Four mutually reinforcing foundations for research and practice.
ICAPRO connects evidence, early action, professional capacity, and cross-border cooperation to improve outcomes for children and families affected by IPCA.
The Four Orientations Model guides ICAPRO’s work across four connected areas: Research, Prevention, Education and Training, and International Engagement. Together, these orientations connect evidence, lived experience, professional practice, and cross-border cooperation to improve outcomes for children and families affected by international parental child abduction.
The orientations are mutually reinforcing rather than sequential. Research identifies needs and informs action; prevention promotes earlier intervention; education and training build individual and institutional capacity; and international engagement strengthens cooperation across countries and systems. Together, they support better prevention, response, reunification, and recovery.
Research
ICAPRO develops and translates interdisciplinary research on the causes, experiences, institutional responses, and long-term effects of international parental child abduction. Its work centers survivor and family perspectives, examines policy and practice, and produces evidence that can guide governments, courts, practitioners, advocates, and communities.
- In Progress: Mapping the Journey: A Study of Perceptions and Lived Experiences Among Youth Affected by International Parental Child Abduction
- Athens Institute 2025: Between Protection and Parental Rights: The Hague Abduction Convention and Article 13(1)(b)
- Athens Institute 2024: Roundtable Discussion on The Future of Legal Education, Research and Practice
- Athens Institute 2023: International Child Abduction: A Wicked Problem for Global Society
Prevention
ICAPRO advances practical, evidence-informed approaches that help families, professionals, and public agencies recognize abduction risks, act early, and use available legal and administrative safeguards. Prevention also means identifying system gaps and improving coordination before a child crosses an international border.
- When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide — tag Prevention + Education & Training; identify Dr. Hunter as co-author. Family Survival Guide
- Multimedia Resource Library and downloadable guides — Video library
Education and Training
ICAPRO turns research and lived experience into accessible learning for students, families, law enforcement, child-serving professionals, policymakers, and the public. Through courses, practicums, presentations, guides, multimedia resources, and survivor-story animations, the office builds the knowledge and capacity needed to prevent and respond to IPCA.
International Engagement
ICAPRO connects UAH scholarship with global policy and practice. The office convenes and collaborates with survivors, families, researchers, advocates, legal professionals, governments, and international organizations to strengthen cooperation, improve implementation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, and address abductions involving both Convention and non-Convention countries.
HCCH Steering Committee appointment on the Forum on Domestic Violence and the Operation of Article 13(1)(b).
- Moderator, Discussant: First HCCH Forum, Sandton, South Africa, June 18–21, 2024
- Moderator, Discussant: Second HCCH Forum, Fortaleza, Brazil, October 27–30, 2025
- Member, Athens Institute of Education and Research (ATINER)