MoCHIP the FREE child ID program sponsored by the Masonic Children’s Foundation has ID’d 466 teenage girls at the Missouri Girls State Meeting held this past week, June 21-24 at the University of Central Missouri. Why is this such an accomplishment? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 91 children go missing every hour in the U.S. and 81% of those children are GIRLS ages 11-21. Sadly, this is also the age group of GIRLS that believes only small children and babies are kidnapped, not them, and therefore are rarely ID’d.

Missouri Girls State is the perfect venue to reach this demographic so greatly at risk. This is MoCHIP’s second year at Girl’s State and the participation was up 34% over last, largely due to better planning, larger facility, extra equipment, and greater assistance. We believe the girls too are better informed of the risks they face and are more willing to participate.

Nearly 2,000 children are reported missing or abducted in the United States each day. It happens. And despite the perceptions—not just to young children. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates between 244,000 and 325,000 American youth are considered at risk for sexual exploitation, and an estimated 199,000 incidents of sexual exploitation of minors occur each year in the United States. The average age at entry into commercial sex, or Sex Trafficking, for girls is 12-14 years old; the average age for boys and transgender youth is 11-13.

MoCHIP has been tested ten times in Missouri that we know of, with every one of those children returned home safely to their families. And though we cannot release details about the recoveries, each of the 10 children were between the ages of 11-21. To date (since August 2005) MoCHIP has ID’d 216,884 Missouri children. The peace of mind MoCHIP provides to Missouri families is invaluable.

We’d like to thank the Missouri Girls State organization for allowing us to participate in this yearly program, the Highway Patrol Girls that provided endless hours of data entry, fingerprinting and just about anything they were asked to do. Several in fact went above and beyond their volunteer job detail and were rewarded with a Certificate of Meritorious Service from the Masonic Children’s Foundation President, Stan Brown. A special thank you to Ariel Propes, Natalie Leathers and Maddie Halbirt for their exceptional conduct.

And an even greater thank you to Team #6 Regional Coordinator, Brad Fowler for the planning and implementation of this special Girl’s State event and for using his personal vacation time to see it through.