Overview

Missing child clearinghouses are organizations providing resources for missing children, their families and the professionals who serve them. Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada and the Netherlands have a missing child clearinghouse.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children maintains a liaison with each missing child clearinghouse and helps ensure they are familiar with the many resources available through NCMEC. NCMEC provides missing child clearinghouses with training, technical assistance and vital information and other resources to help them with missing child cases.

The missing child clearinghouses provide diverse services due to the range of their authorities and the variety of agencies in which they exist. The primary services provided by missing child clearinghouses are networking, information dissemination, training development and delivery, data collection and provision of technical assistance in cases of missing and sexually exploited children.

NCMEC and missing child clearinghouses work closely together to help provide resources for a comprehensive approach to child protection.