FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2020
ATTORNEY GENERAL REYES URGES PRESIDENT TRUMP TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL CHILD ID PROGRAM
Personal Appeal and Letter Urges Funding for ID Act to Protect Children
SALT LAKE CITY — In a personal appeal to President Donald J. Trump, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes is leading a coalition of state Attorneys General in asking for the administration to make funding available to support H.R. 4172, The National Child ID Act, (The National Child ID Program) in order to help both parents and law enforcement better protect children from exploitation, abduction and human trafficking.
This legislation would enable each state, through their Attorney General, to have the opportunity to request grant funding to purchase kits for their Kindergarten through 6th grade children. Each kit costs $1.76 per child, an incredibly small amount for the life of a child who has been abducted or runaway. The cost for protecting approximately 30 million K-6 students across America is just below $52 million.
“Statistics show that more than 800,000 children go missing each year including runaways and those abducted,” said Attorney General Reyes. “That is one child gone every 40 seconds. And we are seeing those statistics rise along with child sexual abuse, exploitation and human trafficking.”
Attorney General Reyes continued: “[Mr. President,] You recently met with our friend and NFL Hall of Fame Player Mike Singletary to discuss a program he and many other Collegiate and NFL Coaches champion called the National Child ID Program. We also support this effort as we fight daily to protect children in our role as state Attorneys General.”
The Child ID Kit allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics, fingerprints and DNA of their child on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. No outside group collects, monitors or has access to the data unless parents choose to share it during an emergency. If ever needed, the Child ID Kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.
The National Child ID Program has asked Congress for monies to be set aside in the next stimulus package as a grant for the purchase of such kits. And while legislation is ultimately needed, it may well take months or longer until funds are available. In the meantime, COVID-19 has made children more vulnerable to be groomed and exploited by predators. The threat of our kids becoming victims is more immediate and grave than ever. Every time we receive an amber alert for a missing one-year-old, it illustrates the critical need for this program.
Utah Attorney General Reyes is joined in this appeal to the President by Attorneys General in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia.
A copy of the letter can be viewed here.
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