Help Keep Our Children Safe!

In my last post, I spoke about REAL EVIL in this world. EVIL is REAL and it does exist.We are foolish if we ignore it. It will not go away simply because we choose not to acknowledge it. But we are not powerless! In addition to power of prayer and doing good ourselves to help counterbalance good vs. evil in this world: we have a responsibility to protect the innocent and those that cannot always protect themselves.We need to do more to more to protect our children!

I heard that Oprah did a show on the aftermath of the life of an abducted child. I, myself, did not see the show, but I heard that she spoke about a new law before our U.S. congress called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Apparently, as the law is now written, individual states have 3 years to comply with the provisions of the act. Oprah and other advocates of this Act want to have the timetable for implementation made shorter. They urge you to write to your state's Governor and U.S. State Senator -- why not write to your Representative as well -- to move up the timetable for enacting the measures of the Act.

You can download a pre-written letter to your elected officials at the Oprah website: http://www.oprah.com/. Or cut and paste from my text at the end of this blog entry.

Another thing you can do is educate your child on basic safety. I've talked to my children about basic stranger safety and their own personal space -- even at age 2 they can understand these ideas on some level. We also let our kids know that there is never anything that they cannot talk to Mom and Dad about. We let them know that we are very tough and can take care of ourselves and them: so they don't need to worry about Mom and Dad (or them) being hurt by someone for telling us things that bother them. Lastly, we watch them like a hawk! But I know that there is still more that we can do. So I am going to order a new safety video put together by John Walsh and Julie Clark (of the Baby Einstein Company). It is called "Stranger Safety". You can find it at http://www.thesafeside.com/.

We can all also can watch out for other kids. If you see a small child who looks lost and without parents help them find their parents or notify law enforcement. If you see, or hear, a small child crying or shouting: don't be afraid to investigate. And parents don't be so offended if someone questions you about your crying child. Instead: be glad that there are advocates out there looking out for our children!

One morning after dropping my kids off at school, I saw a suspicious looking car circling around a bus stop where a few public middle school kids were waiting. It may have been nothing, but I parked my car there nearby and watched until ever single student got safely onto that bus. And I make a point of driving by there each day since.


Let's all work together to keep our children safe!

God Bless You! God Bless Little and Big Children Everywhere!

P.S. Text for letter to your state's Governor and U.S. State Senator follows. Look up contact info for the latter at: http://www.congress.org/ (Senator & Representative) and http://www.usa.gov/ (your governor).

Re: Please immediately implement the state requirements of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act

Dear Governor (or Senator):
As your constituent, I am writing this letter to urge you and your appropriate state agencies to act swiftly to implement the state requirements under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Although the Adam Walsh Act provided that states have three years to comply with the requirements, delay in implementing these changes will jeopardize the safety of children and the community. Law enforcement needs the resources to protect children and communities from the scourge of convicted sex offenders:

I urge you to fully implement all the state mandates within the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. I am particularly concerned about the following:1. To implement an effective and comprehensive mechanism to verify the residence of the most high risk sex offenders at least once every three months.2. To collect DNA samples from sex offenders who have not already provided them to local law enforcement.3. To complete fingerprint-based background checks on all foster and adoptive placements to ensure that foster children are placed in safe homes.

Citizens need access to accurate and timely information regarding convicted sex offenders living in their community. The 50 States and the Federal government are responsible for building and maintaining an effective national sex offender database. A national sex offender database is a critical safeguard to protect America’s children and with each passing day that the provisions of this law are not implemented, the danger to children is heightened. The States are at the forefront to provide reliable information about the identity and whereabouts of convicted sex offenders. That information needs to be accessible, accurate and verifiable, or our communities are at grave risk.

I strongly urge you to act now to implement the state-directed mandates passed in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act so that our children are kept safe from these dangerous predators and law enforcement has the necessary investigative resources.Thank you for your attention to this urgent request.


Sincerely,(Your Name and Contact Info -- very important to include this to show that you are in fact their constituents)