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"You are the bedrock of our nation's efforts to protect children. I appreciate your work to mobilize our resources in the cause of child safety."

These were the welcoming words of Cybele K. Daley, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, at the "Bringing Our Missing Children Home Safely" Conference held in Appleton, WI, October 19–21, 2006. More than 150 representatives from State clearinghouses for missing persons and nonprofit organizations nationwide attended the conference, which was cosponsored by OJJDP, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Fox Valley Technical College Criminal Justice Division.

Conference attendees learned about enhancing investigative skills and working collaboratively on missing children's cases. Workshops topics included Understanding the Evolving Dynamics of Victim Rights Within the Criminal Justice System; Exploitation of Children Through Prostitution; AMBER Alert Update; Internet Crimes Against Children: An Overview of the Task Force Program; Managing Missing Children Cases; and the Association of Missing and Exploited Children's Organizations (AMECO) and State Clearinghouses: Working Together To Protect Our Children.

In her keynote speech, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daley addressed a number of steps OJP and OJJDP have taken to date, including the following:

• AMBER Alert is working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Mexican Federal police to develop strategies for finding children who are abducted and taken into or out of the country.
• AMBER Alert is working closely with tribal officials to bring the program to tribal communities and bridge the gaps between tribes and State/regional programs across the country.
• The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program supports 46 task forces that have played a critical role in stopping Internet criminal activity targeting children. In 2005 alone, ICAC investigations led to more than 1,600 arrests and more than 6,000 forensic examinations.

In closing, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General said, "We need your help in these efforts to protect our young people from sexual predators, just as we rely on you to find missing and abducted children. We look to you for help in educating families on ways to stay safe, both on our neighborhood streets and in the avenues of cyberspace."