A Child is Missing Alert

A Child is Missing Alert (ACIM) is a Florida-based nonprofit organization focused on helping law-enforcement agencies begin searches for missing and endangered people quickly. Its service is designed for the earliest hours after a disappearance, when rapid notification of residents and nearby institutions can improve the likelihood of locating the person. Although its name emphasizes children, the organization also supports cases involving elderly people, people with disabilities, college students, and other vulnerable individuals. Cases may involve people with autism, Down syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other conditions that can make an unplanned absence especially dangerous. ACIM works primarily as an alert-distribution and public-notification service for law enforcement. When an agency requests assistance, the organization can place automated calls to landline and mobile telephones in the area where the person was last seen. It also uses online channels, including websites and Twitter, and can conduct expanded calling when requested by an agency. The program is described as available to law enforcement nationwide, around the clock and throughout the year. This model allows a local agency to extend its reach beyond its own communication resources and quickly place information in front of residents who may have seen the missing person or vehicle. The organization also provides a notification program intended to help local law enforcement inform neighborhoods when a registered sexual predator has moved into the area. This places ACIM within a broader public-safety and community-alert role rather than limiting it to missing-child cases. ACIM was founded by Sherry Friedlander-Olsen, who is identified as its executive director. The organization is supported by individual donations and law-enforcement contributions. Its activities have included participation in community and public-safety networks, including the Chiefs of Police Association of Broward County and other regional initiatives. The organization has also been associated with efforts addressing human trafficking in Fort Lauderdale. In addition to emergency notification, ACIM developed prevention and education work. Its Vidal Child Safety Education Program began in 2005 and has been taught by specially trained, registered schoolteachers in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Manatee, Sarasota, and other Florida areas. ACIM has also described programming for court-appointed high-risk youth, including material focused on bullying, violence, and self-expression. These educational activities complement the organization’s operational role by addressing child safety before a disappearance occurs. Public descriptions report that more than 45,000 cases had been reported to the program since 1997, although the available reference material does not establish whether that date represents the organization’s legal founding or the beginning of its case-tracking period. ACIM remains a service organization rather than a publicly traded company, and no reliable public information in the supplied material establishes a parent company, commercial owner, or stock listing.

A Child is Missing Alert developed as a nonprofit service for law-enforcement agencies seeking to distribute information rapidly after a vulnerable person disappeared. Its operating premise is that the first few hours of a search are critical: residents near the last known location may have observed the person, noticed a vehicle, or encountered circumstances that investigators have not yet identified. Rather than functioning as an independent investigative body, ACIM provides communications support that helps an agency reach a geographically defined public audience. The service’s principal mechanism is telephone notification. At the request of law enforcement, ACIM can send alerts to landlines and mobile phones in the relevant area. The organization also uses web-based outlets and Twitter, and it can undertake expanded calling when an agency determines that a larger geographic reach is appropriate. The program is described as available to agencies nationwide on a 24-hour, 365-day basis. Its intended beneficiaries include missing children, but also elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, people with disabilities, college students, and others considered at elevated risk. ACIM’s public-safety scope extends beyond missing-person alerts. It has offered a neighborhood notification service through which local authorities can inform residents when a registered sexual predator has relocated into their area. The organization has also been involved in regional public-safety networks, including law-enforcement associations and initiatives related to human trafficking. Founder Sherry Friedlander-Olsen is identified as the organization’s executive director. ACIM’s funding model relies on donations from individuals and support from law-enforcement sources. Public reference material states that more than 45,000 cases had been reported since 1997. Because the supplied sources do not clearly distinguish between the organization’s incorporation date, the start of its service, and the beginning of its case records, a precise founding year is not assigned here. The organization later expanded into prevention and education. In 2005 it began the Vidal Child Safety Education Program, delivered by specially trained registered teachers in several Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Manatee, and Sarasota. ACIM has also described classes for court-appointed high-risk youth, including programs addressing bullying and self-expression. These initiatives broadened the organization from emergency notification into community education and youth-risk prevention. The organization has received scrutiny from nonprofit-rating bodies. In 2019 Charity Navigator reported a score of 70 out of 100 and stated that 62.93% of expenses were directed to program operations. This information is relevant to assessments of nonprofit efficiency, but the available material does not document a scandal, criminal case, or formal regulatory enforcement action. ACIM is presented in the supplied references as an active Florida nonprofit and not as a listed commercial corporation.

• 2019

  Nonprofit rating published

  [1]A Child is Missing Alerten.wikipedia.org

  Charity Navigator reported a score of 70 out of 100 and published an assessment of the organization’s program-expense ratio.

• 2005

  Vidal Child Safety Education Program begins

  [1]A Child is Missing Alerten.wikipedia.org

  ACIM launched a child-safety education program taught by specially trained registered teachers in multiple Florida communities.

• 1997

  Beginning of reported case history

  [1]A Child is Missing Alerten.wikipedia.org

  Public descriptions state that more than 45,000 cases had been reported to the program since 1997. The sources do not confirm that 1997 was the legal incorporation year.

A nonprofit public-safety partner that gives law-enforcement agencies rapid, geographically targeted notification capabilities for missing and endangered people.

• Emergency public notification

  A Child Is Missing Alert service

  The organization’s core service supports law enforcement during searches for missing children and other vulnerable people. On an agency’s request, ACIM distributes geographically targeted telephone alerts to landlines and mobile phones, supplements them with web and social-media notices, and can expand the calling area when investigators need broader public participation. The service is intended for rapid use at any time of day and is described as available nationwide.

• Community safety notification

  Neighborhood sexual-predator notification

  ACIM offers a separate notification capability that allows local law-enforcement agencies to inform residents when a registered sexual predator has moved into their neighborhood. The program extends the organization’s communications role from urgent missing-person searches to ongoing community awareness.

• Safety education · 2005

  Vidal Child Safety Education Program

  Started in 2005, this education initiative uses specially trained registered teachers to deliver child-safety instruction in Florida communities, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Manatee, and Sarasota. It is designed as a prevention-oriented complement to ACIM’s emergency alert work.

• Youth intervention and education

  High Risk Youth program

  ACIM has provided classes for court-appointed high-risk youth, including material identified as 'The Anatomy of a Murder of a Bully' and 'Express Yourself!'. The programs address youth behavior, bullying, and personal expression within a supervised educational setting.

• 2019

  Charity Navigator gave A Child is Missing Alert a failing score[1]A Child is Missing Alerten.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Charity Navigator assigned the organization a score of 70 out of 100 and reported that 62.93% of expenses went toward program operations. The assessment raised questions about the organization’s efficiency and financial structure, but the supplied material does not establish a legal or regulatory finding of wrongdoing.

• 2003

  A Child Is Missing Alert system described as a law-enforcement notification resource[1]A Child is Missing Alerten.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A contemporary report discussed ACIM’s alert system and its role in helping authorities notify communities during missing-person searches.

1. 1A Child is Missing Alerten.wikipedia.org