As much as there is good on Earth, the reality is that this world is riddled with disaster, crime, peril and injustice. That’s why we look to our finest law enforcement officers and communities to resolve conflict and provide help to those in need.

In today’s society, cities and close-knit communities alike continue to rally around the safety and well-being of children, especially in the case of missing or abducted children, which unfortunately seems to occur all too often.

The numbers are pretty shocking. According to current statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, 797,500 children under the age of 18 were reported missing in a one-year period of observed time, resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing daily. Whereas nearly 204,000 children were the victims of abductions by family members, 58,200 children were victims of non-family abductions, and 115 children were targets of “stereotypical” kidnapping, or crimes in which the child is held for ransom at a distant, undisclosed location.

It’s no secret that whenever a child is reported missing, law enforcement officials and the public are quick to take action to recover the potentially abducted youth. One way they do so is through the AMBER Alert System, a broadcast emergency response incorporated into today’s modern technology, including radio, television, Internet and cell phone text alerts.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of when this system was put into place, and Jan. 13 has now been dubbed AMBER Alert Awareness Day, in which the nation is encouraged to educate themselves about the alert system and its significance in locating missing and kidnapped children.

The technology behind today’s AMBER Alert System is largely related to the concept of voice broadcasting, or the ability to send out a singular message to a large group of recipients. Voice broadcasting’s roots may go back to the 1990s, but this innovative technology is now leveraged for a variety of needs, from marketing outreach and phone trees to warnings carrying important safety information in the event of an emergency. In fact, voice broadcasting was recently leveraged during the recent campus shooting at Virginia Tech to warn staff and students of the fleeing shooter and precautionary steps to take to protect themselves.

One looking to implement a voice broadcasting system can turn to YTel, a provider of  software that enables users to send their pertinent messages out to thousands of opt-in consumers at affordable rates. From alerts, notifications and political calls to interactive polls and surveys and church phone trees, YTel packs its voice broadcasting services with additional features, IVR and transfer options.

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Carrie Schmelkin