WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — A new initiative dedicated to reducing the number of missing children in the state will soon be rolling out.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced on Monday the state will partner with the Green Bay Packers along with several other groups as they introduce 975,000 identification kits.
The other partnerships are with Alliant Energy, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the National Child ID Program.
"It can help provide an investigative lead to law enforcement that is working to find missing kids,” said Josh Kaul, Wisconsin Attorney General.
This identification kit will be free for families and it will allow parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children.
These kits are then kept at home and if ever needed will give authorities the information they need.
"It’s height weight information, fingerprints, a place for DNA, of course, height, weight in the back, medical information, and a place for a picture. 80% of what law enforcement asks is in this card,” said Kenny Hansmire, National Child ID Program CEO as he points to a brochure.
Every single K-12 student in the state is expected to receive one. Officials say both private and public schools will be receiving them to distribute to families.
The kit includes an inkless fingerprint card, a DNA collection site, and an inkless applicator.
"It’s clear and you put your finger in down on the card and it has a chemical reaction with the card and a black fingerprint will start to appear,” Hansmire as he continues to demonstrate how the kit works.
Families will also be able to add extra information to their identification cards.
It can be important details such as a birthmark or other characteristics they believe authorities should know.
"In a case where a child is abducted the last thing they're thinking about is where are my pictures, where do I find that information, to be able to just turn that over quickly is beneficial for us because time is of the essence in those situations,” said Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain.
Officials also want to emphasize that your child’s information will not be going into a government database or will be compromised in any way.
"This is a kit that you bring home, as a parent you fill it out, and you keep it. It's yours, and hopefully, you'll never need it. But if you do need it, it's there, and you can immediately turn it over to a law enforcement officer,” Delain said.
Thanks to advances in technology, this identification kit can help make a real impact on law enforcement's ability to locate a missing child.
To learn more about this identification kit click here.
