The AMBER Advocate
A U.S. Department of Justice Initiative
Upcoming Trainings Open for Registration
Investigative Strategies for Child Abduction Cases
Aurora, CO
Understand, recognize, and investigate cases involving missing and abducted children. Determine scope and scale issues and how to manage a missing or abducted child case. Explore crime scene evidence collection and processing, profiling suspects, and legal issues, including search warrants and interrogation related to a missing or abducted child.
911-Telecommunicators and Missing & Abducted Children
Appleton, WI
911 Telecommunicators are the first responders in missing children cases, playing a critical, life-saving role as the link between a missing child and their safe return. This interactive course will equip telecommunicators with the essential skills and resources needed to manage these high-stakes situations. By analyzing real cases, learn to recognize the various types of missing children incidents and how...
Child Abduction Tabletop Exercise (CATE) in Indian Country
Camp Verde, AZ
Test your community’s response in conducting an initial investigation, search and canvass activities for a missing or abducted child scenario occurring on tribal lands. Employ strategies and responses in mitigating and resolving the emergency. Participate in a multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional tabletop exercise, to build cohesiveness with tribal, state, local and federal partners when responding to an emergency.
Child Abduction Response Team Training (CART)
Doylestown, PA
Take steps toward implementing a successful CART by bringing together a team of experts whose knowledge, skills, and abilities will be beneficial in a child abduction case. Join us to learn how to develop a multidisciplinary CART for responding to endangered, missing, or abducted children. Hear about the impact a child abduction has on the family and learn the fundamentals...
Initial Response Strategies and Tactics When Responding to Missing Children Incidents
Dallas, TX
In the initial response to endangered missing or child abduction incidents, accurate and timely situational assessments and immediate resource deployment are critical. During this training, first responders will gain knowledge of the investigative activities that occur during an endangered missing or child abduction investigation, and how their actions influence the short- and long-term response of law enforcement. Learn the impact...
Investigative Strategies for Child Abduction Cases
Dallas, TX
Understand, recognize, and investigate cases involving missing and abducted children. Determine scope and scale issues and how to manage a missing or abducted child case. Explore crime scene evidence collection and processing, profiling suspects, and legal issues, including search warrants and interrogation related to a missing or abducted child.
Child Abduction Response Team Training (CART)
Bethany Beach, DE
Take steps toward implementing a successful CART by bringing together a team of experts whose knowledge, skills, and abilities will be beneficial in a child abduction case. Join us to learn how to develop a multidisciplinary CART for responding to endangered, missing, or abducted children. Hear about the impact a child abduction has on the family and learn the fundamentals...
Child Sex Trafficking for First Responders
Muscle Schoals, AL
Child Sex Trafficking (CST) is a crime that is hidden yet in plain sight. First responders are often the first system members to make contact with a CST victim. A CST victim has been heavily groomed for system contact, is fearful of their trafficker, and often not forthcoming about their exploitive situation. Deconstruct the crime of CST and identify common...
Initial Response Strategies and Tactics When Responding to Missing Children Incidents
Salem, VA
In the initial response to endangered missing or child abduction incidents, accurate and timely situational assessments and immediate resource deployment are critical. During this training, first responders will gain knowledge of the investigative activities that occur during an endangered missing or child abduction investigation, and how their actions influence the short- and long-term response of law enforcement. Learn the impact...
Latest AMBER Advocate News
More than 236 million citizens in U.S. territories and other countries benefit from AATTAP collaboration. The need for AMBER Alerts is a universal language.
With every minute precious in the search for a missing child, a revolutionary new geolocator tool, what3words, is winning support from emergency responders. A North Texas case involving two lost...
Sheriff’s Deputy Wes Brough’s dramatic water rescue of a Florida boy with autism shows how a sense of urgency pays off in missing child cases.
Parents and siblings of missing children reunite—and renew their commitment to advocacy—at this year’s National Missing Children’s Day in Washington, D.C.
In Hawaii, three successful recoveries of missing children are credited to MAILE AMBER Alerts—and underscore the need for education, training, and an engaged public.
California Highway Patrol AMBER Alert challenge coins honor officers, agencies, and others who go above and beyond in child abduction cases.
Investigating crimes against children also requires focusing on self-care, which is too often overlooked, says Texas AMBER Alert Coordinator and law enforcement training coordinator Michael Nixon.
The work of the AMBER Alert Training & Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP) and its Minnesota-based partners was front-page news this week in the state’s largest newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Featured Resources
Child Abduction Response Team (CART) Program Implementation Guide
A Guide to CART Program Components and Implementation
A CART is a multiagency, often multi-jurisdictional, program trained and equipped to respond in the search for and recovery of an endangered missing or abducted child. CART programs serve as a critically important tool agencies can employ in an endangered missing or abducted child incident to promote a rapid and comprehensive community response.
Child Abduction Response Team (CART) Certification Guide
A Guide for Agencies and CART Programs Pursuing Certification
The Child Abduction Response Team (CART) certification program has been developed to assist local and state jurisdictions in the creation and implementation of CART programs, and grew out of the dedication of CART teams throughout the United States who expressed an interest in pursuing quality assurance processes in endangered missing and abducted child incidents.
What About Me? Finding your path forward when your brother or sister is missing
2nd Edition | 2024
When your brother or sister is missing, it seems like your life will never be the same again. Your thoughts are spinning and you feel like your life is out of control. We designed this publication to share our experiences, provides new insights, and help in coping with your missing sibling.
When Your Child is Missing: A Family Survival Guide
A Guide to Help Families Get the Help Needed
When your child is missing, your mind races through so many questions – what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. It is overwhelming. We understand. We have been there. We designed this publication to help you take each necessary step, contact the right people, and know how to move forward.
AMBER Advocate Magazine
Current Issue
Our third issue of 2024 spotlights “Families Reunited”: Parents and siblings of missing children who came together for this year’s National Missing Children’s Day to discuss how to help other families experiencing the distress and determination felt when a child is missing. Read this and other great stories in the new issue today!
AMBER Alert Best Practices for Public Information Officers (PIOs)
Working Effectively with the Media When a Child is Missing
Best practice recommendations and other important considerations for Public Information Officers in working effectively with the media in endangered missing and abducted child cases
AMBER Alert Best Practices Guide
A Resource for AMBER Alert Programs
Guidelines and important considerations for strengthening and continuously improving AMBER Alert Programs
Field Guide for Law Enforcement Officers
A Resource for Law Enforcement When a Child is Missing
Provides high-level information on law enforcement's investigative response in relation to incidents of endangered missing and abducted children, and the AMBER Alert Process.
What participants are telling us about their training experiences
Voices from 2024 Initial Response Strategies and Tactics When Responding to Missing Children Incidents Training Events
"Great training! Really enjoyed the case studies and all the information provided."
"The Family Perspective presentation gave me important perspectives on what we can do better when dealing with families of victims."
"I enjoyed the roundtable discussions for investigative techniques and resources related to missing persons and child abduction cases."
Voices from 2024 Unresolved Missing Person Cases in Alaskan Native Villages Training Events
"It was pleasing and gratifying that such intelligent, capable, knowledgeable professionals would step from the field into the classroom to help present vital information to this group of intelligent and passionate folks. It was an engaging and informative couple of days which I am grateful to have been able to participate in."
"The instructors are amazingly respectful and patient and never came across as condescending. Lovely people."
"Great interactive presentations. Engaging instructors with expert knowledge."
"I will be bringing this information to my council. Thank you!"
"I will be educating the community(s) about issues that persist within the community and how we
can work together in finding solutions to problems."
Voices from 2024 Search and Canvass Operations in Child Abduction Investigations Training Events
"Excellent training! Well organized, and the instructors were great. Would highly recommend it."
"The training provided me with updated information on this topic that I can incorporate in my regular duties as well as police academy instruction."
"Very informative and one of the best classes I’ve attended."
"The class provided knowledge and foresight in anticipating challenges that may be faced by my agency."
Voices from 2024 AMBER Alert Activation Best Practices Training Events
"Presenters were very knowledgeable and presented training in a way that held the attention of the attendees. All the information was valuable."
"I appreciated learning how to understand the different types of alerts and knowing when to use them for different types of missing child/person calls."
"I have a better sense of how I can then help the field units to better explain to the parent what necessary steps and other information we need to get the correct broadcast out."
"I liked all the class engagement, and how useful the information was, even for my small agency."
Voices from 2024 Child Abduction Response Team (CART) Training Events
"I have had very little training on child abductions. This course was hands-on, and the speakers were fantastic!"
"This was one of the best training sessions I've been to in 30 years. Very engaging and informative! Speakers were excellent!"
"Engaging and interactive; competent leadership guiding the training and locally functional leadership willing to assist the community."
"Coming into this training I had very little idea about the overall importance of time in a child abduction or missing child. Having taken this course, I feel confident in using the tools that I learned, along with resources given. Thank you!"
" I liked learning about the importance of coordinating with other agencies and how to consider what other resources are needed and how to find them/confirm they are available."
"Every bit of the information will be able to help in investigations and CART operations."
Voices from 2024 Telecommunications Best Practices for Missing and Abducted Children Training Events
"The surviving family member presenter spoke to us with raw passion the tragic experiences she had to endure in the murder of her young child... a continual reminder to thoroughly respond and investigate from the onset of the investigation to its conclusion. God bless her and her family."
"Analyzing the 911 calls was very helpful in understanding how the calls come in and are triaged, and showed how important and complex call intake and working with the caller is in setting the foundation for the investigation. I now have best practices that I can apply to more effectively handle these calls."
"I now have a better understanding of what is needed to enter a child into NCIC, what the most important information is for the record, and what is absolutely needed to support an AMBER Alert if one is issued."
Voices from 2024 Child Sex Trafficking for First Responders Training Events
"As a new Captain, I will be leading human trafficking operations. This course has helped me gain a basis of information to accomplish this."
"The instructors were engaging, and I appreciated their identifying misinformation and providing concrete examples of how CST actually occurs."
"This was a very eye-opening class... the examples of lived experience that the presenters were able to tell us about were really helpful."
"I have a better understanding of how trauma impacts victims' decision-making."
"I will be taking back the details I learned and advice to help others in my office, and will recommend using this training to help inform our community about identifiers of child sex trafficking."
Voices from 2024 Child Abduction Tabletop Exercise (CATE) Training Events
"The course serves a great purpose to aid in the investigation for law enforcement."
"The instructors were engaging, knowledgeable and interacted very well with the different departments present. I will definitely use the knowledge gained."
"I really liked how the instructors provided real examples from cases they had worked in the past. This allowed me to think about other situations and scenarios that the training would be helpful for."
"I liked hearing about the additional resources that are available to Tribal organizations and what can be developed for them as well."
"The instructors were very engaging and made the material discussed easy to understand. The scenario helped me to picture things and look at many different ways to handle a situation."
"The tabletop exercise was very helpful and informative. That was the first time I’ve ever done an exercise like that, and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot!"
"This training allowed me to expand my thought process when assisting patrol officers and supervisors at the beginning of an investigation like this."
Voices from 2024 SBI: Cross Border Abductions Training Events
"I liked the information shared during the presentations of each speaker. I think we need to generate more links between Mexico and the U.S., since institutions operate very different. These exercises help us to generate more awareness and empathy to generate best practices in our Mexican institutions."
"These types of events are very relevant for the problems that take place in both countries as we work to seek solutions to these types of crimes that can and do affect our countries."
"This training clarified terminology and understanding about abduction and trafficking, which helps to have a broader and more concrete understanding of the issue -- in order to more effectively identify reportable cases."
"I am going to begin a checklist of people I can involve immediately for child abduction cases."
CHILDREN SAFELY RECOVERED WITH THE HELP OF AMBER ALERT
As of December 31, 2023
