August 6, 2002
Contact: Laura Caudell
Dan Langan
(202) 401-1576
Secretary Paige Joins President Bush To Announce White House Conference On Missing, Exploited And Runaway Children
Administration committed to keeping America's children safe
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today joined President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft to announce two new steps to help improve personal safety for the children of America.
The president will convene a White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children in September. The conference will promote public awareness of the cause of missing, exploited and runaway children, and it will bring policymakers, experts, key officials, community leaders, teachers and law enforcement together to share progress made and generate new ideas to help prevent the victimization of children.
The president also announced the release of a new guidebook—Personal Safety for Children: A Guide for Parents. The booklet is designed to help parents take specific steps to improve the safety of their children, and it includes information that children of all ages can understand.
The guidebook reflects the work of experts on child safety from the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is available online in English and in Spanish at www.missingkids.com. It also is available at www.nochildleftbehind.gov.
"As parents, the president, Mrs. Bush and I know that one of our most important jobs is teaching our children how to protect themselves from those who would do them harm," Secretary Paige said at the Rose Garden ceremony announcing the new project. "The recent spate of abductions has heightened public awareness. And although the total number of abductions has not increased, these latest examples are sad reminders for all of us that protecting our children means talking about the potential for danger out there. And what they can do to stay safe."
Each year, more than 58,000 children in the United States are abducted by non-family members, often in connection with another crime. More than 200,000 children are abducted by family members who are seeking to interfere with a parent's custodial rights. Although the vast majority of children—at least 98 percent—return from these abductions, too many children do not. In the most dangerous type of abduction—stranger kidnapping—fully 40 percent of children are killed.
On Sept. 24, the president will host the first-ever White House Conference on Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children held in conjunction with the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The all-day conference, held on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will bring together members of the president's cabinet; federal, state and local officials; law enforcement; corporate leaders; citizen experts; parents of victim children; and other leaders involved in the cause of missing, exploited and runaway children.
The conference will focus on a wide range of topics related to children's safety, including missing and exploited children; runaway and homeless youth; international child abduction; sex trafficking of children; child pornography; child safety and Internet safety, and corporate and community involvement.
"Each of us must do what we can to help promote greater safety for America's children, and the Department of Education is doing its part," Paige added. "With schools opening up again, we must redouble our efforts to help children understand how they can protect themselves. We can help lessen the danger if we all work together.
"Parents should be talking to their children so they know things like: Adults don't ask kids for directions or need help finding lost pets. And it's OK for kids to trust their instincts and scream no and get away from people who scare them. Schools should be reinforcing these safety lessons taught at home. And those in public life—like the president and I—should be using our bully pulpits to urge greater awareness so every child is equipped with the skills to stay safe."
For FY 2003, Bush has proposed a 26 percent increase in funding for the Missing and Exploited Children's Program, which provides training for state and local enforcement on handling missing child cases ($29 million—an increase of 26 percent over FY 2002). The program also supports the Department of Justice's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICACTF). The president's budget request will enable the Department of Justice to double the size of the Task Force.
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