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Dial Zero for Help

NCJ Number
99619
Author(s)
J A Jance
Date Published
1985
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This booklet teaches children who may be at risk of parental kidnapping how to recognize this dangerous situation and get help by calling the operator and asking for the police.
Abstract
In the story, a young boy is duped into accompanying his noncustodial father on what appears to be nothing more than a surprise outing after school. The father, playing on the boy's love and trust, says that he's going to take him away to live in another state without his mother's knowledge or consent. The boy remembers that his mother told him to call the operator for help if he is ever lost or frightened. While his father goes into a bar, he finds a public phone and calls the operator who keeps talking to him until the police arrive and take him home. The booklet includes discussion questions to use with children and a list of useful books, organizations, and curriculums.