Law Enforcement
Dedicated investigative support
We Support, never replace
Finding kids role
Finding Kids adds experienced investigators and family advocates to missing child cases while the lead agency remains fully in control. Our investigators develop and document leads. Parent Support Advocates help families understand the process and stay connected. Your officers conduct the recovery, and your agency determines every investigative and legal action.
Relevant information and potential evidence are securely provided to the lead agency only, and your agency determines all investigative, recovery, and legal actions. Every accepted case has a defined lead agency, direct points of contact, agreed communication procedures, and a clear division of responsibilities. Credit for every recovery belongs to the recovering department.
What we provide
We add value to your case
When a missing child case needs more dedicated hours, Finding Kids adds licensed private investigators who know how to work inside law enforcement protocols. They pursue leads on the street and online, document what they find, and pass actionable information directly to the assigned detective. In parallel, Parent Support Advocates keep families informed and help organize information the investigation needs.
Hand-off protocol
When a child is located, we notify the lead agency immediately and stand by. Your officers conduct the recovery. Your department makes the arrest decisions. Your agency gets the credit.
Verify us
Why finding kids?
Finding Kids is a nonprofit investigative partner, not a vigilante group. We’re incorporated, board-governed, and on record with more than 80 agencies.
Family support helps your case
Parent Support Advocates give families a consistent point of contact without speaking for the agency or disclosing restricted information. They help parents understand the process, organize useful information, and stay connected while your investigators remain focused on the case.
Organization governance
A district attorney and an assistant district attorney serve on our Board of Directors. We are a registered 501(c)(3); our annual reports and Form 990s are public on this site.
Proactive operations
Predator targeting
Finding Kids works with law enforcement agencies on proactive operations designed to identify adults seeking to exploit minors before another child is harmed.
Program details
A prevention program where trained adult decoys, posing as minors, engage in carefully controlled online operations to identify adults attempting to exploit children before any real child is harmed. It targets traffickers and sex buyers directly.
It runs through a formal MOU with individual law enforcement agencies. Finding Kids funds the targeting, but it operates within that specific agency's jurisdiction, so legally it's an extension of the agency's own operation, not an independent or freelance effort. This matters because charges can't be based on chat/text messages alone, an actual in-person sting is legally required to arrest and prosecute.
Track Record
Between April 2025 and May 2026, the program contributed to 18 arrests, with 2 convictions secured so far and more cases moving through the justice system.
Per the org, Finding Kids is (to their knowledge) the only nonprofit working in an official capacity with law enforcement in Northern California to run this type of program, and other agencies are already expressing interest in it.
For Parents in Distress
How to refer us
When a family asks what more they can do, tell them to contact NCMEC and, when the child meets our service criteria, refer them to Finding Kids. Upon acceptance, we assign a licensed private investigator and a Parent Support Advocate. The investigator adds dedicated hours to the search. The advocate stays with the family. Your detective remains informed at every step, and your agency retains control of the case.
A referral costs your department nothing and adds dedicated investigative hours to a case your unit may not have the capacity to work.
Join the work
Want to Get involved with Finding Kids?
Retirement doesn’t have to end the mission. Retired law enforcement professionals and licensed private investigators make this work possible. If you’re retiring, or know someone who is, please reach out below.
Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office
“We have worked together on numerous cases, which have led to the safe recovery of child exploitation and sex trafficking victims.”
There are no fees for our services, ever. Every search and every hour of Family Support is funded by people who decided a missing child was their problem too.