In 1996 Kym Pasqualini helped establish the "National Center for Missing Adults" a centralized national clearinghouse for missing adults. It is the only one of it's kind in the Nation and began focusing on adults who are "at risk" due to diminished mental capacity, physical disability, and suspicion of foul play or suspicious circumstances.
The goal was to obtain the support of Congress and introduce legislation which would establish formal support and resources to help serve this ever-growing segment of the population.
In an effort to educate others and to encourage needed action, Robert and Deborah Modafferi shared the painful story of their daughter's disappearance - which resulted in North Carolina Congresswoman, Sue Myrick, introducing "Kristen's Act" to the U.S. House of Representatives. For the first time, legislation was proposed to establish a national clearinghouse and resources to assist with missing adults. The act was named after the Modafferi's daughter, Kristen, who mysteriously vanished in June 1997 - only two weeks after her eighteenth birthday.
In October of 2000, Kristen's Act was passed unanimously by the 106th United States Congress, and later signed into law by then President William Jefferson Clinton. As a result - The National Center for Missing Adults (NCMA) was created. Today, under the auspices of NMCO and the U.S. Department of Justice, NCMA continues to serve as the national clearinghouse for missing adults in the United States.
National Center for Missing Adults
After Hurricane Katrina, the Justice Department asked the NCMA to assist in adult missing person cases from the storm. They processed over 13,000 adult missing person cases and spend over $200,000 of their own money with the understanding they would be reimbursed by the government. Not only were they not reimbursed, funding was cut from 1 million dollars per year to $148,000 for 2005.
H.R. 2103: Kristen's Act Reauthorization of 2005
The bill has been sitting in Congress while the NCMA is in a desperate situation and may literally have to shut down.
Please call your member of Congress and urge him or her to reauthorize funding for the NCMA by passing H.R. 2103, the "Kristen's Act Reauthorization of 2005" bill.
This is my first diary. Please forgive me if I have not done it properly but this is an urgent matter that needs a lot of support.
To read Kristen's story:
Help Find Kristen Modafferi