Description

Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act

The Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act was born out of the tragic abduction and murder of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike of the Navajo Nation in 2016. At the time, tribal law enforcement officers did not have an AMBER Alert plan to notify people living on the reservation—a serious problem shared by tribes across the country.

The enactment of the 2018 legislation represents significant progress in addressing the problem: It makes federally recognized tribes eligible for AMBER Alert grants and permits the use of grant funds to integrate state or regional AMBER Alert communication plans with tribes across the nation.

Read Implementation of the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act of 2018: A Report to Congress which provides an assessment of the readiness, education and training needs, technological challenges, and obstacles encountered by tribes in the integration of state or regional AMBER Alert communication plans.

Read more about the Legacy of Ashlynne Mike.

AMBER Alert in Indian Country Initiative

The mission of the OJJDP's AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, AMBER Alert in Indian Country (AIIC) Initiative, is to assist Tribal communities in developing programs to safely recover endangered missing or abducted children through the coordinated efforts of the tribes and their local, state and federal partners by using training and technology to enhance response capacities, capabilities and increase public participation in protecting children.

OJJDP’s AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program (AATTAP) has developed a AMBER Alert in Indian Country website that features one-stop access to information about training and technical assistance, the national effort to implement the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act, and opportunities for collaboration with other AMBER Alert partners throughout the country.

The website’s content includes access to child protection trainings for tribal communities, the AMBER Alert webinar series, checklists for first responders and investigators, AMBER Alert in Indian Country news, and a needs assessment survey to identify training and technical assistance needs in tribal communities.

The website also provides information about AATTAP’s initiatives to implement the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act. Through the AMBER Partners Network—a secure website portal provided by AATTAP—AMBER Alert program coordinators, missing persons clearinghouse managers, and child abduction response team members in Indian country can easily participate in online discussions with counterparts throughout the country and access relevant information and resources.