcement officers participated in REMAC.
    Congress appropriated $2.3 million in FY 2001 to continue the 
operation of JRLETC. To respond to the numerous requests for additional 
assistance from JRLETC graduates, OJJDP, NCMEC, the FBI, and FVTC will 
continue to provide training and technical assistance through both 
JRLETC and the onsite technical assistance program.
    Under the JRLETC appropriation, OJJDP awarded $300,000 to FVTC to 
support regional REMAC courses; the remaining $2 million supported 
NCMEC's CEO seminars and onsite technical assistance program. No 
additional applications will be solicited in FY 2002.

Missing and Exploited Children Non-Profit Organizations and Family 
Support Program

    The goal of the Missing and Exploited Children Non-Profit 
Organizations (NPOs) and Family Support Program is to establish a 
national nonprofit association to (1) provide oversight to a minimum of 
25 missing and exploited children NPOs, and (2) develop a mentoring 
program that provides one-on-one support to parents of missing 
children. In FY 2001, MECP solicited applications through a competitive 
process, four applications were received, and the Association of 
Missing and Exploited Children's Organizations (AMECO) was selected to 
receive the award. AMECO will provide ongoing oversight, support, and 
assistance to missing and exploited children NPOs to improve the 
quality of services for missing and exploited children and their 
families and to provide ongoing support and parent-to-parent/one-on-one 
assistance to families of children who have been exploited, abducted, 
or who are otherwise missing. No

[[Page 15829]]

additional applications will be solicited in FY 2002.

National Center on Child Fatality Review

    In FY 1997, OJJDP awarded a noncompetitive award to the National 
Center on Child Fatality Review (NCCFR) in Los Angeles, CA. NCCFR 
received the award to develop State and local uniform reporting 
definitions and generic protocols for child fatality review teams that 
could be considered by communities working to enhance their 
investigations 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 composed of 
representatives from across the country and from relevant disciplines.
    In FY 2002, OJJDP will continue to support NCCFR if funds are 
available. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 2002.

National Child Victimization Conference Support

    If funds are available, OJJDP proposes to provide funding in FY 
2002 for national conferences that focus on child abduction, 
exploitation, and victimization issues. This funding support would 
include conferences sponsored by the National Children's Advocacy 
Center, the Dallas Police Department and Children's Advocacy Center, 
the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, the Center 
for Child Protection, and the San Diego Conference on Responding to 
Child Maltreatment. No additional applications will be solicited in FY 
2002.

    Dated: March 29, 2002.
Terrence S. Donahue,
Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-8054 Filed 4-2-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P