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Demonstration Sites

Montana

Mission

To improve the responses to child and youth victims and their families by providing consistent, coordinated, and collaborative responses that address the presenting issues and the full range of victims’ needs.

Strategies

Vision 21 Linking Systems of Care (LSOC) for Children and Youth in Montana facilitated a comprehensive continuum of services for youth victims and their families who were often served by multiple agencies that require integration and linkage. Strategy highlights included: maintaining and enhancing a network of stakeholders and partners with a shared vision of reaching under-served child and youth victims of violence; collaborating to develop a strategy to link systems of care based on Montana’s specific environment; and piloting the strategy in selected communities. During implementation, young victims and their families from across pilot sites representing 18 different Montana counties have been linked to services, such as mental health care, parenting classes, and transitional housing assistance for domestic violence survivors.

Funded Agency

Montana Board of Crime Control (MBCC) was the designated state agency that administers millions of grant dollars dedicated to preventing and addressing crime statewide. MBCC is headed by an 18-member board appointed by the governor and represents law enforcement, criminal and juvenile justice system stakeholders, and citizens, including the first Montanans, our state’s Native Americans. The mission of MBCC is to proactively contribute to public safety, crime prevention, and victim assistance through planning, policy development, and coordination of the justice system in partnership with citizens, government, and communities. For more information on Montana’s state project visit their project website.

State Data FAQs

What do we know about children and youth populations in Montana based on the Census?

What are the racial and ethnic demographics for children and youth populations in Montana?
According to 2017 population estimates, White youth comprise 81% of the population ages 0-24 in Montana, with American Indian youth comprising 10%, Hispanic 6%, Black 2%, and Asian 1%.

How are children and youth populations changing in Montana?
Between 2000 and 2017, the number of White children and youth, ages 0-24 within the state general population, decreased 2%. In contrast, the population of Black child and youth increased 125%, Hispanic 98%; Asian 67%; and American Indian 9%.

Puzzanchera, C., Sladky, A. and Kang, W. (2018). “Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990-2017.” Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/

What do we know about Montana from national law enforcement data collections?

How many youth victims of violence are known to law enforcement in Montana?
A reported 11,300 victims of violent crime were known to law enforcement in Montana. Nearly 1 in 5 victims (approximately 2,000) were youth under the age of 18..

Among youth victims, what is the most common offense in Montana?
Sex offenses (e.g., fondling and rape) were the most serious offense for nearly two-fifths (38%) of youth victims while one-third of youth were victims of simple assault. More than half of all assaults (aggravated and simple) involved boys, and nearly 80% of sex offense victims were girls.

How many youth are victims of domestic violence in Montana?
Of the 2,000 youth victims of violence, nearly half (~970) were victims of domestic violence.

Where are youth most likely to be victimized in Montana?
Sixty percent of all youth victims of violence were victimized in a residence and about 1 in 8 (12%) took place at school. However, more than 80% of youth domestic violence victims were harmed at a residence.

What is known about the offenders in Montana?
Among all youth victims of violence, 43% of youth were victimized by an acquaintance and 38% were victimized by a family member. Among youth domestic violence victims, about half were victimized by a parent.

National Incident Based Reporting System, 2015: Extract Files. Distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Available from https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/NACJD/index.html

What do we know about Montana from national surveys of youth behavior in schools?

How prevalent is bullying at high schools in Montana?
About 1 in 4 high school students reported being bullied while at school and nearly 1 in 5 reported being subject to electronic bullying. Overall, 5% of high school students reported that they did not go to school because they felt unsafe.

How prevalent is dating violence among high school students in Montana?
Nearly 1 in 10 (8%) of all high school students reported experiencing physical dating violence (i.e., being hit, slammed into something, or injured with an object or weapon on purpose), and 1 in 10 reported experiencing sexual dating violence (i.e., kissing, touching, or being forced to have sex when they did not want to by someone they were dating).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1991-2015 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available from https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/Opens a New Window.

What do we know about Montana from national data collections concerning child abuse and neglect?

How many children who received an investigation were substantiated as victims in Montana?
In 2016, there were 17,538 reports of maltreatment involving 13,702 unique children. Three-fourths of these reports were unsubstantiated, and 5% were closed with no finding of maltreatment. One-fifth of all reports were substantiated, resulting in 3,116 unique child maltreatment victims in 2016.

What is the most common type of child maltreatment in Montana?
Neglect (91%) was by far the most common form of maltreatment. Comparatively, physical abuse (4%), sexual abuse (3%), and psychological maltreatment (2%) were much less common.

How many children die as a result of maltreatment in Montana?
In 2016, there were no reported fatalities as a result of maltreatment.

What is known about child maltreatment perpetrators in Montana?
Parents and other family members are the most common child maltreatment perpetrators. In 2016, parents accounted for 89% of reported perpetrators and 3% were other relatives. Unmarried partners of a child’s biological parent accounted for 5% of perpetrators.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2018). Child maltreatment 2016. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatmentOpens a New Window.


Virginia

Mission

To bring together all of the relevant systems and professionals to provide early identification, intervention, and treatment for child and youth victims and their families and caregivers.

Strategies

Virginia Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems or VA HEALS developed screening infrastructure across a wide range of public agencies to screen uniformly and respond to the safety needs of child and youth victims of violence. Strategy highlights included: maintaining and enhancing the network of Virginia agency stakeholders that respond to child and youth victims of violence; developing a strategy to identify, assess, and provide comprehensive services; working with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to analyze data from pilot sites and make modifications to the screening tool and supporting training manual. During three implementation pilots in diverse regions of the state, young victims and their families were linked to services through community-based behavioral health service boards or directly referred to counseling services, sexual and domestic violence programs, healthcare providers, and mentoring programs.

Funded Agency

The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) is one of the largest Commonwealth agencies, partnering with 120 local departments of social services, along with faith-based and non-profit organizations, to promote the well-being of children and families statewide. One thousand six-hundred and fifty (state) and 8,500 (local) human services professionals throughout the social services system ensure that thousands of Virginia’s most vulnerable citizens have access to the best services and benefits available to them. The mission of VDSS is people helping people triumph over poverty, abuse, and neglect to shape a strong future for themselves, their families, and their communities. For more information on Virginia’s state project visit their LSC State Agency Website.

State Data FAQs

What do we know about children and youth populations in Virginia based on the census?

What are the racial and ethnic demographics for children and youth populations in Virginia?
According to 2017 population estimates, White youth comprise 57% of the population ages 0-24 in Virginia, with Black children and youth comprising 22%; Hispanic 13%; Asian 7% and American Indian less than 1%.

How are children and youth populations changing in Virginia?
Between 2000 and 2017, the number of White children and youth, ages 0-24 within the state general population, decreased 4%. In contrast, the population of Hispanic children and youth increased 120%; Asian 90%; and Black 4%.

Puzzanchera, C., Sladky, A. and Kang, W. (2018). “Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990-2017.” Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/

What do we know from national law enforcement data collections about Virginia?

How many youth victims of violence are known to law enforcement in Virginia?
A reported 108,300 victims of violent crime were known to law enforcement in Virginia. About 1 in 6 victims (approximately 18,000) were youth under the age of 18.

Among youth victims, what is the most common offense in Virginia?
Simple assault was the most serious offense for nearly two-thirds of youth victims while 17% of youth were victims of a sex offense (e.g., fondling and rape). More than half (54%) of all assaults (aggravated and simple) involved boys and nearly 80% of sex offense victims were girls.

How many youth are victims of domestic violence in Virginia?
Of the nearly 18,000 youth victims of violence, about one-third (~6,100) were victims of domestic violence.

Where are youth most likely to be victimized in Virginia?
Half of all youth victims of violence were victimized in a residence and more than 1 in 5 (22%) took place at school. However, nearly 85% of youth domestic violence victims were harmed at a residence.

What is known about the offenders in Virginia?
Among all youth victims of violence, more than 40% of youth were victimized by an acquaintance and 29% were victimized by a family member. Among youth domestic violence victims, half were victimized by a parent.

National Incident Based Reporting System, 2015: Extract Files. Distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Available from https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/NACJD/index.htmlOpens a New Window.

What do we know from national surveys of youth behavior in schools in Virginia?

How prevalent is bullying at high schools in Virginia?
About 1 in 5 high school students report being bullied while at school and 1 in 7 (14%) reported being subject to electronic bullying. Overall, 6% of high school students reported that they did not go to school because they felt unsafe.

How prevalent is dating violence among high school students in Virginia?
About 1 in 10 high school students reported experiencing physical dating violence, including being hit, slammed into something, or injured with an object or weapon on purpose.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1991-2015 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available from https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/Opens a New Window.

What do we know from national data collections concerning child abuse and neglect in Virginia?

How many children who received an investigation were substantiated as victims in Virginia?
In 2016, there were 69,434 reports of maltreatment involving 62,808 unique children. More than half of these reports received an alternative response, one-fourth resulted in a finding of no maltreatment, and 11% were unsubstantiated. About 10% of all reports were substantiated, resulting in 5,941 unique child maltreatment victims in 2016.

What is the most common type of child maltreatment in Virginia?
Neglect (58%) and physical abuse (28%) were the most common forms of maltreatment. Comparatively, sexual abuse (11%) and psychological maltreatment (1%) were much less common.

How many children die as a result of maltreatment in Virginia?
In 2016, there were 45 reported fatalities representing less than 1% of all child victims. The child maltreatment fatality rate of 2.41 (per 100,000 children) in Virginia was about the same as the national rate (2.36).

What is known about child maltreatment perpetrators in Virginia?
Parents and other family members are the most common child maltreatment perpetrators. In 2016, parents accounted for 73% of reported perpetrators and 7% were other relatives. Unmarried partners of a child’s biological parent accounted for a small percent (3%) of perpetrators.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2018). Child maltreatment 2016. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatmentOpens a New Window.


Illinois

Mission

Vision 21 Linking Systems of Care (LSOC) for Children and Youth in Illinois has developed Illinois HEALS (Helping Everyone Access Linked Systems). Illinois HEALS leverages federal, state, and community resources and partnerships to implement policies, practices, and programs that strengthen the capacity of Illinois’ communities to recognize when victimization has occurred and connect and engage young victims and families in needed services.

Strategies

Strategy highlights included completing a 15-month planning process that culminated with a detailed statewide plan that guided a multipronged statewide implementation effort. During 2019, the project entered the implementation phase and piloted the Illinois Heals model in a five-county region of southern Illinois that has a high level of need and pre-existing community based agencies with experience supporting systems of care. The Illinois HEALS pilot applied a relational approach to engage, connect, and recognize young victims. Project staff convened existing health care networks across the region to identify service needs, assisting young victims and their families with navigating screening, providing advocacy while appropriate clinical services are being identified, making service referrals to high-quality services and providing regular follow-ups to ensure the appropriate services are being provided.

Funded Agency

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) served as the lead agency for the Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth project. The mission of ICJIA is to improve the administration of justice through grant funding, research, policy and planning, and information systems and technology. ICJIA’s mandate was recently expanded to include strategic planning and technical assistance in the area of trauma services for victims of crime. ICJIA brings together key leaders from the justice system and the public to identify critical issues facing the criminal justice system in Illinois, and to propose and evaluate policies, programs, and legislation that address those issues. For more information on Illinois’ state project visit their LSC State Agency WebsiteOpens a New Window.

State Data FAQs

What do we know about children and youth in Illinois based on the census?

What are the racial and ethnic demographics for children and youth populations in Illinois?
According to 2017 population estimates, White youth comprise 53% of the population ages 0-24 in Illinois, with Hispanic children and youth comprising 24%; Black 17%; Asian 6%; and American Indian less than 1%.

How are children and youth populations changing in Illinois?
Between 2000 and 2017, white children and youth, ages 0-24 within the state general population, decreased 18% followed by the population of Black youth that decreased 16% and American Indian 11%. In contrast, Asian children and youth increased 44 % and the Hispanic population of children and youth increased 24%.
Puzzanchera, C., Sladky, A. and Kang, W. (2018). “Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990-2017.” Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/

What do we know from national surveys of youth behavior in schools in Illinois?

How prevalent is bullying at high school in Illinois?
About 1 in 5 high school students report being bullied while at school and about 1 in 7 (15%) report being subject to electronic bullying. Overall, 6% of high school students reported that they did not go to school because they felt unsafe.

How prevalent is dating violence among high school students in Illinois?
About 1 in 10 (11%) of all high school students reported experiencing physical dating violence (i.e, being hit, slammed into something, or injured with an object or weapon on purpose), and 1 in 10 (11%) reported experiencing sexual dating violence (i.e., kissing, touching, or being forced to have sex when they did not want to by someone they were dating).

What do we know from national data collections concerning child abuse and neglect in Illinois?

How many children who received an investigation were substantiated as victims in Illnois?
In 2016, there were 176,169 reports of maltreatment involving 140,480 unique children. More than half (54%) of these reports were unsubstantiated, and 28% resulted in no finding of maltreatment. Nearly one-fifth (18%) of all reports were substantiated, resulting in 29,059 unique child maltreatment victims in 2016.

What is the most common type of child maltreatment in Illinois?
Neglect (64%) was by far the most common form of maltreatment. Comparatively, physical abuse (20%) and sexual abuse (14%) were less common.

How many children die as a result of maltreatment in Illinois?
In 2016, there were 64 reported fatalities representing less than one half of 1% of all child victims. The child maltreatment fatality rate of 2.19 (per 100,000 children) in Illinois was below the national rate (2.36).

What is known about child maltreatment perpetrators in Illinois?
Parents and other family members are the most common child maltreatment perpetrators. In 2016, parents accounted for 76% of reported perpetrators and 7% were other relatives. Unmarried partners of a child’s biological parent accounted for a 5% of perpetrators.


Ohio

Strategies

Linking Systems of Care for Ohio’s Youth (LSCOY) improved the response to child and youth victims of violence (physical or sexual violence) and/or those who are proximal to severe violence throughout Ohio. This project sought to increase identification, community resource linkage, and collaborations between the systems that serve children and youth. Strategy highlights included: forming a statewide key stakeholder group and related work groups; conducting a gap/needs assessment; mapping all major initiatives in Ohio related to victimized children and youth; developing a screening instrument, process and protocol which will be linked to an online resource directory; and facilitating agency linkage and communication through service-linkage protocol and related tools.

Funded Agency

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office (OAG) served as the lead agency and fiscal agent for their Linking Systems of Care project. The office consists of nearly 30 distinct sections that advocate for consumers and victims of violent crime, assist the criminal justice community, provide legal counsel for state offices and agencies, and enforce certain state laws.

The OAG offers services to protect all Ohioans, including children, families, consumers, the elderly, victims of violent crime, and veterans.

State Data FAQs

What do we know about children and youth in Ohio based on the census?

What are the racial and ethnic demographics for children and youth populations in the Ohio?
According to 2017 population estimates, white children and youth comprise 74% of the population ages 0-24 in Ohio, with black children and youth comprising 17%; Hispanic 6%; Asian 3%; and American Indian less than 1%.

How are children and youth populations changing in Ohio?
Between 2000 and 2017, white children and youth ages 0-24 within the state general population, decreased 14%. In contrast Hispanic children and youth increased 90%; Asian 87%, and Black 7%.

Puzzanchera, C., Sladky, A. and Kang, W. (2018). “Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990-2017.” Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/

What do we know from national law enforcement data collections in Ohio?

How many youth victims of violence are known to law enforcement in Ohio?
A reported 139,000 victims of violent crime were known to law enforcement in Ohio. Nearly 1 in 5 victims (approximately 25,700) were youth under the age of 18.

Among youth victims, what is the most common offense in Ohio?
Simple assault was the most serious offense for 42% of youth victims while 15% of youth were victims of a sex offense (e.g., fondling and rape). Half of all assaults (aggravated and simple) involved boys, and more than 75% of sex offense victims were girls.

How many youth are victims of domestic violence in Ohio?
Of the 25,700 youth victims of violence, more than two-fifths (~11,500) were victims of domestic violence.

Where are youth most likely to be victimized in Ohio?
More than half (57%) of all youth victims of violence were victimized in a residence and about 1 in 10 took place at school. Comparatively, about 80% of youth domestic violence victims were harmed at a residence

What is known about the offenders in Ohio?
Among all youth victims of violence, 40% were victimized by a family member and 38% were victimized by an acquaintance. Among youth domestic violence victims, more than 6 of every 10 (62%) were victimized by a parent.

National Incident Based Reporting System, 2015: Extract Files. Distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Available from https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/NACJD/index.htmlOpens a New Window.

What do we know from national surveys of youth behavior in schools in Ohio?

How prevalent is bullying at high school in Ohio?
More than 1 in 5 (21%) high school students reported being bullied while at school and 1 in 7 (15%) reported being subject to electronic bullying. Overall, 5% of high school students reported that they did not go to school because they felt unsafe.

How prevalent is dating violence among high school students in Ohio?
One in 10 high school students reported experiencing sexual dating violence, i.e., kissing, touching, or being forced to have sex when they did not want to by someone they were dating.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1991-2015 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. Available from https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/Opens a New Window.

What do we know from national data collections concerning child abuse and neglect in Ohio?

How many children who received an investigation were substantiated as victims in Ohio?
In 2016, there were 124,626 reports of maltreatment involving 103,868 unique children. More than four of every 10 (43%) of these reports received an alternative response, one-third were unsubstantiated, and 3% were closed with no finding of maltreatment. About 1 in 7 (15%) reports were substantiated, resulting in 23,635 unique child maltreatment victims in 2016.

What is the most common type of child maltreatment in Ohio?
Physical abuse (40%) and neglect (39%) were the most common forms of maltreatment, followed by sexual abuse (17%). Comparatively, psychological maltreatment (3%) was much less common

How many children die as a result of maltreatment in Ohio?
In 2016, there were 66 reported fatalities representing less than one half of 1% of all child victims. The child maltreatment fatality rate of 2.53 (per 100,000 children) in Ohio was above the national rate (2.36).

What is known about child maltreatment perpetrators in Ohio?
Parents and other family members are the most common child maltreatment perpetrators. In 2016, parents accounted for 59% of reported perpetrators and 11% were other relatives. Unmarried partners of a child’s biological parent accounted for a small percent (<1%) of perpetrators.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2018). Child maltreatment 2016. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatmentOpens a New Window.