DOJ Defending Childhood Initiative Press Conference:

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.  

It’s now my pleasure to introduce another key leader of this effort – and a proud former FBI agent – Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, who will provide additional details about the 2-1-1 service line.

Trinity Mount Ministries

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DOJ - Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence:

 Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Briefs Congress

August 6th, 2012 Posted by Tracy Russo

The following post appears courtesy of Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, Mary Lou Leary

Task Force co-chairs Robert Listenbee, Jr. and Joe Torre, and Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Over the last year, the Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence has traveled the country, listening to practitioners, policymakers, academics, concerned citizens, and victims.  Its goal was to find out how violence and abuse are affecting our kids and our communities and to explore what actions we can take to prevent children’s exposure to violence and mitigate its effects.  The problem is an urgent one, one Attorney General Eric Holder says “we can’t afford to ignore.”
On Wednesday, July 25 the Task Force Co-Chairs went to Congress to report on its progress – to a standing-room only crowd of more than 100 people eager to learn how to stop the national epidemic of children’s exposure to violence.
Task force co-chairs Joe Torre, Yankee legend and executive vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball, and Robert Listenbee, Jr., chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, led the briefing, describing their comprehensive work since the task force launch in October 2011.  They discussed many lessons learned through four public hearings in Baltimore, Albuquerque, Miami and Detroit and three listening sessions in Anchorage, Oakland and Joint Base Lewis-McChord outside Tacoma, WA.
The variety of sites gave the task force members the big picture of violence in America.  “People think violence is an urban problem, but tribal area statistics are sometimes worse…while rural areas have difficulty getting resources,” noted Co-chair Listenbee. The task force heard personal testimony from 65 people from 27 states and the District of Columbia. These included survivors of violence, young people, social service providers, medical personnel, researchers, practitioners, advocates, tribal and local officials, private foundation representatives, and community residents.
Torre, who established the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation to give children relief from violence in their homes, had everyone’s rapt attention when he described the impact of witnessing abuse as a child:
“It took decades before I finally started to talk about the violence in my childhood,” he said. “And as the task force has heard from one person after another, things haven’t changed enough. Every child deserves a safe home, a safe school, and a safe community….They need our help. And we need their help. Children are a part of the solution. Awareness is a part of the solution. Some people think it’s just a part of society that we can’t do anything about. But we can do something about it. It’s our responsibility to take care of our kids. Even if they don’t have the same last name, they’re our kids.”
The Attorney General often says that children’s exposure to violence is not an issue the Department of Justice – or any one agency or organization – can take on alone.  It will take all of us – working together.  And with the momentum we’ve generated through our Defending Childhood Initiative, the information and insights we’ve gained through the Task Force, and the tremendous support and leadership shown by everyone here, I know we will find a way to make America safer for our children.
More information on the Attorney General’s Defending Childhood Initiative and this task force is available at www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.

POSTED IN: Office of Justice Programs, Office of the Attorney General 

Trinity Mount Ministries

trinitymount@gmail.com

The National Summit on Protecting Children:

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the National Summit on Protecting Children from Sexual Exploitation

National Harbor, Md. ~ Friday, October 14, 2011

Remarks as prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Francey [Hakes] – for your kind words, for your work in bringing us all together this afternoon, and – of course – for your outstanding leadership in implementing the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.

It’s a privilege to join Francey in welcoming all of our panelists and participants.   I’m encouraged to see so many longtime allies and new partners in one place – eager to share best practices and fresh ideas, to think creatively and act collaboratively, and – ultimately – to take our efforts to prevent and reduce child exploitation to a new level.

Thank you all for taking part in today’s discussions – and for your contributions in advancing one of the Justice Department’s top priorities: protecting the safety, rights, and best interests of our children.

This work – of reaching out to children in need and at risk, of supporting victims, and of safeguarding our young people from exploitation, abuse, trafficking, sexual violence, and online threats – has never been more urgent.   At every level of the Justice Department, it is – and it will remain – a top priority.

 

This commitment is yielding promising results.   In recent years, investigations and prosecutions of child exploitation crimes have increased dramatically.   And we’re working with law enforcement and government agencies – as well as nonprofit and advocacy organizations, and a variety of international partners – like never before.   In rural areas, inner cities, tribal communities, and online – we’ve brought a record number of offenders to justice.   We’ve launched a new, nationwide operation targeting the top 500 most dangerous, non-compliant sex offenders.   And, just this summer, we announced the largest prosecution in history of individuals who participated in an online child exploitation enterprise.  

 

But, unfortunately – at the same time – we’ve also seen an historic rise in the distribution of child pornography, in the number of images being shared online, and in the level of violence associated with child exploitation and sexual abuse crimes.   Tragically, the only place we’ve seen a decrease is in the age of victims.

 

This is unconscionable – and it is unacceptable.   Such an extraordinary challenge demands our most aggressive, innovative, and comprehensive possible response.

           

That’s what today’s summit is all about – expanding our network of partners, broadening our reach and expertise, and improving our ability to keep our children safe from harm.   It’s also about keeping the promise that’s laid out in the National Strategy that the Justice Department submitted to Congress last year.  

 

In developing this Strategy, we solicited ideas and sought expertise from advocates, victims, law enforcement officers, policymakers, and partners at every level of government and across the international community.   Many of these partners are here today, and I’m grateful for their ongoing engagement.   With their help, we created a Strategy that provided a comprehensive assessment of the threats at hand, as well as the effectiveness of current efforts to combat child exploitation and abuse.   It also provided information on areas where we needed to act more aggressively – and more collaboratively.

 

Over the last year, this Strategy has provided a roadmap for our work – helping us to fuse cutting-edge technologies with traditional methods of law enforcement and recovery; to streamline our education, prevention and prosecution activities; to improve information sharing and cooperation; and to leverage limited resources.

 

Without question, I am proud of what’s been accomplished.   But I am not satisfied.   I recognize that we have more to do – and that we cannot do it alone.

To more effectively prevent and combat child exploitation and abuse, we need greater engagement – and not just from our traditional law enforcement, advocacy, and government partners.   We need the help of behavioral experts, security and technology industry leaders, and other experts and specialists who can inform and strengthen our work.  

 

That’s why the National Strategy demands that we keep expanding our network of partners.   And it’s why the Justice Department will continue to call on those who share our concerns – as well as our commitment to progress – to join in our efforts to protect the children who need us most.

As we begin today’s discussions, not only do I welcome your involvement, I am counting on it.   And I expect that your diverse perspectives – and specific recommendations – will help to guide and enhance the Department’s work in the days ahead.

Today, together, we are increasing our odds in the fight to protect our kids.   We’re also raising awareness about the problem of child exploitation.   And by bringing together so many different partners, we’re signaling that – when it comes to keeping our children from harm – a new era of collaboration has begun.

Thank you all for being part of this conversation and this work.   Your presence here today gives me great hope about what we can accomplish together.   And I look forward to hearing from – and working with – you all.

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Luncheon

Brett Fletcher

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Luncheon http://tinyurl.com/4yoo9gl

The United States Department of Justice

www.justice.gov

Washington, D.C. ~ Thursday, August 25, 2011

Thank you, Marc [Morial ].  It is a privilege to stand with you, and to join with so many distinguished leaders and old friends, and with so many members of the King family, as we celebrate the life, and the enduring legacy, of our nation’s great “drum major for justice” – the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Although more than four decades have passed since his tragic death, it is clear that Dr. King’s spirit lives on.  It still has the power to bring ordinary people together to accomplish extraordinary things; to inspire acts of courage, compassion, and collaboration; and to embolden people to blaze new trails, to overcome longstanding obstacles, and, of course, to make history.

 

In three days, we will do just that.  Together, before hundreds of thousands of people here in our nation’s capital, and before millions more watching on television, we will gather near the place where, nearly half a century ago, Dr. King shared his dream with all the world and called forth the best in the American people, the best in all of us. 

 

In the presence of leaders who once struggled alongside Dr. King – and shoulder-to-shoulder with many others who strive, undaunted, to advance his sacred cause still today – we will join with President Obama to dedicate a permanent memorial to this extraordinary leader and to his enduring legacy.

 

This moment has been a long time coming.  Too long.  And it never would  have been possible without the tireless efforts of many of the people in this room.  Some of you have been working for decades to secure appropriate recognition for Dr. King.  You deserve the profound appreciation of your fellow citizens for your efforts, and I personally want to thank you for everything you have done to make this weekend’s historic commemoration possible.

 

While we have much to celebrate this week, our time together must not be simply marked by revelry and pageantry.  Rather, we must seize this unique and important opportunity: to rededicate ourselves to Dr. King’s vision of racial and social equality; to revitalize his efforts to expand economic opportunity; and to reaffirm the values that were at the heart of his sermons, the root of his actions, the core of his character, and the center of his life: tolerance; non-violence; compassion; love; and, above all, justice. 

 

Though we consecrate this weekend a magnificent monument of granite that will sit on hallowed ground, we also must rekindle within ourselves and within our fellow citizens the spirit of the man who enlightened our nation to the eternal truth of the commonality of humankind, and the equality of all people. 

 

Despite all that’s been achieved in recent years, the work of strengthening our nation and empowering all of our fellow citizens is incomplete.  As with every generation, this work is now our work; this task is now our task; this dream is now our dream.  The challenges before us, and the divisions that, too often, separate too many of us from one another, have evolved.  But addressing them will require the same skills, the same perseverance, and the same vision as those so nobly exemplified by Dr. King.  And the time to act has never been more urgent.

 

Let’s be clear – we have not yet reached the Promised Land that Dr. King spoke of.  I say this fully aware of the fact that a direct beneficiary of the civil rights movement is now in the White House, and that another direct beneficiary has the honor of leading our nation’s Department of Justice.  And yet, still today, after so many decades of struggle, even in America’s most vibrant and prosperous cities, it cannot be denied that there are communities where the doors to learning and job opportunities remain firmly closed; where the promise of equal justice is unfulfilled; and where thousands of children are growing up at risk and in need.

 

Even knowing these stark facts, we must resist the temptation to give in to cynicism and despair.  Today, we are called to look upon our country as Dr. King did – seeing not only great challenges, but also extraordinary opportunities.  And it is our moral imperative to remember the greatest lesson he left behind: that each one of us has the power, and the obligation, to improve the lives of others.

 

This is, as always, a difficult task.  The work of perfecting our union never has been, and never will be, easy.  And it may not always be popular.  But Dr. King’s example – and very soon, a monument in his honor – will stand as an eternal testament to the fact that, in the work of promoting peace and ensuring justice, one person can, and must, make a difference.  Individual actions count, and individuals must stand and be counted.  Because those who are willing to march toward progress, to defend a principle, to reach out a hand to others, or, simply, to take a seat – in a courthouse or in a classroom, at a lunch counter or at the front of a bus – can, and indeed will, change the world.

 

Each of us has this ability, and, I firmly believe, this responsibility.  We have no excuses for failing to act.  All of us have been blessed with an extraordinary example set by a remarkable man that will guide our steps forward.  And on Sunday, we will have the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to this mission and to this journey, and to the work that defined and distinguished Dr. King’s life.

 

As we dedicate his memorial, it is fitting to remember that, as long as this Republic endures, that site – like the words Dr. King spoke, and the impact he has had on our society – will remain an indelible part of our national landscape. 

 

His statue will stand, at long last, in sight of four other monuments – to our nation’s first President, its architect, its Great Emancipator and its greatest defender – five towering giants of our history, whose legacies reside in the freedoms each of us enjoys today.

 

There, on our National Mall, Dr. King – not a President, and yet far more than an ordinary man – will be honored among men who are, in a historical sense, his peers.  And his legacy will, if we work to make it so, inspire generations to come.

 

Once again, I thank you for everything you all have done to make this possible, for your continued commitment to Dr. King’s work, and for sharing his faith that, one day, we will surely walk, together, into the Promised Land.