NCJ Number
125583
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
California's Office of Criminal Justice Planning (OCJP) has taken the State lead in designing and implementing strategies and programs to address the needs of missing children and homeless youth.
Abstract
The OCJP was established in 1968 to administer Law Enforcement Assistance Administration block grants and provide improved criminal and juvenile justice system services and victim services. In 1985, the OCJP was asked to study the scope of the missing children problem. The OCJP developed and implemented a study design that included a review of the literature and model programs, public hearings, and a survey of law enforcement agencies. The Davis-Grishman Missing Children's Act of 1986 resulted in new guidelines for handling missing children cases and in more training for law enforcement officers throughout the State. Homeless youth pilot projects have been implemented in San Francisco and Los Angeles to provide outreach services, food and shelter, clothing, improved access to medical assistance, and increased counseling and long-term stabilization planning. Agencies involved in these projects work with law enforcement, and the OCJP encourages close cooperation between all homeless youth projects and law enforcement. Another aspect of OCJP's involvement in funding services to homeless youth is recognition that many are victims of sexual exploitation. The OCJP administers the California Child Sexual Exploitation Program in conjunction with the State Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault Victim Services and Prevention Program in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego projects.