Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence convened its first of four public hearings to gather expert and community testimony on the epidemic of children’s exposure to violence.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence today held a public hearing in Albuquerque, N.M., on the challenges rural and tribal communities face in preventing children’s exposure to violence.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence concluded a three-day public hearing in Miami today on the challenges of preventing children’s exposure to violence in the community. At the hearing, expert panelists on the child welfare system testified about how immigrant and at-risk youth are exposed to violence and how mayors across the country are interrupting the cycle of violence in their cities, among other issues.

At the final hearing of Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in Detroit, officials from the Justice Department and the city of Detroit underscored efforts to keep kids safe and prevent youth violence. The task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood Initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence.

"As Attorney General – and as the father of three teenagers – protecting the safety, and the potential, of our nation’s young people has long been both a personal and professional priority," said Attorney General Holder.

John Wyss, aka “Bones,” 55, of Monroe, Wis., was found guilty of one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography and one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography.

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole paid tribute to four individuals today during the National Missing Children’s Day ceremony at the Justice Department’s Great Hall.

"Today, I’m very pleased to announce that we’re awarding almost $27 million to support NCMEC’s great work. The funds will continue all the great programs I just named – and many more, like the national resource center and information clearinghouse," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"I’ve spent much of my career – as a prosecutor, in government, and as head of the National Center for Victims of Crime – working to strengthen our responses to victims of all ages. I never cease to marvel at the incredible devotion and resolve of victim advocates," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"I am so pleased to be here today to honor four individuals for their extraordinary efforts to find and rescue missing and exploited children and bring perpetrators to justice. Their achievements – and the stories behind them – remind us of the special qualities possessed by every single one of you who works to protect our children," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

Jesse Osmun, 32, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson to one count of traveling from the United States to South Africa and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with children.

The Justice Department released a letter of findings today determining that the Lauderdale County Youth Court, the Meridian Police Department (MPD), and the Mississippi Division of Youth Services (DYS) are violating the constitutional rights of juveniles in Meridian, Miss. The department’s investigation found reasonable cause to believe that these agencies have violated the constitutional due process rights of children in the city of Meridian and the county of Lauderdale under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The Justice Department announced today that John Wingard Altman has agreed to pay $25,000 to settle a lawsuit involving violations of the Fair Housing Act at Altman Apartments, a 16-unit apartment complex he owns in Summerville, S.C. In July 2012, the court, ruling on a motion filed by the government, found that the defendant had violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

John Wyss, aka “Bones,” 55, of Monroe, Wis., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks in the Western District of Louisiana.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the homeowners association and former manager of a 249-townhome community in Gibsonton, Fla., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

"At the Department of Justice, we are fully aware of how critically important, and oftentimes life-saving, this work really is for countless children nationwide," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the city of Meridian, Miss.; Lauderdale County, Miss.; judges of the Lauderdale County Youth Court; and the state of Mississippi alleging that the defendants systematically violate the due process rights of juveniles.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence today presented its final report and policy recommendations gathered from public hearings held across the country over the past year.

"Now, there’s no question that we can be proud of the anti-violence work that’s already under way - and the progress that so many of you are leading - in big cities and small towns across the country. But, as this report clearly illustrates, we cannot yet be satisfied - and this is no time to become complacent," said Attorney General Holder.

"This report is a central part of the Department’s broader efforts to collect information, solicit expert guidance, and formulate proactive strategies for addressing children’s exposure to violence. Its findings are consistent with, and complementary to, another recent report – focused on exposure to domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault – that was released by the National Advisory Committee for the Office on Violence Against Women," said Attorney General Holder.

A Massachusetts man was sentenced today to serve 45 years in prison for his participation in an international criminal network, known as Dreamboard, dedicated to the sexual abuse of children and the creation and dissemination of graphic images and videos of child sexual abuse throughout the world.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement with Apple Tree Children’s Center of Norwalk, Iowa, to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Justice Department announced today that Marcus Manly Magee III, Ina Magee and their company, M.M. and S. Inc., have agreed to pay $27,000 to settle a lawsuit involving violations of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today paid tribute to nine individuals for their extraordinary efforts to recover missing children, rescue children from abuse and prosecute sexual predators during its annual commemoration of National Missing Children’s Day.

I want to take this opportunity not only to congratulate our honorees, but to thank all of you – everyone here – for your commitment to finding missing, abducted, and exploited children.

Our commitment to children – and to finding missing children – is stronger than ever.

It is estimated that more than 1.7 million children currently have a parent in prison, and many more have parents who are in local jails or lock-ups at any given time. As we’ve heard today, addressing these children’s needs requires a coordinated effort of multiple government agencies and social service entities to implement collaborative approaches. This Administration is committed to providing support to children of incarcerated parents and their caregivers.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida alleging the state is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in its administration of its service system for children with significant medical needs, resulting in nearly 200 children with disabilities being unnecessarily segregated in nursing facilities when they could be served in their family homes or other community-based settings.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the manager and owner of the Linden House Apartments in Cleveland for refusing to rent apartments to families with children in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and operators of a Fremont, Calif., apartment complex, alleging that they had discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting children from playing in the common grassy areas of the complex.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the first public hearing of a new task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children. Joining President Obama and other officials at the Department of the Interior for the White House Tribal Nations Conference, Attorney General Holder shared the announcement with leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes and emphasized the Justice Department’s long-standing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the homeowner’s association, management company and property manager of a Minnetonka, Minn., condominium complex, alleging that they discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with Camelot Child Development Center of Oklahoma City and Edmond, Okla., under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of the Task Force on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence held its first public hearing today in Bismarck, N.D., convening tribal researchers, advocates and local community members to discuss domestic violence and child physical and sexual abuse in Indian Country.

ifty years ago Attorney General Robert Kennedy came here to Bismarck and spoke of the "tragic irony" of First Americans living in the freest country in the world yet imprisoned by conditions of poverty and deprivation -- conditions not found in the natural order of things but manmade, imposed and perpetuated by bigotry and greed and violence.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of rental apartments in Jaffrey, N.H., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the owner and those responsible for the management of a 126-space mobile home park in Effingham, Ill., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against African-Americans and families with children.

More than 30 tribal leaders, juvenile court judges, child advocates, juvenile justice system experts and community members from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community testified today in the second public hearing of the Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence.

Let us reaffirm our commitment to the safety and health of tribal communities. And let us rededicate ourselves to giving native children a future unclouded by violence and brightened by hope. This is the responsibility of every one of us.

The government has asked a federal court in California to issue an injunction shutting down the importation and sales activities of four California companies and six individuals in connection with their imports of illegal children’s products containing, among other things, lead, phthalates and small parts inappropriate for children under age three.

Hector Orjuela Jr., 47, was sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for molesting children under the age of 12 and producing child pornography.

It was that promise that, nearly forty years ago, led Congress to hold a series of hearings that lifted the curtain and shed light on abusive child-welfare practices that were separating Native children from their families at staggering rates; uprooting them from their tribes and their culture. Roughly one of every three or four Indian children, according to data presented at those hearings, had been taken from their birth families and placed with adoptive families, in foster care, or in institutions that had little or no connection to the child's tribe.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary Arne Duncan today announced updated guidance to assist public elementary and secondary schools to ensure enrollment processes are consistent with the law and fulfill their obligation to provide all children – no matter their background – equal access to an education.

Especially as we approach the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, in which Chief Justice Earl Warren called education “a right which must be made available to all on equal terms,” it is imperative that we do everything in our power to end policies or practices that deny this right to those who are constitutionally entitled to it.

The work of these honorees in rescuing missing and exploited children – and in bringing perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice – is exceptional. It takes very special people to perform such difficult – and in many cases heart-wrenching and life-changing – duties.

The Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence convenes its final public hearing in Anchorage, Alaska, today and tomorrow

"We have come to Anchorage to lessen the number of suffering children. We come to continue the important work we began six months ago when this Advisory Committee held its first hearing in Bismarck," said Associate Attorney General West

Earlier today, William S. Gazafi, age 44, of Lusby, Maryland, was sentenced to 120 years in prison, for six counts of sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography

The Department of Justice and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers AmeriCorps national service programs, has awarded $1.8 million in grants to increase the effective and efficient adjudication of immigration proceedings involving certain children who have crossed the U.S. border without a parent or legal guardian.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Five lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill giving a full range of medical services to families with children who have life-limiting illnesses and who qualify for Medicaid, which currently has gaps in such coverage.

The Children’s Program of All-Inclusive Coordinated Care (ChiPACC) Act (H.R. 6560) would let states create comprehensive care programs for these children. Its authors are the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus: Representatives Michael McCaul (R-TX), Jackie Speier (D-CA), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and Mike Kelly (R-PA), together with Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

“Families with children facing life-limiting illnesses need all the support they can get, and they should be empowered to seek out that support,” the bill’s sponsors said in a joint statement. “We owe it to these kids and their loved ones to help ensure more compassionate care in their most trying times.”

Gaps in Medicaid coverage of hospice and palliative services have deprived many beneficiaries of the care they need because the program does not cover some of children’s unique medical needs.

Under this bill, the family of every child who qualifies for Medicaid will receive a specialized care plan covering a range of services – palliative, counseling, respite, expressive therapy and bereavement – providing them and their families greater comfort and peace of mind.

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