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NetSmartz411 FAQ
1) What is NetSmartz411?
NetSmartz411 is a first-of-its kind, free, interactive educational resource of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), funded by the Qwest Foundation. Designed to raise Internet safety awareness and provide expert advice, the Web site and telephone hotline are effective tools for every audience including children, parents, guardians and educators. NetSmartz411 offers direct access to bilingual experts at the NCMEC, who can respond to specific questions and concerns about online safety. The experts can be accessed via NetSmartz411 in two ways:
NCMEC chose the Qwest Foundation as the ideal partner to create the NetSmartz411 resource based on its previous work with the Foundation as well as Qwest’s commitment to online safety education and public outreach. In February 2007, Qwest, NCMEC and members of Congress introduced the first phase of NetSmartz411, an online service. To offer families more personal interaction with online safety experts, the NetSmartz411 call center was launched in April 2008. The Qwest Foundation donated $500,000 in 2006 and $350,000 in 2007 to support NCMEC in developing NetSmartz411 and addressing issues that arise with new and evolving technologies. 3) Why is NetSmartz411 important? For the first time, the general public—especially parents and guardians—have direct access to experts at NCMEC who can respond to their specific questions and concerns about online safety. 4) Who can benefit from NetSmartz411? Anyone, from parents and guardians to educators and law enforcement officers, can request information from NCMEC experts through NetSmartz411. 5) Why is the Qwest Foundation doing this? The funding of NetSmartz411 is a natural fit for the Qwest Foundation because of its dedication to enriching the communities it serves. By funding Netsmartz411, the Qwest Foundation is partnering with the leading national expert in child safety to answer families' pressing need for information on how to keep their children safer online. 6) How does NetSmartz411 work? By logging onto www.NetSmartz411.org or calling 1-888-NETS411, individuals can ask questions about a variety of issues, including how to report Internet crime. They also can search the Netsmartz411 library for computer, Internet and Internet safety-related material. Each question and its expert answer will have a unique tracking number so that NCMEC can immediately identify the question should there be a need for follow-up. For example, NetSmartz411 can answer questions such as, “How do I know when my child is putting herself at risk of being lured by a sexual predator?” or “What is a chat room, and how does it work?” Questions will be answered, in English or Spanish, by NetSmartz411 experts in the order they are received, with a goal of responding to a phone call directly or to e-mail within one business day. Unique questions/answers will be used to further populate the NetSmartz411 library and build the knowledge base. By tracking data, NetSmartz411 allows parents and guardians to learn more about what their kids are doing online and displays the most commonly e-mailed questions. For example, NetSmartz411 may receive an abundance of questions about a particular online safety issue in the news due to a highly publicized Internet case or the latest gadget that kids are asking for. The most frequently asked questions and responses will rotate automatically to the top of the list, so parents and guardians can see others' concerns and the most logical course of action. Other popular questions and responses will be available for viewing in descending order. 7) Who are NetSmartz411 experts? NetSmartz411 experts are highly trained, skilled professionals with an exceptionally high level of Internet knowledge. These individuals are full-time employees of NCMEC who go through rigorous, six-month training to better understand all areas of the Internet and emerging technologies used by child predators, including social networking sites, newsgroups, chat rooms, e-mail, instant messaging, online video games and peer-to-peer technologies. Their primary responsibility at NCMEC is within the Exploited Child Unit and involves analyzing “tips” received through NCMEC’s CyberTipline. The experts analyze the information and research individuals who groom and attempt to sexually exploit children online, as well as those who victimize children in the real world. They work closely with law enforcement and Internet industry leaders to stay one step ahead of these child predators. NCMEC’s congressionally mandated CyberTipline was launched in 1998 to tackle child exploitation issues such as pornography, prostitution, sex tourism, sexual molestation, online enticement and unsolicited obscene material sent to a child. NCMEC received 2,660 reports to the CyberTipline in 2005 and more than four times as many reports of online sexual enticement of children to the tipline in 2007, totaling 11,386. Through their institutional knowledge and experience gained through the CyberTipline, the NetSmartz411 experts are uniquely qualified to help educate parents and guardians about the Internet and the potential dangers that children can face online. 8) How does NetSmartz411 differ from NCMEC’s CyberTipline? NetSmartz411 takes questions from parents and guardians about a variety of issues, including how to talk to their children about online safety and how to report Internet crimes against children. NCMEC’s CyberTipline receives the reports of Internet crimes against children both online through cybertipline.com and through NCMEC’s hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). 9) How does NetSmartz411 differ from IncredibleInternet.com? NetSmartz411 is a resource of NCMEC funded by the Qwest Foundation. IncredibleInternet.com is an educational resource Qwest Communications developed to help families surf safer and smarter on the Internet. Qwest Communications and NCMEC co-created the content in the online safety section of the Web site. 10) What is the role of NCMEC? NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC’s congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 441,900 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with 110,200 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 127,700 children. 11) What other grants does the Qwest Foundation fund? The Qwest Foundation’s core principle is that investing in education provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre-K through grade-12 education. The Qwest Foundation provided $850,000 to make the NetSmartz411 program possible. For more information, contact www.qwest.com/foundation. |
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