The goal of the KV monthly MRIR Message is to educate you on circumstances that increase the level of risk to you or your family with regard to personal safety and thereby enable you to manage it more effectively. For example, knowing that most sexual crimes are crimes of opportunity should impact how you and your children view your surroundings.

If your child was last seen in your home:
(What Should I Do if My Child Is Missing?)

1. Search the house carefully looking in closets, under beds, inside anything large including appliances and vehicles (and the trunk)…wherever a child might crawl under or into to play or hide.

2. Call the neighbors and nearby friends to see if anyone has seen your child.

3. Notify your local law enforcement immediately. ell them what your child was wearing and all pertinent data relating to your child. (Having a plan in place like Instant Amber to provide them with all the necessary data they need INSTANTLY - including digital photos, physical characteristics, etc. – will save precious time.)

If your child was last seen in a store:

1. Immediately notify the manager of the store and/or the security office. Many stores have a plan of action in place to look for a missing child.

2. Immediately call your local law enforcement agency and provide your child’s name, birth date, height, weight, hair color, and any identifying characteristics including shoes and clothing. Have a plan in place to provide law enforcement with immediate access to all pertinent data about your child including photos.

In addition to state agencies, two national agencies assist in the search, recovery, and reunification process of missing children.

1. Request that your child's name and identifying information be immediately entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person File. It is very important that parents make sure that their local law enforcement has listed their missing child in the NCIC by receiving at least the case number of the report and preferably a copy of the report.

2. After you have reported your child missing to law enforcement, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

In summary:
When a child goes missing, parents or legal custodians should immediately file a report with the following organizations:

1. Local law enforcement,

2. The NCIC database (nationally managed by the FBI) but accessed through local law enforcement once they file their missing child report.

3.The State Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children in the State of legal residence where the child lives (law enforcement will know this contact as well),

4. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

In addition, KinderVision recommends having information about all of your children (of any age) organized and updated and ready to be distributed at a moment’s notice through Instant Amber, an online data registry that provides law enforcement instantly with critical information and photos to be used in a missing child emergency when time matters most and stress is at a maximum.

If your child is 18 or older and missing:

1. Call local law enforcement - be prepared to give reasons why your older child’s disappearance is a real cause for concern and not normal young adult behavior.

2.Make sure local law enforcement lists your child in the NCIC Missing Person File.

3.Call the National Center for Missing Adults (NCMA) 1-800-690-FIND for help.

Are you prepared if your child is missing?
The partnership of KinderVision’s comprehensive educational initiatives and Instant Amber’s breakthrough technology provides parents with the most pro-active approach to preparedness known. Make sure your kids have the tools they need to be self reliant in the matter of personal safety: education. Then make sure you’re prepared for any emergency with Instant Amber, the last piece of the puzzle in doing as much as possible for the safety and security of your children.

Tips for Small Children:
Talk to your small children about what they should do if they become lost or separated from you. Talk about safe people that could help – uniformed police officers, store clerks with nametags, moms with kids. Go to a mall or store and point out those people who could help. Help your child understand that it’s okay to yell for you in that situation and that they should not leave the immediate area and NEVER leave the store.

Tweens:
Talk about what to do if your children find themselves separated from everyone else. Make sure they understand the dangers of isolation and the importance of doing things with groups and always staying with friends. Consider having a family password to identify someone bringing information from you. And insist they never go anywhere with anyone without checking with you first. NEVER..

Teens:
Make sure you have all the names and numbers of your teens’ friends and their families. Help your teen understand that their risk increases dramatically when they are isolated – even with people they think they know. Talk to them about staying in groups and always having someone with them they can trust when in a new environment.