Reports of child victimization, abuse, and neglect in the United States continue to be alarming. For example, in 1996 alone, more than 3 million children were reported to child protective service agencies as victims of abuse or neglect; nearly 1 million of the children reported were substantiated as victims. Numerous studies cite the connection between abuse or neglect of a child and later development of violent and delinquent behavior. In addition to the Model Courts work (see chapter 1, Model Courts Program) and programs supported under the Missing and Exploited Children's Program discussed in chapter 4, OJJDP supported two other programs that address child abuse and neglect.

Acknowledging the correlation between abuse and future delinquency and the need to both improve system responses and foster strong, nurturing families, OJJDP and several other Office of Justice Programs components joined together in 1996 to design the Safe Kids/Safe Streets: Community Approaches to Reducing Abuse and Neglect and Preventing Delinquency Program. OJJDP is administering this 51/2-year demonstration program and is working with five communities: Huntsville, AL; the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie, MI; Kansas City, MO; Toledo, OH; and Chittenden County, VT. The communities are developing coordinated responses to child abuse and neglect that include prevention, intervention, and treatment services. OJJDP continued to fund the evaluation of this program; the evaluation is being conducted by Westat, Inc., of Rockville, MD.

OJJDP also continued to fund a project that examined the secondary analysis of childhood victimization data that were collected on 1,200 individuals as part of an ongoing research project that began in 1986. The data set includes extensive information on psychiatric, cognitive, intellectual, social, and behavioral functioning. OJJDP awarded a 2-year grant to the University at Albany, State University of New York, in 1997 to conduct the analysis. During the first year, the grantee focused on childhood victimization as a precursor to running away and delinquency. In 1998, researchers examined several other outcomes, such as out-of-home placements and drug use by children who run away, and also explored gender differences.

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OJJDP Annual Report 1998	October 1999