New agreement seeks to help locate missing children, adults

Michael F. Easley Governor		Carmen Hooker Odom Secretary
State of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

For Release:	IMMEDIATE	Contact:	Mark Van Sciver
Date:	November 4, 2002	Phone #:	(919)733-9190

New agreement seeks to help locate missing children, adults

Raleigh - The N.C. Vital Records unit has signed an agreement to flag the birth certificates of people who are reported missing each day, and then to alert the N.C. Center for Missing Persons when there is activity against one of the flagged certificates.

The Department of Health and Human Services' Vital Records unit and the N.C. Center for Missing Persons within the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety's Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) division have been collaborating on flagged records. This agreement formalizes procedures and serves to emphasize the practice within both agencies.

"Nearly three-quarters of the hundreds of people reported missing each year are children," CCPS Secretary Bryan E. Beatty said. "I applaud DHHS for going the extra mile in helping locate these missing children, some of whom were abducted, some who are runaways. This agreement will be another tool to help locate missing persons."

In the agreement, the Center for Missing Persons will be responsible for informing the N.C. Vital Records office in writing of missing children or adults whose records need to be flagged, and when the flag should be removed from the record.

Upon notification, the N.C. Vital Records unit will flag the vital certificates of the missing person in the state database and on the original records. They will then inform the Register of Deeds in the county where the birth occurred so that county records can also be flagged. When a request concerning a flagged record is made, NC Vital Records will alert the Center for Missing Persons verbally and in writing.

Vital Records is responsible for registering and housing records of all births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages and divorces that occur in North Carolina. The office issues certified and uncertified copies of certificates based on North Carolina general statutes. The Registers of Deed in each of the 100 counties of North Carolina also maintain and issue copies of certificates for vital events that occur in their counties.

The N.C. Center for Missing Persons serves as the central repository for information regarding missing children and other missing persons. Being located within ALE gives staff members access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer system and links them to law enforcement agencies throughout the nation.

"This is an excellent example of state agencies working together cooperatively to address issues such as missing children," said State Health Director Leah Devlin, who leads the N.C. Division of Public Health of which Vital Records is a part.

Perry Stewart, director of the N.C. Center for Missing Persons, and R. Glenn Cutler, state registrar and director of the N.C. Vital Records unit, signed the agreement.

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Debbie Crane, Public Affairs Director
Public Affairs Office
101 Blair Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603
PHONE (919)733-9190
FAX (919)733-7447

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