[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.

[[Page 1316]]

    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

[[Page 1317]]

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.