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OJJDP News @ a Glance, January/February 2011

NCJ Number
233339
Date Published
January 2011
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This issue of OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) includes an overview of the features and benefits of the recent partnership between the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Facebook in expanding the number of people exposed to AMBER Alerts; themes of the National Mentoring Summit held on January 25; brief descriptions of upcoming conferences and training events; and brief descriptions of recent activities involving the OJJDP and the U.S. Justice Department.
Abstract
At a news conference on January 12, 2011, Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and National AMBER Alert Coordinator joined representatives of the NCMEC and Facebook in announcing a partnership that will enable millions of Facebook users across the country to receive AMBER Alerts via their accounts. The AMBER Alert system issues media alerts when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. The broadcasts provide information about the child and the abductor that can lead to the child's recovery. At the National Mentoring Summit held on January 25, 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama joined Attorney General Eric Holder and other top U.S. officials in emphasizing the effectiveness of mentoring. The First Lady announced the launching of The Corporate Mentoring Challenge, calling on U.S. corporations to identify ways to engage their employees in mentoring activities that assist youth in the communities where the businesses operate. The purpose of such mentoring is to help youth develop leadership skills, achieve their educational goals, and increase their confidence. The program encourages businesses of all sizes to allow their employees to mentor for short periods during the work day. Companies are already responding to The Corporate Mentoring Challenge.