John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator	April 2000

Second Comprehensive Study of Missing Children Louise Hanson Introduction Background NISMART 2 Categories The Household Survey Survey of Residential Facilities Law Enforcement Survey Study of Thrownaway Cases Keeping the Public Informed References National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Acknowledgments This Bulletin was prepared under grant number 95-MC-CX-K004 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice. 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.

From the Administrator The disappearance of a child is a traumatic event that demands immediate attention from the entire community. However, if we are to respond effectively to each missing child, we must have sound data regarding the nature and scope of the missing children problem. Conducted in 1988, the first National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART 1) provided the first nationally representative, comprehensive estimates of the incidence of missing children. More than a decade has passed since this landmark study was completed, necessitating a new look at the number of children reported missing and the circumstances surrounding those disappearances. The NISMART 2 study, described in this Bulletin, will provide vital data on the incidence of missing children in eight categories: runaway/thrownaway, nonfamily abduction, family abduction, custodial interference, lost and involuntarily missing, missing due to injury, missing due to false alarm situations, and sexually assaulted. It is my belief that the information to be derived from NISMART 2 will benefit both policymakers and practitioners in their efforts to address missing children's issues. John J. Wilson Acting Administrator