The national center for missing and exploited children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit 501(C)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and…

The Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded a $42.976 million cooperative agreement to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on October 1, 2025, under the Missing Children's Assistance program (CFDA 16.543).

NCMEC will operate as the national resource center and information clearinghouse for missing and exploited children, serving as the national 24-hour, toll-free telephone line through which individuals may report information regarding the location of any missing child. The recipient will operate the CyberTipline to provide online users and electronic service providers a means to report internet-related child sexual exploitation. NCMEC will deliver training and technical assistance to individuals and professionals in prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of cases involving missing and sexually exploited children. The recipient will support development of tools and new technologies to modernize and improve efficiencies related to managing leads submitted to the CyberTipline for use by law enforcement.

The period of performance runs from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Work is performed at NCMEC's Alexandria, Virginia location. NCMEC, a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit, achieves its mission through core functions designed to address missing and sexually exploited children by partnering collaboratively with OJJDP. The cooperative agreement is classified as assistance funding.

The national center for missing and exploited children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit 501(C)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. NCMEC works with families, victims, professionals in the field, and the public to assist with preventing child abductions, recovering missing children, and providing services to deter and combat child sexual exploitation. NCMEC achieves its mission through the provision of core functions set forth under 34 U.S.C. 11293, which are designed to address the problem of missing and sexually exploited children. NCMEC will partner collaboratively with the office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP). Key goals and activities include, but are not limited to, serving as the national resource center and information clearinghouse for missing and exploited children; operating a national 24-hour, toll-free telephone line by which individuals may report information regarding the location of any missing child; operating a cybertipline to provide online users and electronic service providers a means to report internet-related child sexual exploitation; providing training and technical assistance to individuals and professionals in the field in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of cases involving missing and sexually exploited children; and supporting development of tools and new technologies to modernize and improve efficiencies related to managing leads submitted to the cybertipline for their use by law enforcement.