Early Identification of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction. Juvenile Justice Bulletin

摘要

While State custody laws vary, the laws of every State establish that abducting one's own child is a crime. OJJDP has funded four research projects on preventing family abductions: a documentary study, a criminal sanctions study, an interview study, and an intervention study. The design and findings of these research projects are described in this Bulletin. The findings provide information regarding the risk factors associated with parental kidnapping and strategies that can be used to intervene with families at greatest risk. They address such critical factors as the characteristics of parents who abduct their own children, the role family violence plays in increasing the likelihood of parental abduction, ways of identifying children at risk of being abducted by a parent or other family member, and steps that can be taken to protect children from family abduction. Recommendations to increase parental access to legal resources, develop responses to reported family violence, provide services to families involved in custody disputes, protect children's interests, and create unified family courts are also included.