WASHINGTON — The D.C. Council is considering a bill that would make it a misdemeanor to not report or give false information about a missing child.
The proposal introduced by Council members Jack Evans and LaRuby May comes as police continue searching for Relisha Rudd, more than two years after her disappearance.
“The District of Columbia has an obligation to make sure the children are safe,” May, who represents Ward 8, told WTOP.
The bill, entitled the ‘Requirement to Report Missing Children Amendment Act of 2016’, would make changes to the Sex Trafficking of Children Prevention Act of 2014 that would establish requirements on when parents and caretakers must report a missing child to police.
Under the proposal, children in a person’s custody under the age of 13 must be reported within 24 hours and children between the ages of 13 and 18 must be reported within 48 hours. The bill’s language specifies that it is targeted at those who recklessly or willfully fail to contact law enforcement about the missing child.
“If there are issues in the family, we want to be able to identify those issues and provide whatever support systems that we can,” May explained.
Often times, people will avoid law enforcement for a variety of reasons.
“Maybe there’s a substance abuse issue, maybe there’s a mental health issue.”
The Ward 8 council member also says the bill is designed to protect families who must turn to government resources for assistance, like a shelter. With the city replacing the housing that has been provided at DC General, the legislation will make sure those facilities also protect vulnerable families.
“As mandated reporters, they have an obligation to make sure that if a family comes into a facility with four children that each and every day we need to make sure they still have four children.”
The bill has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary to be reviewed.
