In the news, all too often, we see a story of a lost child or the apparent abduction of a child. No one wants to even think about a child missing for a minute.
Florida Masonic Child ID Program
The mission of the Child ID Program is to:
-Provide a vital community service.
-Aid in the safe recovery of a lost or missing child.
-Encourage Masons to become involved in their communities. It has become a major concern of every parent and of our society at large. But history indicates that this happens all too often. And the situation is getting worse. The Gran
d Lodge of Florida sponsors this Florida Masonic “Child ID Program” program and it is operated under strict guidelines. Our mission is not complicated here. We want to make sure everything is done to help our local and national law enforcement agencies identify any missing children. This program is absolutely free to the participants. Each child must have a parent or guardian present during the filming. Parents remain close to the child at all times during the video imaging session. The child will be asked a series of standardized questions so that mannerisms and expressions are recorded. They will be asked to move around the room so that both profile and regular photos will be recorded. Such video recording of the children is done by a man or woman, often a husband and wife, where the husband is a member of the hosting Masonic Lodge. The recorded CD is given to you immediately after it is recorded; there is NO other copy made. Since its inception, we have attended public events and provided ID kits for tens of thousands of children. The kit includes digital photos of the child, a digital video, digital finger prints, and a full description all on a CD-ROM. We sometimes provide a DNA sample and two laminated ID cards (one for the parent and one for the child). All local law enforcement agencies contact information is provided and since everything is in digital format, all the information can be disseminated very quickly in an emergency. No information is ever retained by the Masons and a single hard copy is provided to the parents. All digital records are destroyed before proceeding to the next child, papers shredded. Best of all, we provide this kit completely free of charge to all families who attend. Our program is available to schools, daycare schools, churches or any community who wants to help protect our children. Many times we set up our CHIP at community festivals or health fairs. This program is brought to you by your local Masonic Lodge. Children are our most important asset for the future of our world. It is for this reason that we must consider this program of vital importance to our communities. We can no longer think that the community in which we live and work is immune to child abduction. Over 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States each year, meaning one every 40 seconds. There is typically over a two hour delay in making the initial missing child report, and the majority of the abducted children who are murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction. There are estimated to be about 100 cases per year in the US where a child is abducted and murdered. The victims of these cases are "average" children, leading normal lives, and living with normal families, typical low-risk victims. The majority of them are girls, with the average age being slightly over 11 years of age. In 80% of cases, the initial contact between the victim and killer is within 1/4 mile of the victim's residence.
