Advisory Committee On American Indian And Alaska Native Children Exposed To Violence Holds Third Public Hearing

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[SU] NTA POL LAW CHI

TO LEGAL AFFAIRS, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:

Advisory Committee On American Indian And Alaska Native Children

Exposed To Violence Holds Third Public Hearing

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Attorney

General's Advisory Committee of the Task Force on American Indian and

Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence will hold its third public

hearing today and tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The theme of the

hearing is American Indian children exposed to violence in the

community.

"American Indian and Alaska Native children encounter violence and

trauma at unusually high rates, and the effects of this exposure can

be devastating," said Assistant Attorney General for the Office of

Justice Programs Karol V. Mason. "The information and ideas being

gathered at this hearing will guide our efforts to help tribal leaders

and families protect their children."

Robert L. Listenbee, Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention, will provide opening remarks at the

hearing, which will provide witnesses and experts in the field the

opportunity to discuss Native Children's exposure to violence. The

hearing follows the National Indian Child Welfare Association's annual

Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, a four-day event that took

place in Fort Lauderdale, April 13 -16. Today's public hearing

includes a panel on the Indian Child Welfare Act, with participation

from Tribal leadership, Native child advocacy organizations and

experts on child trauma and community violence.

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 a federal advisory committee of experts on

American Indian studies, child health and trauma, victim services and

child welfare.

Former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer

Joanne Shenandoah co-chair the 13-member committee. The advisory

committee will draw upon research and information gathered through

public hearings to draft a final report of policy recommendations that

it will be presented to Attorney General Eric Holder in the coming

months.

Attorney General Holder created the task force in 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 the second in Scottsdale, AZFeb. 11, 2014. The

final public hearing will be held in Anchorage, Alaska. For more

information about the advisory committee and public hearings, please

visit www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood.

SOURCE Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

-0- 04/16/2014

/CONTACT: Office of Justice Programs, www.ojp.gov, 202-307-0703

/Web Site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

CO: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

ST: Alaska District of Columbia

SU: NTA POL LAW CHI

PRN

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