§5771. Findings

The Congress hereby finds that-

(1) each year thousands of children are abducted or removed from the control of a parent having legal custody without such parent's consent, under circumstances which immediately place them in grave danger;

(2) many of these children are never reunited with their families;

(3) often there are no clues to the whereabouts of these children;

(4) many missing children are at great risk of both physical harm and sexual exploitation;

(5) in many cases, parents and local law enforcement officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to mount expanded search efforts;

(6) abducted children are frequently moved from one locality to another, requiring the cooperation and coordination of local, State, and Federal law enforcement efforts;

(7) on frequent occasions, law enforcement authorities quickly exhaust all leads in missing children cases, and require assistance from distant communities where the child may be located; and

(8) Federal assistance is urgently needed to coordinate and assist in this interstate problem.

(Pub. L. 93–415, title IV, §402, as added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §660, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2125 .)

Effective Date

Subchapter effective Oct. 12, 1984, see section 670(a) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as an Effective Date of 1984 Amendment note under section 5601 of this title.

Short Title

For short title of title IV of Pub. L. 93–415, which enacted this subchapter, as the "Missing Children's Assistance Act", see section 401 of Pub. L. 93–415, as added by Pub. L. 98–473, set out as a note under section 5601 of this title.