School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Class: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This space is private Nobody sees what you read or answer. Your progress stays on your device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you download it and write your own name on it after.
- Pass the test at 80% or higher to earn this unit's certificate. You can retake the test as many times as you need — each retake presents the questions in a different order, with the answer choices in a different order too. Answers are not shown: go back and find what you missed in the lesson.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.
- This unit teaches how to stay safe from being taken by a stranger, and also by someone you know. Most kids who are taken are taken by someone they know, so the rules cover both. Knowing the rules is what keeps you in charge.
The lesson
Part 1. What kidnapping and unlawful restraint mean
Kidnapping means someone takes you, or keeps you, against your will, when they have no legal right to do it. It can happen by force, by threats, or by tricks. Being tricked counts: if someone lies to get you into a car, you did not agree, and it is not your fault.
Unlawful restraint is when someone stops you from leaving: holding a door shut, locking you in a room or a car, or refusing to let you walk away. That is also against the law, and it is always okay to tell.
One fact matters most: people who do this are breaking the law. A kid is never the one in trouble for being taken.
Part 2. Who takes children and adults — family, known people, and strangers
Here is the honest picture. Most children who are taken are taken by a family member, often during a fight between parents over custody, when one parent keeps a child past the agreed time or leaves with the child. The next group is people the child knows: a relative, a family friend, a neighbor, or someone met online. Being taken by a complete stranger is the rarest kind, and it still matters.
What this means for you: the rules are not only about strangers. They are about permission. No one, stranger or familiar, takes you anywhere without the permission of the parent or caregiver in charge of you at that moment. A person who argues with that rule is showing you a warning sign.
Part 3. Prevention in everyday life
These habits protect:
- The permission rule. Before you go anywhere with anyone, the caregiver in charge must know and say yes. If plans change, check first.
- The code word. Your family picks a secret word. Anyone sent to pick you up must know it. No word means you do not go, even if the person seems nice or says it is an emergency.
- Lures are tricks, and you can name them. Common lures: "Your mom sent me," "help me find my lost dog," "I have something for you in the car," and online messages offering gifts or a ride. A safe adult does not ask a child to find a pet, offer secret gifts, or keep a ride secret.
- Stay where people are. Walk with friends, use busy routes, and do not take shortcuts through empty places.
- Online counts. Someone you only know online is not a known safe person. Never agree to meet an online contact, and tell a trusted adult if one asks. Month 2 teaches online safety in full.
- Trust the uneasy feeling. If a situation feels wrong, you do not have to be polite or be sure. Move toward people and tell an adult.
Part 4. AMBER Alert and missing-person reports — there is no waiting period
If a child goes missing, adults should call 911 right away. There is no waiting period: nobody waits hours or a day to report a missing child, and the first hours matter most. If you cannot find a younger brother, sister, or friend and you think something is wrong, tell an adult at once, or call 911 yourself. You will never be in trouble for reporting too fast.
An AMBER Alert is the emergency message sent to phones, radio, and highway signs when police confirm a child has been taken and the case fits the alert rules. If you ever saw the child, person, or car described, tell an adult or call 911. Never approach the person yourself.
Part 5. The first hours — what to do step by step
If someone tries to take you:
- Yell, loudly, in words people understand: "No! I don't know you! Help!" or, if you know the person, "No! You are not allowed to take me! Help!" Noise is a tool. Use it.
- Run toward people: a store, a school, a house with lights and people. Do not run to empty places.
- Break away and get to people. If someone grabs you, make it as hard as you can to hold you, get loose, and run. This school teaches breaking away and running, not fighting to win.
- Tell an adult and call 911 as soon as you are safe, and say exactly what happened.
If a friend or sibling is missing: tell a trusted adult immediately, share what you know (where they were going, who they were messaging, what they were wearing), and do not search in risky places yourself. Information shared quickly is real help.
Part 6. Roles, rights, and support after a report
After a report, police search and investigate, alerts spread the description, and organizations that help find missing children work with the family. Your job is to tell the truth about what you know and let adults do theirs.
Your rights are simple: to say no to going with anyone, to be loud when you feel unsafe, to tell a trusted adult, and to keep telling until an adult acts. If the person who tried to take you is in your own family or home, telling is still right, and Childhelp (1-800-422-4453) and 988 (call or text) are lines you can use yourself.
Scared feelings afterward are normal. Talk to a trusted adult and rest. None of it was your fault: not if you were tricked, not if you froze, not if you went along at first. The fault belongs to the person who did it, every time.
Words to know — Kidnapping Awareness
- Kidnapping — taking or keeping someone against their will, by force, threats, or tricks, with no legal right to do it.
- Lure — a trick used to get a child to go with someone, like a false message that a parent sent them.
- Code word — a secret family word a person must know before a child goes with them.
- Trusted adult — an adult who believes you, does not hurt you, and will act to help you stay safe.
- Safe place — a place with people who can help, like a store, school, or library desk.
- AMBER Alert — an emergency public message sent out when police confirm a child has been taken.
- Missing-person report — the official police record made when someone is reported missing; it can be made right away.
- Private information — facts strangers do not need, like your school, address, and daily routine.
Myths vs facts — Kidnapping Awareness
- Myth: Only strangers take children. Fact: Most children who are taken are taken by a family member or someone they know. The permission rule covers everyone.
- Myth: Adults must wait 24 hours to report a missing child. Fact: There is no waiting period. Reporting right away is the rule.
- Myth: If someone tries to grab you, you should be quiet and polite. Fact: Yelling, breaking away, and running to people is exactly right.
- Myth: If you were tricked into going, it is your fault. Fact: A trick is the other person's crime, not your fault. Telling is always right.
Think it through — Kidnapping Awareness
After soccer practice, a man Leo, age 10, has never seen calls from a car: "Leo! Your dad's car broke down, he sent me to get you. Hurry, he is waiting at the shop." Leo's dad does sometimes send family friends. The man seems friendly and knows Leo's name and his dad's name. The coach has gone inside. What should Leo do?
Walk it through: (1) Check the permission rule (Part 3): the caregiver in charge did not tell Leo about any change. Knowing Leo's name proves nothing; names are easy to learn. (2) Use the code word: Leo can ask, "What's the word?" from a safe distance, without going near the car. Any other answer means Leo does not get in. (3) Follow Part 5: move toward people: the school door, the coach, other parents. If the man pressures him or tries to grab him, yell "No! I don't know you! Help!" and run to people. (4) Tell a trusted adult; adults can call his dad and, if needed, 911. If it turns out to be a mix-up, Leo still did everything right.
Try this — Kidnapping Awareness
Set up your safety basics:
- ☐ Our family has a code word, and I know the rule: no word, no ride
- ☐ I can name three trusted adults and one safe place on each route I walk
- ☐ I can say my exit lines out loud: "No! I don't know you! Help!"
- ☐ I know the lures: lost pets, secret gifts, "your parent sent me," online meeting offers
- ☐ Location sharing on my apps is off, and I do not share my school or routine with strangers
- ☐ I know reporting has no waiting period, and I can call 911 myself
Resources to keep — Kidnapping Awareness
- 911 — if you are in danger, someone tries to take you, or a child is missing.
- 988 (call or text) — support any time you feel scared or overwhelmed.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 — if you would rather type than talk.
- Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult is hurting or pressuring you.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: missingkids.org — missing-children help.
What you earned / what's next — Kidnapping Awareness
✅ Kidnapping Awareness complete (test score 80% or higher): You know what kidnapping is, that most takings involve family or known people, how to spot lures and use the code word, that reporting has no waiting period, and the steps: yell, break away, run to people, tell.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Topic Library: Kidnapping Awareness
This certificate is presented by Muslim Ordained Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
Congratulations. You know the rules that keep you in charge: permission first, the code word, loud and fast to people, and telling right away. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or legal training for representing anyone.
What's next: The Stalking unit.
Sources
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — fbi.gov — kidnapping and missing-persons information.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) — missingkids.org — missing-children guidance.
- Massachusetts government — mass.gov — missing persons information.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Educational information only, not legal advice. Help lines: 911 · 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.