U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER SPEAKS AT DEFENDING CHILDHOOD INITITIVE PRESS CONFERENCE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Defending Childhood Initiative Press Conference

Cleveland ~ Friday, September 28, 2012

Thank you, Steve. It’s a pleasure to be back in Cleveland. And it’s a privilege to join with you, County Executive Fitzgerald – and so many dedicated partners – to discuss an exciting step forward in our ongoing fight to protect the safety, health, and potential of our young people.

This morning, I’m pleased to announce that the United Way’s 2-1-1 "call-for-service" line is now partnering with the Justice Department, and other key stakeholders, to more effectively identify – and assist – children who’ve been exposed to violence. The 2-1-1 community access line – which already operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – has proven to be a critical tool in enabling members of the public to access help with foreclosure prevention, as well as general health and human service needs. And, now, members of the community can also call 2-1-1 to access screening, assessment, and treatment services for children who have been victims of – or witnesses to – violence.

This new service is the result of strong leadership – by local officials, service providers, and advocates; and of strong support – from the Cleveland Foundation and the United Way of Greater Cleveland. And I’m confident that it will enhance the important work that’s now underway here in Cleveland – and in other cities currently working to reduce high rates of community violence – as part of the Justice Department’s landmark Defending Childhood Initiative.

All 2-1-1 staff have been trained to help determine whether the treatment services that are available here in Cleveland – as part of this city’s Defending Childhood Initiative – should be utilized. As a result, we expect community-based agencies and mental health organizations to be able to respond more effectively in screening, assessing, and treating the young people who need our help and – when necessary – engaging the appropriate authorities.

This marks yet another important step forward for the Defending Childhood Initiative – and for the children and communities we’re working to serve. Two years ago, the Department launched this initiative for one simple, unfortunate reason: we are facing a national crisis. In America today, the majority of children – more than 60 percent of them – have been exposed to violence at some point in their lives, often repeatedly. Here in Cuyahoga County, nearly two-thirds of at-risk children have seen someone beaten up in their own neighborhoods; and a quarter of these young people have experienced violence in their own homes. This is an alarming problem – with devastating, often long-term, consequences.

Research has shown that children who experience and witness violence are more likely than their peers to abuse drugs and alcohol. They are at a heightened risk – not only for depression, anxiety, and other post-traumatic disorders – but also for developing chronic diseases, having trouble forming emotional attachments, and committing acts of violence themselves. Fortunately, studies also have revealed that intervention and treatment can be highly effective, and that it is possible to counter the negative impact of violence – and to help our children heal, grow, and thrive.

That’s one reason why today’s announcement – and the effort to more effectively connect children in need with the assistance and support that can improve their lives and their communities – is so promising. I’m confident that it will build on the $2 million investment that the Justice Department awarded to Cuyahoga County last year, as part of the Defending Childhood Initiative. These resources have helped to bring more than 150 public and private sector experts from across the Cleveland area together in recent months – to analyze public safety strategies and diagnostic tools; to develop violence prevention plans; and to find the most effective ways to identify children who’ve been exposed to violence, assess their level of trauma, and map out a proper course of treatment.

This is precisely the type of broad-based engagement and local leadership that my colleagues and I had in mind when we launched the Defending Childhood Initiative – in order to make federal funding, resources, and experts available to relevant authorities in eight jurisdictions nationwide . Since last year – when I visited the Boys and Girls Club on Fleet Avenue, and heard about the challenges facing young people in this area – we’ve been actively engaged in driving this effort forward right here in Cleveland.

In fact, earlier today, I had the chance to meet with a number of the men and women who have been helping to guide our efforts here in Cuyahoga County – from policy experts like Elsie Day, to law enforcement leaders like U.S. Attorney Dettelbach and Cleveland Police Chief McGrath – and even public health professionals like Dr. Barksdale, Chief of Surgery at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. I also had the privilege of hearing from a few of the students who have been instrumental in guiding, informing, and raising awareness about our ongoing work – and our latest effort to identify, screen, and treat kids in need.

As a result of their extraordinary efforts, hundreds of area children have already undergone the initial screening process since it was implemented by local authorities in July. With today’s announcement – which opens this process to the general public, and which should allow approximately 1,000 children to be screened, assessed, and – if necessary – treated each month – I am confident that we can continue to extend the momentum that’s been established here in Cleveland.

This morning, as this work begins to enter a new phase, I’d like to thank all of the leaders, partners, and supporters gathered here – for your hard work, dedication, and steadfast commitment to protecting the young people who need, and deserve, our help. I look forward to the progress that we will continue to make – together.

ATTORNEY GENERAL SPEAKS AT NATIONAL FORUM ON YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION SUMMIT

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WEBSITE
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Summit Washington, D.C. ~ Monday, April 2, 2012
Thank you, Mary Lou [Leary].   I appreciate your kind words – and I’m especially grateful for your leadership of the Office of Justice Programs, and your commitment to the goals of this critical Forum.   I’d also like to thank the many Administration leaders, federal agency partners – and particularly OJP staff members – who have worked so hard to bring us together today.  Each of you has an essential role to play in advancing the Justice Department’s efforts to prevent and combat violence among – and directed toward – our nation’s young people.   And I am proud to stand with you this morning.

It’s a privilege to join my colleagues, Secretary [Kathleen] Sebelius and Secretary [Shaun] Donovan, in welcoming such a diverse group of partners – including my good friend Congressman [Bobby] Scott and Mayor [Antonio] Villaraigosa – back to our nation’s capital for today’s Summit.   I’d like to thank each of you, as well as well as the United States Attorneys who are with us today – Pat Fitzgerald, Melinda Haag, Barb McQuade, Carmen Ortiz, and Ed Stanton – for your collaborative efforts in building a national dialogue about youth violence – and for your focus on sharing the resources and strategies we need to address every aspect of this problem – from law enforcement, to public health, to public housing – and far beyond.

This gathering constitutes the latest step forward in our ongoing conversation about some of the most urgent challenges our young people face.   And it marks an important opportunity – not only to assess and celebrate the progress we’ve made since last year’s Summit – but to explore strategies for taking this work to the next level.

Perhaps more than any other group, I know the people in this room understand the persistent threats – and the significant obstacles – that lie ahead.   I know each of you is here because you’ve seen the shocking statistics.   You’ve heard the stories from young people directly.   And – in communities across this country – you’ve stood on the front lines of the struggle against youth violence.

Especially in recent weeks – as the importance of protecting our children from harm has been at the forefront of our national discourse – the urgency of this challenge has been brought into stark focus.   And the need to take action has never been more clear.

Today, we know that the majority of our young people – more than 60 percent of them, in fact – have been exposed to crime, abuse, and violence.   We know that violence can take many forms, and that exposure can happen at home, during school, on our streets, and even online – where children face new and unprecedented threats every day.   And we’ve seen that exposure to violence – as a witness or a victim – can have devastating, long-term effects on our children – increasing their chances for depression, substance-abuse, and violent behavior.

Recent analysis by Casey Family Programs – one of our nation’s leading child welfare foundations – provides a vivid illustration of what we’re up against.   According to their findings, in just the last 24 hours – on average – more than 2,000 children were confirmed as victims of child abuse and neglect.   Approximately four of those children, most likely under the age of five, died as a result.   And roughly 16 young men between the ages of 10 and 24 became homicide victims.

This is not only alarming – it is unacceptable.   And your efforts have sent the clear signal it cannot, and will not, be tolerated – and that, in this country, we will never give up on our children.

Fortunately, the level of understanding we’ve attained – and the diversity of perspectives represented here today – have empowered us to fight back.   Since October, when we last came together to assess the Forum’s efforts, I know you’ve been busy putting your youth violence prevention plans into action at the local level, and bringing even more community leaders and stakeholders into this work.   And, as we gather this morning, I understand that you have promising updates and innovations to share; success stories to highlight; and additional plans to unveil.

I’m confident that we will all benefit from the lessons you’ve learned.   And I know everyone here is eager to capitalize on the sense of momentum you’ve helped to establish.   Like many of you, I have seen the devastating effects of youth violence throughout my career.   As a prosecutor and a judge, I saw the toll it exacts on communities, neighborhoods, and individual lives.   As a U.S. Attorney, as Deputy Attorney General, I was determined to make the progress that our nation’s young people deserve.   Today, as Attorney General – and as the father of three teenage children – I have made this work a top priority for our nation’s Department of Justice.

From the landmark Defending Childhood Initiative – which we launched in 2010 – to the work of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the groundbreaking research supported by the Office of Justice Programs – over the last few years, we’ve helped shed new light on complex youth violence issues and learn about the impacts of specific practices and policies.   In close partnership with other Cabinet-level agencies like the Department of Education, we’re developing new strategies for understanding and disrupting some of the most urgent challenges our children face – including what’s become known as the “school-to-prison pipeline,” that, in far too many communities, transforms our schools from doorways to opportunity into gateways to our correctional system.   And in collaboration with state and local officials, academic experts, law enforcement officers, frontline practitioners, parents, coaches, and community leaders like all of you – from Boston to Chicago; from Detroit to Memphis; from Salinas to San Jose – we are reaching out, raising awareness – and making a meaningful, measurable difference in countless lives.

In fact, based on an independent assessment released last week, all six cities that are participating in this Forum have positive stories to report.   These results are preliminary – but there’s no question that they constitute promising indications that – already – your comprehensive efforts are working.   Our commitment is paying off.   And we stand poised to build upon the strong foundation you’ve established.

That’s why – this morning – I am pleased to announce that we are currently developing plans to expand the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention to four additional cities – bringing our total up to ten.   And we’ve released a new toolkit – which is available today at www.FindYouthInfo.gov – that will provide guidance on how to gather and use data on youth violence, identify community assets, and even enable additional communities to develop and implement comprehensive youth violence prevention plans of their own.

I am proud that the Justice Department has taken a central role in facilitating these efforts.   And I am confident that the strategies you’re implementing will move us toward a new era of engagement, cooperation, and collaboration across local jurisdictions, state lines, and federal agencies. On behalf of my colleagues across both the Justice Department and the entire Administration, I want to pledge our ongoing support for your work.

Continuing the progress we celebrate today is not simply our professional obligation – it is our moral duty.   Without question, we can be proud of all that the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention has already helped to accomplish.   But, as I know every person here agrees, we cannot yet be satisfied.   Today’s Summit presents an important opportunity to renew our commitment to these critical efforts, and to reaffirm our collective resolve: to protect our nation’s young people in every way we can.   To empower our kids as well as we know how.   And to challenge them to make good decisions – and to contribute to the work of strengthening our nation and honoring our founding principles of security, opportunity, and justice for all.

In advancing this work, I am grateful for your leadership.   I am proud to count you as colleagues and as partners.   And I look forward to where your efforts will take us from here.

Thank you.