The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The work of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children warrants very close look by Jurisdynamics. The NCMEC is an exemplary case of multijurisdictional coordination, cooperation between private and public actors, and astonishingly rapid adaptation in pursuit of the public good.

For the moment, given this forum's focus on natural disasters, it suffices to recognize the NCMEC's greatest contribution to the recovery of children separated from their families during disasters — the National Emergency Child Locator Center:

In October 2006, Congress and President George W. Bush created the National Emergency Child Locator Center (NECLC). NECLC will be operated by NCMEC when a national disaster is declared by the President, to assist in the location of children and the reunification of families resulting from the disaster or subsequent evacuations.

In the event of a natural disaster, the National Emergency Child Locator Center will

• Establish a toll-free hotline to receive reports of displaced children;
• Create a website to provide information about displaced children;
• Deploy staff to the location of a declared disaster area to gather information about displaced children;
• Provide information to the public about additional resources;
• Partner with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; and
• Refer reports of displaced adults to the Attorney General’s designated authority and the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System.