Education
Age-appropriate prevention programs for children and teens, and training for parents, educators, coaches, and youth leaders on recognizing grooming patterns.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. To report online exploitation, contact the NCMEC CyberTipline.
Child protection nonprofit · Missouri
Connected Identity protects children from online grooming and sexual exploitation by equipping families, schools, and platforms with the knowledge, tools, and standards to recognize risk early and act.
Four ways we protect children
Our mission
Children today build friendships, play games, and learn online. The same apps that connect them can also put them in contact with adults who hide who they are. Grooming often starts with attention and trust, and moves toward secrecy.
Connected Identity works upstream of harm and is adopting the best of AI and have developed LLM. We help the adults in a child's life recognize warning signs early, we push technology companies toward safer design, and we make sure every report of suspected abuse reaches the people with the authority to act on it.
We are based in Jefferson City and serve families, schools, churches, and youth organizations across Missouri and beyond.
What we do
Age-appropriate prevention programs for children and teens, and training for parents, educators, coaches, and youth leaders on recognizing grooming patterns.
Free guides and practical resources that help parents understand the apps their children use and set up healthy oversight at home.
Research and advocacy for safer design, age assurance, and reporting practices across apps, games, and streaming services.
We direct reports of suspected exploitation to the NCMEC CyberTipline and law enforcement, and connect survivors and families with qualified service providers.
The facts
These figures come from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the FBI, and Thorn, a child-safety research nonprofit.
12,600+
minors were victims of financial sextortion from October 2021 to March 2023, mostly boys aged 14 to 17.
Source: FBI and HSI data
1,325%
increase in reports involving AI-generated images of children in a single year.
Source: NCMEC, 2024
Predators are often protected in their own communities.
Family members, business partners, employees, and even spouses are often suspicious of someone's online activity. Too often they protect their own children while staying silent, leaving other children exposed to the danger.
Evil exists in our communities. It stays hidden only when we stay quiet. If you suspect someone, report it.
If your child is being threatened online, they are not in trouble and they are not alone. Don't pay, stop replying, and report it at report.cybertip.org. If anyone is in crisis, call or text 988.
For parents and caregivers
You don't need to be a technology expert to keep your child safer. Consistent conversation and a few clear household rules go a long way.
Request a parent guideKnow the apps
Learn which games, chats, and social apps your child uses, and who can message them there.
Talk early and often
Short, regular conversations build the trust that makes a child more likely to tell you when something feels wrong.
Watch for secrecy
Hidden accounts, sudden gifts, or an online "friend" who asks to keep things private are reasons to check in.
Report, don't investigate
If you suspect exploitation, don't confront the person or save images. Report to the CyberTipline and local police.
Our standards
We refer, we don't investigate
We do not run decoy accounts or sting operations. Investigations belong to trained law enforcement.
We never handle abuse material
We never collect, store, or forward any image of child sexual abuse. All suspected material is reported to NCMEC.
Every person is screened
All board members, staff, and volunteers pass background and sex-offender registry checks before serving.
Two adults, always
No representative of Connected Identity is ever alone with a minor, in person or online.
Get involved
Your gift funds prevention training, free family resources, and advocacy for safer technology.
Give todaySchools, churches, and youth organizations can request a prevention workshop for parents, staff, or students.
Request a workshopTechnology companies, educators, and child-safety organizations can work with us on standards and research.
Start a conversationYour digital footprint
Here is what we can see about you
Scanning…
We don't keep any of this. Your browser shares it with every site and app you open, and so does your child's. Strangers online can learn this much in seconds.
Thanks for showing up
Every adult who shows up makes a child safer.