THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512190087
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
State-of-the-art technology is the newest weapon in the war against missing children.
For Jim Raulsome that means camcorders and videotapes at his Smithfield-based business, Child Watch, a franchise of Child Shield USA.
For Missing Kids International Inc., a nonprofit organization based in McLean, it means television, telecommunications and computer networking to find missing children, programming director Annette Carvajal says.
``It's been proven time and again that the faster we get information to the public and to law enforcement, the more likely they are to find the missing child,'' she says. ``The more time that elapses after a child is missed, the more likely it is that he will never be found or will be found dead.''
The opportunity to help prevent such a tragedy is what drove Raulsome and his wife, Ruth Ann, to start Child Watch last September.
When parents register children with Child Watch, they are given an information packet containing a home fingerprinting kit, videotaping guidelines, children's educational materials and a pre-addressed videotape mailer to Child Shield USA. The cost is $29.99 for one child, $19.99 for each additional child.
Parents can videotape their children at home, making sure to record any of the youngsters' characteristics or habits, Raulsome says. The tape is labeled with a numerical code and sent to a warehouse in Pennsylvania. Only two or three of Child Shield USA's top officials know the exact whereabouts of the storage facility.
If a child ever turns up missing, one telephone call revealing the secret identification code will trigger the distribution of 100 copies of the tape to news media and law enforcement officials within 24 hours, Raulsome says. And if parents return a photograph with the tape, the company will automatically distribute 1,000 posters, he says. Both services are included in the Child Watch fee.
``I think videos are better than photographs because you can capture movements, expressions and distinguishing characteristics,'' Raulsome says. ``You can change a child's clothing or hair color, but you can't change the way a child expresses his emotions or how he laughs.''
Missing Kids International was formed in 1994 to use existing technology to bridge the gaps among families of missing kids, law enforcement agencies and hospitals nationwide, Carvajal says. The group plans to launch nationally in January.
That's when MKI will begin sending videotaped public service announcements to television stations nationwide. Each will include pictures and descriptions of children missing from within each station's broadcasting range.
Eventually, MKI plans to start a 24-hour channel that will focus on profiling missing children and telecasting reports on child abduction and tips to prevent it.
Parents can enroll their children in MKI's national computer registry at no cost. The registration form includes a wealth of biographical data about the children - names, medical conditions, family doctors and dentists, favorite activities and distinguishing characteristics - and a photograph.
This information is kept in a national database designed to be accessed only by select members of a police department when a child from that area is missing. Only two people at MKI have the security clearance into the registry, Carvajal says.
People can register their children by calling 1-800-353-MISS (353-6477).
Although missing children is not usually a significant problem in small towns like Smithfield, it a serious problem in larger metropolitan areas, Raulsome says. An estimated 1.8 million children were reported missing in the United States in 1994, according to MKI. About 65 percent of abducted children are taken by family members or family friends, according to a 1990 U.S. Justice Department study.
Raulsome believes some of those abductions could have been prevented if more parents were using services offered by companies and organizations like Child Watch and MKI.
``Unfortunately, our society tends to wait until something tragic happens before we take preventative actions,'' Raulsome says. ``When people live in a safe community, they just don't believe something as bad as an abduction can happen to them.'' MEMO: For more information on Child Watch, call Raulsome at 357-3202. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by ALLISON T. WILLIAMS
Jim Raulsome holds a packet of information given to parents when
they register their children in Child Watch.
by CNB