Developing Child Focused Standards in Response to Parental Child Abduction and its Prevention
Prevent Abduction Program:
Steps to enrollment
* RUSH highly recommends that you contact the Office of Children's Issues (OCI) Prevention Branch to confirm this process (1-888-407-4747 or via email at preventabduction1@state.gov).
1. Go to a judge and request an emergency protective/custody order (or a motion to modify if one already exists).
2. Take the example legal language and ask the judge for a protective order/temporary custody order for yourself and your child(ren). If you already have a protective order or a custody judgment, you will ask the judge for an amendment for travel restraint language for enrollment in a Federal travel prevention program.
3. Request that the order utilizes any of the travel restraint statements approved by the appropriate federal agencies, inserting your name, your spouse's name, and your child(ren)'s names where appropriate (be sure to include any nicknames or aliases that may be used on false documents).
4. If the judge denies the request for a protective order/temporary custody order, you should still request an order preventing either child from traveling with either parent, or just your spouse, from the United States (using the approved legal language).
5. Immediately contact OCI Prevention (1-888-407-4747) to request that they enroll your child(ren) in the Prevent Abduction Program.
**You cannot enroll in the Prevent Abduction Program until you have a court order, including specific language preventing your child(ren)'s international travel.
- As an alternative, you can take your judgment to the police and demand that they coordinate with OCI to complete the enrollment process. However, you should expect that the police will not be familiar with the Prevent Abduction Program and that you will have to insist on their calling OCI for instructions.
6. Request any further steps that OCI Prevention (1-888-407-4747) can recommend that you take toward protecting your family.
7. Call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) (1-800-843-5678) to request any further steps that they recommend you take toward protecting your family.
*** Note: It is imperative that law enforcement list your missing child(ren) into the NCIC immediately (as required by federal law).
In the absence of a legal travel restraint document, this may be your last opportunity for preventing an international abduction.