Child Protective Services

Child abduction is any act of concealment of a child from the Juvenile Dependency Court or Child Protective Services for the purpose of preventing the detention of a child when a parent, legal guardian or relative/NREFM is aware that such a detention (i.e., removal from the parents/ care and custody) is about to be made.

If a child is under Dependency Court supervision, including a child that is lawfully placed with their parent AND is abducted by the parent or legal guardian, this is considered a Child Abduction. If the child is taken/abducted by a relative of NREFM, this may be considered a kidnapping. Law Enforcement is to be immediately notified by the appropriate parties of the abduction so that a Missing Person’s Report and a Child Abduction report can be filed with Law Enforcement pursuant to Penal Code (PC) 278 and the child’s information entered into the NCIC database. The CPS social worker shall notify their county counsel, opposing attorneys and the Juvenile Court about the child being missing/abducted as well as requesting the Juvenile Court issue Protective Custody Warrants for the child(ren).

If the child is not yet before the Dependency Court, the CPS social worker should staff with their Supervisor, Program Manager and County Counsel about requesting a Protective Custody Warrant and filing Petitions with the Juvenile Court.

Use the information below as a guideline if one of the following circumstances occurs. Please note processes may differ by County:

• An unauthorized parent/relative/non-related extended family member (NREFM) takes a child from school, placement or visitation and their whereabouts remain unknown;
• Child does not return from school or an activity, cannot be found and is not likely a runaway;
• The caretaker observes, or someone reports a family member or unknown person has abducted the child.

File a Missing Person’s/Child Abduction Report

• CPS worker shall contact the care provider/parent/guardian of the child/youth at the time of the abduction to ensure a crime report was filed with law enforcement (LE)
• If a crime report was filed, CPS social worker will obtain the name of the agency contacted, the report number and date of the report
• If a crime report was not filed, CPS social worker will ask the caregiver or service provider to call law enforcement, file a crime report and call the primary social worker back with the name of the agency and the report number within 30 minutes or as soon as information becomes available from law enforcement
• CPS social worker shall obtain details of the event from the person who was with the child/youth at the time of the abduction (i.e., circumstances that led to abduction, location of the abduction, whether the child was harmed, etc)
• Please note:  According to PC Section 14205(a), law enforcement shall accept any report of a missing person without delay. The report must be made for each missing child by a caretaker, CPS social worker or other person.

Ensure the Child/Youth is entered into National Crime Information Center (NCIC)

• The CPS social worker shall immediately, or in no case later than 24 hours from receipt of information, report the incident to law enforcement for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the FBI and to NCMEC (PC 11166(j)(3)).
• Make a report to National Center for the Missing and Exploited Children by:
  • Calling 1-800-THE LOST or
  • https://cmfc.missingkids.org/reportit/Accopunty/LogOn

Notifications:

• CPS social worker shall notify the child/youth’s counsel, Deputy County Counsel (DCC) and CASA of the abduction as soon as possible.
• CPS social worker shall notify the District Attorney (DA) of the abduction
  • CPS social workers shall provide information to DA’s investigators for the purpose of locating the child
  • Consult with DA about the possibility of filing a Hague Petition and connect with the Attorney General if needed
• CPS social worker shall notify the child’s school of the child’s status
  • If the school receives a request for the abducted child’s school records, the school personnel must notify the CPS social worker of the request

Protective Custody Warrant

• CPS social worker is to file a Protective Custody Warrant with the Juvenile Court (within 24 hours of the abduction)

Maintain Contact with LE

• Determine status of the investigation, provide any updates and provide photos of the children (and/or perpetrator) as needed
  • Child/youth should not be identified as a foster child/youth when publishing their photo (consult with County Counsel if needed)

When a Child is Recovered

• Notify the child/youth’s attorney, County counsel, DA and their investigators, Dependency Court and LE agencies within 24 hours of the child/youth’s recovery
• Refer the child/youth and parents to mental health counseling to specifically deal with issues surrounding abduction, recovery and re-integration into the family unit or into out-of-home placement of the child/youth
• Assist the parent or care giver with filing a Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board @ 800-777-9229 or www.vcgbc.ca.gov and/or connecting them to a Victim/Witness Assistance Center by calling 800-VICTIMS (800-842-8467) OR 222.1800VICTIMS.org.