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Frequently Asked Questions
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What
is the purpose of AMECO?
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What does AMECO do?
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Isn't there a difference between a child who has been abducted by a
stranger and one whose parents have taken them after a divorce? Are
runaway children really missing?
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Why
are the AMECO agencies located where they are?
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Who
funds AMECO and its members?
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How
can AMECO agencies provide services free of charge?
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What are the differences between the Canadian
and US agencies? How do they work together?
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What kinds of services are available for
kids who are being abused and exploited even if they are not missing?
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Q. What is
the purpose of AMECO?
A. AMECO was founded in 1994 by a
group of non-profit agencies that wanted to work together for three
reasons:
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To combine their efforts
in influencing the policies and services for missing and exploited
children.
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To raise awareness among
the public of the work of the non-profit agencies
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To create a way for the
public to distinguish between reputable agencies and those which are
created merely as a fundraising vehicle to take advantage of the large
number of people who want to contribute. In the past, instances of
unethical fundraising techniques for missing and exploited children by
agencies offering few if any services with the donations received have
tainted the entire group of non-profit agencies. An agency with an
AMECO certification has been proven to be a stable, effective agency
with a productive relationship with local law enforcement and other
community services.
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Q.
What does AMECO do?
A. AMECO provides the information and
referral to the public to non-profit agencies that are effective,
reputable and will be available to assist you over the long term.
AMECO combines the efforts of nonprofit agencies to identify standards
for service, to support important advances in the protection of children
such as the Amber Alert and other laws.
AMECO can offer direct services and peer support to searching families
through the program of
Team H.O.P.E.
AMECO can offer peer support and outreach services for survivors of
childhood abduction through the program of
Take Root.
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Q. Isn't
there a difference between a child who has been
abducted by a stranger and one whose parents have taken them after a
divorce? Are runaway children really missing?
A. Any child under
18 years old whose whereabouts are unknown or who are not under
parental control is missing.
A report should be immediately filed first with local law enforcement,
with the State Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children in the
State where the child lived, and with the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children (US) and/or the Canadian Royal Mounted Police
(Canada). Parents should make sure that their local law enforcement list
the child in the FBI's database, called NCIC, as well.
The AMECO
member agency, A Child Is Missing (ACIM), operates in several states and
can immediately send out many hundreds of phone calls to local residents
who have agreed to help locate a missing child. Calling ACIM will give
you more details on this program and, where this service is
available, is an important first response which has helped found many
lost children.
Parents should contact an AMECO non-profit for additional guidance,
support and for assistance in the search. Searching for a missing child
can be an extremely complicated and difficult process. An AMECO agency
can coordinate efforts, explain law enforcement procedures, help you
assist in the local law enforcement efforts, provide you with the
information of what steps you should take, and make referrals to other
agencies that can help as well.
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Q. Why are
the AMECO agencies located where they are?
A. AMECO agencies are founded by
community volunteer groups who decide to formally provide services for
missing and exploited children. The founders and staff organize their
own program and their own administration. They must raise all of their
own funds without charging the clients whom the serve.
Many non-profit agencies are named for a child missing from that
community. They are founded generally by either the family of the child
who may be still missing or sadly found deceased or by community members
who were moved to action after a child in their own area has gone
missing.
It requires an enormous commitment to keep an effective non-profit
agency for missing and exploited children operating. Often an initial
outpouring of support for a non-profit agency honoring a specific
missing child will greatly diminish as time passes and public attention
is focused elsewhere. Nonetheless, to be certified by AMECO, non-profit
agencies must be continuously operating and providing their own funds
for at least two years to prove that their programs are stable and will
be available to families over the long term.
Communities without the resources to sustain their own non-profit agency
can and will receive services and referrals from any other non-profit in
the US or Canada.
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Q. Who
funds AMECO and its members?
A. AMECO activities are funded by
grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a
branch of the US Department of Justice (OJJDP). When making referrals to
nonprofit agencies to assist in providing services to missing and
exploited children, OJJDP will only refer law enforcement agencies to
AMECO certified agencies.
The AMECO certified non-profit agencies themselves raise their own money
to provide services.
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Q. How can
AMECO agencies provide services free of charge?
A. As one of its fundamental
principles AMECO agencies will provide services based on need and not on
ability to pay. A missing or exploited child will receive attention and
services, no matter what the financial situation of their family.
This policy is very challenging for AMECO members, as they must find
other sources for their operating costs. Many host special event and
fundraisers at community events. Some solicit directly from the general
public. Others seek grants from foundations and government sources.
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Q. What are
the differences between the Canadian and US
agencies? How do they work together?
A. The US and Canadian agencies are identical in the their
commitment to reducing the number of missing and exploited children.
However, because the laws and law enforcement techniques are different
in the US and Canada, the response to missing and exploited children by
agencies in the US can differ from those in Canada.
In the U.S.
the Justice Department is the lead agency in organizing and supporting
law enforcement services for missing and exploited children. The FBI
maintains a list at the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) with
information available nationwide for all missing children. Over 16
federal agencies are involved with the missing and exploited children's
issues and coordinate efforts with the Justice Department.
Each state
government is mandated by federal law to operate a Missing Children's
Clearinghouse (MCCH). THE MCCH's track information, work with law
enforcement to resolve missing children's cases, keep statewide
statistics and make sure that searching parents are referred to needed
services. Contact information for these State Clearinghouses can be
found in this website
here.
In Canada,
a formal program called "Our Missing Children" is led by the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police and involves the Immigration and Customs
Services along with the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The central database
of missing children in Canada is called the Registry, where al
information and statistics on missing children are compiled.
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Q. What
kinds of services are available for kids
who are being abused and exploited even if they are not missing?
A. There are several outreach programs for street children and
for children caught in the commercial sex trade in the US and Canada.
There are AMECO agencies that provide Internet safety training for
parents and educators. There are a large number of AMECO agencies
providing curricula to prevent the exploitation of children. There are
agencies involved with advocating for child protection laws. There are
lists of and website links to the agencies providing these services in
the Programs and Services page of this website. |
