Ron Laney has spent the past 35 years leading others to do more to protect children. The Associate Administrator of OJJDP's Child Protection Division said being a victim of an abusive childhood gave him the experience and the compassion to know what needed to be done.
Laney was 12 years old when his mother took her four children, left her physically abusive husband, and then struggled to raise them on her own by working at a five-and-dime store. Laney struggled as well and had minor brushes with the law until he was arrested and charged with larceny for stealing from a local business. He spent the next 11 months in reform school.
A police officer took interest in Laney and helped him join the Marines in 1964, six months after he left the school. He served as an infantry platoon sergeant in Vietnam where he was wounded by rocket fire in 1969. Laney honorably served in the Marines until October 30, 1970.
"The Marine Corps gave me the discipline and the drive to make something of myself," said Laney. "That drive and experience taught me to not be afraid to make decisions. When I got out of the Marine Corps, I wanted to do something to help children."
Laney went home to get an education and went to work for the Florida Department of Juvenile Probation. He said his military background was an advantage in working with juveniles and persuading them to do the right thing. He went to work at the U.S. Department of Justice in 1976 and eventually became the coordinator for missing children programs.
In 2002, the AMBER Alert child recovery program that began as a local system in Arlington, Texas, in 1996 became a nationally coordinated effort under the U.S. Department of Justice, and Laney was asked to help put it together. "We had to figure out what we were going to do and how we were going to do it," recalled Laney. "We started developing a training program and a model criteria. The goal was to have a seamless system across the country."
Along the way, Laney has won numerous awards, including a Commendation in the Congressional Record presented on July 24, 2006. In 2002, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children created the Ronald C. Laney Distinguished Service Award for individuals who exhibit a lifetime of service to others.
"I think the most satisfying accomplishment is to know we have trained law enforcement and the media to do a better job of bringing missing and abducted children home," said Laney. "Bringing a child home safely is the biggest reward for me."
Laney does not plan to rest on his laurels. He would like to see more states create Child Abduction Response Teams and use the Endangered Missing Advisory to help child abduction cases that do not meet the AMBER Alert criteria. "The AMBER Alert criteria cover only a small percentage of children. Parents were telling me, 'What are you going to do to find my child?'" said Laney. "We are making people qualified to find our missing children. The more we fine tune the tools and resources available, the better off we will be. We want the AMBER Alert Program to be such a deterrent that people will give a second or third thought before taking a child."
Laney has a wife, two sons and is currently caring for two grandchildren. He may be famous for his work with missing children, but he is also well known for his sense of humor, his sunny disposition, and his leadership by example. Laney's lead in protecting children sets an example for all to follow.