Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday announced a $5.5 million “Defending Childhood” initiative designed to address the exposure of children to violence as victims and as witnesses. The funding, which will support the development of programs and projects on the subject, would increase to $37 million under President Obama’s proposed 2011 budget request.
The initial funding includes planning grants for eight demonstration sites to support the development of comprehensive community-based strategies to prevent and reduce the impact of children’s exposure to violence in their homes, schools, and communities. The eight demonstration sites are Boston, $160,000; Portland, Maine, $160,000; Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana, $153,210; Grand Forks, N.D., $159,967; Cuyahoga County, Ohio, $157,873; Multnomah County, Ore., $159,349; Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, $159,534, and Shelby County, Tenn., $159,099.