Prevention Works: No Child Should Be at Risk

News provided by

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Jan 20, 2010, 12:00 ET

Child Safety Program Helps South Florida Companies Educate Employees about Child Sexual Exploitation and Child Abduction

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) announced today that it is partnering with ADT Security Services, the world's leading provider of security services, to offer a child safety corporate outreach program to companies located throughout South Florida. The program, Prevention Works: No Child Should Be At Risk, is being offered free of charge to companies located in Palm Beach County and the surrounding areas of Ft. Lauderdale and Miami throughout 2010. The program was created by NCMEC and is available to companies who want to make child safety a priority for their business and employees during 2010.

The program for 2010 was launched at the ADT headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida where the program was held for ADT employees.

"Child safety is an issue that affects all of us, and we at ADT are proud to join the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in bringing this important safety information to the people of South Florida," said John Koch, President of ADT Security Services North America. "We hope that other businesses in our area will follow our lead and invite NCMEC to their facilities."

The program uses information rather than fear to help employees learn about child safety including ways to prevent child sexual exploitation and abduction. A one-hour workshop covers topics including how and why kids fall victim to abduction and exploitation; how to minimize the opportunity and risks; how to practice safety skills with children; how to keep children safe while they are online and in the real world; and what to do if a child is missing.

"Prevention education is a critical part of keeping our children safe. This program was created for companies to help their employees keep children they care about safe when online and in the real world," said Nancy McBride, National Safety Director for NCMEC. "We want to thank ADT for sharing our commitment to child safety and for its generosity in making this program available to other companies throughout South Florida."

First launched in 2003, the series, Prevention Works: No Child Should Be At Risk, has been presented in 260 companies across the country. Companies in South Florida which are interested in offering this program to their employees should contact NCMEC at [email protected] or call Shirley Grate at NCMEC at (561) 848-1900.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children's hotline, which has handled more than 2,423,800 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 145,600 children. The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 778,650 reports of child sexual exploitation, and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 30,505,390 pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

About ADT Security Services

ADT Security Services is a unit of Tyco International and part of ADT Worldwide, the world's largest electronic security provider. In North America, ADT provides electronic security services to nearly five million commercial, government and residential customers. ADT's total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, video surveillance, radio frequency identification (RFID) and integrated systems. ADT's government and commercial customers include a majority of the nation's Fortune 500 companies, all U.S. federal courthouses and over 70 mid to large airports. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, ADT has more than 24,000 employees at approximately 240 locations in the U.S. and Canada. More ADT information is at http://www.adt.com.

SOURCE National Center for Missing & Exploited Children