“As many as 1,800 children (ages 0-18) can receive a free emergency child ID kit at the Sheriff’s Mobile Precinct during the Island County Fair. The sitenext to the Fiddle Faddle Farm, near the main Fairgrounds entrance. Freeland resident Ashley McConnaghey saw a similar event recently and mounted an Island County effort: Parents and children will be able to visit the Island County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters at the fair (also the location to report and bring lost children) and take home a free emergency child ID kit that is clearly organized for detailed information about the child.At the same time, Sheriff’s department volunteers will photograph the child (head and shoulders pose) and give instructions for parents on fingerprinting. Parents will be able to actually fingerprint their child on site if they wish, and children will also be able to be measured and weighed at the same time. In consideration of privacy issues, the completed ID kit goes home with the parent — none of the medical, physical, photographic or personal information about the child is retained by law enforcement. Our Child Identification Kits are the most complete, confidential and inexpensive means available to parents for creating a comprehensive personal file of their child, said Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley. These kits can in turn provide critical information to help law enforcement find lost or missing children, Hawley explained. The Emergency Child ID Kit remains with the parents or guardians unless the child is missing, when it is given to the authorities to help find the child.Parents and children will also be able to receive information and instruction on safety issues and get answers to any concerns or questions they might have. An Emergency Child ID Kit should be updated every six months for children under 6 and every year for children over 6, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.The single most valuable tool in helping find a missing child is a good current head and shoulders photograph, but most parents don’t have a suitable photograph for officials if their child becomes lost or missing, said Ernest Allen, the center’s president.It’s a good opportunity for parents to get the ID kit and get a picture, McConnaghey said. Parents are usually too swamped to get stuff done all at once. By providing these resources, we hope to ensure that all information is as current and complete as possible for the child.A photograph is responsible for the return of one to seven children, she added. It’s the single most important tool in finding them.This year’s sponsors of the Emergency Child ID Kit are Hansen’s Building Supply, Costco-Lynnwood, Nancy Nordoff, Judy Yeakel, Wal-Mart, the South Whidbey Record and the Whidbey News-Times. Polaroid donated the film, and the volunteers from the Island County Sheriff’s office are helping provide the service. “