Kids Learn Defense Against Kidnappers

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Most parents don’t want their children to fight but at radKIDS, hosted by Gainesville, Ga’s., First United Methodist Church’s Fit Fun Camp, parents looked on with pride as their kids punched, kicked and elbowed a police officer dressed in a heavy, rubber protective suit. The children were demonstrating techniques for defending themselves against attackers or kidnappers while Crime Prevention officer Joe Britte of the Gainesville Police Department played the role of the bad guy. According to The Gainesville Times, the radKids program — Resist Aggresssion Defensively — taught kids how to escape an attacker through homework assignments and activities. "If you ever have that happen to you, you know what to do," Madison Sartain, 10, a rising fifth-grader, told The Times. After participating in a similar women’s self-defense course, First United Methodist Church’s recreation director, Vicky Bailey told The Times she wanted her church to host the program.

Dorothea Haus Ross Helps Vulnerable Children

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The Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation offers grants that fund programs for kids up to the age of 18. This program is  mostly concerned with any child who is vulnerable through no fault of his or her own. The Foundation also makes matching grants. Decisions are made within three months of a proposal’s receipt. Proposals are considered on a regular basis, but a proposal should be made a month prior to their meeting date.

Conference Searches for Solutions to Stop Underage Drinking

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KENNESAW, Ga. – Convening policy-makers, law enforcement officials and representatives from the courts, The Cobb Alcohol Task Force on Monday hosted a conference to develop plans to reduce underage drinking. The daylong Justice System Response to Underage Drinking: Roadmap for Improvement held at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, brought the “significant players to the table,” according to Alisa Bennett-Hart, Cobb Alcohol Taskforce’s public relations specialist. “Sometimes we have to get everybody together to listen to what they have to say,” Bennet-Hart said.  “This [conference] is us listening.”

The morning began with presentations and an hour-long roundtable panel discussion by a mixture of experts from law enforcement, the courts and advocates. After lunch, participants split into smaller breakout sessions where they could discuss potential strategies.  Each session included a mixture of law enforcement, judicial representatives and policy makers.

Grant Supports Men Who Oppose Violence Against Kids

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The U.S. Department of Justice and the Office on Violence Against Woman is offering the Engaging Men in Preventing Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program. This Program assists the movement to end violence against women by including men. A recent national poll indicated that 73 percent of men feel they can help reduce domestic violence and sexual assault. This is the first program that supports projects that help raise awareness in the critical roles that men play in prevention of violence against women and girls. The aim is to help develop new male leaders who will speak and act to oppose violence against women. The deadline for this grant is June 30, 2011.

“Slow: Children at Play” Signs Probably Don’t Work

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We’ve all driven past them dozens, perhaps hundreds, of times but signs reading “Slow: Children at Play” probably aren’t slowing us down, according to a story on Slate.com. The reasons are simple: they are either redundant (because drivers are more likely to see actual children at play rather than a sign telling them about the children) or drivers ignore them completely (because they never see any children at play on the street). What matters, studies show, is traffic speed, not signs.  Children are safer on streets with a lower speed limit.  As the speed limit increases so does the danger for children. But traffic engineers face a difficult task convincing parents that their children are no safer with the signs than without.  Parents, understandably, will take whatever steps they can to keep their children safe.  But Slate suggests that the problem is systemic.  Our streets are designed for traffic, not for people or neighborhoods or children at play. “It's roads, not signs, that tell people how to drive,” according to the story.

The Street Outreach Grant

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The Department of Health and Human Services, The Administration for Children and Families, The Administration on Children, Youth and Families, is offering the Runaway and Homeless Youth Street Outreach Program. The goal is to assist children who fall victim to exploitation and abuse on the streets. The objective is to increase the safety, wellbeing and self-sufficiency of homeless youth. This is accomplished by building connections with them so organizations can help provide for the child’s immediate physical needs while helping improve behavioral and psychological health for them. The deadline is June 24, 2011.

Sex Offender Registration Act Grant

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Jurisdictions that are either developing or trying to enhance programs designed to implement the Sex Offender Registration Act may want to consider applying for a grant sponsored by The Office of Sex Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending and Trafficking (SMART) Support for Adam Walsh Implementation Grant Program. The Sex Offender Registration Act was put in place so it could provide a legal means to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime, prevent child abuse and child pornography and promote internet safety. It also helps build a comprehensive national system for the registration and notification of sex offenders.

Internet Crimes Against Children Deconfliction System Program Grant

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Internet Crimes Against Children Deconfliction System Program Grant offers assistance to organizations looking for financial help to thwart  internet crimes against kids. The Internet Crimes Against Children Deconfliction Systems (ICAC) may be able to get help from OJJJDP through its grant program. This grant will award as much as $500,000 to help construct, maintain and house an Internet Crimes Against Children Data System (IDS). The grant's purpose is to assist law enforcement investigations with child exploitations, avoid conflict on data, and enhance the ability to share information among local, state and federal ICAC task forces. This grant is available to help enhance the ability of OJJDP to collect and aggregate information on child exploitation.

Child porn, sexting and online crimes

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On June 16, 2010, at 2 p.m. E.T., the Office of Justice Programs’ Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) will host a Web Forum on preventing child victimization using high tech devices, including the internet and cell phones.  The session is expected to cover topics such as child pornography, sexting and cyber bullying. 

The 1-hour session, which is cosponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, will be led by Laurie Nathan, who manages national outreach and partnerships for the NetSmartz Workshop, an educational program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.    For further information and instructions on how to participate, visit the OVC Web Forum

–Photo courtesy of  www.flickr.com/photos/angelshupe

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