An internet activist group is challenging child abuse prevention
organizations to make their websites more "kid friendly". According to the
group, DontTakeOurKids.com, abused children looking for help online have to
wade through dozens of "big-budget, self-congratulatory websites" that offer
little, if any, help or advice for children suffering from abuse.

The group's spokesperson, Leigh Ann Little, said, "This is typical of the
problem with child protection in America. These organizations and agencies
have expert panels and boards of directors doing research studies and
holding symposiums on how to prevent and treat child abuse, but who is
talking to the children? Who is listening to the families?"

The group cites organizations like the Annie E. Casey Foundation and
Children Now as having websites that are "almost
completely  devoid of information for kids and families who are looking for
help. Add to this hundreds of local agencies with websites without information for
children and families, and you can see why someone who's hurting  would have
to really dig to find help or information on-line."

"Kids who are being abused or who have been taken away from their parents
need information. They need to know how to get help, and what's going to
happen to them when they get that help. These organizations, whose sole
purpose is protecting children, should be providing information online and
not cluttering up the search engines with websites that are little more than
glorified donation solicitations."

"We found a few sites with helpful information, but they were not easy to
find. The Boys (and Girls) Town website was better than most, and a website
from The National Runaway Switchboard has a question and answer message
board for kids who need help."

DontTakeOurKids.com is staging a month-long protest against injustice and
corruption in what they call the "Child Protection Industry", and they are
calling for the reform of federal child protection laws.

www.DontTakeOurKids.com
www.aecf.org The Annie E. Casey Foundation
www.childrennow.org Children Now
www.girlsandboystown.org/home.htm Girls and Boys Town
www.nrscrisisline.org National Runaway Switchboard