A Georgetown couple hasn't given up the hope their missing daughter will be found.

Wednesday Robert and Janet Cooke, parents of missing teen Rachel Cooke, joined national and state experts at the Texas Legislative Caucus for Missing and Exploited Children. They shared their pain, frustrations and recommendations with lawmakers.

The one-day conference is a first of its kind in Texas. About 60 state representatives and other leaders hope the conference will generate ideas for policymakers to use to prevent abductions.

There are more meetings scheduled through the year.

Goals of the conference include: Educate families, stop abductions, create stronger penalties for sex offenders and finalize proposed legislation to go to the Texas Legislature before the session begins in January.

"We can try to pass legislation to make these sexual predators stay in jail longer," said Miguel D. Wise, co-chair of TLCMEC.

"We'd like to see a comprehensive curriculum for children at least for all the elementary schools and probably all the schools in this state," said Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“Giving some extra funds to some of the organizations that are out there that post fliers, on the Internet, that receive phone calls, that do searches, I think, that money is very well spent,” Robert Cooke said.

Cooke hopes that kind of planning comes out of the conference. He also hopes that there will be standardized training for law enforcement and children passed by the Texas Legislature.

Children also need to be trained in safety, awareness and the best things to do when approached by a stranger, Cooke said. "I didn't teach my daughter how to protect herself. I'm her father and I should have been there."

Cooke and other parents also hope alerts will be standardized into one form to avoid confusion between law enforcement, the media and the public. They want to clarify just because someone is over 18 and missing doesn’t automatically make them a runaway.

“Law enforcement (should be trained) to be able to tell the difference between an abduction and when somebody may have left on their own or run away,” Cooke said. "Janet and I are now members of a special club. A club of frustration because you couldn't get to law enforcement quick enough, you couldn't get them to understand that your loved one did not leave on their own."

The Amber Alert is used for children under 16 years, the Rachel alert is used in Georgetown for anyone who is missing. There are also local and statewide alerts.

Two thousand children are abducted every day in the U.S.

State representatives say they'll propose at least 20 other bills this January to combat child abductions and exploitation.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children claims Texas now leads the nation in law enforcement training at their center.