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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 290 209 EA 019 817 AUTHOR Wishon, Phillip M.; Broderius, Bruce W. TITLE Missing and Abducted Children: The School's Role in Prevention. Fastback 249. INSTITUTION Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Bloomington, Ind. REPORT NO ISBN-0-87367-249-6 PUB DATE 87 NOTE 58p.; Sponsored by the Mid-Cities/UTA (Texas) Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa. AVAILABLE FROMPublication Sales, Phi Delta Kappa, Eighth and Union, Box 789, Bloomington, IN 47402 ($.90). PUB TYPE Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Child Advocacy; Child Neglect; *Child Welfare; *Crime Prevention; Criminals; Elementary Secondary Education; Law Enforcement; Parent Child Relationship; Rape; *Runaways; *School Responsibility; School Role; School Security; *Victims of Crime IDENTIFIERS Abductions; *Kidnapping; *Missing Children; Parent Kidnapping ABSTRACT The purpose of this pamphlet is to aid teachers, counselors, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other support personnel in alleviating the problem of missing and abducted children. After an introductory overview of the national incidence of missing children, three specific categories of missing childrenare identified and discussed: runaways, parent abductions, and abductions by unknown persons. The ensuing sections identifymeasures schools can take to prevent abductions: tracking students; identification of students; working with parents (including a list of 24 suggestions that schools should communicate to parents); working with students (including a list of 20 suggestions for children to helpensure their personal safety); and a checklist for making schools safe. Thenext sections provide steps to follow in reportinga child missing, reporting the discovery of a missing child, and reintegratingan abduction victim into the classroom. A brief bibliography is provided, and the following listsare appended: (1) U.S. corporations involved in the problem of missing children (15 entries); (2) organizations with information about missing children (28 entries); and (3) resources for teachers and parentson the problem of missing children (28 citations). (TE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best thatcan be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational R11(111rCh and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) XThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points ofVIOW Ofopinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy a II a a "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAABEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." , , . II PHILLIP M. VVISHON BRUCE W. BRODERIUS Phillip M. Wishon is professor of elementaryand early childhood education, College of Education, University ofNorthern Colorado, Greeley. He has been an elementary schoolteacher and has taught in and directed preschoolprograms in Ohio and Tennessee. Wishon's major areas of professional interestinclude dropout prevention, special needs young children, interventionwith at-risk infants, play intervention, child sexual abuse, andobesity in children. In these areas he has published and consultedwidely. Wishon is past president of the National Association of EarlyChildhood Teacher Edu- cators. Bruce W. Broderius is professor of elementaryeducation, College of Education, University of Northern Colorado.He previously served as associate dean and dean of the college. His areas of professional cmphas)s includeappraisal of instructional practices and development of understanding ofand tolerance for the pluralistic nature of society and schools. Hisextensive research into teacher evaluation practices in Colorado servedas the basis for re- cent legislation in that area. He servesas a consultant to attorneys, school boards, and LEA's in teacher evaluation. Series Editor, Derek L. Burleson 3 Missing and Abducted Children: The School's Role in Prevention by Philip M. Wishon and Bruce W. Broderius Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 86-6388 ISBN 0-87367-249-6 Copyright © 1987 by the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation Bloomington, Indiana This fastback is sponsored by the Mid- Cities/UTA (Texas) Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, which made a generous contribution toward publication costs. Table of Contents Introduction 7 National Incidence of Missing Children 10 Who Are America's Missing Children 12 Runaways 12 Parent Abductions 13 Abductions by Unknown Persons 14 The School's Role in Prevention 16 Tracking Students 16 Identification of Students 18 Working with Parents 18 Working with Students 22 Making Your School Safe 25 Reporting a Child Missing 29 Reporting the Discovery of a Missing Child 32 Reintegrating an Abduction Victim into the Classroom 35 Runaways Who Return 36 Conclusion 39 References 41 Appendix A: U.S. Corporations Involved in the Problem of Missing Children 42 Appendix B: Organizations with Information About Missing Children 45 Appendix C: Resources for Teachers and Parentson tale Problem of Missing Children 52 6 Introduction Item. "I have this recurring nightmare where this man is standing in a doorway and he's telling me, 'If you can pick out Jerritt, hecan go with you.' I open the door to a room full of little boys and I keep looking from one to the next, but I can't pick Jerritt out because I don't know what he looks like anymore." This statement is from the mother of Jerritt, now 41/2 years old, who was abducted when hewas 15 months old. Item. As he had done every school day that year, on the morning of 25 May 1979, five-year-old Etan Patz kissed his mother good-bye and left his New York home for school. That evening he was reported missing, without a trace. The ensuing investigation revealed that he had never made it to the bus stop. Item. Thirteen-year-old Jonelle Matthews and her father, an elementary school principal, enjoyed supper together on the evening of 20 December 1984, after which Jonelle returned to school choir practice. When Jim Matthews dropped Jonelle off at school, itwas the last time he saw his daughter. She had disappeared, also without a trace. Item. After winning custody of her three children in a bitter dis- pute with her ex-husband, Nancy Barros informed school officials 7 that she thought her children were in danger of being kidnapped. Mrs. Barros sent her children into hiding, and cooperative teachers sent work home for the children. When Mr. Barros came to school, the principal refused to reveal any information about the children. De- spite these precautions, the children's father eventually succeeded in abducting the youngsters. That was six years ago, and Nancy Barros has not seen her children since. Item. The out-of-state license plate suggested that the driver might simply be one of the thousands of tourists who cruise the north/south Colorado 1-25 expressway. But the photograph taped to the trunk of his automobile revealed to passing motorists that this gentlemanwas not just another vacationer. The large black-and-white photograph was of an attractive 10- to 12-year-old girl. Under the picture in large bold letters was written the frantic plea: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CHILD? PLEASE CALL... and then a telephone number. One returns the unblinking stare of this child in the photograph, ponders the message, and is overcome by the sadness of this lonely soul's urgent quest. Missing and abducted children became an issue of nationalcon- cern when 28 black children and teenagers disappeared in Atlanta be- tween 1979 and 1981. The issue became imprinted on the nation's consciousness after the 1981 death of Adam Walsh, a six-year-old Florida boy who was abducted from a shopping mall and later found beheaded. Adam's father, John Walsh, has led a national crusade to find missing children. His crusade has galvanized the nation, increas- ing its awareness of the problem of missing children, promoting steps to reunite families with missing children, and educating people about ways to help prevent child abductions. The purpose of this fastback is to aid teachers, counselors, adminis- trators, paraprofessionals, and other support personnel in alleviating the problem of missing and abducted children. School-age children simply cannot reside in a community for long without attracting at- tention. Abductor,: know this, so the vast majority of abducted chil- dren are enrolled in school, since it is the best place to "store" children 8 8 without arousing suspicion. Experienced teacherscan sense when something is wrong with a student. Teachers may bea young vic- tim's best hope for rescue. As we shall see, the schoolcan play a major role in preventing what has become a compelling problem in our nation. 9 National Incidence of Missing Children Precise statistics on the number of missing and abducted children are difficult to determine because records in many cases are incom- plete, inconsistent, and in some cases, nonexistent. Estimates ofan- nualkidnappings by noncustodial parentsrange ashigh as three-quarters of a million, according to a 1984 study by the Univer- sity of Rhode Island and Lou Harris and Associates. Gloria Yerkovich, founder of the national nonprofit child-locating organization called Child Find, estimates that as many as 1.8 million children become missing in the United States every year. These figures