What does Child Focus do?

What does Child Focus do in the case of adisappearance which is a cause for concern?

Child Focus can count on its structured network of volunteers and partners 24 hours aday to support its missing children search campaigns.

A parent, a family member, a judge, a police officer or aninstitution calls the Child Focus emergency line, 116 000(contactable 24/7). A reception officer takes the call andtransfers it to one of the counsellors who specialises indisappearances.

Keep calm
In every parent’s heart, the disappearance of a child is frightening. However, experience and a set of criteria laid down in a ministerial directive on searching for missing persons help Child Focus to assess the situation completely objectively. When is a disappearance a cause for concern?

When the life of a missing child is thought to be in immediate danger, Child Focus has since February 2011 had the Child Alert system at the ready.

Speed and efficiency
Since Child Focus has a protocol of collaboration with the police and legal authorities, the counsellor contacts the police department in charge of the disappearance and checks whether the Federal Police Missing Persons Unit is aware of the situation. If necessary, the Unit can deploy powerful search resources, such as helicopters, tracker dogs, divers, etc.

After talking with the searchers and the judge in charge of the case, the counsellor then launches the poster campaign procedure if this is seen as useful for the search (10 % of the cases of disturbing disappearances).
If the parents (or the police) lack the technical resources to send a photo of the child by email, the “Childmobile» (a responsevehicle fitted with a scanner, a computer and a printer) will be despatched to the parents’ home. Within two hours a thousand posters can be printed and widely displayed thanks to volunteers.

At the actual Foundation offices themselves, the resources for producing posters are even more impressive. An express mail company delivers the posters produced to the volunteers and to partner organisations (public transport companies, supermarkets, pharmacies, etc.). The option of a digital poster campaign is being adopted increasingly frequently.

The press is also an important partner: Child Focus spokespersons keep journalists informed for the entire period during which the child is missing, round the clock, if necessary.The childfocus.be website is another important information tool. In addition, thanks to the site’s rss feed, visitors can register and be kept informed about missing children in real time. Child Focus is also able to make use of social networking sites, the intranets of large organisations or businesses, and federal or regional public services,such as the Federal Department of Defence.

If it is felt that, in the interests of the child, more discreet action is called for, Child Focus uses the flyer system rather than the wide distribution of full-size posters. The flyer is amini-poster, which can be easily slid into a wallet or under a counter. Volunteers undertake the task of distributing the flyer to business, stipulating that it cannot be posted or distributed to third parties. It can also be distributed, via our structured partner network, to very carefully targeted groups (taxi drivers, station managers, shopkeepers, etc.). The flyer is not on public display. By endeavouring to trigger statements, our partners help to find the child more quickly.

Support for parents in their anguish
All statements collected on 116 000 as a result of the poster or flyer campaign are directly communicated to the police and the judge in charge of the case. In the very first moments after the disappearance the counsellor will be with the parents to support them and keep them informed of the progress of the search. If necessary the victim support and reception services will be called in. The counsellor maintains close contact with the searchers/investigators and ensures that no important information is overlooked.
As soon as the child is traced, the counsellor arranges for them to receive all necessary assistance or psychological support. Child Focus also then makes sure that all search notices are duly withdrawn. All of this assistance is provided entirely free of charge.