Child Abduction Response Team (CART) Training Refresher Workshop

The CART Refresher provides an opportunity for CART members to revisit the fundamentals of a Child Abduction Response Team and strengthen their readiness to respond to a missing or abducted child incident. The course focuses on current CART practices, team structure, member responsibilities, activation and notification procedures, operational priorities, communication, and coordination throughout a response.

Using practical discussion and lessons learned, participants will review how the various components of a multidisciplinary CART work together, from the initial notification through investigative, search, canvass, and reunification efforts. The refresher is designed for all CART members and provides a common understanding of individual roles, team expectations, and the resources available during an activation.

The goal is simple: keep the team familiar with its role, connected to one another, and ready to respond when a child is missing.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of the CART Refresher, participants will be able to:

• Review CART fundamentals and team structure — Understand the purpose of a multidisciplinary CART response, team composition, individual roles, and how members work together during an activation.
• Apply CART response protocols and operational priorities — Recognize activation and notification procedures and apply appropriate investigative, search, canvass, communications, and resource coordination practices during a child abduction response.
• Strengthen coordination and communication — Understand how CART members share information, coordinate activities, and operate within the incident command structure to support a unified and effective response.
• Enhance team readiness and response capability — Identify lessons learned, best practices, and opportunities to improve individual and team preparedness, training, equipment, and overall CART effectiveness.