SafeAssured ID and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® remind Families to Discuss Safety as Kids Head Back to School

Back-to-School safety tips offer advice to parents, guardians and their children

As millions of children take to the streets and roadways to head back to school this fall, SafeAssured ID and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) urge parents and guardians to make child safety a priority. In addition to reminding families of the importance of keeping an up-to-date digital photo of their children, SafeAssured ID will be featuring “Back to School” safety tips from NCMEC child safety experts on their website at www.safeassured-id.com.

The tips recognize that parents and guardians may need some help discussing child safety and are meant to empower them to start this conversation with their children to prepare for a safer school year. Tips include:

• Instruct your child to always take a friend when walking or riding his or her bike to and from school.

• If anyone bothers your child while going to or from school, you should teach him or her to get away from that person, and tell you or another trusted adult.

• Teach your children to never leave school with anyone they don’t know.
  
  “Children do not have the same frame of reference for safety as adults and that’s why it’s important to work on helping them develop strong safety skills,” said Nancy A. McBride, NCMEC’s National Safety Director. “We would like to see families make talking about child safety part of their regular back-to-school routine like shopping for school supplies, and we are grateful to SafeAssured ID for helping us put this information in the hands of parents, guardians and children all across the country.”
  SafeAssured ID first partnered with NCMEC in 2003 and the partnership has long emphasized the power of digital photographs and child IDs in the search for a missing child. Designed to provide peace of mind for families, while protecting privacy, the SafeAssured ID kit contains an encrypted mini-cd including:
  

• up to ten digital fingerprints,
  

• digital photograph,
  

• streaming video showing mannerisms and gait,
  

• voice track providing the youth’s voice inflection and accent,
  

• general physical description,
  

• vital personal information (street address, date of birth, life-threatening medical conditions, identifying scars or marks, and tattoos), and
  

• family code word.
  
  The mini-cd can be shared with law enforcement, the media, and the community within moments of a child’s disappearance to aid in the search. Families also receive a durable, full-color photo ID card, and a Parents Guidebook, written in conjunction with NCMEC, containing helpful safety information.
  
  “NCMEC plays an extremely valuable role in keeping our children safer,” said Ken Hofmaster, President of SafeAssured ID. “We are proud to share their commitment to that mission and hope that every family will take the time to review these tips before sending their children off to school. It has always been our hope that every child would have access to SafeAssured ID technology, but never need to use it.”
  
  About SafeAssured™
  SafeAssured ID is a comprehensive, technologically advanced family safety program. In the event that a person disappears, SafeAssured ID provides families with the power to deliver media and law enforcement with immediate, holistic, and ready to broadcast information unique to the missing person. In addition to a digital photo and personal profile, SafeAssured differs from other identification solutions by offering a full set of digital fingerprints, voice sample, and streaming video showing movement and gait. The information is stored on a disc that is secured with a locked electronic code. The SafeAssured ID kit meets the Best Practices set by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for Child Identification Kits.
  SafeAssured ID kits can be offered in conjunction with any event where families are present, whether public or private. The program is a newsworthy community service and attracts sponsorship by providing a high level of return in public relations. www.safeassured-id.com
  
  About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline which has handled more than 2.3 million calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 128,750 children. The organization’s CyberTipline has handled more than 600,000 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 14,750,000 child pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.