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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1186 |
| A Child is Missing |
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| Requester: |
Sherry Friedlander |
Organization: |
A Child is Missing |
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| Project Title: |
A Child is Missing |
Date Submitted |
1/3/2008 2:40:37 PM |
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| Sponsors: |
Atwater |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| Funding for 2008 will assist in continued program availability to all law enforcement agencies and citizens of the State Of Florida. |
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| Recipient: |
A Child is missing |
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Contact: |
Will Pruitt |
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500 SE 17th Street Suite 101 |
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Contact Phone: |
(850) 251-5067 |
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Fort Lauderdale 33316 |
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Contact email: |
pruittatthecapitol@hotmail.com |
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| Counties: |
{Statewide} |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| A Child Is Missing Alert Program: A non-profit organization that assists law enforcement statewide in the early search and recovery of missing children, the elderly (often with Alzheimer�s), college students on campus and the disabled in the first hours of their disappearance. The process is as follows: The individual goes missing, the parent or guardian calls 911, the police go to the last �seen site� and then they call ACIM 24/7, 365.-ACIM makes a recorded message and with the aid of a satellite mapping program the information on the missing individual is �phoned out� (broadcast) to the area, asking for the residents to look in their area/yard and if they see / know anything to call the department and the police will respond.
The system records individual alert messages and phones (broadcasts) these messages (at the touch of a button) out to the community where the individual was last seen. Well over 1,000 telephone alert calls can be placed out into the community in 60 seconds. Florida is the birthplace of this program.
The number of alert calls have increased 132 % since the 2007 funding cycle. A special ACIM trainer meets with Florida�s police departments personally and updates the new officers/deputies around the entire state. New materials are printed and delivered at these meetings.
(Requesting $250,000 Recurring Funds)
A Child Is Missing Sexual Predator Alert Program: This allows law enforcement agencies to broadcast/alert the community on the location of documented sexual predator(s). This is a Public/Private partnership, with a not for profit organization. There is no total service like this in Florida at the present time and it is free to all Florida law enforcement agencies. This funding allocated this year allowed ACIM to provide service and training to SOME areas that had not been reached. We must continue our personalized training to the state to reach those agencies still on our list. Future funding is needed to continue the program and to ensure its current effectiveness. Private funding was also involved in providing the service. Additional funding is needed and service is provided 24/7, 365.
The number of Sexual Predators alert cases have increased 63% for 2007 (12-19-07). Again the personal attention keeps awareness up in the minds of the officers/deputies.
In 2008 a statewide education program, It Can�t Happen To Me� will be launched in February 2008. A new Video is being produced and will be completed by February 5, 2008. The video will be shown to social, business and other clubs around the state. This program will educate adults on what to look for in identifying a sex predator/offender. ACIM will provide the video to local law enforcement who will then present this program to these private and public groups. There will be approximately 5 to 6 trainers statewide and a coordinator that will run the program. Results will be reported as the program progresses.
(Requesting $200,000 additional funds)
A Child Is Missing Summer Program: The A Child Is Missing Safety Education program will and has been delivered to various areas of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, Volusia, St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Clearwater, Lake City, St. Petersburg, Manatee County, Ocala, Sanford, Stuart, Palm Bay, Winter Park, Tampa and other locations. Approx 20,000 children will benefit.
The feedback from the pilot program over the past 3 years has been overwhelming: All of the participating cities have invited ACIM back for next year. Law enforcement is supporting the program and some are participating financially. The pilot program was conducted without state dollars.
K-6th Grade teachers are hired and trained to present the program in the summer camps from the area they reside in. 53% of child abduction and /murders are committed by a person who is a stranger to the victim child (Washington State AG�s office). By teaching empowerment to our children of all ages will help enable them to become alert to their surroundings. Videos, activity books and bookmarks are given to the children. A teenage program will also be given in the future.
In 2005 A Child Is Missing piloted a summer camp program and provided safety information in summer camps in the City of Fort Lauderdale. In 2006 ACIM expanded this program to eleven Broward cities and conducted one hundred sessions throughout the county. ACIM reached out to over 5,600 children in Broward County.
An Example: A mother and son had a secret code word. The son attended last year�s safety instruction in Ft. Lauderdale. A man attempted to pick up the child as he walked home from school. The boy asked the man, �What is the secret code word�? The man replied �what word?� The boy immediately turned around and ran back to the school. The mother told us this safety tip learned at the camp helped him avoid a dangerous situation. Just think how many other children had this same experience.
The success of such sessions has been tremendous, and is why ACIM would like to continue to expand this program on a state level next year. In 2007, ACIM will offer the child safety sessions to children enrolled in summer camps throughout the major areas in Broward County along with parts of Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Martin, Volusia and St. Lucie counties along with the cities of Tallahassee, Gainesville Jacksonville, Ocala and Tampa; as long as funding is made available. (Requesting $265,000 additional funds)
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| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| A Child Is Missing Alert Program: Since 1997 A Child Is Missing (ACIM) has assisted with 13,000 cases and placed over 12 million telephone alert calls out to the community requesting help. That is an average of over 1.2 million calls annually. The continuing goal of ACIM for 2008 is to provide the Alert Program to all law enforcement agencies in the in Florida. ACIM stands ready 24/7 for all of the 3,646,340 children and 280,759 elderly with Alzheimer�s/dementia throughout Florida. Current funding allows this program to continue.
At present the program is available to ALL law enforcement agencies in Florida. ACIM has been able to produce results and leads to finding people, saving law enforcement many hours and additional expense. With the expanded service law enforcement will have service provided when they need it by just calling. The sooner person's are found or notified the safer they are. The community benefits and it is a response program that people can hear working in their own homes. A Child Is Missing assists law enforcement agencies in the search and early recovery of missing children, the elderly (often with Alzheimer�s) and the disabled in the first hours of their disappearance by use of telephone alert calls. ACIM can place 1,000 calls in 60 seconds to residents and businesses in the area of where the missing child was last seen.
A Child Is Missing Sexual Predator Alert Program: We will continue to offer this service to ALL law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Over 300 municipalities/ police departments and 67 sheriffs departments have been trained and uss this serveice at any time of day. From 1/01/07-12/18/07: 405 cases. (445,574 alert calls were made.) This is an increase of 129% over the previous year.
To serve all of the 3,646,340 children and 280,759 elderly with Alzheimer�s/dementia throughout Florida additional funding is required to take this program statewide. Current funding allows this program to continue. We anticipate a fifty percent increase as the program increases in popularity throughout 2008.
A Child Is Missing Summer Program: This program will be able to provide new knowledge, increased skills and changed behavior of the targeted communities. The children reached will have the knowledge to identify strangers, both in a public setting as well as in a comfortable environment such as their home; the knowledge of who to tell when a threatening individual has approached them and the knowledge of how to avoid a potential dangerous situation. ACIM will also assist in helping to keep children safe by providing education on child safety and prevention via summer camps/ camp counselor and parents/ community meetings.
The skills learned will be how to �yell� for help in an immediate threatening situation; how to say �no� in a firm and positive way to avoid situations when possibly being lured away by a stranger. The changed behavior or behaviors come from the newly learned knowledge and skills and provides the children with a sense of strength, independence and empowerment for protecting themselves. It is important to consistently teach children good safety habits, not by terrorizing children but by educating them to be aware. According to a recent Gallup Poll, 1.3 million children were victims of sexual abuse over a one-year period. Unfortunately, this number continues to rise annually. In the battle against an epidemic of childhood sexual abuse, relevant and effective prevention must be a priority.
There will be approximately 600 sessions, reaching approximately 20,000 children. Approximately 30 Florida Public School teachers will be hired to teach the program. They are accredited in grades K-6th around the state.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of child abductions and/or murders are committed by a person who is a stranger to the victim child. (Washington State Attorney General�s study results) In 2001 some 859,000 children were reported missing. Within the United States, the teenage population (ages 12 through 17), with the highest portion of this demographic represented by females, is the most victimized segment of the overall population. Therefore, this need to educate the children and in order to help end this cycle must be addressed. For all of the 3,646,340 throughout Florida, state funding is required to offer this program statewide.
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$690,000 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$715,000 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Local, Private |
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Cash Amount |
$250,000 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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Yes |
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Fiscal Year: |
2006-2007 |
Amount: |
$500,000 |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Yes |
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Amount: |
$500,000 |
To Fund: |
Operations |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
Unknown |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
The Child Abduction Response Team (CART) (FDLE) uses the program to call out to the team members whe |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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Yes |
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Hearing Body: |
Broward County Legislative Delegation |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
