Peter Thomas Senese: The I CARE Foundation's Groundbreaking Fight To Stop Child Abduction Continues

Peter Thomas Senese, Executive Director of the I CARE Foundation's Fall 2013 Update

The I CARE Foundation's 

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL CHILD CONSENT FORM

IS Quickly Becoming The Most Effective Global Tool Able To

Stop International Parental Child Abduction!

The I CARE Foundation Reports That 

100% Of All Children Around The World Who Had Their Parents Reportt Utilizing The I CARE Foundation's International Travel Child Consent Form This Summer 

Have All Returned Home!

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT BETWEEN 80% -90% OF ALL 

INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS OCCUR

WHEN A PARENT WRONGFULLY DETAINS A CHILD ABROAD.

Mr. Christophe Bernosconi, the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on International Private Law: the international tribunal governing international child abduction under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child said the   following of the I CARE Foundation and our International Travel Child              Consent Form:

"I have had the possibility to look at the travel form and must say that I am impressed: this is the most comprehensive document of its kind that I have seen so far and there is little doubt in my mind that this is a most valuable and important effort to prevent child abduction. I applaud your efforts and wish to congratulate you and your team . . . It is really impressive to see how quickly your international travel child consent form has started to yield practical results and how well you monitor its operation - this really is remarkable." 

            

A Message From Peter Thomas Senese:

In my role as the Executive Director of the I CARE Foundation, I am pleased to share that 100% of all reported cases of children who traveled abroad this summer under  the International Travel Child Consent Form have returned to their country of original jurisdiction.  This is an increadible achievement since it is strongly estimated that between 80% and 90% of all international parental child abductions occur when a parent wrongfully detains a child abroad under the guise of a family vacation.

Recently the Colorado Bar Association published an extensive 30 page article championing the I CARE Foundation and our International Travel Consent Form. The in-depth analysis includes our extensive legal analysis on how abducting parents legally attempt to sanction cross-border kidnappings under an assortment of articles under the Hague Convention.

I invite you to read a piece that the Colorado Bar Association wrote about the I CARE Foundation and the International Travel Child Consent Form. 

Generally speaking, international parental child abudciton occurs during 2 primary seasons: the summer vacation period and Christmas. Depending on what geographic area around the world you are located in, international child abduction is always in  high-season.

Today, parents need to be aware that with the Christmas season months away, parents intending to abduct a child abroad will begin carrying-out their plans now. So please be careful (For a list of 'Warning Signs of International Parental Child Abduction' please visit the I CARE Foundation's website).

In the meantime, the I CARE Foundation and our remarkable colleagues around the world will continue our efforts associated with the Special Commission created to report to Secretary General Bernosconi on the utilization of the travel consent form in our effort to create such a form as a mechanical instruement for all children traveling abroad.

Finally, I would like to share that it is strongly expected that the number of reported cases U.S. international parental child abduction cases is expected to sharply fall, incredibly, for the 3rd year in a row after nearly 30 years of growth.  To provide some insight, the past decase (excluding 2011 and 2012) had reported sustained outbound abduction growth of approximately 20% + per year. In 2011, the same year the I CARE Foundation commenced our extensive activity, reported cases of abduction declined by 15%. In 2012, there was an additional decline of 16%.  We still have a long way to go before we close the books of 2013, especially since one of the 2 major abduction seasons is the Christmas Holiday; however, I am extremely optimistic - based upon the I CARE Foundation's own extensive abduction prevention case-load - that we will see another dramatic decline of abduction when the 2013 statistics are reported.

There is no question there is a lot ahead of us. In fact, just in the past 5 days, the I CARE Foundation stopped international abductions of American children to Russia, Japan, Phillipines, and India, while playing a key role in dozens of ongoing abduction prevention cases around the world.

To read more about the I CARE Foundation's International Travel Child Consent Form and to download a copy of the form, please visit The I CARE Foundation's website. 

Kindest regards to all,

Peter Thomas Senese
Executive Director
The I CARE Foundation

When Your With Someone When A Heart Attack Happens: The Importance Of Being Prepared

Have you ever punched a person so hard in their chest that it felt like your hands grabbed their non-beating heart?

I did this week.

It is the 2nd time in my life that I was able to resuscitate someone by hitting them as hard as I possibly could with my two clenched fists clasped together and all of my strength and body weight coming down on the person who's heart has stopped beating. 

In itself, I can say there is nothing I have ever experienced that could come even remotely from explaining what it is like to exist in that nano-moment place that is between life and death . . . when you try frantically to create - to feel that thump ... thump .... thump of a heart beat. 

Nor can I explain how slow the world moves as your powerful hands strike a mighty blow down onto someone's chest.  The powerful force and inertia of your blow wrapping around a person's lifeless heart, energizing it back to life.

This past week one of my closest friends had a severe heart attack while we were together.  Fortunately, and with a lot of luck and quick-reaction know-how that included what felt like me putting my hand through his chest to get his heart beating again, my dear and cherished friend who once traveled into the storms of abduction with me when I was Chasing The Cyclone is going to be okay.

God willing, and with time, he will be the same caring, loving, and compassionate goof-ball that he has always been.  One thing I have learned in my near 2 decades of friendship and decade of being business partners together is that if anyone has the ability to have a full recovery, it is my dear friend.

And he better, for we sure do have a lot of work to do . . . not to mention several interesting golf courses around the world we have yet to play on that 'we need to'.

Before I go any further, I would like to tell my dear friend this simple message:

I love you. You have been true to me and our friendship for so long.  You have been teacher, guide, trouble-maker, warrior, partner, confidant, and most of all friend.  Our friendship has covered the globe many times over in our professional work and in what we do to protect children from abduction and kidnapping. And no matter what we faced, we faced so much of it together with a smile and, in your eyes, a sense that all would turn out the way it was suppose to.  So as I celebrate you my dear friend ... take the time to heal, but do so knowing that we have lots to do. In the meantime know I am going to have a delicious Portillo's Italian Steak Sandwich to celebrate you shortly.  By the way ... did I ever mention how funny you look sleeping wearing that funny little blue hospital robe? We'll as a reminder ... you look ridiculous! Nevertheless, I have seen you in even more ridiculous attire ... even though some of that was to do with bringing a child home ... which is always pretty amazing. Still - you look ridiculous and when we celebrate your birthday in October I intend to fully utilize the photos I have taken of you today snoring away like a big ol' lumberjack!

Now to all of my friends who may read this post, I would like to strongly urge each of you to do yourself and those you love a very big thing: make sure you take CPR and Heart Attack resuscitation classes. And even if your' too busy at least go online and watch some of the educational videos available.

This very well could be the difference between taking photos of someone you love as they cut wood in a deep, peaceful slumber that you will definitely use during that person's next birthday celebration, or, well, saying good-bye.

One final note to my pal: you know ... you really changed our plans for this week!  But I am delighted to know that I will complain to you soon enough about that. As for now ... I love you my dear friend.


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