[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR94.6]

[Page 402-403]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 94--INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 94.6  Procedures for children abducted to the United States.

    The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shall act 
under the direction of the U.S. Central Authority and shall perform the 
following operational functions with respect to all Hague Convention 
applications seeking

[[Page 403]]

the return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in the United 
States or seeking access to children in the United States:
    (a) Receive all applications on behalf of the U.S. Central 
Authority;
    (b) Confirm the child's location or, where necessary, seek to 
ascertain its location;
    (c) Seek to ascertain the child's welfare through inquiry to the 
appropriate state social service agencies and, when necessary, consult 
with those agencies about the possible need for provisional arrangements 
to protect the child or to prevent the child's removal from the 
jurisdiction of the state;
    (d) Seek through appropriate authorities (such as state social 
service agencies or state attorneys general or prosecuting attorneys), 
where appropriate, to achieve a voluntary agreement for suitable 
visitation rights by the applicant or for return of the child;
    (e) Assist applicants in securing information useful for choosing or 
obtaining legal representation, for example, by providing a directory of 
lawyer referral services, or pro bono listing published by legal 
professional organizations, or the name and address of the state 
attorney general or prosecuting attorney who has expressed a willingness 
to represent parents in this type of case and who is employed under 
state law to intervene on the applicant's behalf;
    (f) Upon request, seek from foreign Central Authorities information 
relating to the social background of the child;
    (g) Upon request, seek from foreign Central Authorities information 
regarding the laws of the country of the child's habitual residence;
    (h) Upon request, seek from foreign Central Authorities a statement 
as to the wrongfulness of the taking of the child under the laws of the 
country of the child's habitual residence;
    (i) Upon request, seek a report on the status of court action when 
no decision has been reached by the end of six weeks;
    (j) Consult with appropriate agencies (such as state social service 
departments, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, state 
attorneys general) about possible arrangements for temporary foster care 
and/or return travel for the child from the United States;
    (k) Monitor all cases in which assistance has been sought and 
maintain records on the procedures followed in each case and its 
disposition;
    (l) Perform such additional functions as set out in the 
``Cooperative Agreement Adjustment Notice'' between the Department of 
State, Department of Justice, and National Center for Missing and 
Exploited Children.

[53 FR 23608, June 23, 1988, as amended at 60 FR 66074, Dec. 21, 1995]