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AFTERWORD

Hundreds of children are abducted in this country every year, many by non-custodial parents. We see their faces peering at us from billboards, milk cartons, and on the back of junk-mail ads. The question is: do these pathetic photos work?

The answer is yes. The reason is because of ordinary people, teachers, neighbors, or just passersby, who see something odd in the behavior of a parent and child, and call. There are several agencies responsible for helping to find missing children: here are the numbers of two.

CHILD FIND:

1-800-292-9688

MISSING CHILDREN'S HELP CENTER:

1-800-872-5437

Child abuse, whether parental or with parental consent, is wrong. Children deserve love, tenderness, and reasonable discipline. They do not deserve to be beaten, tied up, starved, abandoned, used, or misused. There are several groups trying to help children who are mistreated: here is the number of one.

CHILDHELP NATIONAL

CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE:

1-800-422-4453

You don't need elves or magic to get a start on helping a child in a desperate situation—you don't even need a quarter. Most pay-phones allow you to call 1-800 numbers completely free of charge, simply by dialing them as written. All you need to start a child back to a decent life is the willingness to get involved.

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Framed