PIERRE - The South Dakota Child Identification Program is coming to Hot Springs.

Parents and guardians are invited to the Hot Springs Elementary School's multi-purpose room from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to take part in a program that collects identifying items from children.

The items include dental impressions, DNA cheek swabs, digital still photos and fingerprints. The materials generated by the program are given to the child's family to be kept as an identification kit in the event the youngster goes missing. The program is free.

Jackley calls the program "comprehensive" in a statement released Wednesday. It's an offshoot of an initiative launched by the Masons of North Dakota. For more information online, go to www.sd-chip.org.

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