FBI St. Louis Division and the Louisiana Police Department Will Distribute Free Child ID Kits to Residents of Louisiana, Missouri

The FBI St. Louis Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association, in conjunction with the FBI St. Louis Division and the Louisiana Police Department, will distribute free Child ID Kits to residents of Louisiana, Missouri.

When: July 14, 2010 (Wednesday) from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Where: Orschlen Farm & Home Store (Twin Pike Shopping Center)
Louisiana Elks Lodge (120 North 5th Street)
YMCA (614 Kelly Lane)

The kits allow parents to use a clear inkless solution to produce the fingerprints without the messy black ink. The kits also allow parents to collect and store a saliva sample for DNA. Once the kit is completed, parents maintain it at home. There is also a wallet card which has a spot for a fingerprint and a current photo of the child for the parents to carry. The information collected will not go into any law enforcement database. The hope is parents will never need to bring the completed kit to law enforcement.

In the U.S., almost 800,000 children are reported missing every year. Twenty-five percent of those reported missing are abducted by family members. Seven percent are abducted by non-family members. Even more rare (0.01 percent) are victims of “stereotypical” kidnappings. Those crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance who either kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.

The newly elected president of the FBI National Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association, Don Anderson, Jr., who is a St. Louis attorney and Ellisville Municipal Judge, said, "Louisiana couldn't be a better place to promote the program after the abduction and recovery of 4-year-old Alisa Maier.”

The National Child Identification Program was created by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 1997 as a community service. In 2001, the FBI worked in conjunction with the AFCA in distributing the National Child Identification Program ID Kits.

The FBI Citizens’ Academy gives select business, civic, and religious leaders a rare look behind the scenes of the FBI. The Academy meets once a week for 8-10 weeks. Participants are selected from a pool of applicants nominated by FBI employees or Academy alumni members. After completing the Citizens’ Academy, graduates are invited to join the alumni association to continue their education and support of the mission of the FBI through its community outreach efforts and programs.