Tulsa Company Launching m.i.l.k. Program
Thursday was National Missing Children's Day. On Friday, a Tulsa company made a major announcement. Imagery Concepts has teamed up with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They've created a national child and internet safety program. They are calling it Managing Information on Lost Kids or m.i.l.k. for short.
We're used to seeing pictures of missing kids on milk cartons. The m.i.l.k. program takes that concept to the internet and your personal computer, but more importantly it gives parents the tools to keep their kids safe and to be prepared.
Tom Quinn is the president of Imagery Concepts and developed the m.i.l.k. program. He's also a dad. He walked us through the program, which will be included in the free Home Organizer software.
Tom Quinn - Imagery Concepts
"It's a virtual filing cabinet. It has drawers with folders. The most important drawer on this software is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children -- our m.i.l.k. program, Managing Information on Lost Kids."
The program is simple. You scan or enter your child's most recent photo into the software. It saves the picture and the information you enter about your child.
Every six months you get a reminder to update the information and picture. And if your child disappears, you can hit this button and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is notified immediately.
David Shapiro - National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
"Whether it's the local authorities or the national center, the sooner that visual, the sooner that narrative information is gotten to law enforcement, the sooner we can distribute it."
The program also acts as a parent's virtual assistant -- providing the most up to date advice on education and safety issues.
(David) - "This program will allow people to obtain information from the national center. Whether it's what you need to know about hiring a babysitter or daycare or God forbid what you need to know should your child become missing."
m.i.l.k. also includes a program called poster partners. If you sign up, you will receive e-mails about children missing in your area. The m.i.l.k. program creates the largest dragnet in the world, making it less likely that missing and exploited children slip through the cracks.
(David) - "When the child is recovered- the system automatically sends you a message saying child recovered. Well done. Which is what we all want to see. That's the truth."
The m.i.l.k. program will be distributed online. In early June, you can go to sponsors websites and download the program for free. The information is secure and kept only in your computer. Keep watching KTUL for updates on this software, we'll let you know as soon as it is available.
What you can do right now is join the Poster Partner's Program. Just log onto http://www.missingkids.com/ . Right now, only about 7,000 people are poster partners, but with this new program, they expect to sign up close to a quarter million people. |
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