Polly Klaas Foundation

Programs: Response department casework services - the polly klaas foundation has assisted over 10,000 families and hundreds of law enforcement agencies in their search for missing and abducted children. Since inception we have seen an overwhelming majority of those children return home safely. The response department provides a variety of services for each type of missing child case, all of which are geared toward the recovery and safe return of the child 24 hour hotline - staff and volunteers work with families and law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. National flyer distribution - further exposure for a case is achieved by producing and distributing press releases and by doing live or taped radio, television or print interviews. We have assisted families by either working on their behalf with the media or by coaching them through the process. Intake and transmission of leads and tips to the lead agency - public leads are immediately forwarded to the investigating agency. We have strict policies regarding confidentiality and rely solely on the investigating agency to determine the necessity of follow-up on any lead. International website exposure - it has been proven that pictures help in the recovery of missing children. With www. Pollyklaas. Org recieving over a half a million hits per month, missing child cases gain a remarkable amount of exposure. Nationwide resources - the foundation has excellent working relationship with other child find agencies, social service agencies and many law enforcement professionals across the nation. Family support and assistance - our role, in missing child cases involves advising families about what to expect and what steps they need to be taking, providing emotional support, maintaining on-going contact, in long term cases, and helping to retain a positive working relationship with law enforcement, the media and the community the foundation can also assists families after their children return home by providing counseling referrals and extended case management as necessary rapid response team evolunteersbefore the internet, we were very limited by time and geography it was not possible to execute an effective nationwide missing child poster volunteer distribution program in april 2006, we launched the rapid response team evolunteers, a volunteer program that takes advantage of the internet the rrt is managed completely online. Once a person becomes a member of the rapid response team they are welcomed and provided with all kinds of tools including a volunteer guide when the response department director decides that a missing child's poster needs distribution, they will go to our online member messaging system each volunteer receives an email requesting that a child's poster be distributed, included ,in the email is a link to the posters location on our websites master list of missing children the volunteer receives the e-mail with a link to a poster which they can make as many copies as desired posters are then distributed within their local community when a child is found, the caseworker sends an e-mail to the evolunteers requesting that no more of that child's poster be distributed the child's information is removed from websites master list of missing children since inception over 5000 individuals have become members of the rapid response team. Since 2015 the foundation has been providing social media safety education programs to grades 6 - 9 and have reached nearly 4,000 students in sonoma county. Additionally, pkf staff have become post-certified trainers and are providing training on identifying and rescuing runaways who have become victims of sex-trafficking to law enforcement across the nation at national conferences, as well in the state of california for california-based police departments. These programs continue to be successful and have been in high demand in 2016 and 2017.

highlights of our services include public affairs - joining with state and federal policy makers to promote child safety legislation. In a nationwide effort facilitated by the polly klaas foundation, all 50 states now have amber alert laws in place more recently polly klaas foundation staff was invited to weigh in on pending legislation reauthorizing funding for missing children and the exploitation of children in our nation casework - parents whose children are missing call our 24/7 hotline or email the response department of the foundation since i993 we have provided comprehensive casework services and have helped over 9000 families bring their children home again prevention/education - thousands of parents throughout the country are teaching their children how to stay safe with abduction prevention materials developed by the foundation including our free child safety kit and internet safety kit information and news - tens of thousands of people receive safety information and missing child news through the foundations monthly enews. On a semi-monthly basis rapid response team evolunteers - moms, dads, family members and neighbors throughout the nation who sign up as rrt evolunteers participate in our efforts to find missing children by receiving official emails with links to missing child posters they download the posters, print them on their personal computers, and then distribute them within their local communities these efforts continue to be incredibly effective in locating missing children and bringing them home safely master list of missing children - neighbors teachers and health care professionals use the polly klaas foundation website to search our master file photos and call in information if there are suspicious circumstances many missing children have been found this way. Fax blasts - restaurants and many other businesses throughout the country receive fax blasts with posters of missing children our national presence and reputation for distinguished service has generated a roster of thousands of online members which grows geometrically every day our foundation is one of most sought after by those needing services to find missing children, and information abduction prevention child safety

prevention/education - child safety kitsthe child safety kit is our flagship publication and the principal vehicle for mission fulfillment in the areas of education and abduction prevention the kit includes 28 pages of positive, encouraging guidance for parents on how to teach their children to stay safe without scaring your child or yourself the empowering message of the child safety kit was initiated in 1994 and is unique to the polly klaas foundation since then it has continued to evolve into one of the most sought-after publications in the field of child safety education by communicating a hopeful message to parents, our child safety kit unblocks the paralyzing fear of stranger abduction, and models ways for parents to teach their children how not to go missing or, if children do get lost or separated, how to ask for help throughout its history, the foundation has insisted on telling the truth, providing all of the facts about missing children and empowering parents rather than frightening them our child safety kit gives parents, educators and law enforcement professionals powerful teaching tools that strongly supports family involvement and communication the kit has been available free of charge to our online members since 2004 the online order form and free consumer goods lists catapulted the polly klaas foundation into the consciousness of tens of thousands of parents throughout the united states and indeed had an impact throughout the world (about 5% of our online members reside outside the united states) in 2013 we commemorated our 20th anniversary and inviting the public to a free program where the history of the foundation was highlighted and information on child safety was offered free of charge we initiated an artist in residence program which allows local youth to perform in honor and memory of polly klaas this program is offered by the foundation free of charge to children re-engaging with community outreach by attending local safety fairs and meetings held by civic groups to help the community to better understand our role in searching for missing children staff traveled to washington dc to propose to the department of justice that the sexual exploitation of children is a missing child issue because many of these children are runaways and no one is searching for them the foundation went further to develop a proposal for addressing this issue the foundations website was refreshed with better way-finding for users and an appearance that was less threatening and more visually engaging. In 2014 thefoundation purchased property to house the office to ensure a permanency for the community and the nation this was also a strategic investment as rents continue to climb in the region.