Frequently Asked Questions
From WikiCODOPN
[edit] "What federal organizations are currently involved in youth violence?
Interpersonal violence is one of the most important issues facing our nation’s youth. Although many institutional and community-based efforts have been directed towards alleviating this problem, information about these efforts is not always easy to find. To fill this need, the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (NYVPRC) web site, www.safeyouth.organd call center, 1-866-SAFEYOUTH (723-3968), serve as a user-friendly, single point of access to federal information on youth violence.
Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other Federal partners, the Resource Center provides current information developed by Federal agencies and the private sector pertaining to youth violence. A gateway for professionals, parents, youth and other interested individuals, the Resource Center offers the latest tools to facilitate discussion with children, to resolve conflicts nonviolently, to stop bullying, to prevent teen suicide, and to end violence committed by and against young people. Resources include fact sheets, best practices documents, funding and conference announcements, statistics, research bulletins, surveillance reports, and profiles of promising programs
The Resource Center, established as a central source of information on
prevention and intervention programs, publications, research, and statistics on violence committed by and against children and teens, is a partnership of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other Federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services; the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Justice; the Health Resources and Services Administration; the National Institutes of Health; and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
[edit] Federal Emergency Management Agency
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the US Department of Homeland Security provides the FEMA for Kids Web site. This site teaches youth how to be prepared for disasters and how they can prevent disaster damage. Youth can also learn what causes disasters, play games, read stories, and earn a Disaster Action Kid Certificate for being knowledgeable about the subject. Get Ready Get Set, a part of the FEMA for Kids Web site provides information on what to prepare when a disaster occurs, including how to (1) make a disaster supply kit and a family disaster plan, and (2) how to protect homes from a disaster. The Web site also provides information on natural disasters as well as national security emergencies, and includes curriculum, school safety information, and other resources for parents and teachers.
- Note: The DoPN would consider natural disasters as destructive forces but not a form of violence. The use of the term "violence" is limited to human actions that prevent a person from reaching their potential.
- Sometimes the overt omission of information or failure to consider common knowledge could be construed as a form of structural violence.
- Example: If what is currently known about the shifting continental plates/fault lines/ and catastrophic earth quakes is not conveyed to youth (in an age appropriate manner), that could be an action(inaction) that prevents a youth (hundreds, thousands, millions) from reaching their potential if they are killed in the next natural event.
An informed adult should have the right to choose to live in regions with known natural destructive forces, take responsibility for and plan to mitigate the effects of the occurrence of such a destructive natural event so it does not become a natural disaster or emergency situation. If I have chosen to live on a known fault line, and choose to ignore the possible consequences, and fail to mitigate the effects of these natural forces on my life ( and those within my ring of responsibility), my action is a form of self-directed violence for myself and structural violence for those in my ring of responsibility. My actions and inactions create a high probability (almost a certainty) that I will turn a natural event into a "natural disaster" for myself and those in my ring of responsibility.
On the other hand, if I consider the prevailing wisdom about earthquakes, and move a reasonable distance from a fault, and spend most of my time in appropriately constructed buildings for their proximity to this known source of potentially destructive geophysical energy, a "miscalculated" misfortune would be a natural disaster because the prevailing knowledge and best attempts to remain safe were inadequate.
- Topic for Debate: If you tell me that the house I'm about to buy is 1/4 mile from a known fault line, and that this structure is not even remotely constructed to accommodate the large forces it will experience during an imminent quake and I still choose to buy and live in that house, is it appropriate for me to expect you to share the cost of rebuilding my house after it is damaged/destroyed by an earthquake?
- Topic for Debate: Suppose a knowledgeable expert says "this building is a fire trap. It is not an issue of 'if' it will catch on fire and burn to the ground, but a matter of 'when' it will catch on fire. If I don't even start moving toward an exit, is my failure to do anything a form of self-inflicted violence? Am I doing (not doing) something that will prevent me from reaching my potential?
- Role of the DoPN: to reduce levels of violence - including forms of structural violence. As researchers learn more about our natural world, and better understand natural events that are destructive, that knowledge must be clearly conveyed to those who may be affected by this event, so they understand what can be done to mitigate the injurious effects of these natural events. The DoPN can work with FEMA to assure that "preventative / informative steps" are taken preceding a natural event to avoid a national "disaster."
- Hurricane flood surges and wind damage are natural events and their occurrence can be predicted with confidence days ahead of the event. Evacuation or other mitigation measures must be completed within that time period. Requires close coordination with other agencies involved in communications, transportation, health care, utilities, etc.
- Rain floods, tornados, etc. may have minutes of warning, so shelters must be immediately accessible
- Earthquakes - seconds of warning so all mitigation must already be in place.
[edit] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
[edit] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[edit] National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
[edit] National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health
[edit] Administration for Children and Families
[edit] National Institutes of Health
[edit] National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
[edit] National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
[edit] National Institute on Drug Abuse
[edit] National Institute of Mental Health
[edit] Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research
[edit] National Library of Medicine
[edit] Health Resources and Services Administration
[edit] Maternal and Child Health Bureau
[edit] Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
[edit] Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
[edit] Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
[edit] Center for Mental Health Services
[edit] National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
[edit] Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
[edit] U.S. Department of Agriculture
[edit] U.S. Department of Labor
[edit] Employment and Training Administration
[edit] Bureau of International Labor Affairs
[edit] Employment Standards Administration
[edit] Office of Disability Employment Policy
[edit] U.S. Department of Education
[edit] National Center for Education Statistics
[edit] Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
[edit] Educational Resources Information Center
[edit] U.S. Department of Homeland Security
[edit] U.S. Secret Service
[edit] U.S. Department of Justice
[edit] Office of Justice Programs
[edit] Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
[edit] Office for Victims of Crime
[edit] Bureau of Justice Assistance
[edit] Bureau of Justice Statistics
[edit] Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
[edit] National Institute of Justice
[edit] Federal Bureau of Investigation
[edit] Crimes Against Children (CAC)
Every year thousands of children become victims of crime—whether it’s kidnappings, violent attacks, or sexual abuse.
The mission of the FBI Crimes Against Children (CAC) program is threefold:
- to decrease the vulnerability of children to sexual exploitation;
- to develop a nationwide capacity to provide a rapid, effective, and measured investigative response to crimes against children; and
- to enhance the capabilities of state and local law enforcement investigators through programs, investigative assistance, and task force operations.
Our strategy involves using multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams to investigate and prosecute crimes that cross legal, geographical, and jurisdictional boundaries; promoting and enhancing interagency sharing of intelligence, specialized skills, and services; and widely offering our victim/witness services.
[edit] Violent Gangs
About 30,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with approximately 800,000 members operate in the U.S. today.
Many are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include drug trafficking, robbery, theft, fraud, extortion, prostitution rings, and gun trafficking.
At the FBI Violent Gang website, you'll find more:
- the threats posed by gangs,
- about how you can help spot and prevent gang activity, and
- how we're redoubling our efforts to disrupt and dismantle them through intelligence-driven investigations and new initiatives and partnerships.
