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April 29, 2008

Identification kit events

We have several ID creating events coming up in the next few months. These ID events create identification kits to use in case the worst happens and a child goes missing.

Trained volunteers, typically law enforcement officers, take a digital image of the child, fingerprints, and physical descriptions, and place it on a CD. The parents file it so that it can be used to aid a search for the child.

We've focused the ID events for this year in areas of Washington that have higher incidents of crimes against children, such as luring, attempted abduction, and exploitation.

Some of these ID events are sponsored by state agencies that have their own secure notebook computers, but others are handled by volunteers who do not have notebook computers that can be used to assist in making the ID discs.
 
So many people are upgrading their notebook computers to run Vista, I'm hoping that two of our supporters may have XP notebook computers that they can donate to Wash-CAP for use at these events.
 
The FBI will be stripping all the software off of the computers prior to use, so no sensitive data will inadvertantly come our way.
 
We appreciate your generosity, and your continued support of our efforts.
 
Thank you,
 
The folks at Wash-CAP

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March 24, 2008

March Update

2008 is an eventful year so far.
In January, we worked with the Washington State Bar Association on their methods of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, prepared for the 2008 Legislative Session, and we traveled to Olympia to testify before a legislative committee.
In February, we made several trips to Olympia to testify and talk to legislators, put up a new website, and started preparations for Missing Children's Week, in May.
In March we
  1. Watched the clock as all of our Bills stalled in the final stage of the legislative session. In those final hours, the legislators showed us that they do not share our priorities. Disappointed? Hugely. Dis-spirited? Yeah, a little. And very motivated to get our message heard and our legislation passed in 2008/09.
  2. Received word from the Washington State Bar Association that they read our Letter of Request and agree that this is an issue they need to work on. They're forming a committee to figure out the best method of dealing with members accused of sex crimes, so that consumers of legal services in Washington State can have some faith in the integrity of those listed on the WSBA's member pages.
  3. Continued work on Missing Children's Week. This will be a week of prevention education in observance of Missing Children's Day. We're working with a rapidly growing number of organizations across Washington State to bring some amount of prevention education to every single child and care-giver in the state, in the hopes of reducing the horrifying number of children preyed upon each year.
  4. We still need help! The offers of encouragement are wonderful, and very appreciated,  but all of this work costs a bit of money, and takes a lot of time. $12 pays for the website for a month, and you can donate it by buying a couple of items from our store!  Or, if you'd like to work on a project, please contact us and let us know - a few hours of your time is a wonderful way to help.
  5. April 3 is "Blog Against Sexual Violence" day. You can participate over at www.wash-cap.org/blog. We're going to start a few topics, and you can come on over and participate. What topics would you like to see discussed? Let us know, and we'll get them up.
Thank you for your continued support. We started off the year with a lot of enthusiasm, and we're continuing with dedication and tenacity.
We have a very full agenda, we have a detailed plan of action, and we are moving forward.
-Bethan & Paula
PS - if you'd like to be removed from this mailing list, please reply with "unsub" in the subject line. Thanks!

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March 03, 2008

Great Blogs to visit for more information

Blogs will be added to this post as we get time.

there are a lot, so here's the best one: www.fraudarena.wordpress.com. fantastic collection of information and commentary, check out her blog links, as well.

MASP of California now has a blog, brand new. You can visit and join in discussions at www.maspofcalifornia.blogspot.com.

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February 27, 2008

Legislative update and new features!

Legislative Update-
 
We lost SB 6386 and HB 2715 - both bills would have made great changes in laws to protect our kids. We'll work on them over the next year, and get them through the next session.
 
Three bills are still in the running, and they're in the home stretch. SB 6358, HB 3103, and HB 2728. All are very simple pieces of legislation that would go a long way toward correcting gaps that let a lot of predators through to our kids. You can read about them on our Support Legislation page, and you can support them there, too.
 
HB 2728 is a big deal for us, and it needs your support.
 
Please go to our Support Legislation page and send the pre-addressed email there, or simply contact the Senate Committee for Human Services and Corrections and let them know you support HB 2728. I call them all the time, the woman that usually answers the phone is very nice.
 
That phone number is 360-786-7316. If they don't answer the phone, you can just leave a message with your name, the city you live in, and your support HB 2728.
 
Activism doesn't get any easier!
 
Also, we have a newly-built website, and a MUCH better blog. The blog is a great thing because, should you choose to, you can subscribe to the RSS feed and read our updates along with your daily RSS news, rather than get it in your inbox. If you'd like to do that, let me know, and we'll unsubscribe you from this newsletter.
 
In May we're observing National Missing Children's Day - with a week of activities. Mom's Clubs, PTSAs, preschools, public schools, and law enforcement - everyone is joining in, and it's a fantastic thing. Why is it so fantastic?
 
58,000 non-family abductions in the US every year. Some abductions last for a very short period and the child isn't transported - however, in the vast majority of even the most brief abductions, the child is still sexually or physically victimized.

While it's an important and necessary act to record certain information about kids in case they get kidnapped - we need to prevent the assault, the kidnapping, the sexual violence toward children.
 
So, a week of access to prevention education, for on the street and on the internet. If you want to help, let us know. More details will follow when we have all of the participating organizations levels of commitment, which you can read more about at our website on the page National Missing Children's Week.
 
Please go check out the website, shop at our store, and comment on our blog!

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