Carlee Russell, the Black nursing student who went missing in July after falsely reporting her own kidnapping, was sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks California state Sen. Steven Bradford about the state's new system designed to find missing Black people.

But we’d be remiss if we didn’t take this moment to truly reflect on the fact that not all missing-persons cases are the same – and, more notably, on the fact that not all missing-persons cases receive the same level of attention.

"It's something that's truly needed," California State Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored the new law, tells PEOPLE.

California became the first state in the country to enact the “Ebony Alert” law, which is intended to prioritize the search for missing Black youngsters.

Women’s Leadership Project Founder claims that the cases of missing black girls involve other crimes like sex trafficking.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the “Ebony Alert” bill to help locate missing Black youth and Black women in the state of California, according to a written statement from his office.

California's Amber Alert-like system will be used exclusively for missing Black children and young women.

Black and Missing Foundation Co-Founder Natalie Wilson was interviewed on Scripps News Morning Rush to discuss the "Ebony Alert": California's new alert system for missing black children and young adults.

Though Black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population, 39% of missing person cases last year involved people of color, the Black and Missing Foundation reports.