LES-MC Pilot Study Mail Screener

OMB No. XXXX-XXXX
Approval Expires XX/XX/20XX

Attachment B: Mail Survey Screener

NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
SURVEY ON MISSING CHILDREN &
RECOVERY
OMB No.

Part of the 4th National Incidence Study of
Missing, Abducted, Runaway & Thrownaway
Children (NISMART-4)
Conducted by:
Westat
1600 Research Blvd,
Rockville, MD 20850
and
Crimes against Children Research Center
University of New Hampshire
10 West Edge Drive
Durham, NH 03824
Toll free: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Sponsored by:
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Juvenile Justice &
Delinquency Prevention
Managed by:
U.S. Department of Justice
National Institute of Justice
Washington, DC 20531

Please provide the name, position, and contact information of the person completing this survey,
in case we need to clarify responses or gather additional information.
NAME:
POSITION OR TITLE:
DEPARTMENT OR UNIT:
TELEPHONE NUMBER:

(

)

Ext.

EMAIL ADDRESS:
DATE COMPLETED:
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, we cannot ask you to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control
number. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 3 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the
National Institute of Justice, 810 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC 20531.

NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

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SECTION A
1.

Does your agency have jurisdiction to conduct criminal investigations of cases in which a
child is reported as missing or abducted?
Yes

2.

Between [time period], did your agency investigate any cases where child, ages 17 or younger, was
reported missing from a caretaker who contacted your agency for help to either locate or recover
the child?
Consider all cases where your agency performed
any investigation activity between [one-year
period], including unsolved cases from previous
years which remained open between [one-year
period] including investigations that your agency
turned over to another agency, if applicable.

3.

4.

Yes

Skip to Section C, Page #

No

Did any of these cases involve…
a.
A runaway or repeat runaway? .........................................................
b. A violation or alleged violation of a custodial order or agreement?
c.
A child who was lost, stranded, injured or too young to know how
to return home or make contact with the caretaker? ......................
d. A child reported missing because of a misunderstanding or other
harmless circumstance? ....................................................................
e. A child missing under unknown circumstances? ..............................
f.
An abduction by a non-family perpetrator?......................................
g.
A stranger abduction? .......................................................................

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Did you answer “yes” to any item in Question 3?
Yes

5.

Skip to Section E, Page #

No

Skip to Section C, Page #

No

Indicate the total number of cases that your agency investigated between [time period] that
fit one or more of the criteria given in Question 3.
Total Number of Qualifying Cases Investigated
Between [time period]

Remember to include all cases that fit the
Question 3 criteria where your agency
performed any investigation activity between
[one-year period] regardless of when they were
first reported and regardless of the involvement
of another agency.

NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

IMPORTANT: Please provide specific
information about each case by completing
Section B on the next page.
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NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

SECTION B
For all missing children cases included in the total in Question 5 on the previous page, please provide the following information. If your agency has
a lot of eligible cases you can: 1) print out the eligible cases directly and insert those pages into your returned survey; 2) add additional pages as
necessary; or 3) contact us directly and we will provide you with additional assistance.
a) Case Number

Provide your
agency’s case
number for
reference in our
follow-up call

1.

b) Who was the key
investigating officer or
who in your agency is
now the most
knowledgeable person
about the case?

c) Were any
other law
enforcement
agencies
involved?

/

/

Yes

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No

No

Runaway, Custodial Order/
Agreement, Lost/Stranded/
Injured, Misunderstanding,
Unknown Circumstances, Nonfamily Abduction, Stranger
Abduction

No

/

/

Yes

No

Runaway, Custodial Order/
Agreement, Lost/Stranded/
Injured, Misunderstanding,
Unknown Circumstances, Nonfamily Abduction, Stranger
Abduction

No

Runaway, Custodial Order/
Agreement, Lost/Stranded/
Injured, Misunderstanding,
Unknown Circumstances, Nonfamily Abduction, Stranger
Abduction

Name
Email
Yes

4.

No

No

/

/

Yes

Name
Email
Yes

No

/

/

Yes

f) Indicate which criteria
this case appears to fit
(circle all that apply):

Runaway, Custodial Order/
Agreement, Lost/Stranded/
Injured, Misunderstanding,
Unknown Circumstances, Nonfamily Abduction, Stranger
Abduction

Name
Email
Yes

3.

e) Is the case
still open?

Name
Email
Yes

2.

d) When was
the case
reported?
(MM/DD/YY)

5.
NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

Name
Email
Yes

6.

No

/

/

Yes

No

Runaway, Custodial Order/
Agreement, Lost/Stranded/
Injured, Misunderstanding,
Unknown Circumstances, Nonfamily Abduction, Stranger
Abduction

No

Runaway, Custodial Order/
Agreement, Lost/Stranded/
Injured, Misunderstanding,
Unknown Circumstances, Nonfamily Abduction, Stranger
Abduction

Name
Email
Yes

SEE GLOSSARY, PAGE #.

No

/

/

Yes

Skip to Section D

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SECTION C
1.

You have indicated that your agency did not investigate any cases between [timetime period] that
fit the NISMART criteria for a missing child (see Glossary). What year did your agency last
investigate any case that fit those criteria?

2.

Are you aware of any cases of missing children in your general area or in your state between [time

period]?
Yes

Indicate the county (counties) where the abduction(s) took place

No

SECTION D
1.

To the extent possible, please verify your answers in the previous sections by conducting a check
of investigation records and/or discussions with your agency’s investigative unit(s). Indicate here
the way(s) you verified this information:
a.
b.
c.
d.

2.

Checked with other staff in your department? .................................
Checked with staff elsewhere in your agency? .................................
Checked records? ..............................................................................
Used a computerized information system?.......................................

Is your specific department or unit responsible for…..
a.
Investigating missing children? .................. Yes
b. Maintaining data on missing children? ...... Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No
No

Skip to Section F, Page #

SEE GLOSSARY, PAGE #.

SECTION E
You indicated in Section A that your agency does not have the jurisdiction to conduct criminal
investigations of missing children. Please describe what responsibilities do come under your
agency’s jurisdiction.

NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

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SECTION F
Please use this section to note the problems and questions you encountered as you conducted a
search with the criteria we provided. Please also note if there are additional criteria you used to
find these cases in your system.

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS
SURVEY. PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM IN
THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED.

NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

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GLOSSARY OF STUDY TERMS

Child. Person under the age of 18.

Family abduction: The taking or keeping of a child by a family member in violation of a court order,
written agreement or mutual understanding about custody or visitation rights
Family member: A biological, adoptive, step- or foster family member; someone acting on behalf of
such a family member; or the romantic partner of a parent
Missing child: A child whose caregiver contacted the police in order to recover or locate the child.
Whereabouts unknown: The person who reported this incident did not have an address, telephone
number or other information that works to contact the child or the perpetrator.
Endangerment: Caregiver believed that child was at risk of physical assault, sexual abuse, physical
injury, or health problem in the company of the perpetrator.
Recovery: Child was returned or came back to the custody of the aggrieved caregiver
Violation of custody agreement: An aggrieved parent is stating that a specific part of a court order,
written agreement or mutual understanding about custody or visitation rights has been violated

NISMART-4 Mail Survey Screener

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