Title
CONSIDERATION OF GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $288,881 FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THE INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN TASK FORCE FUNDED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION.
Presented by: Col. Richard Powell, Sheriff's Office.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the Chairman or his designee to submit the application for the grant, and if awarded authorize Chairman to sign award documents for the grant, establishment of budget authority as provided in the Financial Considerations section of this Request, and implementation of the Staffing Table changes identified in the Personnel Considerations section of this Request.
PUBLIC COMMENT
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The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office received notice on June 15, 2016 from the U.S. Department of Justice inviting applications for funding under the FY 2016 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program and requested that the Sheriff's Office ICAC Taskforce submit an application for which the federal portion should not exceed $288,881.00. This funding will cover the costs of the continuation of the existing program for an additional 12 months starting July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. This federal funding covers costs of two detectives, detective vehicle costs, training, supplies and other operating costs associated with the program. A portion of the funding will be passed through to the City of Wichita to reimburse them for the costs associated with a detective and program related vehicle costs. An interlocal agreement with the City of Wichita will be developed to pass through their share of funding once an award is issued by the U.S. Justice Department.
Grant Renewal: Yes
Never Applied: No
Applied; not awarded: No
Grant Summary and Timeline: The following information is an executive summary of the 2016 ICAC Continuation Grant Application.
• The Federal Government provides supplemental funding for 61 Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces to address the on-line exploitation of children pursuant to the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008.
Ø The Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is co-located within the structure of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit.
Ø The Kansas ICAC receives one (1) federal grant that provide for salaries, equipment and training of specialized technology savvy investigators who track down, apprehend and prosecute child sexual predators as well as those that would exploit children.
• The yearly continuation grant provides for two (2) investigators, equipment and necessary on-going training to keep up with the ever changing world of technology.
Ø This year’s application indicates the possible award of $288,881 based on the acceptance of the application.
Ø Scope of the Problem:
• The Child Protection System logged approximately 3,039 distinct IP address trading child pornography over the internet in 2011. The reason for the change from the 21,485 in 2010 is the methods used by offenders. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that file sharing networks have seen an increase in activity. They estimate in the United States file sharing networks are seeing approximately 1,026,000 downloads annually.
• Kansas is home to 8,093 registered sex offenders. Fifteen percent (15%) or 1,221, of those offenders live within Sedgwick County.
• Kansas ICAC and EMCU have identified 79 victims and 54 suspects involved in domestic minor sex trafficking in 2015 and year to date have identified 39 victims and 31 suspects in 2016. A majority of the victims of these cases were being recruited and advertised on the internet.
• Kansas ICAC has numerous cases that have resulted in national and international leads in identifying individuals who manufacture, possess, and distribute child pornography and otherwise victimize children.
• Year to date, Kansas ICAC has recovered 39 child victims based upon computer facilitated criminal investigations. None of the recovered victims had reported sexual abuse previously.
• The investigative process has been enhanced by virtue of having the Kansas ICAC embedded within the EMCU section. This is due to the increase of technology related evidence in physical and sexual abuse cases as well as the need to forensically interview potential victims of ICAC cases.
• Each image on the internet of a child being exploited is actually a crime scene photograph.
Financial Considerations:
Grant period starts: July 1, 2016
Grant period ends: June 30, 2017
Source of funding
Grant: $288,881
Required Match: $0
Required Cash Match: $0
Required In-Kind Match: $0
Other funding:$0
TOTAL SOURCES $288,881
Uses of funding (Note: Include any Required Matches in your totals)
Operational costs: $
Personnel: $96,224
Contractual services: $159,342
Operational supplies: $15,279
Equipment:$
Indirect administrative costs:$18,036
Capital projects cost:$0
TOTAL USES $ 288,881 (Total Uses of Funding should Match Sources)
Source of matching funds:N/A (Personnel matches should include Position Numbers and Cost Centers)
Source of other funding:N/A
Budget Authority Adjustment: None required for 2016 at this time; 2016 adopted budget included $291,076 for this fund center. The portion of this award not spent in calendar year 2016 may be added to the 2017 budget for this fund center to allow the full use of the award.
Personnel considerations: Continued funding of existing personnel.
Expected measurable outcomes: Continued enforcement of Child Pornography and Exploitation Laws through investigation, arrest, prosecution and incarceration of offenders. This will provide a safer environment for children in our community and throughout the State of Kansas.
Requirements from Sedgwick County: (reporting requirements or other actions required of the organization should the grant be awarded)
Standard Federal Grant Assurances and Certifications apply to this grant program. Grant program and financial reporting are also required.
Alternatives: Do not apply for the grant and discontinue the program.
Policy considerations: None
Legal considerations: K.S.A. 19-101 et seq. provides authority for this action. The County Counselor's office has reviewed and approved application for the grant. The grant requires compliance with all applicable federal laws and regulations, including statutory-imposed non-discrimination requirements, grant administration requirements, and the standard Grant Assurances and Certifications. A simple majority vote is required.