Report on
International Parental Child Abduction Growth
International Parental Child Abduction Today - 2013
Written By
Carolyn Ann Vlk and Peter Thomas Senese and Joel S. Walter, Esq.
Issued On February 25th, 2013
INTRODUCTION
United States child-citizens
continue to be criminally kidnapped, illegally removed overseas, and wrongfully
detained in foreign countries in shocking numbers by their non-custodial parent.
The global plague of international parental child abduction significantly continues
in America in a similar capacity as it does in the majority of nations abroad.
For the first time since the United States signed The Hague Convention in 1981,
the U.S. Department of State has reported in two consecutive years that the
number of reported outbound cases of American child-citizen abductions has declined.
Specifically, during
2012 there were 799 reported international parental child abduction cases filed
with the United States Central Authority representing a total of 1,144
children. Previously, in 2011 there were
a total of 941 reported international parental child abduction cases filed with
the United States Central Authority, representing a total of 1,367 children.
Thus, the reduction by
142 filed cases represents a decline of 15% of reported abduction cases from
2012 from 2011. During the same
reporting period, there were 223 fewer children internationally kidnapped in
2012 from 2011, representing a 16.3% decrease of total children abducted.
Comparatively, there
were 1022 reported international parental child abduction cases in 2010
representing 1,492 children. Thus, there
has been a reduction of 223 reported abduction cases from 2010 to 2012,
representing a total decline of 348 children between the two years. This
represents a two year decline from 2010 to 2012 in reported cases by 21.8%, and
a 23.3% reduction over the same two year period in the number of children
kidnapped.
The decline in the
reported number of international parental child abductions of American citizens
represents a significant development and bespeaks of the tremendous educational
outreach effort by the United States Department of State’s Office of Children’sIssues as well as non-government organizations such as but not limited to the I CARE Foundation
and the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children to raise awareness
of parental abduction amongst lawyers, judges, law enforcement, and targeted parents
to that children may be protected. However,
it is important to note that despite a groundbreaking shift in child abduction
statistical growth trends previously realized, we strongly affirm that criminal
international parental child abduction continues to be a destructive epidemic
in the United States and abroad that must be met with new abduction prevention laws
and government policies, while significant efforts to educate courts, law
enforcement, social workers, and at-risk parents of the many issues of child
kidnapping diligently continue.
It is important to
note that while the number of ‘reported cases’ of international parental child
abduction have declined, the number of ‘unreported cases’ of abduction remains
a significant concern for both government agencies and non-government
organizations dedicated to preventing abduction. Previously, the I CARE Foundation issued a
report that the number of yearly unreported cases of abduction is believed to
equal between 100% and 125% of all reported abduction cases. We have no reason to change this
forecast. Thus, though there are no
measurable statistics on unreported abduction cases, it would be reasonable,
though not conclusive, to anticipate that the number of unreported cases of international
child abduction have also declined.
While there is much to
be pleased about regarding the significant decline in the reported
international parental child abduction rate and forecasted decline in
unreported cases of abduction, a great concern critically worth noting is that
the number of children actually legally returned home after they are kidnapped
remains to be estimated at only 10% when considering the total number of
reported and unreported cases.
The reality is that
children who are internationally abducted do not come home. Sadly, many are lost forever.
One of the major facets
of abduction prevention is education, and raising awareness of abduction
threats to at-risk parents clearly has demonstrated a clear and measurable impact
on the number of reported abduction cases.
Clearly and
unquestionably, educational outreach programs directed toward raising international
parental child abduction awareness are working!
Still, there is a long way to go.
The I CARE Foundation
and the organization’s leadership have been actively involved in increasing
awareness of child abduction while assisting a large number of parents protect
their at-risk children.
One of the I CARE
Foundation’s most dynamic and significant educational outreach programs that have
had measurable results is the ‘Parent Blogger Educational Outreach Program’. Under the program, highly influential
parenting bloggers with a large global readership of followers have written a
series of informative educational articles concerning the pandemic of
international parental child abduction, including warning signs, risk factors,
and actionable steps an at-risk parent may take to prevent abduction. This grassroots effort led primarily by
mothers who write and blog to raise awareness has been a tremendous success and
has resulted in a significant number of successful child abduction prevention cases
to occur. Collectively, the extraordinary participants
of the ‘Parent Blogger Educational Outreach Program’ have reached millions of
parents, some who may have been directly at risk, or who may have known another
parent and child at risk of abduction. In
addition, the reach of these incredible parents willing to help protect
children at risk of abduction has had a global impact on the prevention of
child abduction as blogger participants were located on every continent and the
millions of their readers blanketed the globe.
Clearly, the effort of these parent writers has made a significant
difference in protecting lives, both in the United States, Canada, and
elsewhere!
With the recent
success of efforts put forth by child advocates everywhere to stop abduction,
we are reminded that child abduction is a cruel and dangerous act against a
child.
With grave concern we
acknowledge that hundreds of young children each year are murdered by theirparents in the United States, and that there is a clear statistical correlation
of filicide in nations abroad and abduction similar to reported United States
and Canadian government statistics of parental child murder.
As this report cites
in detail, international parental child abduction is a severe criminal act of
kidnapping committed by a parent against a child and the targeted left behind
parent. International parental child abductors commit grave crimes against
their child, including the act of abduction as well as the acts of child abuse
and neglect.
According to numerous
studies and reports including those issued by the United States Department of
Justice and Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police, an abductor exhibits
significant sociopathic tendencies, and generally does not act in the best
interest of a child, but conversely, the act of abduction and the acts after
the child-snatching cause both serious short-term and long-term damage that
may, on many occasions, be irreversible. Sadly, acts of identity stripping,
parental isolation, and removal of the bond between the abducted child and
targeted parent speak nothing of the fact that filicide: the act of parental
child murder is real. So too, tragically, is the reality that children who have
been abducted and who have had their identity stripped during an abduction
exhibit an alarming number of characteristics that are exhibited in individuals
who commit suicide.
For the majority of
child advocates who work tirelessly to protect children, especially advocates
who are not in the business of profiting due to the tragedy of a child being
kidnapped, what we fight for are lives - children's lives.
In our capacity as
directors of the not-for-profit I CARE Foundation, which has
successfully assisted reunited numerous internationally kidnapped children with
their targeted left-behind parents taken from around the world, while also preventing
an exponentially larger number of children from international parental child
abduction, we and our colleagues have worked tirelessly at conducting extensive
research in the area of child abduction.
The I CARE Foundation’s
volunteer activity has included playing key roles in legally reuniting many
abducted children, writing and working diligently in the passing of abduction
prevention laws and leading in lobbying efforts to have existing policies
modified so that the capacity to protect children from kidnapping would be
increased, in our creation of a national attorney network of educated lawyers
willing and ready to assist at-risk children and their families, in our capacity as researchers and educators
to study the global issues of international parental child abduction and publish
our findings in a way that may drive policy, and in our efforts to create a
grassroots educational awareness movement by working with leading parent
bloggers and writers with large followers, who have shared with their audiences
the grave issues of abduction.
Though great strides have been made over the past two years, and we hope
that the child abduction trend will continue to decline, we do have reason for
concern. Our apprehension is due in part
due to the reality that though abduction rates have declined in the last known
reporting fiscal year of 2012, there remains a glaring failure by the courts
and law enforcement to punish international parental child abductors even
though the act itself is a federal criminal act that is a known form of child
abuse. Without concern to be held
accountable for their actions, parents who contemplate or carry out abduction will
do so with a sense of immunity. Without
holding kidnappers accountable, children at-risk of abduction remain vulnerable.
In addition, it is critical to recognize that chasing parents who attempt
to legally reunite with their kidnapped child face incredible difficulties in
doing so. The challenges faces are discussed in this report in detail; however,
they include but are not limited to failures by nations to uphold international
treaties such as the Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the outright failure of
nations to enter into any international treaty, receiving-country prejudice at
the trial court level on legal action taken by a left-behind parent, grave
financial challenges faced by a targeted chasing parent, and direct physical
dangers faced by a targeted parent if they should attempt to reunite with their
abducted child.
Clearly, child abduction prevention advocates
are making an impact through an assortment of outreach programs that are
raising awareness at the at-risk parent level, the trial lawyer level, and
within the courts, as demonstrated by the second consecutive year of abduction
rate declines. However, for parents
presently attempting to reunite with their kidnapped children, the challenges
they face are grave as explained herein.
REPORTED CASES OF
INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION
Indisputable, are the
actual number of ‘reported’ abduction cases. Estimating the incalculable total
number of ‘unreported’ cases is difficult to assess. Despite this inability to
concisely determine the total number of cases each year, it appears America and
our nation’s children-citizens are plagued by a dangerous criminal epidemic
known as ‘International Parental Child Abduction’ that is silently sweeping
through our nation. At risk are tens if not hundreds of thousands of our
defenseless children who are targeted for abduction each year.
In April of 2009, the
annual Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects
of International Child Abduction was released. In that publication, Janice
L. Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs writes,
"Unfortunately, current trends reflect a steady increase in the number of
international parental child abduction cases and highlight the urgency of
redoubling efforts to promote compliance with Convention obligations and encourage
additional nations to join the Convention." She also writes, "Very
few options exist for parents and children who are victims of parental child
abduction." In the 2010 annual report Ms. Jacobs continues to voice
concerns over the increasing numbers of our child-citizens who have been
wrongfully removed or wrongfully detained.
Similar sentiment has
been shared in reports issued by the U.S. Department of State since this time. There is no question that the challenges that
parents and children of abduction face are significant.
However, during 2012
there were 799 reported international parental child abduction cases filed with
the United States Central Authority representing a total of 1,144
children. Previously, in 2011 there were
a total of 941 reported international parental child abduction cases filed with
the United States Central Authority, representing a total of 1,367
children. Thus, the reduction by 142
filed cases represents a decline of 15% of reported abduction cases from 2012
from 2011. During the same reporting
period, there were 223 fewer children internationally kidnapped in 2012 from
2011, representing a 16.3% decrease of total children abducted. Comparatively, there were 1022 reported
international parental child abduction cases in 2010 representing 1,492
children. Thus, there has been a
reduction of 223 reported abduction cases from 2010 to 2012, representing a
total decline of 348 children between the two years. This represents a two year
decline from 2010 to 2012 in reported cases by 21.8%, and a 23.3% reduction
over the same two year period in the number of children kidnapped.
UNREPORTED CASES OF INTERNATIONAL
PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION
Peter Thomas Senese
commented, “The anticipated number of international abductions used as a
benchmark and often referred to is inconclusive because the published data does
not take into consideration ‘unreported’ cases of international child
abduction, population growth, increases in multi-cultural marriages,
immigration migration increases to the United States, and economic difficulties
many families are facing, which inevitably leads to a break-up of the family unit.
More concerning is how the widely distributed and cited surveys used what I
believe to be an inadequate number of telephone interviews and appear not to
include any law enforcement records. In my view, we as a nation have a serious
problem on our hands.”
Carolyn Ann Vlk
stated, "Admittedly, something is seriously amiss in our ability to
accurately estimate the number of children victimized by the crime of child
abduction. In my opinion, utilizing only a random telephone survey, to
determine the number of affected children is a process flawed by numerous,
serious methodological problems. Additionally, the cooperation and compliance
rate in obtaining the return of our citizen children who have been criminally
internationally abducted must be drastically improved. The recovery of so few
of these children during an entire fiscal year is not and should not be
acceptable".
Unfortunately, many
internationally abducted children are never returned because their abductions
are not reported to authorities. The likelihood is that the vast majority of
these types of cases never end with a child’s return. It would be reasonable to
conclude that if a targeted parent did not report their child’s abduction, then
in all likelihood, that U.S. child-citizen will not be returned to the United
States. Due to the number of ‘unreported’ international abduction cases, it is
difficult to determine a reasonable return-rate percentage. We recognize the
difficulty in attempting to accurately estimate the ‘unreported’ case numbers and
believe that it is probable that the number of returns of ‘unreported’ cases is
extremely low and essentially immeasurable.
Reasons for
‘unreported’ cases include the financial inability of a Chasing Parent to take
legal action since they are responsible to pay for all costs associated with
their child’s recovery – even though a child’s international abduction violates
state and federal laws such as the International Parental Kidnapping Crimes
Act (IPKCA). Furthermore, many parents experience a sense of hopelessness
that any recovery efforts will be futile since there are great difficulties
associated with bringing a child home, including the possibility of first
trying to determine where your child is. Also, the fact is that many nations
are not a party of or do not uphold the Hague Convention. Furthermore, there
exist substantial prejudices in foreign courts.
The NISMART I study
reported that there were a total of 354,000 parental child abductions annually.
The NISMART II study stated the total number of parental child
abductions decreased to approximately 203,900 children. The truth of the matter
is that we really do not know how accurate any of the data is or how large of a
problem we actually have on our hands. What we do know is that hundreds of
thousands of children are targeted for parental abduction each year, and out of
this group, tens of thousands of these instances include planned international
parental abductions.
PARENTAL CHILD
ABDUCTION IS A SEVERE FORM OF CHILD ABUSE
According to leading
experts who specialize in international parental child abduction, conclusive
and unilateral opinion and fact demonstrates that parental child abduction of a
targeted child is a cruel, criminal, and severe form of abuse and mistreatment
regardless if the child is with one of their (abducting) parents. This includes
the illegal act of international abduction, whereas, the child is unexpectedly
uprooted from their home, their community, their immediate and extended family,
and their country. Sadly, severe short and long-term psychological problems are
prevalent for many abduction victims who survive their kidnapping experience. It
is commonplace for a child to be emotionally sabotaged, whereas, the abducting
parent will try to remove all bonds and attachments the child has with the
other parent, thus, removing the child’s right to know the love of the other
parent, and keep in tact their own identity. Too many children simply never
come home and in certain cases a child’s abduction overseas has led to the
death of the abducted child.
A leader in the field
of parental child abduction issues, Dr. Dorothy Huntington wrote an article
titled Parental Kidnapping: A New Form of Child Abuse. Huntington
contends that from the point of view of the child, "child stealing is
child abuse." According to Huntington, "in child stealing the
children are used as both objects and weapons in the struggle between the
parents which leads to the brutalization of the children psychologically,
specifically destroying their sense of trust in the world around them."
“Because of the
harmful effects on children, parental kidnapping has been characterized as a
form of “child abuse" reports Patricia Hoff, Legal Director for the
Parental Abduction Training and Dissemination Project, American Bar Association
on Children and the Law. Hoff explains, "Abducted children suffer
emotionally and sometimes physically at the hands of abductor-parents. Many
children are told the other parent is dead or no longer loves them. Uprooted
from family and friends, abducted children often are given new names by their
abductor-parents and instructed not to reveal their real names or where they
lived before." (Hoff, 1997)
Consider that today in
Japan, there are approximately 230 American children-citizens who were
illegally abducted from United States soil to Japan by one of their parents in
violation of U.S. court orders. To date, and for what is believed to be nearly
fifty years, Japan – America’s strong ally – has never returned 1 American
child who was parentally kidnapped and illegally detained in accordance to
United States law. And tragically, the vast majority of the chasing parents
left-behind in the wake of their child’s abduction are not permitted to have
contact with their child.
EXTREME DIFFICULITES
IN RECOVERING AN ABDUCTED CHILD
There are abundant
reasons why it is very difficult to have an illegally stolen child returned
despite the United States being a signatory of The Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. They include, but are not
limited to the following:
1. Lack of action in
reporting a child’s abduction by a targeted parent left behind; and,
2. Many nations do not
comply with or uphold the spirit of the convention (ex, Brazil, Mexico,
Germany); and,
3. Many countries have
not signed the convention (ex. Japan, China, Russia, and many countries located
in the Middle East); and,
4. Chasing Parents may
not have an idea what country their child was taken to; and,
5. Chasing Parents are
responsible to carry the enormous financial burden associated with their
child’s recovery. Many simply do not have the substantial resources needed;
and,
6. Many Chasing
Parents do not have the knowledge necessary to navigate the difficult and
complex legal system of international law, nor do they often know who to turn
to and what to do; and,
7. Nationalistic
prejudices of court systems located in the ‘inbound’ country, whereas, a court
may try to protect the abducting parent if that parent is a citizen of the
country where they abducted the child to; and,
8. Cultural
differences; and,
9. A Chasing Parent’s
fear to attempt to recover their child due to threats from the abducting parent
or individuals associated with the abducting parent; and,
10. Lack of
cooperation from law enforcement; and,
11. Limited power of
the Office of Children’s Issues to intervene on behalf of a U.S.
citizen.
REASONS WHY ONE PARENT
CRIMINALLY ABDUCTS A CHILD
Studies have
demonstrated that an unprecedented number of abductions have occurred where one
parent took unilateral action to deprive the other parent of contact with their
child. The majority of abducting parents will typically use the child as a tool
to cause the targeted parent great pain and suffering. Their intent is simple:
to make the other parent suffer as much as possible by depriving that targeted
parent with the love and connection to their own child. Nearly every published
study on this subject has concluded that an abducting parent has significant,
and typically, long-term psychological problems and may in fact be a danger to
their child.
We take the time to
acknowledge that in certain cases of parental child abduction, a parent claims
to have no other choice but to flee the other parent due to serious, grave, and
ongoing forms of abuse. We acknowledge that in many abduction defenses found under
Article 13 of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction, an abducting parent will often claim mental,
emotional, and physical abuse by the other parent as part of their defense to
sanction their criminal behavior of abduction. However, we must also
acknowledge that domestic violence is a very real, measurable, and in many
cases, an ongoing crime that has limited law enforcement safety controls. We
acknowledge that there are parents who must flee for their and their child’s
safety due to failures by law enforcement and courts to protect their safety,
combined with a habitual abuser who aims to cause grave hurt to the targeted
parent.
In addition, and
understandably, family abductions occur at a higher rate during times of
heightened stress such as separation or divorce and often involve custody
issues and visitation problems. The sad fact is that a large number of
marriages, estimated to be between 40% and 50%, in the U.S. end in divorce.
One of the many
considerations that factor into the increase in total abductions indicates that
economic difficulties in the United States and elsewhere are a measurable
factor in the number of increases in separations and divorces. This added
stress can lead to a parental cross-border abduction, particularly since we
live in a global society, and the number of international relationships has
increased dramatically.
While all children can
be potential targets of a family abduction, the likelihood increases when that
child has a parent with ties to a foreign country. According to the Juvenile
and Family Court Journal Vol. 48, No. 2 titled Jurisdiction In Child
Custody and Abduction Cases, “Parents who are citizens of another country
(or who have dual citizenship with the U.S.) and also have strong ties to their
extended family in their country of origin have long been recognized as
abduction risks.” This increase in cultural diversity within the U.S.
population has created challenges for our existing laws. Many U.S. born
children-citizens fall victim to parental abduction when a parents’ union ends.
Across the U.S.,
states are struggling to address their archaic and outdated laws, and establish
additional precautions to better protect their child-citizen population.
Unquestionably, it is critical that child abduction prevention laws are passed
in each state and upheld by the judiciary and law enforcement. Failure to do so
will likely lead to the looming disaster that is already upon us.
Peter Thomas Senese
stated, “As a nation, the United States must fight back this sweeping plague by
passing child abduction prevention laws and by increasing our judiciary’s level
of competency in overseeing and enforcing laws associated with these complex
cases of potential or actual international parental child abductions. Critical
to judges and lawmakers’ ability to protect our children is the need for
immediate research on this subject. The present available information is
archaic, and more than likely inaccurate particularly due to the inability to
measure 'unreported' cases. The community of child abduction prevention
advocates has pointed this out for some time now. What we also need is for the
creation and enforcement of well thought out and researched laws along with the
upholding of the intent, spirit, and law of the international treaties such as
The Hague Convention so we can protect our children and put an end to the
spread of this malignant pandemic that has reached our shores.
Florida state
representative Darryl Rouson is the lawmaker who championed and sponsored
Florida’s landmark Child Abduction Prevention Act (HB 787). The bill was
unanimously approved in the Senate and House of Representatives and signed into
law by Governor Charlie Crist. Florida's new preventative legislation will take
effect on January 1, 2011. Representative Rouson commented, “It is critical for
each state to implement laws that will protect the rights of our
children-citizens who may face parental child abduction. The misconception that
when one parent steals a child from the other parent, that the child is safe,
is undeniably inaccurate. It is through prevention laws such as Florida’s Child
Abduction Prevention Act that we will be able to prevent this serious crime
against our nation’s children from occurring.”
Carolyn Ann Vlk, the
child abduction prevention advocate, commented, "Early on in my research
on this critical issue I recognized the urgent need for preventative
legislation. Thankfully, Florida's legislative body wholeheartedly agreed as
evidenced by the unanimous votes. I am thrilled for the added measure of safety
this new law will have in protecting the children of my great state. However, I
will not be satisfied until all states have child abduction prevention
legislation enacted."
IMMIGRATION MIGRATION
AND ITS AFFECT ON CHILD ABDUCTION CASES
A report compiled by
the renowned Washington based Pew Hispanic Center reports that most
immigrant groups are comprised of young families. The likelihood that a child
will be born while the parents are present in the U.S. is high. Prior to 2007,
data collected on parents of children under 18 only identified one parent, and a
second parent could only be identified if they were married to the first
parent. Currently, a second parent identifier is considered whether or not the
parents are married to each other. The new data more accurately reflects the
number of children living in the U.S. with at least one foreign born parent.
In 2008 that meant
that 22% of all children in the United States had at least one foreign-born
parent. In fact, consider the following statistics compiled by the Center
for Immigration Studies in its March 2007 analysis. Immigrants and their
U.S. born children under age 18, as a share of population: California - 37.9%,
Los Angles County - 50%, New York State - 27.9%, New York City - 46.7% and
Florida - 27.9%.
It must be noted that
although 31.3% of all immigrants originate from Mexico, other countries have
significant entry numbers as well. Included in the March 2007 Current
Population Survey (CPS) were statistics indicating that 17.6% of all
immigrants were from East/Southeast Asia, 12.5% from Europe, 5.5% from South
Asia, 3.5% from the Middle East, and Canada at 1.9%.
Traditionally, states
such as California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois and Arizona have had
large numbers of immigrants in their population. What is surprising is the trends
in migration toward new centers of immigrant growth. The CPS prepared an
analysis of states with statistically significant growth in immigrant
population between 2000 and 2007. Most notably, Wyoming, which experienced a
percentage increase of 180%, Tennessee at 160%, Georgia at 152.1%, and Alabama
at 143.6%. The impact of unprecedented increases in immigrant migration is
likely to create multiple challenges as states struggle to keep pace with their
newest segment of population and their children.
“As a nation of
immigrants, it is important to note that as our nation’s population increases
due to immigrant migration, so too does the likelihood of increased
cross-border child abduction,” Peter Thomas Senese added.
Additionally, it has
been well established that illegal aliens do not respond to surveys such as the
US Census or the CPS. Because the U.S. government does not have
accurate records of arrival and departures for individuals present illegally in
the country, their numbers must be estimated, as there is no hard data to draw
from. However, indirect means for establishing these figures are used, and they
must be viewed with a considerable amount of uncertainty. In 2007 CPS,
it was estimated that of the approximately 37.9 million immigrants present in
the U.S., nearly 1 in 3 immigrants were present illegally.
It is important to
note this segment of our population when discussing child abduction because
when a child is born in the U.S. that child automatically is a U.S. citizen.
While the available data gives us fairly accurate figures regarding the number
of children born in the U.S. as well as those immigrants who are present
legally, a number is impossible to compile accurately in relation to the
unauthorized resident population.
In regards to children
born to illegal immigrants, in the five-year period from 2003 to 2008, that
number rose from 2.7 million to 4 million. The report published by the Pew
Hispanic Centers reported that nationally the children of illegal
immigrants now comprise 1 in 15 elementary and secondary students in the U.S.
Additionally, in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas more than 1 in
every 10 students in those states are the children of illegal immigrants.
Carolyn Ann Vlk, the
writer of Florida’s Child Abduction Prevention Act stated, “The ability
of state governments to prevent the abduction of children by family members
could be drastically improved by comprehensive legislation. While aiming to
protect all children, special consideration must be given to those children who
may be at increased risk simply by virtue of their parentage. According to the U.S.
Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the U.S. projected up to
April 22, 2010 estimated that one international migrant enters the U.S. every
36 seconds. International travel has become commonplace and as more
cross-cultural relationships develop children are born. A number of these
relationships will end and may result in an increased risk of international
abduction of the child. Attempting to retrieve a child who has been abducted
and possibly hidden internationally is a near impossibility as a multitude of
problems surface in cases such as these. Unfortunately, studies have proved 4
of 5 Americans drastically underestimate the threat of a family abduction.
Statistically, it is a sobering thought when you become aware of the vast
numbers of children that are criminally abducted each year. Preventative laws
are a necessity as an immediate remedy to this unconscionable crime.”
DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S OFFICE OF CHILDRENS ISSUES
The Office of
Children's Issues has worked diligently to educate at-risk parents of
abduction via an assortment of outreach programs. The leadership at OCI has placed a particular
emphasis on abduction prevention, which in turn has demonstrated remarkable and
measurable results including two consecutive years of significant abduction
rate declines.
The Department of
State was established to assist parents whose children have been unlawfully
removed from the country. The OCI assists the remaining parent and
strives to protect those children who have been victimized in these types of
cases. Considering thousands of child custody cases are fought across national
borders each year, the assistance of the OCI can be invaluable.
Litigating custody,
especially across international borders where conflicting orders may exist can
be difficult if not impossible. The OCI aims to assist in these cases by
enhancing an understanding of the many complex laws, both domestic and
international that may be applicable to a particular case.
However, OCI
has significant limitations, including the fact that they cannot represent your
abducted child in a foreign court. OCI does provide a list of lawyers in
foreign countries who at times have worked pro bono on abduction cases.
However, there are no obligations by any of these lawyers to take a case, and
it is up to each Chasing Parent to work out all arrangements. The reality is
that ‘pro bono’ sounds like a nice idea, but it is an unrealistic
expectation.
Immediate suggestions
that could allow the dedicated staff at OCI to be more helpful include the
following:
1. Creating and
distributing useful, concise information for chasing parents, law enforcement,
and court personnel regarding all areas of IPCA. The use of digital media
combined and supported by printed content is critical.
2. The development of
an independent website outside of the Department of State’s website. This
website must be easy to navigate, include audio and digital feeds, and must be
accessible to individuals in various languages.
3. OCI must actively
support advocates and lawmakers who are seeking to pass child abduction
prevention laws. Support by OCI in this area can increase the visibility of the
issues of child abduction while also increasing lawmaker and judiciary
awareness.
4. Dissemination of
information on the Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program.
5. Dissemination of
information on the ‘Prevent Departure Program’, and dedicated resources
established to assist lawyers and Chasing Parents seeking assistance under this
program.
6. Increases in
outreach toward documented and un-documented aliens about OCI, and the rights
of their U.S. child-citizen.
7. Increase in
personnel to support the tremendous workload of the OCI staff.
About the Authors:
Peter Thomas Senese is the
Founding Director of the I CARE
Foundation, a highly respected child abduction prevention advocate and a
successful chasing parent in accordance to the rules of international parental
child abduction law established under the Hague Convention. Under Peter’s leadership, the I CARE
Foundation has assisted reunite many children who have been internationally
kidnapped with their left-behind parents while also working tirelessly to
prevent the abduction of an exponentially larger number of children. Peter
advocated for the passage of the State of Florida’s ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ (CAPA), heavily contributed to
raising public awareness of the previously widely underutilized federal child
abduction prevention program; specifically, the ‘Prevent Departure Program’ (PDP) that is now more commonly
implemented in aiding targeted parents and their child from abduction in
certain case scenarios, worked diligently to have ‘Senate Resolution 543 – the International Parental Child Abduction Resolution’
unanimously passed calling for a complete revamping of how the United States government
handles abduction. In addition, Peter has spoken as an expert witness before
numerous government bodies, including hosting a forum on international parental
child abduction at the United Nations at the request of the U.S. Department of
State in his capacity as the Founding Director of the I CARE Foundation. Peter is the creator/writer/producer of the
educational documentary film series ‘Chasing
Parents: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child Abduction’,
a best-selling author whose upcoming world-wide book release focusing on
international parental child abduction and titled ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ has been critically acclaimed as a
call-to-arms against child abduction. Peter is the writer of an extensive
number of influential articles and essays pertaining to IPCA. He has created
and oversees a comprehensive website dedicated to child abduction prevention
and good parenting (www.chasingthecyclone.com) where numerous essays and may be
found, including the eye-opening report ‘International
Parental Child Abduction And Human Trafficking In The Western Hemisphere’
Peter co-authored with Ms. Carolyn Vlk. Dedicated
to bringing about new child abduction prevention laws while creating dialogue
that may reform certain government programs and protocols so that they may
better serve targeted children and their parents, Peter Senese is a strong
supporter of The Hague Convention and
The Department of State’s Office Of Children’s Issues.
Carolyn Ann Vlk is a renown child abduction prevention advocate and a
Founding Board of Director Member of the I CARE Foundation as well as a member
of the Special Advisory Board of the Amber Watch Foundation. Carolyn drafted
the landmark State of Florida’s ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ that will be
enacted on January 1st, 2011. Ms. Vlk was highly influential in raising the
public’s awareness on the little-known, highly effective child abduction
prevention federal program titled the ‘Prevent Departure Program’ and worked diligently to have ‘Senate Resolution
543 – the International Parental Child Abduction Resolution’ Carolyn is also a
writer/producer of the highly educational documentary film series titled
‘Chasing Parents: Racing Into The Storms Of International Parental Child
Abduction’, and, is the author of numerous essays and studies on parental child
abduction, including the groundbreaking report titled ‘International Parental
Child Abduction And Human Trafficking In The Western Hemisphere’ (2010).
Carolyn is dedicated to assisting parents and their children who are targets of
international child abduction, and is committed to bringing about positive
reform and change in law and government protocol that has been established to
aid at-risk children. Ms. Vlk is a supporter of The Hague Convention, The
Department of State’s Office Of Children’s Issues, and the Uniform Child
Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA). Carolyn is a loving and dedicated mother to
her children, and fought rigorously to protect her own child who was a target
for potential abduction that she went so far as to draft legislation that has
now become new law in her home state of Florida.
