NCJ Number
152681
Journal
Children's Legal Rights Journal Volume: 14 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (Summer/Fall 1993) Pages: 2-10
Date Published
1993
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Law enforcement agencies often need assistance from social service agencies to locate abducted, runaway, and other missing children; in many jurisdictions, however, law enforcement and social service agencies lack effective communication.
Abstract
Parental kidnaping is a crime in every State and the District of Columbia, and police officers need information on the extent of the problem from both social service agencies and schools. Police officers also need information from various sources on runaway and homeless youth. Public child welfare agencies represent a resource for locating missing children, even though barriers to collaboration between law enforcement and social service agencies exist. Runaway and homeless youth shelters, public schools, and domestic violence shelters can provide useful information on missing children. When police officers are searching for missing children, appropriate access to needed records and information from social service agencies and schools can be important. Where laws authorize such access, it may be easier to develop collaborative processes for sharing information. Multidisciplinary teams have been established in many jurisdictions to work on child abuse cases. Task forces and teams involving police officers and social workers have also been established in some areas to enhance collaboration on missing and exploited children. Where laws preclude law enforcement access to some information, police officers must pursue other ways of obtaining information. 10 references and 2 tables