Most of the thousands of children who are reported missing each year are in foster care, and some members of Congress want the federal government to do more to respond to the problem.
Researchers know that most youth are only gone for a week or so but that many aren’t located for a month or more.
Senate Bill 3907, introduced late last month by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and co-sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R) of Iowa and Debbie Stabenow (D) of Michigan, would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate state and tribal efforts to track who is missing and what steps they take to find them.