U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will give remarks at the third annual National Summit on Preventing Youth Violence, hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Va. He will discuss the need for safer schools and communities in order to maximize learning and highlight President Obama’s proposed programs to address youth violence. R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; Robert L. Listenbee, administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at DOJ; and Calvin Johnson, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; will join Secretary Duncan. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will give opening remarks earlier that morning.
As in previous years, the two-day summit, which begins Sept. 26, will bring together mayors, police chiefs, school officials, youth, and other local representatives who will report on their efforts to prevent youth violence in connection with the Obama administration’s National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. In 2010, at the direction of the President, the Departments of Justice and Education launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, along with participating localities and other federal agencies. The administration created the forum as a context for participating localities to share challenges and promising strategies with each other and to explore how federal agencies could better support local efforts. For more information on the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, visit: http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/youth-topics/preventing-youth-violence.
The U.S. Department of Education has supported the summit since its inception with funding and staff support, and is providing $1 million to forum cities this year to implement or expand Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports in their schools. The President’s 2014 budget request includes numerous new investments to address violence in our communities, including $300 million for Promise Neighborhoods, which focuses on cradle-to-career initiatives that call on the entire community to provide comprehensive place-based supports such as rich after-school activities and crime prevention; $280 million for a new Successful, Safe and Healthy Students program; and special funding for several of the programs called for in his Now is the Tim plan to prevent gun violence.
NOTE: Media must RSVP to Starr Stepp by 6 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Sept. 25, at [email protected] or (202) 598-9457. Media who RSVP will receive a confirmation email indicating they are cleared to enter the building and other logistical information. All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver's license), as well as valid media credentials. Media inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to [email protected] or (202) 514-9870. The complete agenda can be found at http://www.dsgonline.com/nf/agendas/2013/September/DRAFT_Summit_Agenda_Sept_26_27_2013.pdf.