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Georgia bill makes it easier to find missing, abused foster children, sponsors say

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Published  January 30, 2024 5:35pm EST
Georgia Politics
FOX 5 Atlanta

Bill to make finding missing foster children easier

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 2,400 reports of children missing from Georgia Foster Care between 2018 and 2022. Georgia lawmakers want to make it easier to find those children.

ATLANTA - Georgia Senate Bill 342 would make it easier for state agencies to grant the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children access to records concerning reports of child abuse and missing children.

"For them to be able to help us, we need to provide them the information they need. This legislation builds that bridge between the state of Georgia and this great organization, so that we will have the additional tools we need to go out and rescue these children who are lost in our society," Republican state Senator Randy Robertson told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes.

Democratic state Senator Harold Jones II is also sponsoring the legislation. He said there is a huge need for the partnership.

"I actually sponsored a bill a few years ago talking about online sexual exploitation, said Senator Jones. "When we start talking about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, they actually have a specialty in that particular area. This is going to help children who have compromising photos and things like that. This will actually help them."

Officials with the NCMEC praised lawmakers' actions, calling the bill "a crucial step in allowing NCMEC to better collaborate with the state to swiftly locate and support missing children in state care."

If approved, lawmakers said the legislation will cut through the legal red tape that can hinder search efforts.

What is the NCMEC?

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is the nation's largest child protection organization.

Its mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization, according to the NCMEC website.

The NCMEC manages the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution Program. When local law enforcement issues an AMBER Alert, NCMEC re-distributes it online. You can find active AMBER Alerts from any state on the NCMEC website, as well as on its various social media platforms.

How many missing foster kids are there in Georgia?

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 2,400 reports of children missing from Georgia Foster Care between 2018 and 2022.