    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 32 (Monday, August 12, 2002)]
    [Pages 1315-1317]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Announcing the White House Conference on Missing, Exploited, and
    Runaway Children

    August 6, 2002

        Good morning. We're gathered here today because we share a profound
    concern for the safety of the most precious and important people in our
    own lives and the life of our country, our children.

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        After the terror of September the 11th, many parents throughout
    America found themselves holding their children more closely.
    Unfortunately, as we work to help our children feel safer by fighting
    terror, America's children and parents are also facing a wave of
    horrible violence from twisted criminals in our own communities. During
    recent months, we have prayed and worried with parents as their children
    have been kidnaped and, in some cases, murdered. The kidnaping or murder
    of a child is every parent's worst nightmare.
        Today I call on all Federal and State and local law enforcement
    agencies and our communities and our citizens to work together to do
    everything in our power to better protect our children.
        I appreciate so very much the Attorney General, John Ashcroft, for
    his work on this issue. I appreciate Secretary Rod Paige at the
    Department of Education, who is working with us on this issue. The FBI
    has provided investigators, agents to the scenes of these horrible
    crimes as quickly as humanly possible, so I appreciate Director Mueller
    and his agents.
        I want to thank Ernie Allen, who is the president and chief
    executive officer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited
    Children. As well, I want to thank Carolyn Atwell-Davis, who is the
    government relations liaison for the Center. These are two fine human
    beings who care deeply about our children and are making a positive
    difference in the lives for a lot of families and a lot of communities
    around America.
        The most recent statistics available tell a terrible story. More
    than 58,000 children are abducted by non-family-members annually. Many
    of these children are returned home quickly, but some are not. Federal,
    State, and local law enforcement agencies work every day to find these
    missing children and to punish severely those who have committed crimes
    against them.
        Today we're taking steps to focus on preventing crimes against
    children before they happen. The Department of Justice will release a
    handbook of simple and practical steps that parents can take to make
    their children safer.
        One of the most important things that a mom or dad can do is talk to
    your children very specifically and rehearse what they can say and do if
    they ever feel threatened. You should teach your children how to say no
    and how to trust their instincts. For example, children should know that
    unfamiliar adults usually would not ask them for directions or help.
    Such a request might be a trick to get their attention and, of course,
    to lure them away from safety.
        The handbook also has practical advice to help families and
    communities make their homes and their schools and their neighborhoods
    safer. Children should know a safe place to seek help if they are
    approached by a stranger on their way to school or if they're standing
    at a bus stop.
        We developed these guidelines with the help of Federal agencies and,
    of course, with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
    And they're available at the Center's Web site, www.missingkids.com. If
    a mom or a dad wants to learn more today about how to protect his or her
    child, go to the Web site, www.missingkids.com, and learn some practical
    advice and some useful tips. The Department of Education will distribute
    the handbook to every public and private school in the country, and
    that's why our Secretary of Education is here. I urge the families to
    get these recommendations and to discuss the important safety tips with
    their children.
        Next month we will convene a White House Conference on Missing,
    Exploited, and Runaway Children. This forum will bring together leading
    national experts to focus on ways parents and communities can help
    shield children from the harm that is being done to some today. Recent
    child abductions have understandably left many of our families in fear,
    and the most productive response is to improve the safety of your
    child's environment, on the best information and the best advice.
    Through this conference, we'll provide that advice.
        Our Nation has come to know the names and faces of too many
    wonderful children because they've been the victims of despicable acts
    of violence, children like Danielle van

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    Dam and Samantha Runnion. But in our sorrow, we are reminded of the
    incredible ability of all Americans to support one another in times of
    need and in times of crisis. Danielle's mother, Brenda, recently
    exchanged words of comfort with Samantha's mother, Erin, and here's what
    she said: ``We had a conversation, mother to mother, about our
    daughters, our pain, and also our hope that Danielle and Samantha are
    dancing together in heaven.''
        No family should ever have to endure the terrible pain of losing a
    child. Our Nation grieves with every family that has suffered unbearable
    loss, and our Nation will fight the threats against our children. We can
    take hopeful and practical steps to improve our children's safety, and
    we will take those steps together.
        Thank you all very much. May God continue to protect America's
    children. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:35 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.