BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, the Louisiana
Sheriff’s Association, and LSU football legend Kevin Faulk today announced a
partnership with the National Child ID Program to provide child ID kits to
Louisiana students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grades.
“As a father, I do anything to protect my child; and as
Attorney General, I do all I legally can to protect all Louisiana children,”
said Attorney General Landry. “So I am proud to provide these free,
easy-to-use, and effective kits to help Louisiana families reunite after an
abduction or a runaway.”
“Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing in the United
States; and when a child goes missing, time matters,” continued Attorney
General Landry. “The sooner law enforcement has the right information, the
sooner they can locate the child; and the better the chances are for a safe
recovery.”
The Child ID kits – provided at no cost to Louisiana
families due to sponsors including include American Electric Power, Ochsner
Health, and Our Lady of the Lake Health – include an inkless fingerprinting
kit, a DNA sample collection, physical identification information, a place for
a recent photo, and easy to use instructions. They will be delivered by each
parish sheriff’s office through school resource officers.
“This is a gift of safety for Louisiana parents. It does
not enter a database; rather, it allows parents to store their children’s vital
information in the security of their own homes,” explained LSA President and
Franklin Parish Sheriff Kevin Cobb.
“I would have never set LSU records or won Super Bowls
without preparation. I urge all fellow parents to use these kits; it only takes
two minutes and will save critical hours should your child go missing,” added
Mr. Faulk.
This year, the National Child ID Program celebrates its 25th anniversary. The program
was created by football coaches in 1997 following the abduction and death of
Amber Hagerman, the namesake for the AMBER Alert. Since then, more than 75
million child ID kits have been distributed nationally via public-private
partnerships.
“I am grateful for the leadership of Attorney General
Jeff Landry and his commitment to public safety. I am honored to join the AG in
this initiative to protect Louisiana’s children,” concluded National Child ID
Program Executive Director Kenny Hansmire.
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Video of a press conference announcing the launch may be
found at http://www.facebook.com/AGJeffLandry.