28 CFR 19.3 – Policy
(a) The Department of Justice will supplement and expand the national effort to assist in the location and recovery of missing children by maximizing the economical use of missing children photographs and biographical information in domestic penalty mail directed to members of the public.
Terms Used In 28 CFR 19.3
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
(b) Because the use of inserts printed with missing children photographs and biographical information has been determined to be the most cost effective method for general application of the program, DOJ’s first priority will be to insert, manually and via automated inserting equipment, photographs and biographical data related to missing children in a variety of types of penalty mail envelopes. These include:
(1) Standard letter-size envelopes (4
(2) Document-size envelopes (9
(3) Other envelopes (misc. size).
(c)(1) Maximum consideration will be given to the use of missing children materials with high volume printing plant or distribution plan mail that will be sent to the public or to Federal, State or local government agencies. Every effort will be made to use the most cost effective and efficient methods of obtaining, distributing, and disseminating missing children information.
(2) In instances when the printing of photograph(s) and biographical information directly on self-mailers and other publications (newsletters, bulletins, etc.) and/or on penalty mail envelopes proves to be practical and cost effective, this method may also be used. Photographs and biographical information related to missing children may be printed on the three types of penalty mail envelopes listed above.
(d) Missing children information shall not be placed on the “Penalty Indicia”, “OCR Read Area”, “Bar Code Read Area”, and “Return Address” areas of standard letter-size envelopes per appendix A of the OJJDP guideline as published in the November 8, 1985,
(e) The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (National Center) will be the sole source from which DOJ will acquire the camera-ready and other photographic and biographical materials to be disseminated for use by DOJ organizational units. When printing missing children information, DOJ will select subjects in accordance with the schedule published by the National Center.
(f) DOJ will remove all printed penalty mail envelopes and other materials from circulation or other use (i.e.: Use or destroy) within a three month period from the date the National Center receives information or notice that a child whose photograph and biographical information have been made available to DOJ has been recovered or that the parent(s) or guardian‘s permission to use the child’s photograph and biographical information has been withdrawn. The National Center will be responsible for immediately notifying the DOJ contact person, in writing, of the need to withdraw penalty mail envelopes and other materials related to a particular child from circulation. Photographs which were reasonably current as of the time of the child’s disappearance shall be the only acceptable form of visual media or pictorial likeness used on or in DOJ penalty mail.
(g) DOJ will give priority to penalty mail that:
(1) Is addressed to members of the public and will be received in the United States, its territories and possessions; and
(2) Is widely disseminated and read by DOJ employees such as inter- and intra-agency publications and other media.
(h) All DOJ employee suggestions, ideas or recommendations for innovative, cost-effective techniques for implementation of the Missing Children Penalty Mail Program should be forwarded to the DOJ contact person. DOJ Mail Managers shall hold biannual meetings to discuss the status of implementation of the current plan, and to consider recommendations to improve future plan implementation.
(i) This shall be the sole DOJ regulation implementing this program.