Identifying Victims Using DNA: A Guide for Families (National Institute of Justice 2005). 
This 8-page booklet gives an overview of the DNA analysis process so that surviving family and friends will understand what DNA analysis can and cannot do, describes the sources of DNA that forensic scientists might use, and explains the differences between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. This booklet also is available in Spanish.

State Missing Persons DNA Database Program Information

The California Department of Justice and the DNA Identity Laboratory at the University of North Texas have published information that describes their Missing Persons DNA Databases in lay terms that can help families of missing persons understand how DNA testing might be used.

The California Department of Justice Missing Persons DNA Program (Adobe PDF) brochure is available for download in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Missing: Information on the Texas Missing Persons DNA Database (Adobe PDF)

General Guidance for Families

When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Report, May 2004; revised from 1998. This report provides parents with the most current information on, and helpful insights into, what families should do when a child is missing.