Please take the time to read the entire article. There is information that can not only help find some of our missing children, but can also help our law enforcement agencies catch the abductors before they can get away. We CAN, as individuals, make a difference in a child's life.

Thanks to the Internet and other news media, we now have more ways than ever to get information to the pubic about an abducted child.

We are forced to face the reality of the dangers that are out there. Complacency and the "it wont happen here" attitude are no longer options that we can live with.

First, I would like to tell you about a unique plan developed in North Texas called "The Amber Plan". It is named after Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas, in 1996.

The Amber Plan relies on local TV and radio stations to relay information about missing children to the public as soon as possible after their disappearance. If this plan had been in place when Amber was abducted, she may have been saved.

Authorities credit the Amber Plan for the safe return of at least four children since July 1997. It has been used about twenty times.

The plan is not meant to find lost children, or to deal with custody situations. It was devised for children who are abducted and whose lives are in danger.

The organizers of the task force were invited to Washington to explain the plan to a group of House Democrats. The delegation also explained the plan to the National Association of Broadcasters and to members of a congressional caucus on missing and exploited children. They weren't asking for congressional action, but urged lawmakers to talk about the alert system in their home districts.

The Amber Plan is very impressive and has potential for application around the world.

For more information on the Amber plan, or help with implementing the plan in your area, please Contact your local police department.

Another program is one that each and every one of us can participate in and possibly aid in the safe return of a missing child.

This program is called The Lighthouse Project and was the Brainchild of the I.C.S.R.M.C. (International Center for the Search and Recovery of Missing Children).

Through the Internet, go to www.icsrmc.org/thelight/htm. Preview the flyers on the site and print as many as you like. Make ten copies of the flyers and the letter and mail them to 10 of your friends. The more flyers that are distributed, the more chances we have to find missing children and bring them home safely.

Courtesy of the I.C.S.R.M.C., I would like to share some tips to help insure the safety of our children.

Parents, when your child is too young to read, share these tips with your child. Remember, repetition is the key. It is important that you not frighten him or her, but with repeated lessons, as with play school, teach your child the following:

1. Teach your child his or her name, address, telephone number (including area code) and how to dial for help.
2. Practice dialing your telephone number with the area code.
3. Your child should have a code word - a word that he or she is to go only with an adult who knows this code word. The code word should be simple and reiterated often.
4. Teach your child to never open the door when home alone. If someone persists, your child should be taught to dial for help.
5. If possible, always play with a friend "Be a Buddy".
6. Reduce your child's vulnerability time. Tell your child where they are allowed to go with permission.
7. Tell your child who they can get into a car with.
8. Tell your child who they can get presents from.
9. Teach your child to cry loudly for help and to run if he or she is followed by someone in a car or on foot.
10. Teach your child that a "bad" person does not always look like a bad person, but almost always looks like a nice person.
11. Teach your child which homes are safe to go into.
12. Your child must know that no one should touch them in a way they don't like or if it gives them a feeling that they've never felt before and if someone does, your child needs to understand that they must tell you at once.
13. Assure your child of your love and assure them that they will not be blamed if they tell you the truth.
14. Teach your child to understand that they must help to minimize their own vulnerability.

Repeat these lessons often as children have a short memory span. Be sure to assure them of your love and approval and that they will not be blamed if they tell you the truth. It is sometimes a better learning experience if you teach several children at the same time.

Now that your child is a big boy or girl, here are some important tips to be shared one - on - one for their safety?

1. Always tell your parents where you will be. Let them know when it changes.
2. It is no fun to run away from home. There is nothing so terrible that you cannot tell someone to get their help.
3. There is safety in numbers. Travel in groups, or with a buddy.
4. Do not travel or take dares to go into dark or lonely areas, day or night.
5. If you see someone hanging around the schoolyard or the park, tell your parents. Learn to give good descriptions - is the person tall or short, have dark or light hair and eyes. If they're driving, the make and model of the car as well as the license number. Any of this could be important!
6. Do not go up to people in cars that ask for directions. Stop back and tell the strangers that you do not know, then walk away rapidly. Adults do not ask children for directions.
7. Do not accept job offers, rides, or gifts from strangers. Even if you know the person, do not go with them unless you first tell your parents and let them know that your parents know.
8. Do not believe people who promise you a TV career. Tell your parents if someone does.
9. Do not help a stranger look for a lost pet unless an adult is with you. If they persist, run away.
10. Do not go with strangers, even if they are dressed like policemen. Ask for identification and have another adult confirm it.
11. Do not tell people when you will be at home alone or answer the door when you are home alone. If someone persists in trying to get in, call for help at once.
12. If someone touches you in a way that feels different, yell and tell. It is your body and nobody has the right to make you feel uncomfortable.
13. Even if it is a relative or a friend, you should tell and keep telling until somebody believes you. Remember, YOU did nothing wrong.
14. If your parents do not believe you, tell your teacher or someone you can trust.
15. Be aware of what is going on around you at all times.

As parents:

1. Assure your child that if anything ever happens that you will look for them no matter how long it takes to find them.
2. Minimize your child's vulnerability time.
3. Know where your child is at all times.
4. Have your child learn their telephone number, area code and address.
5. Have your children learn how to dial for help and what to say. Tell them to stay on the line if possible.
6. Don't leave your child alone in the car or let them go into a public restroom alone.
7. Don't leave your child in the toy section of a store or wandering alone in a mall. If they get lost or bothered, teach them to go to a cashier for help.
8. Don't place your child's name, first or last, on clothing, hats, bikes, wagons, etc. Remember, a child responds to a first name and a stranger using that name will automatically not be thought of as a stranger.
9. Teach your child to avoid strangers. Teach them that strangers are people they don't know very well. Strangers are nice and mean, pretty and ugly, rich and poor. Children get the idea that a stranger is an "evil" looking person, but that is not always true.
10. Be involved in your child's activities.
11. Know your child's friends.
12. Practice with your child the ways that he or she may walk to and from school or a friend's home.
13. Make it clear to your child whose home he or she can go to visit or play.
14. When you're not around, teach your child which homes near your home are "safe" to go into if they are frightened.
15. Notice if someone pays any undue attention to your child.
16. Listen to your child when they tell you that they don't want to be with someone. Find out why.
17. Never belittle any fear or concern your child has whether real or imaginary.
18. Have your child fingerprinted. Keep this card, with current pictures, in a safe and accessible place. Update every six months and include an accurate description of your child, including scars. Keep up to date pictures of your family.

DO NOT RUN AWAY FROM HOME. If things are impossible at home, speak with your teacher, counselor, or minister about it; they will help you. NOTHING is impossible. If you run away, you will find yourself at the mercy of the same street people that push people into drugs, pornography, and prostitution. TALK IT OVER WITH A FRIEND WHO CARES. And if you think that you have no friends, you can find a crisis center in your city who will reach out to you.

Don't get into cars with strangers or get close enough to be grabbed, for any reason.

Don't accept offers of drinks, cigarettes, drugs or money - this is an obvious lure tactic.

If anybody tries to caress or fondle you in a way you do not like - TELL! Report any incident of attempted molestation.

Remember: it is NOT your fault. Do not be afraid to tell if someone has bothered you.

One person cannot protect all of our children, but all of us working together to educate ourselves and our children can be the biggest deterrent for a potential abductor.