The
Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club
is committed to being a "Friend Of Youth"
there can be no better sign of friendship than to
be committed to the safety of our youth.
This why our club has designated the SafeAssured Program
as our single biggest contribution to our
community. We hope that you will help us in
our cause.
Club Chair
people:
Tim Hofer, Denny and Millie Andrews, Andrew
O'Connell, Dan Miles, Patty Donkers, Fred Nieter.
Long-Term fund raising: Denny Andrews, Mitch Goon,
Everett Nifong
What is the SafeAssured
system?
Unlike other products within the industry, the SafeAssured
mini-CD provides a single storehouse of details containing
personal identification information essential for location
efforts. The mini-CD secures this highly sensitive and private
personal data with electronic encryption. The data can only be
accessed when the parent/guardian presents the mini-CD to law
enforcement. There is NO database stored.
The SafeAssured mini-CD offers
a single repository of information storing the following details:
• All ten electronically imaged fingerprints
• Digital photograph
• Streaming video showing mannerisms and gait
• Linked audio file
providing the child's voice inflection and accent.
• General
personal description
• Private information (street address, date
of birth, life-threatening medical conditions, identifying scars
or marks, and tattoos)
• Family code word is used by the child to
either covertly alert law enforcement or be used as a safety word
within the family
• Ability to create missing person poster from
the mini-CD Families will receive the following:
• A full-color SafeAssured Identification Card
• A parent’s guidebook with
prevention tips (Prepared in partnership with the National Center
for Missing & Exploited Children)
• A “Quick Tips & Help Guide”
for instructions on using the mini-CD.
SafeAssured protects children
in three important areas:
1. It keeps private information safe in
the hands of parents. NO information is stored away from the CD.
2. Sensitive personal data is electronically protected through
encryption.
3. SafeAssured responds to the need for immediate action upon
discovery that a person is missing.
Safety Tips
1) Teach your children never to answer the door unless the person
is a trusted family friend or relative, your children feel
comfortable being alone with that person, and you have told your
children that it is okay.
2) Decide whether or not the telephone should be answered and
what your children should say to a called when you aren't home.
3) Teach your children to check in with you or another trusted
adult upon returning home to let you know that they have arrived
safely. Teach them to check in with you or another trusted adult
if there is a change of plans, they are scared, or have an
emergency.
4) Take a walk around your neighborhood and discuss where your
children can go away from your house and the proper route to
take. Teach your children not to take shortcuts.
5) Keep contact numbers and emergency numbers near the telephone.
Make sure your children know how to reach you in an emergency by
learning your work phone, cell phone, or pager number, and how
and when to dial "911" or "0."
6) Teach your children that if they become separated from you
when you are out to go to a uniformed law-enforcement or security
officer, store salesperson with a nametag, person at the
information booth or help center or a mother with children and
tell that person he or she is lost.
7) Leave items and clothing with their name on them at home. If
someone they don't know calls out their name, teach them not to
be fooled or confused and not to respond.
8) When you speak to your children, do so in a calm,
non-threatening manner. Children should not be frightened to get
the point across. Fear can actually work at cross-purposes to the
safety message, because fear can be paralyzing to a child.
9) Children need to know that they can TELL you or a trusted
adult if they feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. They also
need to know that there will always be someone to help them, and
they have the right to be safe.
10) Practice basic safety skills with your children. Make an
outing to mall or park a "teachable" experience in which your
children can practice checking with you, using pay telephones,
going to the restroom with a friend, and locating the adults who
can help if they need assistance.
11) Children should not go out alone and should always TAKE A
FRIEND with them when they go places or play outside.
12) Make your child aware of tricks adults may use and how to
recognize them. Some will offer candy or money. Other will ask
for directions, offer to take a child's picture, or ask for help
finding a lost puppy or kitten. Children should not engage in
conversation and should get away as quickly as possible.
13) Teach your children that they have the right to say NO to any
unwelcome, uncomfortable, or confusing touch or actions by
others. Teach them to TELL you immediately if this happens.
Reassure them that you're there to help and it is okay to tell
you anything.
14) Teach your children to yell for help if someone tries to take
them away. They should yell, "This is not my mother (father)!"
"This person is trying to take me away!"
15) Establish reasonable rules and guidelines for using the
computer by your children. Even if you don't own a computer, be
sure to identify other places your child may have access as
libraries, school, and friend's houses.
16) Be sure to screen babysitters and caregivers. Many states now
have a public registry that allows parents to check out
individuals for prior criminal records and sex offenses. Check
out references with other families you trust who have used the
caregiver or babysitter.
17) Make a point of knowing your children's friends and parents,
and make sure they CHECK FIRST with you before you do anything or
go anywhere.
18) REMEMBER that there is no substitute for your attention and
supervision. Being available and taking time to really know and
listen to your children helps build feelings of safety and
security.
This safety information was developed in conjunction with the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
