CT Child ID Program Will Be At Library This Month

By Nancy K. Crevier

Dr Joshua E. Baum and his staff at Orthodontics Specialists on Church Hill Road will join with Hiram Lodge 18 AF & AM to bring the Connecticut Child Identification Program to Newtown on Saturday, October 13, from 10 am to 3 pm, at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

The Connecticut Child Identification Program provides families with the tools to help authorities locate a child, should that child become lost or be abducted. Each family will receive a packet containing a videotaped interview with the child, a photograph appropriate for use in an Amber Alert, fingerprinting, and the child’s dental bite impression, to be kept at home.

The Masons have been supporting child identification programs since the 1980s, said Hiram Lodge 18 Master E.J. Belmont, as a service to families and communities. It was a Freemason who originally developed the concept of toothprinting, he said.

“What separates our program from others is how comprehensive it is, for one thing,” Mr Belmont said. “We also retain none of the information. It all goes back to the parents, not into a database, and the Masons do not keep any of the records. We have found that some families are not comfortable with the information being put into a data base, so we do none of that,” he said.

Members of the Rainbow Girls, a Mason’s youth group out of Shelton, will videotape interviews said Mr Belmont, and members of Hiram Lodge 18 will do the fingerprinting.

Karen Murphy, a representative from Dr Baum’s office, said that the dental bite impression will be administered by staff, and is a very simple procedure. The child will be asked to bite down on a plastic toothprint wafer that has been softened in warm water.

“The wafer captures saliva for DNA analysis,” explained Ms Murphy, “as well as providing a dental print. The toothprint is then sealed in a plastic bag and dated, and the parents are asked to keep it with the other items in the packet. There is no charge for this service,” she said. Dr Baum’s staff will also take a mouth swab during the dental impression. A mouth swab provides searchers with a scent source for canine recovery and provides an additional source of DNA.

Dr Baum and his staff offered free dental bite impressions at the Health Fair held in Newtown on September 29, as well.

“Parents are hesitant to take part in this, though,” said Ms Murphy. “Parents don’t want to think about a lost or abducted child, but if they can get past that and take advantage of the opportunity, they should have the child identification done.”

Families are encouraged to keep the Child Identification Program packet in a safe, accessible place at home. “Keep it in an envelope with other important papers,” suggested Ms Murphy. “It must be in a place that can easily be remembered at a time when a parent might be very upset.”

The program is open to children of all ages. No appointment is needed for the identification program, said Ms Murphy, and children can look forward to a visit from the Tooth Fairy, who will distribute fairy dust, and visit with the Orthodontics Specialists mascot Braceasaurus. Stick-on tattoos and toothbrushes will be given to each child who participates in the Child Identification Program, as well.0