STEVEN'S LAW

Steven Wayne Butler III

Steven was a young, beautiful and talented fourteen year old boy who was simply out mowing lawns as his own little side business. A convicted sex offender, Daryl A Vandyke, also of Champaign, Illinois groomed and lured Steven to his residence, with Steven believing he was going to make money mowing his lawn. Without permission or knowledge, Vandyke picked up little Steven. Less than 12 hours later, Steven's little body would be found brutally murdered.

No one knew about Vandyke as a sex offender. The public was never notified of Steven's disappearance. Steven was listed as 'juvenile missing'. Per his dad, he was written away as a 'runaway'. It's time for change.

Section Title

STEVEN'S LAW 1

Would require all missing children under 18 to be listed and treated initially as endangered.

STEVEN'S LAW II

Would require all law enforcement agencies that take a missing child's report to immediately be listed on to the NCIC's LEAD database with no delay.

STEVEN'S LAW III

Would require all reported missing children reports to be sent to Missing Persons Awareness Network to publish posters for every child reported missing to the public without delay

STEVENS LAW IV

Would remove the use of the word 'RUNAWAY', giving the missing child a necessary investigation into their disappearance and losing the negative connotation the word brings to our missing children.

STEVENS LAW V

Would require the State of Illinois to allow budgeting for Missing Persons Awareness Network's 'Missing Persons Center to bring collaboration among agencies, and awareness, knowledge and prevention to the public.

Changing the face of our missing children's views.

Putting KIDS FIRST means acknowledging the failures on the way we all approach a missing child's disappearance and investigation. We must stop judging our children as 'runaways' and start investigation with their homes, schools, friends and neighbors to bring them home quickly and safely.

How to Support Steven's Law

(1) click on the link here to sign the petition to support stevens law

(2) Contact any of the Politicians in office in Illinois (House of Representatives, Senators, Governor to support this Bill by sponsoring and co-sponsoring it. Make a difference for our KIDS FIRST program.