NCMEC And Honeywell Team Up To Fight Child Sexual Abuse Through Education

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children^® and Honeywell (NYSE:HON) today announced that their joint child safety program, KidSmartz^®,  has expanded to teach child sexual abuse prevention. The award-winning program has been educating children in grades K-5 about how to minimize the risk of abduction for five years and NCMEC and Honeywell have collaborated on that topic for more than a decade.

NCMEC created two new lesson plans, "Uncomfortable Touch" and "Surprises vs. Secrets," that are being released in time for back-to-school, and are designed to help educators in classrooms across the country introduce the topic of abuse prevention and teach behaviors that can help keep children safe. The plans are in response to a growing need to address this topic with legislation in many states requiring that schools teach their students about this issue.

"Recent studies suggest that 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused by their 18^th birthday, and our CyberTipline receives thousands of reports every year about this type of victimization," said John Clark, NCMEC president and CEO. "This cannot be ignored. Through KidSmartz^®, we can bring critical child abuse prevention education to schools and communities across the country."

"It is important that knowledge about how to recognize and repel predatory behavior is delivered to children in grades K-5 so they can protect themselves," said Michael A. Bennett, president, Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company's corporate citizenship initiative and sponsor of KidSmartz^®. "The new lessons will help us deliver this critical information to children nationwide."

KidSmartz^® uses videos, music and classroom activities to teach personal safety to children. KidSmartz^® materials are available in English and Spanish and are easily downloadable for free at www.KidSmartz.org. The language is age-appropriate and the message can be delivered in an interactive, non-threatening way.

The new lesson plans expand on the safety rules at the core of the KidSmartz^® program:

• Check First
• Take a Friend
• Tell People "NO"
• Tell a Trusted Adult

For more information, visit KidSmartz^® on Facebook and Twitter.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 
Since 1984, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children^® has served as the leading private, nonprofit organization helping to find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation and prevent future victimization. As part of its work as the clearinghouse and resource center on issues relating to missing and exploited children, NCMEC operates a hot-line, 1-800-THE-LOST^® (1-800-843-5678), and has assisted in the recovery of more than 277,000 missing children. NCMEC also operates the CyberTipline^®, a mechanism for reporting suspected child sexual exploitation, which has received more than 38 million reports since it was created in 1998. To learn more about NCMEC, visit www.missingkids.org or see NCMEC on Twitter and Facebook.

About Honeywell Hometown Solutions
KidSmartz^®, the "next generation" of Got2BSafe!, is part of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company's corporate citizenship initiative, which focuses on five areas of vital importance: Science & Math Education, Family Safety & Security, Housing & Shelter, Habitat & Conservation, and Humanitarian Relief. Together with leading public and non-profit institutions, Honeywell has developed powerful programs to address these needs in the communities it serves. For more information, please visit http://citizenship.honeywell.com/.

About Honeywell
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 software-industrial company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace and automotive products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, cars, homes and buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

SOURCE The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children