Monday, March
31, 2003
FHWA 6-03
Contact:
Bill Outlaw
Tel: 202-366-0660
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mineta Announces
AMBER Grant Program to Fight Child Abduction
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today
announced a $7 million grant program to help states apply Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS) to existing or proposed AMBER (America’s Missing:
Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert programs.
The AMBER Plan is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement
agencies and broadcasters to activate an urgent bulletin on child-abduction
cases.
“Saving lives is the top priority of the U.S. Department
of Transportation,” Secretary Mineta said.
“These grants will provide additional resources for state and local
transportation agencies as they support law enforcement authorities in searches
for abducted children.”
This new DOT grant program provides funds to states to plan
systems and procedures to incorporate various traveler information applications
such as changeable message signs (CMS) into the issuance of AMBER alerts.
Each state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are eligible for
$125,000 grants for designing systems that support the coordination necessary to
issue an AMBER alert and to provide the means to communicate an alert to
motorists. The criteria for funding
these grant requests are intended to ensure that notifications are well designed
and to enable law enforcement and transportation sectors to work together.
In addition, the grants
will support automated communication between emergency responders and
transportation agencies. The
underpinning ITS technologies provide a foundation for electronic exchange of
real-time information that can save valuable time in responding to traffic
incidents and other emergencies.
DOT’s intent to create a program to support
AMBER alerts was announced on Oct. 2 when President Bush convened the first-ever
White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children. At the
conference, the President directed the Attorney General to name a national AMBER
alert coordinator to lead the effort in developing, enhancing and coordinating
alert plans across the country.
To obtain these grants, applicants must submit an
acceptable technical approach and financial plan with evidence that their plans
can be completed successfully in a timely fashion.
Applications must be received by Aug. 1, 2003. Application instructions as well as details of the AMBER
grant program are available at www.its.dot.gov.
ITS
improves transportation safety and relieves congestion through the application
of traffic management, communication and information technologies.
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