Utah to give ID kits to every schoolchild

It's a day no parent ever wants to mark, but for National Amber Alert Day, Utah authorities hope to help ensure the speedy recovery of abducted children.

The Utah Attorney General's Office, the Utah Department of Public Safety, the American Football Coaches Association and the Utah Sheriff's Association are announcing a statewide initiative to provide child ID kits for every student in Utah public schools.

"These kits will be critical if a child is missing or abducted," said DPS Commissioner Scott Duncan.

Approximately 530,000 kits will be distributed to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. They include fingerprint cards, DNA swabs and wallet cards for a recent photo. An Amber Alert test also will be conducted on Tuesday, to ensure the system that uses radios, TVs, billboards, Web sites, cell-phone alerts and text messages continues to work in a timely way.

— Ben Winslow

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