Missing Children Clearinghouse

The California Missing Children Clearinghouse (MCCH) maintains a toll-free telephone hotline (1-800-222-FIND) 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week to receive information and inquiries regarding missing children. It relays this information to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. The California MCCH may also be reached at (916) 227-3290 or by E-mail at missing.persons@doj.ca.gov.

The MCCH works closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to aid in locating children who have been abducted and taken out of California or brought into California. The MCCH publishes and distributes a monthly poster and quarterly bulletin featuring missing children and dependant adults throughout California. The posters and bulletins are distributed to all California police and sheriff's departments, California Highway Patrol offices, district attorneys' offices, public primary and secondary schools, private primary schools, hospitals, state agencies, road side rest stops, other missing children clearinghouses nationwide and other parties determined appropriate by the Department of Justice.

The MCCH provides, free-of-charge, fingerprint cards to agencies for voluntary fingerprinting of children. The impressions are used to aid in locating and identifying missing children.