Tracking down inactive YSA

Hi All,

One of our Stake representatives here in FL was in contact with someone in a Stake in GA, and heard reference of some technology being used to track down some inactive YSAs where the address on record was incorrect. They didn't have much more detail than that, but thought I reach out to see if anyone was aware of any online tools that may be being used to try and locate some of our lost souls so that they can work with local service missionaries to try and reach them.

Thanks!

I have found many of the free tools are not too accurate and contain dated information. One web site I have used with mixed success is called fastpeoplesearch (hope I can post this here - it is not an endorsement). When I search for myself on this site, it has my current address listed (from publicly available information) but I have lived here 20 years. It also lists 5 former personal addresses and one that is a business address for a past employer. I have had some where the only address listed is the one they moved from before coming to our area. Another method I use is Facebook - people often post location information on their FB page that gives you a hint (you can often see quite a bit once you are logged in to FB, even if you are not friends). For example, if they post that they work in Nashville, TN, you can guess they likely live within an hour of that business address. Then you can use that information to narrow your search. There are multiple online sites that can be searched, but many put the results behind a pay wall which limits their usefulness.

It is possible the church subscribes to a paid service that has more accurate/recent information and the church service missionaries use it for "Address unknown" members (I have no insight - that is just a guess). At the ward level, we are not expected to go to that expense. We should make a "good college try" at the steps listed when attempting to move someone to the address unknown file, but not sweat it if they cannot be found - there are better tools available in the church offices than at the ward level. When I was clerk, I developed a template that could be printed and handed to ward council members or ministers to fill in the steps. Then the form could be turned back in to the clerk to process the move out.

davesudweeks wrote:At the ward level, we are not expected to go to that expense. We should make a "good college try" at the steps listed when attempting to move someone to the address unknown file, but not sweat it if they cannot be found - there are better tools available in the church offices than at the ward level.

I personally agree with this. My interpretation of the guidelines is to use local resources to locate people. As in asking the Ward Council, friends, talking to neighbors, etc. These would be things that church headquarters would have trouble tapping into or even knowing about. Databases are something that can be easily checked from anywhere and best done by people who knows how to interpret the information.

You could try searching for them on Facebook or similar social media. Looking at their profile could give you an idea of if they're still living in the area. Also, depending on how connected they are to others in the area via Facebook, the "mutual friends" section might yield a list of people who could help establish a connection. (Involve the ward council, too – if you don't personally have "mutual friends" with the person on Facebook, maybe someone else on the ward council does. Mathematically, the more people you involve, the more likely it is that you'll find a connection, through a friend, or a friend of a friend.)

And don't be surprised if a high percentage of "inactive YSA" are in fact inactive marrieds.

And don't be surprised if a high percentage of "inactive YSA" are in fact inactive marrieds.

I 100% support that notion! And also the fact that so many times when leaders find out details like this, they don't take that important step of updating the records. Every ward has a large number of inactive "married YSA's", some who have multiple children, but the records don't show any of that. It's obviously tough to get that info, but if you're already putting in the effort to try and locate these missing YSA's, this is something good to keep in mind for anyone you make contact with.

Thanks all for the feedback on this!