The Prevent Departure Program:
What To Include When Contacting The Department Of State's Office Of Children's Issues
If you are an at-risk parent who believes your child's other parent is planning or in the process of international parental child abduction, please contact the United States Department of State's Office of Children's Issues Abduction Prevention Bureau to discuss potential measures that may be available to you to ensure the individual parent suspected of an international child abduction threat does not illegally depart the United States and remove your child in violation of a court order or in breach of your right of custody.
Please contact the Office of Children's Issues Prevention Bureau to discuss if there are potential prevention techniques unique to your case that may allow the Department of State to work with other federal agencies so to secure your child is not a victim of international parental child abduction.
To contact the Department of State's Office of Children's Issues Prevention Bureau please contact:
The United States Department of State
Office Of Children's Issues
Abduction Prevention Bureau
CA/OCS/CI
SA-17, 9th Floor
SA-17, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20522-1709
Phone: 1-888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
To contact the I CARE Foundation concerning abduction matters including possible methods available to stop international parental child abduction please email us at legal@stopchildabduction.org.
Individuals seeking to Department of State assistance and implementation of the Prevent Departure Program should make sure that they have the following information ready to submit to the Office of Children's Issues:
1. Full name, date, place of birth of Potential taking parent.
2. Full name, date, place of birth of Potential left behind parent (and PLBP’s contact info, including a surface address).
3. Passport number and issuing country (if available, and not U.S.) for both parents.
4. Full name of child.
5. Date, place of birth of child.
6. U.S. passport number of child.
7. Passport number and issuing country of any dual national passport of child (if available).
8. Copy of court order with travel restrictions.
9. Full contact details, including a 24/7 phone and email (to email court documents, we do not have after hours fax access), for law enforcement contact.
10. Details of potential travel plans.
