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Press
Release
NATIONAL
CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Pays
Tribute to President Ronald Reagan Who Opened Organization's Doors in
1984
WASHINGTON, DC - June 16, 2004 - Twenty years ago, President Ronald
W. Reagan officially opened the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children (NCMEC) with a ceremony at the White House calling on the organization
to "wake up America and attack the crisis of child victimization."
Today NCMEC celebrates its 20 years of service with help from Senator
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the network primetime show America's Most Wanted
(AMW) at a reception on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress who cosponsored
the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984, which established NCMEC,
will be honored along with a special tribute to President Reagan. Supporters
from across the country will gather to recognize the organization's work
and those who mobilized the missing children's movement. Letters from
President George W. Bush and former first lady Nancy Reagan will also
be read.
"In its first six years, NCMEC's recovery rate was 62 percent. Since
1990 it has climbed to 94.9 percent. Today more missing children come
home safely than at any time in the nation's history, law-enforcement
is better prepared, and families are more alert and aware than ever before
because of the tireless work of our employees," said NCMEC President
and CEO Ernie Allen.
Twenty years ago the nation faced a complex problem. In a series of high-profile
cases, children like Adam Walsh of Hollywood, Florida, Etan Patz of New
York, 26 missing and murdered children of Atlanta, and many others had
become national headlines and their tragedies exposed a fundamental flaw.
"In the early 80's the United States was a nation of fifty states
that often acted like fifty separate countries when it came to handling
missing children cases. We had 18,000 law-enforcement agencies that didn't
always communicate with each other," added Allen. "Twenty years
ago, it was easier to find a stolen car than a stolen child," stressed
John Walsh, NCMEC co-founder and host of America's Most Wanted. "There
was no coordinated effort between federal, state and local law enforcement
to tackle these crimes, no national response system in place and no central
resource to help families like mine."
Adam, Etan, and other children were abducted at a time in which law enforcement
could enter information about stolen cars, guns, and property into the
Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
computer, but not abducted children. Their tragedies shook the nation.
In response to the massive national pressure, in 1982 the U.S. Congress
enacted the Missing Children's Act, enabling the entry of missing-child
information into NCIC.
President Reagan envisioned NCMEC as a public-private partnership, taking
the best of both worlds to better protect America's children. Today, NCMEC
employs more than 260 employees and has offices in six states. Working
in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, NCMEC has made a significant impact
in tackling this daunting problem.
- NCMEC has handled more than 1.8 million calls for service through
its national hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
- NCMEC has worked on more than 98,000 missing children cases and played
a role in the recovery of more than 83,000 missing children.
- NCMEC has received more than 250,000 reports of child sexual exploitation
through its CyberTipline, which former vice President Al Gore once called
"the 911 for the Internet".
- NCMEC has created a sophisticated network that is capable of distributing
images and information about missing child cases instantly across the
country.
NCMEC was a grand experiment in public-private partnership, funded by
Congress to serve as the nation's resource center and clearinghouse on
the issue of missing and exploited children. It has provided a national
response to the problem of missing children.
"Twenty years later, we can state with confidence that we have awakened
this country, but much remains to be done. Too many children still do
not make it home, and too many are still victims of sexual predators,"
said Allen. "Our pledge is to build on the foundation of the past
two decades, expand our extraordinary public-private partnership, and
reach into every community to keep children safer."
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which serves as a national clearinghouse
for information and a resource for child protection. It works in cooperation
with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting
mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 240,000
leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement
with more than 98,000 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of
more than 83,000 children. For more information NCMEC, please visit www.missingkids.com
or call 1-800-THE-LOST.
CONTACT:
Communications Department
NCMEC
703-837-6111
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