NCJ Number
235011
Date Published
June 2011
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This issue features information on the purpose and work of the U.S. Justice Department's Reentry Council; a Webcast by U.S. Attorney General Holder on "Defending Childhood," a public health approach for ending children's exposure to violence; an effort to expand the features of Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program; the sixth edition of a directory for missing and exploited children; a milestone for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System; the release of human trafficking statistics; and a continuing decline in the jail population.
Abstract
The Reentry Council brings together Federal agencies that assist those returning from prison and jail in becoming productive citizens and reducing the costs of incarceration. Attorney General Holder's Webcast provides an update on the progress of "Defending Childhood," an effort begun in 2010 to combat children's exposure to violence, mitigate the effects of exposure when it does occur, and develop knowledge and awareness of the issue. Two solicitations for funding up to four demonstration sites and an evaluation have been issued for HOPE, an innovative probation program that uses swift and certain punishment to help probationers abstain from illegal drug use. The sixth edition of a directory describes the role of each Federal Task Force for Missing and Exploited Children in locating and recovering missing and exploited children, linking resources, and providing user-friendly information. The two databases of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System recently reached the milestone of including just over 15,000 cases. Recently released data on human trafficking cases reports on cases investigated between January 2008 and June 2010. The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently announced that the U.S. jail population has declined for the second consecutive year, from 767,434 to 748,728 in the 12 months ending June 30, 2010. Information is provided on upcoming training events and conferences.