NCMEC Guidelines For Parents

According to The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) guidelines, there are six steps that a parent should take to be prepared in the event of a missing child emergency:

Keep a complete description of your child.
This description must include color of hair, color of eyes, height, weight, and date of birth. In addition the descriptions should include identifiers such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, braces on teeth, pierced ears, and other unique physical attributes. The complete description must be written down.

Take color photographs of your child every six months.
Photographs should be of high quality and in sharp focus so that your child is easily recognizable. Head and shoulder portraits from different angles, such as those taken by school photographers, are preferable, but make certain you have a photograph that most resembles your child. Candid photographs may be more representative of how your child looks than a posed shot.

Editor’s Note: The NCMEC now recommends updating a child's photos and physical descriptions every six months for children 6 years of age or younger and then once a year, or when your child's appearance changes.

Have your dentist prepare dental charts and prints for your child.
Be sure the dental chart is updated each time an examination or dental work is performed and dental prints are taken once every two years until your child is 18 years old. Make sure your dentist maintains accurate, up-to-date dental charts and X-rays for your child as a routine part of his or her normal office procedure. If you move, you should get a copy from your former dentist to keep yourself until a new dentist is found. Make certain that the information is easily accessible should you need it quickly. Also consider taking a bite impression of your child’s teeth. Take a two-inch square of flat material like Styrofoam® and have your child bite partially through it. The bite should be strong enough to leave an impression of the upper and lower teeth. A new bite sample should be made each time your child loses or grows a tooth.

Know where your child’s medical records are located.
Medical records, particularly X-rays, can be invaluable in helping to identify a recovered child. It is important to have all permanent scars, birthmarks, blemishes, and broken bones recorded. You should find out from your child’s doctor where such records are located and how you can obtain them if the need arises.

Arrange with your local law-enforcement agency to have your child fingerprinted.
In order for fingerprints to be useful in identifying a person, they must be properly taken. Your law-enforcement agency has trained personnel to help ensure that the fingerprints taken are useful. They will give you the fingerprint card and not keep a record of the prints.

Consider having a DNA sample taken from your child.
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is rapidly becoming the “gold standard” for identifications. There are many DNA collection kits available, but it is simple for you to collect a sample. For example an old toothbrush that has been used by your child is rich with his or her DNA. Allow the toothbrush to air dry and place it in a brown envelope, have your child lick the envelope shut, and label it.

The same procedure can be used for other samples such as baby teeth, an old hairbrush used exclusively by your child for at least one month, and dried blood from a bandage. If using a buccal-swab sample from the inside of your child’s mouth it is important to follow the instructions to allow for the swab to dry prior to storage.
 

The NCMEC cautions parents against using any sort of data-collection or registration services that store information about their child during the child safety ID, and to make sure that others don't misuse a child's information, parents or guardians should be the only person to keep the photos and identifying information about their child.

(From the pamphlet, Just in Case; Parental guidelines in case your child might someday be missing.)

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