COMMITTEE STUDYING VIOLENCE EXPOSURE OF NATIVE AMERICAN AND ALASKA NATIVE CHILDREN MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Committee Studying American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Makes Recommendations to Justice Department

The Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence released policy recommendations to the Justice Department today.

The report recommends a significant rebuilding of the current services provided to Indian Country, through increased partnering and coordination with tribes, and increased funding for programs to support American Indian and Alaska Native children.  Each of the five chapters discusses the Advisory Committee’s findings and recommendations.  The report provides the Advisory Committee’s vision for the development of effective, trauma informed, and culturally appropriate programs and services to protect American Indian and Alaska Native children exposed to violence.

“American Indian and Alaska Native children represent the future, and they face unprecedented challenges, including an unacceptable level of exposure to violence, which we know can have lasting and traumatic effects on body and mind,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.  “We must understand these impacts well so we can pursue policies that bring meaningful change.  That’s why I am deeply grateful for the work of this advisory committee and the continuing mission of this task force.”

Attorney General Eric Holder created the task force in 2013.  It is composed of a federal working group that includes U.S. Attorneys and officials from the Interior and Justice Departments and a federal advisory committee of experts on American Indian studies, child health and trauma, victim services and child welfare.  Former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer, singer and child advocate Joanne Shenandoah co-chaired the 13-member committee.

These recommendations are a culmination of the research and information gathered through four public hearings held between December 2013 and June 2014 in Bismarck, North Dakota; Scottsdale, Arizona; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Anchorage, Alaska, and five listening sessions in Arizona, Minneapolis and Alaska where over 600 people participated from over 62 Tribes and 15 States from across the nation.  More than 70 experts and 60 community members testified at the hearings, addressing domestic and community violence in Indian Country; the pathway from victimization to the juvenile justice system; the roles of juvenile courts, detention facilities and the child welfare system; gang violence; and child sex trafficking.

The Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence is part of the Attorney General’s Defending Childhood initiative.  The task force is also a component of the Justice Department’s ongoing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.

COMMITTEE EXAMINES PLIGHT OF AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE

FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Federal Advisory Committee Examines Juvenile Courts and Justice System Programs for American Indian Children Exposed to Violence

More than 30 tribal leaders, juvenile court judges, child advocates, juvenile justice system experts and community members from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community testified today in the second public hearing of the Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence.  The hearing focused on how juvenile courts and other programs within tribal juvenile justice systems address the impact of children’s exposure to violence.

“Too many native children encounter violence in their homes and communities that can disrupt a path to living healthy adult lives, and we must do all that we can to protect these young people,” said Associate Attorney General Tony West.  “By intervening early, we can help these children avoid a fate involving courts and the corrections system.”

During the hearing, experts explained how children entering tribal, state or federal justice systems are screened and treated for trauma from previous exposure to violence.   They also discussed a variety of issues facing Native children in juvenile justice systems, including the availability of legal representation, tribal court transfer of juvenile cases to adult courts, culturally sensitive programs and services that divert youth from entering the juvenile justice system.

“The long-term impact of a child’s exposure to violence depends heavily on how law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defenders, judges, and corrections professionals handle that child’s case,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs Karol V. Mason.  “Through the work of the task force, we hope to find ways to make the justice system a force for positive change in a young person’s life.”

The Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children exposed to violence is comprised of a federal working group that includes U.S. Attorneys and officials from the Departments of the Interior and Justice and an advisory committee of experts on American Indian studies, child health and trauma, victim services and child welfare and law.

The 13-member advisory committee is co-chaired by former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer Joanne Shenandoah.  The advisory committee will draw upon research and information gathered through public hearings to draft a final report of policy recommendations that it will present to Attorney General Eric Holder by late 2014.

Attorney General  Holder created the task force in April 2013 as part of his Defending Childhood initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence as victims and witnesses.  The task force is also a component of the Justice Department’s ongoing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.

The advisory committee held its first public hearing Dec. 9, 2013, in Bismarck, N.D. and will hold additional public hearings, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Anchorage, Alaska.

For more information about the advisory committee and public hearings, please visit www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.