The Child and Adolescent Identification Kit
DESCRIPTION
Personal identification is a topic of particular bioethical relevance because the general public often faces difficulties in collecting and sharing with investigative authorities all the medical and dental information of a missing person, especially when it involves a minor. This phenomenon concerns nearly 6,000 missing minors in just the first four months of 2023, with a high recovery rate of almost 74% for Italian minors and 31.58% for foreign minors (Ministry of the Interior, May 25, 2023). Currently, there are no information services available on personal identification methods and the collection of data that can be crucial in expediting this process, both during the search phase and in the eventual identification phase.
The Child and Adolescent Identification Kit is a form that illustrates and facilitates the targeted collection of data for locating and identifying minors. It was developed in 2023 by the Laboratory for Human Identification and Forensic Odontology (LIPOF) of the Legal Medicine Section at the University of Turin (inspired by the US child ID Kit).
Parents or legal guardians are responsible for completing the requested information, with the assistance of their trusted healthcare professionals, including doctors and dentists, and keeping the kit in a secure location. The downloadable and printable document serves as a valuable tool to help keep the identification information of children up-to-date and easily accessible, providing additional security and peace of mind for parents and families. It is an organized and practical method for collecting and storing all the child's important information in one place, facilitating the management of potential emergency situations or disappearances.
In case of emergencies, such as a child going missing or an alert situation, the kit can be provided to the relevant authorities to expedite search and identification procedures.
ADVANTAGES of the Child and Adolescent Identification Kit:
Quick identification: The kit contains all crucial information about the child, including name, date of birth, recent photos, fingerprints, and other distinguishing features. In case of an emergency or the child's disappearance, this information can be easily provided to the appropriate authorities to initiate search and identification procedures promptly.
Facilitates search efforts: The kit provides law enforcement agencies with essential data to initiate searches for the missing child. Recent photos and contact information allow for the rapid dissemination of the child's appearance and communication with parents or legal guardians if necessary.
Dental information: The dental record included in the kit allows for recording the child's dental characteristics and peculiarities. This information can be highly useful for the timely and efficient identification of the child if needed, through comparisons with dental records.
Safety and peace of mind: The kit can provide parents with increased security and peace of mind, knowing that they have crucial information readily available in case of an emergency. This can help reduce anxiety and provide a sense of control in managing critical situations involving children.
The project is endorsed by the Penelope Italy Association, the National Federation of Medical and Dental Councils (FNOMCeO), and the Association Forensic Odontology and Human Rights (AFOHR).
