COMMUNITY PARTNERS 4 KIDS - CHILD SAFETY
Executive Director of Community Partners 4 Kids, Clay Smith, and Vice President of Community Outreach, Joe Facchiano discussed the somber, but important topic of child abduction. There are 832 child abductions per day in the United States. Over 100,000 of the abductions lead to trafficking. Though these numbers include many custodial cases (family related), there are approximately 54,000 non-custodial (strangers) abduction cases. The terribly sad fact is that 31% of all abductions lead to sexual abuse with both male and female kids. Most abductions happen within one quarter mile of home.
Community Partners 4 Kids educates parents about these real dangers, provides child safety ID kits, and provides strategies to prevent abductions. They have created the Child Safety Handbook to assist in educating families. The handbook teaches parents about warning signs regarding their child's activities, friends and places they like to go. It also teaches children to recognize high risk situations and includes tactics to avoid an abduction.
Though this can be a difficult topic to discuss, Clay and Joe encouraged us to make sure we have these conversations with our kids and grandkids. Education and communication on the subject leads to fewer abductions. For more information on the organization or for a copy of the Handbook visit www.CP4kids.org.
