Improved Amber Alert

[teramiabullfrog]

In the opinion of the Board of Directors of the FINDING OUR CHILDREN UNDER STRESS (F.O.C.U.S.) NOT-FOR-PROFIT, 501(C)(3), CHARITY, INCORPORATED IN NY, THE AMBER ALERT WOULD BE EVEN MORE EFFICIENT, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCATING A REPORTED MISSING CHILD, WOULD BE GREATLY IMPROVED, IF THE "NALC/USPS CHILD ALERT PROGRAM" (AN ANNUAL FEDERAL FUNDED PROGRAM) UPGRADED THE "EMERGENCY BROADCAST FAX" SECTION OF THE PROGRAM, SO IT FUNCTIONS ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIVE AND INSTRUCTIONS DESCRIBING HOW THE PROGRAM WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED AND INTENDED TO OPERATE,

"...NOTIFICATION OF NEWLY REPORTED MISSING CHILDREN WILL BE SENT BY FAX TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DESIGNATED DISTRICT "MISSING CHILDREN" COORDINATORS AT FAX NUMBERS PROVIDED BY DISTRICT MANAGERS. UPON RECEIPT OF A FACSIMILE MISSING CHILDREN POSTER, DISTRICT COORDINATORS SHOULD HAVE SUFFICIENT COPIES MADE FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL POSTAL FACILITIES IN THEIR DISTRICTS WITHIN 24 HOURS OF RECEIPT. MISSING CHILDREN POSTERS ARE TO BE POSTED IN POST OFFICE LOBBIES, WORKROOM FLOOR AREAS, AND OTHER POSTAL FACILITIES FOR 30 DAYS, UNLESS NOTIFICATION IS RECEIVED (FROM NCMEC) TO REMOVE A PARTICULAR POSTER SOONER. ..." (from the U.S.P.S. printed publication, "Postal Bulletin" 8/15/96)

THEREFORE, AS UNANIMOUSLY AGREED UPON BY ALL THE FAMILY MEMBERS INVOLVED WITH THE F.O.C.U.S. ORGANIZATION (OVER ONE HUNDRED FAMILY MEMBERS OF A REPORTED MISSING CHILD) THE "NALC/USPS CHILD ALERT PROGRAM" NEEDS TO BE MANAGED SO MISSING CHILDREN FLYERS AND "EMERGENCY BROADCAST FAX" MISSING CHILD NOTICES ARE DISPLAYED IN THE SECTIONS OF THE POST OFFICE DESCRIBED ABOVE. THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS HAVE THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR LOCATING A MISSING CHILD (THEY STOP AT EVERY POSTAL ADDRESS IN THE COUNTRY), AND A REGULARLY MAINTAINED DISPLAY AREA IN THE LOBBY OF EVERY POST OFFICE, DISPLAYING MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES WOULD GREATLY IMPROVE THE CHANCES OF LOCATING SOME OF THE OVER 110,000 REPORTED MISSING, IN THIS COUNTRY ALONE.

FOR A COMPLETE QUOTE OF THE DESCRIPTION OF THE "NALC/USPS CHILD ALERT PROGRAM" AND THE "EMERGENCY BROADCAST FAX" SUPPLEMENT GO TO "FORUM GARDENS" TO THE "CRIMES AND JUSTICE" THREAD AND CLICK ON TO THE ENTRY TITLED "OPRAH". BASICALLY, THE MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES ARE PRINTED MONTHLY BY THE NCMEC, AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE POSTAL SERVICE TO THE "DISTRICT MISSING CHILDREN COORDINATORS"; HOWEVER, THE MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES ARE NOT BEING DISPLAYED IN THE POST OFFICES ACCORDING TO THE 1/19/96 PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM THAT LED TO THE CREATION OF THE ANNUAL FEDERAL FUNDED "NALC/USPS CHILD ALERT PROGRAM".

F.O.C.U.S. ORGANIZATION'S DIRECTORS AND VOLUNTEERS ALSO BELIEVE THE FEDERAL NATIONAL PROGRAM TO HELP PREVENT CHILD ABDUCTIONS SHOULD BE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE "NALC/USPS CHILD ALERT PROGRAM". IN THE DISPLAY AREA, OF THE POST OFFICE LOBBY, FEATURING MISSING CHILDREN FLYERS THERE ALSO SHOULD BE A COPY OF THE "BE SMART - KNOW THE RULES - CAMPAIGN", ENDORSED AND MANAGED BY THE CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS ON MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

"BE SMART - KNOW THE RULES"

1. NEVER GO ALONE - CONSCIOUSLY PLAN AHEAD TO BE

WITH SOMEONE, AT ALL TIMES.

2. LET A TRUSTED ADULT KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING

AND WHEN YOU ARRIVE.

3. IF YOU FEEL THREATENED, SAY "NO" AND TELL AN

ADULT YOU TRUST.

4. IF YOU FEEL CONFUSED AND UNCOMFORTABLE GET

AWAY FROM THE SITUATION YOU'RE IN.

F.O.C.U.S. ORGANIZATION'S ALL VOLUNTEER STAFF ALSO BELIEVES AT LEAST HALF OF THE MONTHLY PRINTED MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES, PRINTED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL POST OFFICES, SHOULD INCLUDE PHOTO/ID NOTICES OF MISSING ADULTS (PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL BUDGETED NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR MISSING ADULTS).

ALSO, WHEN STAMPING A FLYER OF A FOUND MISSING PERSON, EITHER "LOCATED" OR "RECOVERED" SHOULD BE STANDARDIZED SO "LOCATED" MEANS THE MISSING PERSON WAS FOUND ALIVE, AND "RECOVERED" INDICATING THE PERSONS REMAINS WERE FOUND (SAME DEFINITION AND TERMINOLOGY USED IN "EMERGENCY SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS.

WHEN THESE, AS WELL AS OTHER ANNUAL FEDERAL FUNDED PROGRAM, LAWS, AND PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUMS REGARDING MISSING CHILDREN, START FUNCTIONING AT THE LEVEL OF EFFICIENCY THEY WERE ORIGINALLY INTENDED, THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCATING AND PREVENTING MISSING CHILDREN WILL BE GREATLY IMPROVED. WE RECOMMEND CONTACTING THE NCMEC AT THE PHONE NUMBER LISTED IN THE PUBLICATION OF THE U.S.P.S. PRINTED "POSTAL BULLETIN", A MONTHLY PUBLICATION THAT THE ABOVE QUOTE DESCRIBING THE "NALC/USPS CHILD ALERT PROGRAM" (PRINTED 8/15/96), 1-800-843-5678

LET THEM KNOW YOU WANT THE NALC/USPS PROGRAM FIXED SO IT OPERATES THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSE TO. OR CONTACT THEM AT THE NCMEC WEB SITE AND CLICK ONTO CONTACT US, AND COMMENTS.

IF YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN A SURVEY REGARDING THE NUMBER OF POST OFFICES IN THE U.S., AND GLOBALLY, THAT MAINTAIN A DISPLAY AREA IN THE LOBBY OF THE POST OFFICE FOR DISPLAYING MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES, GO TO YOUR LOCAL POST OFFICE AND SEE IF THERE'S A DISPLAY AREA, THEN CONTACT THE "FINDING OUR CHILDREN UNDER STRESS" (F.O.C.U.S.) ORGANIZATION AT:

tparks@sbhsi.com

AND GIVE US A ZIP CODE, AND "YES" IF THERE IS A REGULAR MAINTAINED DISPLAY OF MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES, OR "NO" IF THERE ISN'T A DISPLAY OF MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES. VOLUNTEERS OF F.O.C.U.S. WENT TO 2,000 POST OFFICES (IN NINE STATES) AND ONLY FOUND FIVE POST OFFICES WITH MISSING CHILDREN "POSTAL BULLETIN" PRINTED FLYERS. THIS PROGRAM IS BEING EXTREMELY UNDER-UTILIZED, IT NEEDS TO BE UP-GRADED TO THE LEVEL OF EFFICIENCY IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED, AND FOR WHICH IT RECEIVES ANNUAL FEDERAL FUNDING.

FAMILIES OF REPORTED MISSING CHILDREN ARE OUTRAGED, AS WELL YOU SHOULD BE, THAT THESE NATIONAL PROGRAMS CREATED TO MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL FOR FINDING A MISSING CHILD, ARE NOT OPERATING AT THE EFFICIENCY LEVEL THEY'RE INTENDED, YOU'RE BEING SHORT-CHANGED, BY ALL ELECTED POLITICIANS AND FEDERAL FUNDED AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE PROGRAMS INVOLVING THE SEARCH AND RESCUE OF A MISSING CHILD. OVER THE PAST YEARS F.O.C.U.S. ORGANIZATION HAS CONTACTED ELECTED POLITICIANS, FROM THE PRESIDENT ON DOWN (DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS), INFORMING THEM OF THE MALFUNCTION IN THEIR FEDERAL PROGRAMS, AND F.O.C.U.S. HAS NEVER RECEIVED ONE REPLY BACK FROM ANY OF THE FEDERAL ELECTED POLITICIANS OR THE FEDERAL AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE HELP FIND AND PREVENT FEDERAL MISSING CHILDREN PROGRAMS.

AGAIN, THE AMBER ALERT COULD BE IMPROVED IF THE "EMERGENCY BROADCAST FAX" SYSTEM WAS ISSUED AT THE SAME TIME AN AMBER ALERT IS ISSUED, "...WITHIN 24 HOURS..." EVERY POST OFFICE IN THE COUNTRY WOULD HAVE A FLYER OF THE AMBER ALERT VICTIM POSTED "...IN THE POST OFFICE LOBBY, WORKROOM FLOOR AREA, AND OTHER POSTAL FACILITIES...".

THIS IS A DOMESTIC "ISSUE" THAT NEEDS REFORM, AND IT NEEDS REFORM IMMEDIATELY - BY ALL ELECTED POLITICIANS (IT'S TIME LOCAL POLITICIANS BACK THE FEDERAL NATIONAL PROGRAMS BY ADOPTING THE NATIONAL PROGRAMS ON A LOCAL LEVEL. MISSING CHILDREN NOTICES, AND CHILD ABDUCTION PREVENTION INFORMATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES, CITY HALLS, COUNTY OFFICES, AND STATE BUILDINGS). THE WORD "ISSUE" IS USED BY THE FED GOVT. TO DESCRIBE MISSING CHILDREN IN THIS COUNTRY, F.O.C.U.S. ORGANIZATION THINKS THE WORD "ISSUE" UNDER-DEFINES THE EMERGENCY CATASTROPHIC DISATER INVOLVING MISSING PERSONS IS IN THIS COUNTRY. THE FAMILY OF A MISSING CHILD GOES THROUGH THE SAME EMOTIONAL TRAUMA AS A FAMILY IN A CATASTROPHIC DISASTER AREA (MAN MADE OR NATURAL).