U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

REPORT

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531

Alberto R. Gonzales Attorney General

Regina B. Schofield Assistant Attorney General

J. Robert Flores Administrator

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Office of Justice Programs Partnerships for Safer Communities

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

A Family Resource Guide

on International Parental

Kidnapping

Report

J. Robert Flores, Administrator

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Original Printing

February 2002

Reprinted

May 2003

Revised

January 2007

NCJ 215476

This document was prepared by Fox Valley Technical College under cooperative agreement number 2005MCCXK034 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice.

Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP, OJP, or the U.S. Department of Justice.

Cover photo: Copyright 199799 PhotoDisc, Inc.

Fore

word

Foreword When a child is abducted by a family member, the parent who has been left behind faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The emotional, legal, and financial difficulties precipitated by the abduction can be among the hardest challenges a parent will ever encounter. For parents whose children are taken to or retained in foreign countries, these hardships can be particularly overwhelming.

Given the complex nature of international abductions, a swift and informed response is often difficult. Unfamiliar languages and laws, compounded by the vast psychological and physical distance of the separation, can frustrate recovery efforts.

Despite these obstacles, however, left-behind family members can marshal an effective response and this book is a resource that can help them do so. It offers descriptions and realistic assessments of available civil and criminal remedies, explains applicable laws, identifies public and private resources, and identifies strategies to help left-behind parents recover their children or reestablish meaningful contact with them in another country.

This is the second edition of A Family Resource Guide on International Parental Kidnapping. It covers important developments in policy and practice since the publication of the first edition in February 2002, including:

Establishment of the AMBER Alert program by the PROTECT Act.

Amendment of the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act to make attempted international abduction a federal offense.

Use of child abduction (CA) and AMBER Alert (AA) flags on missing children records in National Crime Information Center.

Widespread enactment of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which addresses jurisdiction and enforcement in child custody, visitation, and abduction cases. Many states have included provisions authorizing prosecutors, and law enforcement acting at their request, to assist civilly in the location, recovery, and return of abducted children, and in civil enforcement of custody and visitation orders.

Creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after 9/11. DHS assumed responsibility for border protection, including a role in the recovery of missing and exploited children. This work used to be handled by the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Online access to many useful resources via the Internet.

Steady growth of the number of U.S. treaty partners under the Hague Child Abduction Convention.

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Development of uniform child abduction prevention legislation by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

These developments are groundbreaking, but we can not stop here. There is always more we as a country and agency can do to bring our children home safely. This revised Resource Guide is one step in the process. OJJDP will continue to work with the international community to keep the lines of communication open.

J. Robert Flores Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

iv

Acknowledgments The task of developing a guide for parents on the topic of international parental abduction is as complex and difficult as the subject itself. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is grateful to the many people who contributed to the development of this guide, especially parents who have experienced first hand the trauma of becoming a left-behind parent. In particular, OJJDP wishes to thank Terri Beydoun, Jodi Carlson, Jean Henderson, Tom Johnson, John LeBeau, Paul Marinkovich, Steve McCoy, Ray (Perry) Morrison, and Jose and Miriam Santos for their commitment and contributions to the guide, and for their unfailing efforts to assist other parents who face similar circumstances.

OJJDP also wants to thank the many federal, state, and local agencies and organizations that made significant contributions to the guide, especially Stephanie Crews, Kevin Gutfliesh, and Grant Mendenhall from the Federal Bureau of Investigations Crimes Against Children Unit; Marsha Gilmer-Tullis, Nancy Hammer, and John Rabun from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; Judy Schretter from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice; and Sharon Carper from the U.S. Department of State.

Special thanks also go to the many professionals who gave their time, energy, talents, and expertise to put together a document that is effective in its delivery of information, timely in its content, and both supportive and helpful in its message to parents. This includes Helen N. Connelly, James P. Finley, and Joellen Talbot of Fox Valley Technical College; and Heather Keegan and Donna Uzell of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

This document would not have been possible without invaluable assistance from Patricia Hoff, Esq., who painstakingly gave her time, talents, expertise, and knowledge to this project. Her enormous contributions to this guide are equaled by her commitment to serve and support families and children faced with international parental abductions. Ms. Hoff also prepared this revised edition, which is current through July 2005.

Finally, sincere thanks go to Ron Laney, Associate Administrator, OJJDPs Child Protection Division, who had the vision and foresight to put together a working group to begin to address issues associated with international parental abductions. Through his leadership and commitment, this guide will serve as an invaluable resource to parents and children across the world.

This guide is dedicated to all of the families and children who have been or are separated from one another. It is our sincere hope that the information contained in this guide will give you the support and direction you may need in a time of crisis.

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sTable of ContentsIntroduction............................................................................................................................................................................... 1

1. Preventing International Parental Kidnapping ...................................................................................................... 3

2. Urgent Cases: Stopping an Abduction in Progress ............................................................................................ 23

3. Searching for Your Child............................................................................................................................................... 37

4. Civil Remedies in International Parental Kidnapping Cases ........................................................................... 47

5. The Crime of International Parental Kidnapping ................................................................................................ 75

6. Other Resources To Help Resolve International Parental Kidnapping Cases ........................................... 93

7. Reunification .................................................................................................................................................................. 103

Recommended Reading................................................................................................................................................... 109

Directory of Resources ...................................................................................................................................................... 111

Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction .................................................. 115

Application for Assistance Under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction ............... 125

Abduction Checklist for Parents..............