The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART) 1, 2, 3 were conducted in 1988, 1999, and 2011 in response to language in the Missing Children's Assistance Act that instructed OJJDP "to conduct national incidence studies to determine the actual number of children reported missing each year, the number of children who are victims of abduction by strangers, the number of children who are the victims of parental kidnappings, and the number of children who are recovered each year." The studies provided national estimates of missing children based on surveys of households, juvenile residential facilities, and law enforcement agencies.

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