Like many parents, my biggest fear is of something awful happening to my child. It was heartening to me when I first heard that MapQuest and the National Center for Missing & Exploited ChildrenR (NCMEC) recently announced the availability of a new widget on MapQuest Local that includes valuable missing child alerts and information from NCMEC.
The new widget features pictures and information about children who are missing from the geographic area for which the MapQuest Local page is set. Also included is the ability to search for missing children by name and link directly to NCMEC's homepage and other missing children resources from NCMEC. The new widget can be found at http://local.mapquest.com
Through this widget, users can view the pictures of missing 
children and details about their disappearance. If they recognize one of the children or have information about one of the cases, they can contact NCMEC through their Web site, http://www.missingkids.com or toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
AOL has worked closely with NCMEC for more than 10 years on child safety initiatives for online and offline safety. Together they've collaborated on NCMEC's creation of the CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation. Additionally, they worked together on the formation of the Technology and Financial Coalitions with the goal of eradicating child pornography on the Internet. An industry leader in efforts to establish best practices for online safety, AOL offers full-featured Parental Controls software for free to all users on the Web, and launched SafetyClicks.com, a Web site designed to educate parents on how to best protect kids and teens in a Web 2.0 world.
