Child AbuseWatch.Net (CAN)- the National and Worldwide Child Abuse Prevention Resource

It is said that a society is judged by the way it takes care of those who cannot care for themselves. Children are among the least able to not only care for themselves but the most likely to trust that others will do so for them. In a perfect world, that trust would never fail them.

In this world, however, an act of reported child abuse occurs nearly every 30 seconds. Many more incidents are not reported at all.

Child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, is an insidious crime we read about daily. It permeates every segment of society without respect for geographic or demographic boundaries. Despite the news coverage there isn't much information readily available for the average person to learn about prevention. There exists no profile for the typical child abuser. Nor is there information about spotting abused children; not even when those children are one's own.

Child AbuseWatch.net (CAN)

With this in mind, Child AbuseWatch.net (CAN) was created in 2008 as a one-stop shop for child abuse prevention information. Child Abusewatch.net is a child abuse prevention resource developed for community and professional use. Full national and international emergency resources are provided with easy access from anywhere in the world via the internet. Uniquely, the site pushes an automatic pop-up window that carries the national amber alert system that carries amber alerts from all across the United States.

CAN's audience consists of four distinct sectors: the general public, people in need of emergency services, investigators and (healthcare or law enforcement) professionals. The site was created to fill a sizable niche in the education for child abuse prevention. The Child Abuse Watch website itself provides extensive information on the subject - and associated issues such as domestic violence - for the public and professional alike. Most of the information is provided through links to other sites which ensure that the data is the freshest available.

Child Abuse Watch is also a watchdog organization and (when time allows) maintains personnel to track absconded child abusers. An early success for CAN was stopping Hewlett Packard (HP) from airing their "Touch" commercial worldwide. The background music track had been written and recorded by British pedophile Gary Glitter. HP initially resisted by ignoring correspondence sent to their CEO and board of directors but responded more quickly when a press release was picked up worldwide. The pulling of the ad denied Glitter a royalty of over $130,000.

The front end of CAN, which provides information on abuse to the general public, is also provided in Spanish. A French version will be available in the coming weeks, which will broaden the audience considerably.

CAN is privately funded. Any donations are sent directly to Speak Up for Kids Inc., a nonprofit which supports the Guardian ad Litem Program in West Palm Beach. Education programs on child abuse prevention are provided to the community free of charge and to corporate clients for a nominal charge. Articles written by CAN personnel are provided, as are pertinent links to articles provided by Federal offices.

The Making Of Child AbuseWatch.net (CAN)

Creating Child AbuseWatch.net for a worldwide audience was a formidable task. The site founder and director, Evin Daly, drew upon advice from law enforcement and medical personnel involved in child abuse investigation for the site's construction. Extensive research and data was undertaken and combined with information provided by the Guardian ad Litem office director Vicki Tucci, Esq.

CAN's founder, Evin Daly, retired from the technology industry in 2004 and is a Guardian ad Litem with the 15^th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach, Florida. He is also certified in End of Life Care as a Care Center volunteer at Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton. Mr. Daly manages his business interests through his holding company Parker Schofield Group. http://www.abusewatch.net. Email: info@abusewatch.net. (Any email with imbedded images or attachments will be automatically deleted.)

Other resources used in the creation of Child AbuseWatch.net included Mr. Daly's wife Laura, a Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care RN and principal of the Laura Daly Foundation in Palm Beach who under-wrote the site development. Dr. Howard Merson, an ENT surgeon, provided advice and medical editorial expertise.

Recognition of Child AbuseWatch.net (CAN)

Recently CAN was accepted as a community resource by CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a national organization of volunteer guardians. CAN director Evin Daly acknowledges this as a singular privilege and is very grateful for the recognition.