A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S., according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. That means that while you read this paragraph, another family could be experiencing the unimaginable panic of not knowing the location of their child. More than 2,100 children are reported missing every single day, and each case represents a son, daughter, sibling, classmate, or friend whose absence leaves families and communities searching for answers.
Each year, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing across the country. Even more heartbreaking, an estimated 500,000 children go missing without ever being reported at all—meaning countless cases may never receive the urgent attention and awareness needed to help bring those children home. Behind every statistic is a child who deserves to be found and a family desperately hoping for their child’s safe return.
These staggering numbers highlight the critical importance of rapid response and widespread public awareness when a child disappears. The faster information about a missing child can reach the public in the right area at the right time, the greater the chances of a safe recovery. That urgency is what drives the mission behind the ADAM™ Program, an initiative created through a partnership between the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and LexisNexis® Risk Solutions.
Named in remembrance of Adam Walsh, the ADAM Program was designed to help locate missing children as quickly as possible by distributing posters and important information to local communities. Posters are sent via email, SMS, and fax channels to law enforcement agencies, news and media outlets, schools, businesses, medical centers, and individuals within a targeted geographic area where a child went missing. Since its creation, the program has become a critical tool in amplifying awareness and mobilizing the public during active missing child cases.
Bringing Families Back Together
In one powerful example of the impact, a mother was reunited with her five missing children who were missing for nine months. They were found in nine days after a member of the public recognized them from an ADAM Program poster. In that moment, a simple alert became something far greater: a lifeline, a call to action, and the reason a family was brought back together.
This recovery underscores the importance of immediate, high-quality communication. The ability to quickly deliver clear, detailed posters to the right geographic areas ensures that more eyes are on each missing child, increasing the likelihood of recognition and safe recovery.
Stephanie Lautner, the mother of the five children who were safely recovered, shared in the ADAM Program’s 25th anniversary press release, “I will forever be grateful for the ADAM Program. Because of a poster, my family was reunited. This program doesn’t just send notifications—it saves lives.”
Accelerating the Distribution of Critical Missing Child Alerts
Moments like this reinforce why speed and visibility are so critical when a child goes missing. To ensure missing child posters can be distributed quickly and reliably to the people and organizations most likely to help, the ADAM Program relies on a technology ecosystem that includes ETHERFAX, FaxCore, and Ingenium Software.
Through hybrid-cloud fax technology powered by ETHERFAX and FaxCore, the ADAM Program distributes more than 100,000 posters per month quickly and efficiently. Built-in reporting capabilities then monitor distribution success rates, providing visibility into delivery performance and coverage.
As a cloud-based solution, ETHERFAX supports the rapid delivery of high-volume fax communications and ensures business continuity during critical situations. As a result, the ADAM Program has been able to distribute missing child posters with improved speed and reliability, and ultimately, increase the likelihood of safer recoveries.
The ADAM Program has been so successful that there has been a push to increase its sending capacity. ETHERFAX and FaxCore proudly continue to invest in the program’s mission and recently donated additional fax capacity to support its expansion. What began with 48 fax lines has grown to 144 fax lines through the companies’ hybrid-cloud infrastructure, significantly increasing the program’s ability to disseminate critical alerts during active missing child cases.
Explore the Technology Powering the ADAM Program
Our case study dives deeper into how the ADAM Program modernized its fax environment to accelerate the distribution of critical missing child alerts, expand visibility within communities, and increase awareness when every second counts.
Read the ADAM Program case study.
Organizations and individuals alike can make a difference by signing up to receive alerts from the ADAM Program. Increased visibility creates more opportunities for recognition and action. The more people who receive these notifications, the greater the likelihood that a crucial lead will help reunite a child with their family. Help us turn awareness into action.
Sign up to receive alerts from the ADAM Program.