---

The Missing and Exploited Children's Program coordinates activities, under the Missing Children's Assistance Act, concerning missing and exploited children, including preventing abductions, investigating the exploitation of children, finding missing children and reuniting them with their families, and addressing the psychological impact of abduction on the child and family. To enhance the safety of children, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) program:

1. Supports the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a clearinghouse and resource center that collects and distributes data regarding missing and exploited children and operates a national toll-free hotline for individuals to report information regarding missing children and to request information needed to reunite missing children with their legal custodians.
2. Provides training and technical assistance to state clearinghouses, nonprofit organizations, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and attorneys.
3. Helps jurisdictions in developing procedures to set up multi-agency and interdisciplinary responses to missing and exploited children and their families.
4. Participates in National Missing Children's Day ceremonies. This annual May 25 observance increases public awareness of issues regarding missing and exploited children.
5. Staffs the Federal Agency Task Force for Missing and Exploited Children, which coordinates the delivery of federal services to missing and exploited children and their families.

For more information, contact their website at http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.

Since 1984, OJJDP has been the principal funding source for the NCMEC. A private nonprofit organization, NCMEC directs national efforts to find and recover missing children and raise public awareness about the prevention of child abduction, molestation, and sexual exploitation. The OJJDP/NCMEC partnership coordinates the efforts of law enforcement agencies, social service providers, elected officials, judges, prosecutors, educators, and public and private organizations to address child exploitation.

Among its activities, NCMEC provides the following resources:

1. Technical assistance to parents, private agencies, and law enforcement, including case management analysis.
2. A national toll-free hotline (1-800-THE-LOST/1-800-843-5678).
3. An information network for the exchange of data and photographs of missing children.
4. Legal and technical assistance training programs.
5. Professional and general interest publications.
6. Support for 47 states' missing children clearinghouses.
7. Assistance in international child abduction cases under the Hague Convention.
8. Coordination of Project ALERT, which uses the services of volunteer retired police officers to provide onsite assistance to local police in complex missing and exploited children cases.

For more information, check out their website at http://www.missingkids.com.

Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 1001 G Street, NW, Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20530, 202-514-1793 website http://www.missingkids.com

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20535-0001, 202-324-3000