10 Seconds to Push Help Find the Missing Act
There's a bill in Congress that aims to mandate resources which can help families of missing people find their loved ones. It's long overdue and is right on so many levels. The bill is HR 3695 and is called "Billy's Law" named for Billy Smolinksi of Waterbury, Connecticut who vanished more than 5 years ago. His mother Jan has since become an amazing advocate for the missing. You can read the entire bill here. The missing person's website Peace4 The Missing has a form letter you can print out to write your Congressmen. In a nut shell, the bill calls for the following:
Jan and Billy Smolinski
* Authorizing, and therefore helping to ensure funding for, the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which was created in July 2007 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide a missing persons/unidentified database that the public could access and contribute;
* Connecting NamUs with the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in order to create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains databases and streamlining the reporting process for local law enforcement;
* Creating an incentive grants program to help states, local law enforcement and medical examiners/coroners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS);
* Calling on the DOJ to issue guidelines and best practices on handling missing persons and unidentified remains cases in order to empower law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners to help find the missing.
This legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy’s family knows all-too-well the systemic challenges in trying to find the missing. They quickly learned that while federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, there are no such requirements for adults – or unidentified bodies. Compounding this problem is the fact that local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners, often don’t have the resources or training to voluntarily report these cases. Finally, even when missing adults and remains are reported, the wide-range of unconnected federal, state, local, and non-profit databases to help match the missing with unidentified bodies, makes finding a match an often insurmountable challenge.
Jan and Billy Smolinski* Authorizing, and therefore helping to ensure funding for, the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which was created in July 2007 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide a missing persons/unidentified database that the public could access and contribute;
* Connecting NamUs with the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in order to create more comprehensive missing persons and unidentified remains databases and streamlining the reporting process for local law enforcement;
* Creating an incentive grants program to help states, local law enforcement and medical examiners/coroners report missing persons and unidentified remains to NCIC, NamUs, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS);
* Calling on the DOJ to issue guidelines and best practices on handling missing persons and unidentified remains cases in order to empower law enforcement, medical examiners and coroners to help find the missing.
This legislation is named after Billy Smolinski of Waterbury, Connecticut who went missing on August 24, 2004 at the age of 31. Billy’s family knows all-too-well the systemic challenges in trying to find the missing. They quickly learned that while federal law mandates law enforcement report missing children, there are no such requirements for adults – or unidentified bodies. Compounding this problem is the fact that local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners, often don’t have the resources or training to voluntarily report these cases. Finally, even when missing adults and remains are reported, the wide-range of unconnected federal, state, local, and non-profit databases to help match the missing with unidentified bodies, makes finding a match an often insurmountable challenge.
Posted by Holliston at 10/17/2009 9:09 PM 
Categories: Missing,HR 3695,Billy Smolinski
Tags: Missing HR 3695 Billy Smolinski
Categories: Missing,HR 3695,Billy Smolinski
Tags: Missing HR 3695 Billy Smolinski
THANK YOU!!!! Thank you for placing information about Help Find the Missing Act (Billy's Law) on your blog! Please all who visit here spread the word FAST. Everyone needs to get their state representatives on board! Links are on Peace4 for the Congressmen and Governors. Don't hesitate just simply email the letter today or phone your reps this week. Thanks to all of you that take the few minutes to do this!
Maureen
www.reintjes.us
http://peace4missing.ning.com/
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Thank You so much, Holliston! You have been and continue to be such a true warrior for all Family Members of the Missing!
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