NCMEC Travel Fund

[LukieD]

A lot of people have asked about this NCMEC fund so I wanted to post something. The NCMEC does offer a travel fund for victim parents, as others have pointed out previously.

From the US State Dept website:
Reunification Funds – The financial costs of reunification to left-behind parents can be substantial.  The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has established a fund called The Federal Crime Victim Assistance Fund.  When no other resources are available, this fund has at times been used to assist left-behind parents with travel costs associated with reunification.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children administers the OVC funds for left-behind parents.  To learn about whether you might qualify for such assistance, contact your case officer.

From the 2010 Compliance report:
NCMEC administers the Department of Justice’s “Victim Reunification Travel Program.” This program assists families affected by IPCA by providing funding for a parent or guardian to attend a custody hearing or to be reunited with the child once found in another country. In operation since October 10, 1996, NCMEC’s Family Advocacy Division manages this program under the Federal Crime Victim Assistance Fund Guidelines on International Parental Abduction, as well as disbursement regulations established between the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, both at the U.S. Department of Justice.

From the 2009 Compliance report:
The Victim Reunification Travel Program funds international travel for an LBP or missing child’s custodian, either to attend a custody hearing or be reunited with the child once found in another country, when the family could not otherwise pay for this travel. The program provides emergency funds to parents who meet eligibility requirements to travel to foreign countries for legal proceedings related to custody matters or to participate in legal proceedings to recover their abducted child. Since the program’s inception, NCMEC has administered more than $653,700 to support the travel of 238 families to countries, including Austria, Colombia, Germany, Honduras, and Mexico, for legal proceedings abroad or reunification with a child. More information concerning the Victim Reunification Travel Program can be found on NCMEC’s website: www.missingkids.com.

[LukieD]

Have any of the LBPs who post on BSH ever applied for financial assistance from the NCMEC / DOJ Reunification fund? I'm curious how the process works. Thanks.

[SageDad]

I asked them about it a week or so ago actually... never heard back.

[NoansDad]

I have spoken to my case manager about this a few times and just recently again when I had a new assistant call me.

It is a one time deal that will cover some or all costs of flights for you and returning child and something like 3 nights hotel.

There are two ways. Apply before hand when you know the dates and times and costs of tickets.

Or pay for everything yourself and then submit all receipts to your case manager at  the NCMEC who will then forward onto the DOJ and you will be reimbursed reasonable expenses.


This was as off the last two weeks.

[LukieD]

I have spoken to my case manager about this a few times and just recently again when I had a new assistant call me.

It is a one time deal that will cover some or all costs of flights for you and returning child and something like 3 nights hotel.

There are two ways. Apply before hand when you know the dates and times and costs of tickets.

Or pay for everything yourself and then submit all receipts to your case manager at  the NCMEC who will then forward onto the DOJ and you will be reimbursed reasonable expenses.


This was as off the last two weeks.

Thanks. What does the application process consist of and what information do you have to provide to NCMEC to be eligible? Is assistance contingent upon financial need in any way or can any LBP apply, regardless of their financial situation?

[NoansDad]

I just know to contact my case manager at the NCMEC and send the information to them. They made no indication that it was dependent on financial situation. (I guess some LBP can be broke and some can be really broke for having to fight to get our children home without government help and this is their little final look we gave you some money now disappear and keep quiet)

No forms to fill out. Wait yes I had to send in a letter explaining every thing that went on and outlining the travel costs and the dates and that was it. It also goes through OCI so they verify that yes you are a LBP and that you had a case.

That is all I know.

[Trevor Richardson]

I asked my NCMEC case worker for reimbursement for airfare and hotel costs that were incurred when I had to attend a court hearing in Mexico.  They reimbursed the costs but will only do it one time.  This was three years ago so I am not sure if anything has changed.  Their decision was not based on my financial condition.

Contact your case worker at the NCMEC and see what they can do.

[SageDad]

I was told (16 days after I asked and shortly after sending a follow-up email):

"Parents may apply to for the funds once.  They may use it to attend a hearing or to travel to retrieve the kids if they are ordered return. The funds also may cover up to 4 days of stay in a hotel. "

Has anyone had them pay for more than 4 days in a hotel, or travel costs for family members other than the LBP?  It seems like I remember hearing about them paying for 1-2 weeks in some cases and travel fees for more than one member of the family.

For being a fund paid for by tax-payers I think there is remarkably little transparency into how this money, which is the only real assistance being provided to LBP's, is being spent. 

This page says:

"$840,515 in funds to support the travel of 310 families to countries, including Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Nicaragua, Qatar, Spain, and Tanzania for legal proceedings or reunification with a child" which amounts to about $2711 per case.

I also wonder what the criteria of the NCMEC is in informing LBP's about this fund.  I know they never told me about it even though I remember being asked if I could afford to travel to attend the Hague hearings when I first contacted them 3.5 years ago and responding that "I would find a way to do whatever I had to" which was the end of that conversation.

[lttlmtn]

I personally have been assisted by NCMEC and the DOJ... they flew me to Costa Rica and I believe they would've paid for a female family member to accompany me if I was to take custody of Emily, and they also set aside funds for Emily to fly back to the U.S. which they claim to still have setting waiting for her return (which has been stalled again).  There are groups out there that will help with travel expenses, and getting a return order is something that is really helpful to get the support quick...

Everyday I wish I didn't know anything about this matter, which would mean my child isn't kidnapped to another country, but here I am... I want to help as much as I possibly can at any level, and share what I have been through and how to keep costs down.  These cases don't close overnight, so we as LBP's need to continually back each other... just like the kidnappers do.

Roy Koyama - LBP of Emily Alina Koyama