Section 1: Introduction

Establishment of the Subcommittee on International Child Abduction and the Policy Group on International Parental Kidnapping
A Report on International Parental Kidnapping
Ongoing Commitment to Achieve “Best Practices”

Section 2: Improving Federal Responses to International Parental Kidnapping

Gap 1:	Establish a more informative and coordinated Federal response to international parental kidnapping
	Recommendations
Gap 2:	Develop a comprehensive statistical database on international parental kidnapping cases
	Recommendations
Gap 3:	Expand diplomatic efforts to resolve international parental kidnapping cases and educate the public about them
	Recommendations
Gap 4:	Improve implementation of the Hague Convention
	Recommendations
Gap 5:	Seek solutions to problems of parental access at an international level
	Recommendations
Gap 6:	Foster more widespread and effective use of NCIC and INTERPOL to stop abductions in progress and to locate abducted children and abductors
	Recommendations
Gap 7:	Strengthen passport issuance and revocation practices and institute specialized training for border inspectors to aid in deterring and intercepting cross-border parental abductions
	Recommendations
Gap 8:	Provide education, training, and other assistance
	Recommendations
Gap 9:	Expand the availability of resources to assist left-behind parents
	Recommendations

Issues for Further Study

Section 3: Current Federal Responses to International Parental Kidnapping

Overview

International Parental Kidnapping Defined
Parental Kidnapping Victims
Scope of the Problem
Overview of the Legal Response

Part 1: Outgoing Cases

Prevention
At the Local Level

Law Enforcement Intervention
Court-Ordered Prevention Measures

At the Federal Level

Prevention Packets
Passport Issuance and Denials

Flagging applications for U.S. passports
Denying issuance of a child’s U.S. passport
Revoking a child’s passport
Denying or revoking an abductor’s passport
Entry controls: Denying visas
Departure controls
Entry-exit control system


Locating Abducted Children and Their Abductors

National Crime Information Center

Immediate Entry of a Child into the Missing Person File
NCIC Entries on the Abductor: Wanted Person File and Vehicle File

Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues

Welfare and Whereabouts Visits for U.S. Citizens Abroad

Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service
INTERPOL–U.S. National Central Bureau
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Postal Service
Federal Inspection Services Personnel at U.S. Ports of Entry: U.S. Customs Service and Immigration and Naturalization Service
Defense Department Legal Assistance Offices and Worldwide Military Locator Services
Federal Parent Locator Service
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Missing and Exploited Children’s Program Web Site
Civil Remedies to Recover the Abducted Child

Mechanisms for Child Recovery

Hague Convention Remedy
Non-Hague Convention Country Recovery
Recovery by Department of Defense Mechanisms
Encouraging Returns Through Visa Denials

Federal Role in Civil Child Recovery

Welfare and Whereabouts
Voluntary Return
Finding a Lawyer
Facilitating Legal Proceedings Abroad
Diplomatic Initiatives
Facilitating a Child’s Return to the United States

Travel documents
Transportation costs
Repatriation loans
Significant public benefit parole

Stopping an Abduction in Progress: Intercepting the Child

Intercepting the child in the United States
Intercepting the child abroad

Criminal Prosecution and Extradition

State Law Prosecution, Assisted by Federal Law

Fugitive Felon Act: Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution Warrants

Federal Prosecution Under the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act
Charging Considerations in Criminal Cases

Abductions to Hague Countries
Abductions to Non-Hague Countries

Imposition of Sentencing Conditions
Federal Victim-Witness Assistance
Conduct of International Criminal Investigations

International Legal Assistance

Extradition
Stopping an Abduction in Progress: Intercepting the Abductor

In the United States
Upon Arrival or Entry at Foreign Country

Part 2: Incoming Cases
Locating Abducted Children and Their Abductors in the United States

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Child Abducted From a Hague Convention Country
Child Abducted From a Non-Hague Convention Country

Department of State, Office of Children’s Issues
INTERPOL–USNCB
Federal Inspection Service: INS and Customs
NCIC
FBI
U.S. Postal Service
Defense Department Legal Assistance Offices and Worldwide Military Locator Services
Federal Parent Locator Service

Civil Remedies for Child Recovery

Hague Convention Remedy

Legal Proceedings Under the Convention
Lawsuits to Enforce Foreign Custody and Visitation Orders

Finding a Lawyer

Hague Cases

International Child Abduction Attorney Network
California’s public prosecutors
Defense Department legal assistance
Non-Hague cases
Intercepting a child at U.S. points of entry

Criminal Arrest and Extradition

Provisional Arrest and Extradition
Intercepting Incoming Abductions in Progress

Conclusion

Appendix 1: Members of the Interagency Working Group
Appendix 2: Laws That May Apply in International Parental Kidnapping Cases