CSFES urges the exchange community to utilize the following safeguards for its foreign exchange students. For decades, foreign exchange students have had nowhere to turn for information when they are victimized. Child-Safe International Ltd. in the United Kingdom aims to provide practical advice, and promote the safety, welfare and pastoral care of children and young people involved in travel, sport or organised groups. This crime reduction initiative is about improving care, reducing opportunities of abuse in its widest sense and helping all those parents, organisers or volunteers who are involved in supporting youngsters in such activities. An international effort has been launched by Child-Safe and the Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students (CSFES) in the United States. Travel Safe provides an essential guide for young travellers abroad, which began as a research project funded by the Home Office and the European Commission. Sadly, what was uncovered in the twelve-month European based study, were significant instances of abuse, particularly in the area of homestay visits. The Travel Safe series of books has been able to turn these research results into a positive and pro-active initiative that now informs young people, parents, host families, voluntary and commercial organizations, schools and others about the potential hazards. Danielle Grijalva, Director of CSFES has been named Ambassador of Child-Safe and highly recommends the Travel Safe series to all potential exchange students and their parents; as well as school administrators and host families. CSFES advocates for the safety of foreign exchange students and was instrumental in the strengthening of the U.S. Department of State regulations for the protection of these young people. The new regulations require background checks of all host families and subject all exchange organizations' employees to the mandatory child abuse reporting laws of our states. A recent study by Meaghan Kelleher of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) illustrates that name-based checks are not adequate and recommends fingerprint-based checks. The CSFES wants fingerprint-based checks because of NCMEC's study; it is the best screening method available. CSFES encourages all potential exchange students, parents, school administrators and host families to visit www.child-safe.org.uk to learn how to order copies of the Travel Safe series. ******** ******** CSFES would like to extend our gratitude to Ms. Julie Whitman, MSW of the National Center for Victims of Crime for helping to raise awareness of criminal victimization and letting victims know where to turn for help. This certainly assists CSFES in our efforts to keep foreign exchange students safe from all kinds of harm. You will find resources on teen victimization available by visiting www.ncvc.org/tvp for teen-friendly fact sheets on various crimes, including sexual assault and sexual abuse. The National Center for Victims of Crime's victim services helpline, 1-800-FYI-CALL (1-800-394-2255) is available to victims of any crime, and NCVC is able to connect to a translation service when necessary to take calls in as many as 180 languages. ******** ******** Jody Gorran founded the National Foundation to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in 1996. He originated the Volunteers for Children Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1998. It gave child-serving organizations such as the Little League, Boy Scouts and tens of thousands of other organizations, the ability to do fingerprint-based national criminal history background checks through the FBI of their employees and volunteers to make certain that someone with a relevant criminal history was not put in a position within the orgianization where they would have unsupervised access to children. ******** ******** Best Interests, a website for children's advocates has been serving advocates since 1998. CSFES thanks Marcia Hoppers for her permission to share her information by visiting www.childadvocacy.com. Best Interests is dedicated to providing news and resources to professional and volunteer children's advocates, including Court Appointed Special Advocates, attorneys, social workers, judges, police officers, foster care parents, child therapists, and many others who speak up for the best interests of abused and neglected children. ******* ******** | 
