About 45% of attempted abductions occur when a child is going to and from school or school related activities according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Children often pass through different neighborhoods when they walk to and from schools, parks, recreation centers or grocery stores. Block Parenting programs can create safe havens for children in times of danger.

A school system in Marysville, Ohio has resurrected a program in which volunteers put a sign in the front window of their home signaling to children that it is a safe haven if they are hurt, threatened, frightened or lost.

The Marysville program is modeled after the Block Parent Program of Canada, a network of more than 300,000 police-screened safe-house volunteers. Canada’s goal is to expand the network of Block Parents until there are several Block Parent homes on every block in every community in Canada. Marysville has just started promoting their program and hope to have 10 houses near each of the district’s five elementary schools.

Each safe-homes volunteer and any adult living in their household would have to submit fingerprints for a federal criminal background check.

The window sign is shown only when someone over the age of 18 is available to answer the door. Authorities believe in addition to making communities safer for children, it deters criminals and trouble makers, a visible reminder that citizens are watchful in their neighborhood.

For any Block Parent program to be successful many neighborhood volunteers are needed to provide a frightened child, who may be lost, approached by a stranger or needs help for any reason, a safe place to go for help.

What Safe Home’s Do:

• Offer help from frightening situations.
• Offer assistance to persons in distress by phoning 911 or the home of the child.
• Assist the Police by reporting suspicious or criminal activity in the neighborhood.
• Remove sign when not available.
• All new Safe Homes receive instructions on proper procedures.

What Safe Home’s Do Not Do:

• Provide food or beverage
• Provide toilet facilities
• Provide transportation
• Administer first aid
• Leave his or her home to break up fights
• Actively confront any dangerous person

How to find a Block Parent program in your community.

If you aren’t sure if there is a program in your community, inquire with your local school district, city government, or law enforcement agency about a McGruff House or similar program.

If there is no Block Parent program in your community, you can initiate one yourself. Here are options to get started:

• Contact a successful safe house program in a nearby community for information about starting your own.
• Contact the National Crime Prevention Council’s McGruff House Program to request step-by-step instructions and a start-up kit.
• Contact Love Our Children, USA for information about how to start a Block Parenting Program.
• Contact Safe Place Services to learn more about offering your business as a Safe Place.

As a Block Parent volunteer, you will be able to provide the children in your neighborhood with a safe haven and the reassurance that someone cares.