Washington, D.C. — When Alaska Native and American Indian children went missing from foster care in 2023, Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services kept no record of telling law enforcement in 30% of the incidents, and no record of telling the child’s Tribe in 53%, a federal inspector general found. The review also found that 73% of the times a child came back, the file held no record of a sex trafficking screening.
The findings come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, which published the evaluation, report OEI-07-23-00480, in February 2026.
What the inspector general reviewed
Federal investigators examined the case files of Alaska Native and American Indian children who went missing or ran away from a foster care placement during calendar year 2023. The report counts 49 such children. Files were available for 47 of them, covering 71 separate incidents, and investigators reviewed 35 children and 56 incidents for what the state did after the children came back into care. Investigators also interviewed Tribes.
The inspector general noted that, nationally, American Indian and Alaska Native children go missing at a rate more than double their share of the population, and that children in foster care are more likely to go missing from a placement than from any other location.
Where the system failed
Federal rules require state foster care agencies to have protocols for children who go missing. The case files showed those steps often were not taken or not documented:
- No documented notice to law enforcement in 30% of incidents, to Tribes in 53%, to guardians ad litem in 54% and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 57%.
- No documented notice to the school in 52% of the 31 incidents in which the child was enrolled.
- No documented effort to find the child beyond those notifications in 25% of incidents.
- No documented sex trafficking screening in 73% of the 56 incidents in which a child returned, and no record of what the child experienced while away in 41%. The report says Alaska does not use a specific screening tool.
- Required monthly caseworker visits were not all documented in the six months before 58% of incidents.
The records problem went further. Of the 47 children reviewed, 18, or 38%, had additional missing or runaway episodes described in their case files that were never entered in the state’s case management system. Alaska told investigators the system cannot record where a child is while missing; staff have to read through case files to find out.
The cases they buried, read out loud.
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In one case described in the report, a child who returned said they had spent time with and received gifts from an older male. The file did not show whether caseworkers asked if that was connected to sex trafficking.
Tribes interviewed for the review said they had no assurance they would be told when their children went missing. One Tribe learned about missing children by checking a missing persons clearinghouse list.
Alaska missed opportunities to protect children from the risks associated with these incidents.
HHS Office of Inspector General, report OEI-07-23-00480
The state’s response
Alaska commented on the draft report. It said it had already taken steps to improve how it tracks children’s whereabouts and that it meets with Tribes at least monthly, sometimes weekly. The state also told investigators that weather and remote placements can hinder caseworker visits. The report found that children received at least one supportive measure, such as counseling, in 80% of incidents, but did not evaluate the quality of those services.
What comes next
The inspector general directed its three recommendations to the federal Administration for Children and Families: help Alaska comply with federal and state requirements for missing children, develop resources on working with Tribes, and help Alaska and other states track where children are. The agency concurred with all three. The inspector general’s recommendation tracker listed all three as open and unimplemented.
The report describes a state that took custody of children and then, when those children disappeared, often could not show it had told police, their Tribe or their court-appointed advocate. A child the state cannot locate on paper is a child no one is answering for. When an agency claims custody, it takes on the duty to know where the child is, and families and Tribes deserve to be told when it does not. FAN tracks how these lapses repeat across states in its guide to foster care system problems.
Key facts
- Agency: Alaska Office of Children’s Services
- Review: HHS Office of Inspector General report OEI-07-23-00480, published February 2026
- Scope: 47 Alaska Native and American Indian children, 71 missing or runaway incidents in 2023
- No documented notice to law enforcement in 30% of incidents; to Tribes in 53%
- No documented sex trafficking screening in 73% of returns
- 18 of 47 children had episodes never entered in the state’s case system
- All three recommendations to the federal Administration for Children and Families were listed as open and unimplemented
Sources
- HHS Office of Inspector General — Alaska Missed Opportunities to Protect American Indian and Alaska Native Children Missing from Foster Care (2026-02-23)
- HHS Office of Inspector General — Report highlights, OEI-07-23-00480 (2026-02-23)
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