US: State Agencies Did Not Always Ensure That Children Missing From Foster Care Were Reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Accordance With Federal Requirements
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General – March 02, 2023
Federal law requires States to provide safe and stable out-of-home care for children in foster care until they are safely returned home, placed permanently with adoptive families, or placed in other planned, permanent living arrangements. Concerns regarding States’ lack of knowledge regarding the whereabouts of children who go missing from foster care (missing children) have garnered national media attention. This report examines the States’ efforts to ensure that these missing children are properly reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Our objective was to examine State agencies’ efforts to ensure that missing children are reported to NCMEC as required by Federal statute. Our audit included 74,353 missing children episodes in which the child was missing 2 calendar days or longer at any time during the period July 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020. We selected a stratified random sample of 100 missing children episodes and asked the State agencies to respond to a survey regarding those episodes. We also obtained and reviewed documentation from State agencies and NCMEC to determine whether missing children were reported to NCMEC as required by Federal statute.
https://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region7/72106102.asp