Victims of Online Predators
A recent study of Internet crimes against children has proven enlightening about some of the issues surrounding this crime. Dr. David Finkelhor and the team at the Crimes Against Children Research Center recently completed part two of a study for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The study relied on telephone interviews with 10 to 17 year-old young people. The interviews were conducted in 2000 and again in 2005.

Family Night
As everyone is getting settled in, it might be a good opportunity for families to sit down and review the "Family Rules." If you don't have any set rules, think for a moment, or ask your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews—they will list them for you, I am sure. Most times family rules are unwritten and non-spoken until someone breaks one of them—then a "look" from an adult follows, or worse—some strongly spoken words.

When Other Caring Adults are the De Facto Guardians
Because many public venues like the playground, or the beach, the pool, the mall, etc. can provide enough space to spread the supervision over some sizeable geography, caring adults can find themselves in circumstances that require interactions with children that they not only did not bring, but might not even know.

Human Trafficking and Sex Tourism with Children and Technology
Human trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining, by any means, any person for forced labor, slavery, or servitude in any industry or site such as agriculture, construction, prostitution, manufacturing, domestic service, or marriage.

The Anchor that We Cling To
It is often hard to keep our focus on the protection of children and vulnerable persons, when all around us the painful stories of child sexual abuse stop us in our tracks and dishearten our spirit. We know what we have to do, but we wonder if our efforts really matter. Please know that they really do.