Missing and Exploited Children | Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Overview

When a child goes missing, the impact is immediate and widespread. Young lives can be damaged or cut short. Families are shattered, and communities are left reeling. OJJDP partners with agencies, organizations, and individuals throughout the country to ensure child safety, reunite families, and bring perpetrators to justice.

History

OJJDP supports a suite of programs aimed at bringing missing children home safely and prosecuting those who seek to abduct or exploit them.

Since 1984, OJJDP has provided vital support for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), an information clearinghouse and resource center for families of missing and exploited children and the professionals who serve them. NCMEC services include a toll-free missing children's hotline, a CyberTipline, and the Child Victim Identification Program.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program was established in 1998. The program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective responses to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children.

The AMBER Alert early warning system notifies the public when a child has been abducted. Established in 1996, the AMBER Alert program enables law enforcement agencies to quickly inform broadcasters and state transportation officials about a child abduction, triggering alerts on radio, television, highway signs, cell phones, and other electronic means.

Programs

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

OJJDP's missing and exploited children programs help locate missing children, prevent child abduction, and provide training and technical assistance for professionals involved in missing children cases. OJJDP provides much of the funding for these programs directly to NCMEC. In 2024, 91 percent of the children reported missing to NCMEC were recovered safely. NCMEC assisted law enforcement agencies, families, and child welfare advocates with 29,568 reports of missing children throughout 2024.

OJJDP also funds:

The Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance program, which ensures that professionals involved in missing children cases—including prosecutors, law enforcement officers, child protection personnel, and medical providers—have access to essential education resources.

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program and related programs support the national network of ICAC task forces, which investigate and prosecute technology-facilitated crimes against children. The task forces have reviewed millions of reports of online child exploitation, resulting in hundreds of thousands of arrests. The task forces also provide vital training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and other professionals, as well as public awareness presentations on Internet safety.

AMBER Alert

The AMBER Alert program activates an urgent bulletin in the most serious child abduction cases. AMBER alerts galvanize communities to assist police searches during the first critical hours after an abduction. The program is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies, state transportation agencies, broadcasters, the wireless industry, Internet service providers, and digital billboards. The complementary AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance program helps jurisdictions implement and maintain AMBER Alert systems.

What About Me? Finding Your Path Forward When Your Brother or Sister is Missing (Second Edition)

Publications

Additional Resources

Stay Informed

OJJDP is a component of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in the U.S. Department of Justice. To receive weekly updates on open funding opportunities, sign up for Funding News, a notice of new grant releases and application tips.