The next chance for area parents to sign their kids up for the MoCHIP program is this Saturday in West Plains.
This is the 10th year for the Missouri Child Identification and Protection Program, which to date has provided safety kits and served over 210,000 of the state’s children.
These comprehensive safety kits are designed to help parents and law enforcement in the event a child goes missing or is abducted.
According to national statistics, as many as 2,000 children disappear each day across the country and both girls and boys ages 11- 21 are equally at risk. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says MoCHIP safety kits are some of the most comprehensive because of its many components.
ID kits include digital photographs, digital fingerprints, the child’s vital and emergency contact information, dental bite impression, and two laminated ID cards. All of this information is then burned to a CD compatible with the Amber Alert system. In the event of an emergency the CD can be loaded into that system directly from a police car to expedite the process.
On Saturday, the West Plains National Guard Armory will be the site for the MoCHIP ID kit event from 9am to 1pm. Parents are urged to have all important information ready including doctors, dentists, parent and emergency contacts, allergies, and medications. Height charts and scales will be available for the most current information. The kits are free of charge.
As an added safety precaution, all databases used to create the ID kits are erased at the end of the event, and only signed permission slips are retained by the Masonic Children’s Foundation hosting the event.
MoCHIP events are held throughout the state and you can find more information on our website: ksmu.org.
