U.S. Marshals Attend Pilot Program to Become NCMEC Child Outreach Program Ambassadors

Deputy U.S. Marshals from around the country attended the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Child Outreach Program (COP) pilot training held at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, Virginia, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

The U.S. Marshals Service program will mirror what the U.S. Secret Service has been doing since 2016 through its National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) Ambassador Program, in which agents, equipped with resources National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) provides, visit school classrooms, PTA meetings, boys’ and girls’ clubs, and other civic groups to talk about child safety and address challenging issues facing today’s youth, with the ultimate goal of reducing child victimization.

Child safety presentations focus on cyberbullying, child exploitation, and child sex trafficking prevention, providing children with age-appropriate awareness and safety information.

In 2022, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) equipped 480 professionals to deliver NetSmartz safety presentations, and they provided safety lessons directly to 22,718 children.

“We are excited to partner with National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Secret Service to bring child safety awareness into our communities as a way of further preventing child victimization,” said Chief Inspector Darby Stacy, of the Missing Child Unit (MCU). “The USMS  Child Outreach Program Ambassador program will aim to minimize child exploitation by offering a proactive approach within our communities.”

While the main mission of the USMS Missing Child Unit is to recover endangered children, there has been a critical element missing from the program, Stacy said. “This critical element is prevention. The U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit can and should be doing more to educate and prevent the issue of missing and endangered children.”

While the initial pilot training included only 1811s (criminal investigators), future classes may include administrative personnel. Missing Child Unit will solicit voluntary nominations from districts and divisions. The candidate must receive supervisory approval to participate.

“The Missing Child Unit would like to train as many people as possible for the simple sake of providing community outreach,” Stacy said.

The training will be initiated online through an approximately six-hour National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) Connect training site. Following the online training, prospective ambassadors will attend a two-day in-person training hosted at National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) .

“It was a lot to take in, but I look forward to sharing this information in my own personal life as a mom and PTA member, as well as an ambassador,” said Melissa DeCicco, a senior inspector with the District of New Jersey. “Learning how to educate others to reduce child exploitation and prevent victimization in our own communities was an enriching experience from a completely different prospective.

As law enforcement officers, we often meet children on the back end of a bad situation that has already gone terribly wrong. Attending this training and learning the incredible NetSmartz curriculum gives me hope that we can serve our communities and empower children of various age groups in a positive way, instead of meeting them at their worst moments. I am hopeful that empowering children will have a ripple effect in their own circles and families that will create waves of awareness for years to come because every child deserves a safe childhood.”

Investigative Operations Division Assistant Director Pete Marketos welcomes the group and thanks them for volunteering for the pilot program.

Casey Jones, Outreach Manager at NCMEC, talks to the deputies about NetSmartz, NCMEC’s online safety education program.

Attendees broke into small groups to discuss best practices and preparation strategies to present the material.