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HILI Highlight: Protecting Children in Tribal Communities

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OJJDP Publications & Resources available to Native youth

AMBER Alert in Indian Country: Protecting Children in Tribal Communities
OJJDP-Sponsored, February 2020. This information sheet briefly describes the AMBER Alert training and technical assistance resources designed specifically for an effective response to cases of missing children in Indian Country. 1 page. NCJ 253539.

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The UNITY Peer Guides and Healing Indigenous Lives Initiative is dedicated to spreading awareness of available resources to Native youth to help increase community safety protective factors and reduce youth risky behaviors contributing to juvenile delinquency. 

This information sheet briefly describes the AMBER Alert training and technical assistance resources designed specifically for an effective response to cases of missing children in Indian Country.
In 2006, the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced the AMBER Alert in Indian Country Initiative. Selected Tribal communities served as demonstration projects for the development and implementation of AMBER Alert resources and practices in other Tribal communities. As a result, AMBER Alert plans have been adopted in Tribal communities across the country. About 1,500 Tribal officials and community members have attended training or participated in technical assistance programs. There have been successful child recoveries in AMBER Alert or Child Abduction Recovery Team (CART) activations in Indian Country.
In 2010, the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) brought the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Program to Indian Country. The ICAC assesses the extent to which Tribal youth are victims of, or at risk for, computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. Tribes are provided with hardware, software, and training to conduct investigations and prevention programs that target computer-related crimes against children. Resources are listed for the Tribal Child Abduction Plans Project, the Tribal Help Desk and Database, and Indian Country training programs.