{ "id": "RL34050", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "RL", "number": "RL34050", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "The Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) Program: Background and Policies", "retrieved": "2021-08-18T04:04:00.937621", "id": "RL34050_48_2021-07-15", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-07-15_RL34050_1b4b3c2448995c82de005120fa4b99daf728e5f7.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL34050/48", "sha1": "1b4b3c2448995c82de005120fa4b99daf728e5f7" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-07-15_RL34050_1b4b3c2448995c82de005120fa4b99daf728e5f7.html" } ], "date": "2021-07-15", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "RL", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=RL34050", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 602951, "date": "2019-07-22", "retrieved": "2019-07-29T22:24:42.180835", "title": "The Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) Program: Background and Policies", "summary": "Beginning in the late 1970s, highly publicized cases of children who were abducted, sexually abused, and sometimes murdered prompted policymakers and child advocates to declare a missing children problem. At that time, about 1.8 million children annually were reported to the police as missing. More recent data indicate that the number of children who go missing has declined. A survey from 2013 provides the most recent and comprehensive information on missing children. About 238,000 children (3.1 per 1,000 children) were reported to law enforcement by their caretakers that year as missing due to a family or nonfamily abduction; running away or being forced to leave home; becoming lost or injured; or for benign reasons, such as a miscommunication about schedules. \nAs a policy issue, missing children are often included in discussions of sexual victimization. Children who go missing\u2014as well as children who are not missing\u2014may be sexually exploited. A study that examined the prevalence of children\u2019s exposure to violence in 2008 found that 1 in 16 (6.1%) surveyed children were sexually victimized in the past year and nearly 1 in 10 (9.8%) were sexually victimized at some point over their lifetimes.\nRecognizing the need for greater federal coordination of local and state efforts to recover and support missing and exploited children, Congress passed the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act (P.L. 98-473) in 1984. The act directed the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ\u2019s) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to establish a national resource center to respond to cases of missing and exploited children, among other related activities. The Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act has been amended multiple times, most recently by the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-267). \nActivities authorized under the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act and selected other laws are collectively referred to as the Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) program. The program includes the following components:\nThe National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC): Since 1984, NCMEC has served as the national resource center and has carried out many of the objectives of the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act in collaboration with OJJDP. NCMEC case managers provide support to law enforcement and families of missing children. Most children reported missing to NCMEC have run away.\nThe Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program: This program assists state and local enforcement cyber units in investigating online child sexual exploitation. It was authorized under the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-401), as amended. \nAMBER (America\u2019s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert support: AMBER Alerts publicly broadcast bulletins in the most serious child abduction cases. The AMBER Alert program is authorized under the PROTECT Act (P.L. 108-21), and as administered, provides training and technical assistance to law enforcement and other stakeholders about issuing and disseminating such alerts.\nOther initiatives: These include training and technical assistance on investigating and preventing child victimization. They also include support to membership-based nonprofit missing and exploited children\u2019s organizations. These initiatives are authorized by the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act. \nThe FY2018 and FY2019 appropriations to DOJ for the MEC program were $76 million and $82 million, respectively.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34050", "sha1": "f60815cff8084f4b531fd6d3827ebc2bdf972194", "filename": "files/20190722_RL34050_f60815cff8084f4b531fd6d3827ebc2bdf972194.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34050", "sha1": "c8404bfaa1c25681ee941f00c23c5bd39e26a945", "filename": "files/20190722_RL34050_c8404bfaa1c25681ee941f00c23c5bd39e26a945.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4934, "name": "Sex Offenses & Victims of Crime" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 578369, "date": "2018-02-08", "retrieved": "2018-02-13T14:11:27.837379", "title": "The Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) Program: Background and Policies", "summary": "Beginning in the late 1970s, highly publicized cases of children who were abducted, sexually abused, and sometimes murdered prompted policymakers and child advocates to declare a missing children problem. At that time, about 1.8 million children annually were reported to the police as missing. More recent data indicate that the number and rate at which children go missing has declined. A survey from 2013 provides the most recent and comprehensive information on missing children. The data show that about 238,000 children (3.1 per 1,000 children) were reported to law enforcement by their caretakers that year as missing due to a family or nonfamily abduction; running away or being forced to leave home; becoming lost or injured; or for benign reasons, such as a miscommunication about schedules. \nAs a policy issue, missing children are often included in discussions of sexual victimization. Children who go missing\u2014as well as children who are not missing\u2014may be sexually exploited. A study that examined the prevalence of children\u2019s exposure to violence in 2008 found that 1 in 16 (6.1%) surveyed children were sexually victimized in the past year and nearly 1 in 10 (9.8%) were sexually victimized at some point over their lifetimes.\nRecognizing the need for greater federal coordination of local and state efforts to recover missing and exploited children, Congress passed the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act (P.L. 98-473) in 1984. The act directed the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ\u2019s) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to establish a national resource center for missing and exploited children, among other related activities. The Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act has been amended multiple times, most recently in 2013 (P.L. 113-38). \nActivities authorized under the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act and selected other laws are collectively referred to as the Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) program. The program includes the following components:\nThe National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC): Since 1984, NCMEC has served as the national resource center and has carried out many of the objectives of the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act in collaboration with OJJDP. \nThe Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program: This program assists state and local enforcement cyber units in investigating online child sexual exploitation. It was authorized under the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-401), as amended. \nTraining and technical assistance for state AMBER (America\u2019s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert systems: AMBER Alerts publicly broadcast bulletins in the most serious child abduction cases. The AMBER Alert program is authorized under the PROTECT Act (P.L. 108-21). \nOther initiatives: These include training and technical assistance on investigating and preventing child victimization. They also include support to membership-based nonprofit missing and exploited children\u2019s organizations. These initiatives are authorized by the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act. \nFY2017 appropriations to DOJ for the MEC program were $72.5 million, of which $28.3 million was for NCMEC, $27.6 million was for the ICAC Task Force program, $2.4 million was for the AMBER Alert program, and $4.2 million was for other initiatives. The remaining amount was allocated for other DOJ activities.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://crs.gov/Reports/RL34050", "sha1": "080855b91b1007be5a28364ff70a5939424b8561", "filename": "files/20180208_RL34050_080855b91b1007be5a28364ff70a5939424b8561.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34050", "sha1": "2ff410545b1ed059a9014e0fec69fccac5973570", "filename": "files/20180208_RL34050_2ff410545b1ed059a9014e0fec69fccac5973570.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4934, "name": "Sex Offenses & Victims of Crime" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 459380, "date": "2017-03-01", "retrieved": "2017-03-09T17:49:51.075477", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background and Policies", "summary": "Beginning in the late 1970s, highly publicized cases of children abducted, sexually abused, and sometimes murdered prompted policymakers and child advocates to declare a missing children problem. At that time, about 1.5 million children were reported missing annually. Though dated, survey data from 1999 provide the most recent and comprehensive information on missing children. The data show that approximately 1.3 million children went missing from their caretakers that year due to a family or nonfamily abduction, running away or being forced to leave home, becoming lost or injured, or for benign reasons, such as a miscommunication about schedules. Nearly half of all missing children ran away or were forced to leave home, and nearly all missing children were returned to their homes. The number of children who are sexually exploited is unknown because of the secrecy surrounding exploitation; however, in the 1999 study, researchers found that over 300,000 children were victims of rape; unwanted sexual contact; forceful actions taken as part of a sex-related crime; and other sex-related crimes that do not involve physical contact with the child, including those committed on the Internet. \nRecognizing the need for greater federal coordination of local and state efforts to recover missing and exploited children, Congress created the Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) program in 1984 under the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act (P.L. 98-473, Title IV of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974). The act directed the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to establish a toll-free number to report missing children and a national resource center for missing and exploited children; coordinate public and private programs to assist missing and exploited children; and provide training and technical assistance to recover missing children. \nSince 1984, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has served as the national resource center and has carried out many of the objectives of the act in collaboration with OJJDP. In addition to NCMEC, the MEC program supports (1) the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program to assist state and local enforcement cyber units in investigating online child sexual exploitation; (2) training and technical assistance for state AMBER (America\u2019s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert systems, which publicly broadcast bulletins in the most serious child abduction cases; and (3) other initiatives, including a membership-based nonprofit missing and exploited children\u2019s organization that assists families of missing children and efforts to respond to child sexual exploitation through professional training. \nThe Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act has been amended multiple times, most recently by the E. Clay Shaw, Jr. Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Reauthorization Act (P.L. 113-38). This authorization, which expires at the end of FY2018, specified new provisions such as requiring more regular (every three years) studies on missing and sexually exploited children and implementing new accountability standards for grant recipients. The ICAC Task Force program was authorized separately under the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-401), as amended, through FY2013. The AMBER Alert program is authorized under the PROTECT Act (P.L. 108-21). P.L. 108-21 authorized funding for the program in FY2004. Congress has continued to provide funding for the ICAC Task Force program and AMBER Alert in years following the expiration of their authorizations. Missing and exploited children\u2019s activities are collectively funded under a single appropriation for the MEC program. \nFor FY2016, Congress appropriated $72.2 million to the program. The majority of the funds were allocated to NCMEC ($28.3 million) and the ICAC Task Force program ($27.6 million).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34050", "sha1": "ba22c96929259b684663cbe4adea8c84c6f42598", "filename": "files/20170301_RL34050_ba22c96929259b684663cbe4adea8c84c6f42598.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34050", "sha1": "bafd27fda5880cc71437309cfda82197d3365c00", "filename": "files/20170301_RL34050_bafd27fda5880cc71437309cfda82197d3365c00.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4934, "name": "Sex Offenses & Victims of Crime" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 440889, "date": "2015-04-29", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:08:52.514035", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": "Beginning in the late 1970s, highly publicized cases of children abducted, sexually abused, and sometimes murdered prompted policymakers and child advocates to declare a missing children problem. At that time, about 1.5 million children were reported missing annually. Though dated, survey data from 1999 provide the most recent and comprehensive information on missing children. The data show that approximately 1.3 million children went missing from their caretakers that year due to a family or nonfamily abduction, running away or being forced to leave home, becoming lost or injured, or for benign reasons, such as a miscommunication about schedules. Nearly half of all missing children ran away or were forced to leave home, and nearly all missing children were returned to their homes. The number of children who are sexually exploited is unknown because of the secrecy surrounding exploitation; however, in the 1999 study, researchers found that over 300,000 children were victims of rape; unwanted sexual contact; forceful actions taken as part of a sex-related crime; and other sex-related crimes that do not involve physical contact with the child, including those committed on the Internet. \nRecognizing the need for greater federal coordination of local and state efforts to recover missing and exploited children, Congress created the Missing and Exploited Children\u2019s (MEC) program in 1984 under the Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act (P.L. 98-473, Title IV of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974). The act directed the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to establish a toll-free number to report missing children and a national resource center for missing and exploited children; coordinate public and private programs to assist missing and exploited children; and provide training and technical assistance to recover missing children. \nSince 1984, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has served as the national resource center and has carried out many of the objectives of the act in collaboration with OJJDP. In addition to NCMEC, the MEC program supports (1) the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program to assist state and local enforcement cyber units in investigating online child sexual exploitation; (2) training and technical assistance for state AMBER (America\u2019s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert systems, which publicly broadcast bulletins in the most serious child abduction cases; and (3) other initiatives, including a membership-based nonprofit missing and exploited children\u2019s organization that assists families of missing children and efforts to respond to child sexual exploitation through training. \nThe Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Act has been amended multiple times, most recently by the E. Clay Shaw, Jr. Missing Children\u2019s Assistance Reauthorization Act (P.L. 113-38). This authorization, which expires at the end of FY2018, specifies new provisions such as requiring more regular (every three years) studies on missing and sexually exploited children and implementing new accountability standards for grant recipients. The ICAC Task Force program was authorized separately under the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-401), as amended, through FY2013. The AMBER Alert program is authorized under the PROTECT Act (P.L. 108-21). P.L. 108-21 authorized funding for the program in FY2004. Congress has continued to provide funding for the ICAC Task Force program and AMBER Alert in years following the expiration of their authorizations. Missing and exploited children\u2019s activities are collectively funded under a single appropriation for the MEC program. For FY2015, Congress appropriated $68 million to the program.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34050", "sha1": "c1a1d1003e4e561ecc58fb71e7b69620863b09e3", "filename": "files/20150429_RL34050_c1a1d1003e4e561ecc58fb71e7b69620863b09e3.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34050", "sha1": "9c57a2101399bb4f74375b51574c60e74364cab1", "filename": "files/20150429_RL34050_9c57a2101399bb4f74375b51574c60e74364cab1.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3927, "name": "Missing and Sexually Exploited Individuals" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc816867/", "id": "RL34050_2014Aug01", "date": "2014-08-01", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140801_RL34050_6d86daa6053c4eb95b51421ace6a18989aa5d9a5.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140801_RL34050_6d86daa6053c4eb95b51421ace6a18989aa5d9a5.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810756/", "id": "RL34050_2012Feb07", "date": "2012-02-07", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120207_RL34050_ea4686d41c9ba529a21364419d2504aac6c79799.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120207_RL34050_ea4686d41c9ba529a21364419d2504aac6c79799.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817496/", "id": "RL34050_2010Sep01", "date": "2010-09-01", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100901_RL34050_2ade765aacb6f8004f854173a5f818de7347615d.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100901_RL34050_2ade765aacb6f8004f854173a5f818de7347615d.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817060/", "id": "RL34050_2008Aug01", "date": "2008-08-01", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080801_RL34050_8f3d0e49cb91e40a7e9e088941db4c4da963a3fb.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080801_RL34050_8f3d0e49cb91e40a7e9e088941db4c4da963a3fb.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc814961/", "id": "RL34050_2008May28", "date": "2008-05-28", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080528_RL34050_0cba47dade830c5fb678f63c205de46ff0966e17.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080528_RL34050_0cba47dade830c5fb678f63c205de46ff0966e17.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808200/", "id": "RL34050_2007Jun19", "date": "2007-06-19", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070619_RL34050_0852d137cd3325feeff4b6a86d7e6c15dfe4d662.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070619_RL34050_0852d137cd3325feeff4b6a86d7e6c15dfe4d662.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Domestic Social Policy" ] }