Child Abduction Resource Center - a GLOBALMISSING.COM resource

The best national estimates for the number of missing children are from incidence studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The 1984 Missing Children's Assistance Act (Pub. L. 98-473) requires the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to conduct periodic studies to determine the number of missing children reported each year.

To date two such studies have been completed. The first National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART-1) was released in 1990, and the second, known as NISMART-2, was released in October 2002. According to NISMART-2 research, which studied the year 1999, an estimated 797,500 children were reported missing; 58,200 children were abducted by nonfamily members; 115 children were the victims of long-term non-family abductions called "stereotypical kidnappings"; and 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions. A December 2004 NISMART bulletin (pdf)compares selected findings of NISMART-1 to NISMART-2.

Missing Children.....Abducted Children.....International Parental Child Abduction.....WWW.GLOBALMISSING.COM.....Global Resources

The Polly Klaas Foundation is a national nonprofit that helps find missing children and prevents them from going missing in the first place. The Foundation accomplishes it's goals by promoting public policies, educating the public, and providing families, law enforcement and communities with the ongoing support and expertise needed to protect our children.

"Family abduction happens when a family member, usually a parent, kidnaps and conceals a child for any length of time. It is a serious crime that happens to over 203,000 families a year and yet it is not even considered a felony in every state. The emotional, psychological and physical impact on children is often so significant that family abduction is considered a form of child endangerment. While education is the first step to take on this national problem, we've also got some great next steps you can take to protect kids from the trauma of family abduction by telling your legislators to help pass laws that will help prevent family abductions across the country."

"Each year, over 203,000 children (78% of all missing children!) in the U.S. are abducted by a family member, usually a parent. The biggest motive for family abduction is revenge against another parent, not the child's safety. More than half of abducting parents have a history of violent behavior, a criminal record, or a substance abuse problem. Children abducted by family members often suffer severe lifelong emotional and psychological damage. Nearly 70% of law enforcement agencies do not have a written policy on how to respond to a family abduction." StopFamilyAbductionsNow

www.teamhope.org Team H.O.P.E is a support network for families with missing children. Team H.O.P.E can help because the volunteers have all experienced your nightmare.

www.parentinternational.com P.A.R.E.N.T.

Parents Advocating for Return through Education by Networking Together is an international advocacy organization working with parents and agencies world wide to bring about greater awareness and understanding concerning international child abduction and to seek measures leading to the prevention and remedy of this growing global problem.