Personal-data cards for North Hempstead kids

Parents in the Town of North Hempstead can arrange to have taken photographs, hair samples and fingerprints of their children as part of a new initiative being spearheaded by the town clerk’s office. The samples will be placed on a card that will serve as a source of information in case of an emergency.

The card was unveiled Wednesday during Kids Safety Day, an event held across the street from Town Hall. In addition to the fingerprints and hair follicles, the card displays children’s personal data, including their social security number, blood type and age.

Parents can bring their children to the clerk’s office to arrange for a card, said Town Clerk Leslie Gross.

“We’re hoping that nobody loses their child, or is taken, but we have a way to identify or say in one place this is a current picture, these are their fingerprints,” Gross said. And if there is no incident, “It just then becomes a cute keepsake.”