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Pertinent Information
AMBER Alert
The Amber Alert Program was established in 1996 in Arlington, Texas, as a result of the kidnapping and murder of nine-year old Amber Hagerman.
In Quebec, the Amber Alert program involves the participation of the Montreal Police Service, the Sûreté du Québec, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as several other public agencies. Enfant-Retour Québec was also invited to partner in this initiative as a result of its unique expertise in the search and recovery of abducted children.
Runaways
Police forces define a runaway as follows: "A child less than 18 years of age who runs away from the family home or from a substitute place of residence."
Runaways are not bad children! They are usually children that possibly face various problems in their family milieu. Some situations become so intolerable to them that they end up thinking that living anywhere else would be better than living in the family home. Parents are not always aware of the problems that their children face, and then one day, disaster strikes and they run away. This event is followed by a period of great anxiety, stress and soul-searching for the parents.
Given the number, frequency and profile of the young people involved, there is an unfortunate tendency to play down this type of disappearance. Runaways are vulnerable. Since they must take care of themselves, there is a very real risk that they will become involved in criminal activities such as prostitution, drugs, theft or others.
Guide Book for Parents
Enfant-Retour Québec offers a resource booklet for parents that provides them with possible solutions so that they will know what to do in the event that their child runs away, where to obtain help and most importantly, how to deal with the child when he returns home.
Click here to download this document
Parental Abductions
A parental abduction is the abduction of children by one of their parents or by a legal guardian. Often we think that this isn’t a very serious situation because the children’s lives are not in danger as they are with one of their parents. Why would any parent intentionally harm their own child? But, unfortunately children in these situations may suffer very strong emotional and psychological trauma because they are suddenly uprooted from their everyday life and activities.
The abduction can leave children with psychological scars that may affect them for the rest of their lives. This is why it is necessary to act quickly in this type of situation and take all the necessary precautions to prevent this type of abduction.
What to do in case your child goes missing?
Guide Book for Parents
Enfant-Retour Québec offers guidelines for families on how to prevent a parental abduction. This resource document describes actions parents can undertake if their child is the victim of a parental abduction and the steps to follow to allow for the safe return of their child.
Click here to download this document
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