Schools to receive ID kits for students

Arkansas’ new Child ID Program is designed to help law enforcement agencies find children who are reported missing.

Tim Griffin, the state’s attorney general, on Jan. 30 announced the state plan to have county sheriffs’ offices distribute child identification kits to schools. The schools will pass the kits on to the families of first-graders.

Families may then complete the kits and keep them on hand to give to law enforcement agents in the event their child goes missing. The readily available information from the completed kits will cut down the time that investigators need to take during an emergency to collect the data.

Each kit includes an inkless fingerprinting kit, a DNA sample collection, physical identification information, location of medical records, a place for a recent photo and easy-touse instructions. The kits will be delivered to each school through its local sheriff’s office.

Kits should be completed by parents and stored in a safe place in the home. The information does not enter a database.

Arkansas is partnering with the National Child ID Program, the Walmart Foundation and the AEP Foundation to offer the identification kits.

The Child ID kits are being provided at no cost to Arkansas families as part of a private-public partnership with the National Child ID Program.

“The terror and grief felt by parents and caregivers when a child goes missing can be crippling,” Griffin said in the announcement. “These ID kits can help give law enforcement clarity in an otherwise chaotic situation. I am proud to be part of this effort to keep Arkansas children safe while also supporting our law enforcement partners.”

An average 1,000 children vanish in the United States each day, according to the attorney general’s office. When a child disappears, time is of the essence and these ID kits allow parents to provide up to 90% of information needed by law enforcement to begin looking for the child.

Mike Singletary and Randy White, both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, are ambassadors for the child identification program.

“In football and in parenting, playing defense is all about preparation,” Singletary said in the prepared announcement of the Arkansas program. “It’s important to be prepared, not scared. Parents need to be prepared for what seems impossible.”

“This inkless Child ID Kit being provided by Attorney General Griffin is a gamechanger for parents,” Singletary added. “It provides parents with proactive tools to be prepared for the impossible, and to keep their child’s vital information at home in case of an emergency.”

“As a grandfather actively raising two grandchildren, nothing is more important than protecting our children,” White said. “Every parent, every grandparent and every caretaker needs to be prepared.

“I urge every parent to complete and keep their Child ID kits and keep it updated. They are a critical part to a winning safety game plan,” he also said.