The federal government is investing more than $3 million in a new online safety program meant to empower children with the skills to sidestep dangerous, sometimes deadly internet predators.

The program, called "The i-Safe Safe School Education Initiative and Outreach Campaign" and developed by the nonprofit i-Safe America Inc., is a combination of safety-oriented lessons and community-based outreach activities centered on teaching safe, effective internet use.

Sponsored by two Congressional appropriations totaling $3.554 million, the program will be funded by the Child Protective Division of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), part of the U.S. Department of Justice (JD).

The grant marks the first of its kind issued and supported through the OJJDP, said Teri Schroeder, the founder and CEO of i-Safe America, who wrote the proposal. "Congress said now is the time, because crimes against youth have escalated to such an epidemic," she said. "Congress really felt it needed to step in."

The award was made just a few months after the May 17 murder of a 13-year-old Connecticut girl, who authorities believe met her killer in cyberspace.

Christina Long was strangled to death, allegedly during a sexual rendezvous with 25-year-old Saul Dos Reis. Police claim Dos Reis used the internet to entice Long into a clandestine meeting, which ended with the child's murder in a McDonald's parking lot in Danbury, Conn.

Her story has since become a national testament to the violence committed by online predators who lure their young prey under the anonymous cover of internet chat rooms and eMail messages.

But the Connecticut case is just one in a growing roster of violent and malicious crimes perpetrated by online criminals on youthful targets—a problem i-Safe says schools and communities are in a position to do something about.

According to Schroeder, the program—which will roll out in 25 states by February 2003—is built on a unique model that encourages involvement at every level of the community, from classroom curricula and parental participation to public functions supported by local business leaders and in-school activities conducted by law enforcement.

On the curriculum side, students must complete five lessons—all tacked to a different notion of online safety. Although the program is just getting under way, i-Safe expects each lesson will be delivered through a variety of interactive channels, including video lessons, webcasts, group discussions, teacher-led activities, and worksheets about how to stay safe online.

For instance, the first lesson teaches youth how to recognize red flags indicating possible computer viruses and to protect one's machine against unwanted, often persistent intruders.

The second stage asks children to understand the rules and consequences of cyberspace. The curriculum explains that dialogue transmitted online is as tangible as a conversation between teacher and student in the classroom.