Support Innovative Approaches to Curb Youth Violence

Monday, September 29, 2014

Contact:OMHMedia@hhs.gov

HHS and DOJ to Announce $3M Grant Awards to
Support Innovative Approaches toCurb Youth Violence
Funding program seeksto reduce violence and help youth reach their full potential

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will join local officials in DeKalb County Georgia tomorrow to announce nine grant recipients of a new grant award of approximately $3 million to help curb youth violence and improve the health and well-being of underserved and distressed communities.

Nine demonstration sites from across the country, including the DeKalb County Board of Health, DeKalb County Government and the City of Clarkston, Georgia, will receive grant funding through the Minority Youth Violence Prevention: Integrating Public Health and Community Policing Approaches (MYVP) program, a joint effort by the HHS Office of Minority Health and the DOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to support interventions aimed at addressing youth violence, improving academic outcomes, increasing access to public health and social services, reducing disparities, reducing negative encounters with law enforcement and reducing violent crimes against minority youth. The sites will field initiatives that combine community policing and prevention approaches within a public health framework.

The grant funding is being awarded through and will be administered by the HHS Office of Minority Health, in conjunction with DOJ’s COPS Office. Under the MYVP grant program, the DOJ COPS Office will also announce an award of $500,000 to support an organization that will provide coordination, technical assistance and evaluation across the demonstration sites.

WHO:J. Nadine Gracia, MD, deputy assistant secretary for Minority Health and
director of the Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services
Ronald L. Davis, director, Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
S. Elizabeth Ford, MD, MBA, District Health director, DeKalb County Board Health
Lee May, Interim chief executive officer, DeKalb County Government
Other local officials
WHAT:Press Conference: HHS and DOJ to Announce $3M Grant Awards to Help Curb Youth Violence
WHEN:Tuesday, September 30, 2014; 10:00 a.m. (ET)
WHERE:DeKalb County Board of Health
Bohan Auditorium
445 Winn Way
Decatur, GA 30030

Media coverage is invited. For additional information on the HHS Office of Minority Health and the DOJ COPS Office visit: www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov and www.cops.usdoj.gov.

###