Ward 4, Mayors Office on Community Relations and Services

Ronald Austin Funeral
Monday April 9th
19th Street Baptist Church
4606 16th Street NW
Washington DC
Viewing 10am to 12pm
Service 12pm

Join Mayor Bowser for this year’s Every Day Counts/Slow Down campaign! As part of the Every Day Counts Tour, we will focus on increasing awareness about the impact of absenteeism in our schools. We will also remind drivers to Slow Down to keep our children safe.

When: Monday, August 21,2017
Where: Tenleytown Metro, Intersection Wisconsin Ave/Albemarle St NW
Time : 3:00-4:30pm

I wanted to make you aware of Mayor Bowser's statement below on a fourth unthinkable sign of hate that was reported in our city this week - this time in one of our Ward 7 neighborhoods.

Statement from Mayor Bowser: We are an inclusive city, and we do not tolerate signs of hate, ignorance and fear. I have directed the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate these incidents, the Office of Human Rights to activate our hate crimes protocol and the Office of Religious Affairs to engage faith leaders to be a resource for residents. We also ask the public call MPD at 202-727-9099 or text 50-411 if you have information about these incidents.

Our diversity is what makes us stronger, and we will not relent in promoting and defending DC Values. We do not take these incidents lightly, and we will not accept that signs of hate are signs of our time.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 24, 2017

CONTACT:
LaToya Foster (EOM) – (202) 727-5011; [email protected]

Bowser Administration Announces Six New Initiatives to Address Missing Young People in Washington, DC

(WASHINGTON, DC) – In recent weeks, news about Washington, DC’s missing youth, particularly teenage girls of color, has garnered local and national attention and concern. Ensuring that Washington, DC continues to improve its response to missing children, Mayor Bowser has identified six immediate initiatives to locate young people who have been reported as missing, provide critical resources to better address the issues that cause young people to run away from home, and support young people who may be considering leaving home.

Recently, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Youth and Family Services Division began aggressively using social media to generate immediate public attention for missing young people, and these six initiatives will build on this strategy. By using social media to make the community aware of missing young people, MPD has been able to generate significant public attention around the cases – often a key contributor to finding missing persons. The tweets have also brought much-needed attention to the fact that in cities across the country, hundreds of youth, particularly young people of color, are reported missing each year.

“One missing young person, is one too many, and these new initiatives will help us do more to find and protect young people, particularly young girls of color, across our city,” said Mayor Bowser. “Through social media, we have been able to highlight this problem and bring awareness to open cases, and now we are doing more to ensure that families and children are receiving the wraparound services they need to keep families together and children safe.”

The six new initiatives announced by the Mayor include:

Initiative 1: Increase the Number of MPD Officers Assigned to Children and Family Services Division
MPD will increase officer staffing of the Children and Family Services Division. The newly assigned officers will share the responsibility of locating youth who have been reported missing. Additional officers may be provided through the Senior Police Officer Program, detailing of officers from other divisions, particularly officers who have previously served in this division, or the use of school resource officers.

Initiative 2: Expansion of the MPD Missing Persons Webpage and Social Media Messaging to Include Case Catalog with Broader Information
The current MPD Missing Persons website includes a tally of cases and very general information on each open case which is compiled into a Critical Missing flyer. Effective immediately, the updated MPD site will share more information about missing youth including: the circumstances of the child (abduction, parent abducted, child left home/school/other), the MPD officer assigned to the case, and more images. When the child is located, the date will be noted.

Initiative 3: Establish the Missing Persons Evaluation and Reconnection Resources Collaborative
The Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA), the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG), and identified community-based organizations will assist MPD with instituting a comprehensive evaluation of youth who are found or return home to assess the circumstances around their departure and to provide any additional resources/support/services necessary for the health and well-being of the child and the family.

A proposed citywide response and protocol will be created by a director level working group to serve all youth who have been reported missing and their families. This protocol will provide supports to the family while the child is missing. It will also ensure that young people and families are assessed appropriately and linked to resources that will enable successful reunification and sustainable family relationships that prevent repeat run away cases.

Initiative 4: OVSJG and CFSA Lead Working Group
OVSJG and the CFSA will lead a director level working group to analyze individual open cases, assess and analyze trends, and manage resource requests. A preliminary meeting has already taken place, and the group identified the following goals:

? develop a protocol to ensure that every runaway youth, upon return, is assessed and the reason for leaving established;
? work on creating a process that will ensure support for families while a child is missing and services available when he/she returns; and
? identify prevention efforts with families, schools, the Summer Youth Employment Program, and others.

Initiative 5: DMHHS and OVSJGA Additional Grant Support for Non-Profits Addressing Runaway Youth
OVSJGA and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) will identify and promote grant funding to both advocacy and community-based organizations. DMHHS will release its latest round of Safer, Stronger DC grants, and OVSJGA will identify additional grant funding for advocacy and nonprofits with resources for runaway youth and their parents/guardians. The Mayor’s Budget Office is in the process of identifying existing resources for grants that can be distributed expeditiously.

Initiative 6: PSA Announcement to Support Public Education Addressing Missing Youth in DC
The Mayor’s Office of Communication and the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment (OCTFME) will create and promote the 800RUNAWAY hotline and website for youth and their parents/guardians through public service announcements. In addition, the OVSJG and CFSA Lead Working Group will work on identifying prevention efforts to educate young people.

Background

MPD has a General Order that governs the process for dealing with persons reported missing. The order classifies anyone under the age of 15 or over the age of 65 as being a “critical missing person.” There is no minimum time required for MPD to file a missing person report (popular lore is that a person must be missing at least 24 hours before they can be designated as missing).

In looking at previous years, the vast majority of missing person cases are closed when the person is found, returns home, or makes contact with their families. According to MPD, their records indicate that over the past 35 years, only 68 cases remain open.

Missing person cases usually involve individuals who have voluntarily left home for personal reasons. When it comes to missing juveniles, a significant number have been reported missing on more than one occasion, and they are usually quickly found or return home.

According to MPD, there is no evidence to suggest the recent missing person cases are connected to human trafficking. However, these crimes are generally underreported and MPD offers outreach and officer training on the issue. Juveniles are referred to nonprofit organizations like Courtney’s House and Fair Girls for services, support, and encouragement to report being the victims of criminal activity. In 2014, MPD worked with ShareHope, Polaris Project, Fair Girls, Courtney’s House, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Office of Victim Services to develop a 4-hour training course on human trafficking for all officers. More than 80 percent of MPD officers have taken the course and the training is ongoing.

To find the most recent data on missing person cases in Washington, DC go to mpdc.dc.gov/missingpersons.

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Social Media:
Mayor Bowser Twitter:
Mayor Bowser Instagram:
Mayor Bowser Facebook: facebook.com/MayorMurielBowser
Mayor Bowser Website: mayor.dc.gov

mayormb | Executive Office of the Mayor The budget is the priorities of Washington, DC values. Learn more about the budget process and try your hand at balancing DC’s budget with the DC Budget Challenge.

Join Mayor Bowser's Office of Community Relations and Services, District of Columbia Human Resources, Department of Employment Services, University of the District of Columbia & Osse at Riggs- La Salle Recreation Center for "Are You Employment Ready" event! Come and create a resume or update your resume, interviewing skills, dress for success and much more... Also other partners will be onsite to provide other resources around employment and training programs. Please share all invited!!

On Wednesday, March 15 DC Public Schools (DCPS) will open with a two hour delay, and DC Government will open on time. In addition, regularly scheduled after care and after school activities will occur at all DCPS schools. For updates on delays and closures at DC Public Charter Schools, families can track the DC Public Charter School Board’s inclement weather page at http://www.dcpcsb.org/inclement-weather-updates.

Inclement Weather Updates | District of Columbia Public Charter School Board During the 2016-17 school year, this page will contain the most recent status updates for DC Public Charter Schools due to inclement weather.

ANC 4D monthly meetings have been moved to a new location. Beginning Tues, Feb 21st at 7:00pm the new location will be the Washington Latin PC (Rudolph Elementary School) at 5200 2nd Street.

See everyone there!

Next week, Mayor Bowser's Administration will celebrate Education Week in the District of Columbia. We would love to have you join us as we highlight the progress we’ve made, and as we look ahead to how much further we need to go to ensure that all of our students receive a high-quality education.

DC Education Week Kickoff
· When: Monday, January 30th at 10:30am
· Where: DC Bilingual Public Charter School - 33 Riggs Rd NE
· Details: Mayor Bowser will renew the Districts commitment to educational equity for all students. The Mayor will also announce the award of the Keene School building to DC Bilingual and other education-related initiatives.

Let's talk about public safety. Do you know of any community and government partnerships that have worked well to keep our streets safe?
Please join Mayor Bowser for a conference call to discuss. She wants to hear from you!
When: Saturday, January 28
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Where: conference call
Register @
2017communityconversations.eventbrite.com

Community Conversations Join Mayor Bowser on a Community Conversations call to discuss public safety in Washington, DC. Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 1pm. Translation will be available in Spanish, Amaharic, and Mandarin Chinese Register here to join the call For more information please email: [email protected] W...

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 20, 2017

CONTACT:
Joint Information Center – (202) 481-3095; [email protected]

Bowser Administration to Brief Media on Inauguration Day Events

(WASHINGTON, DC) – On Friday, Mayor Bowser and Administration officials will provide a public safety update related to the 58th Presidential Inauguration.

WHO:
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Peter Newsham, Metropolitan Police Department Interim Chief

WHEN:
Friday, January 20, at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Department of Health (First Floor - Lobby)
899 North Capitol Street, NE
*Closest Metro: Union Station*

Press interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP to [email protected].

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Social Media:
58th Presidential Inauguration Twitter:
58th Presidential Inauguration Website: inauguration.dc.gov

Mayor Bowser Twitter:
Mayor Bowser Instagram:
Mayor Bowser Facebook: facebook.com/MayorMurielBowser
Mayor Bowser Website: mayor.dc.gov

The hypothermia alert is currently activated. If you see someone experiencing homelessness, call the hypothermia hotline.