BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — There's a new proposal on the board to create child ID kits for students in the Buffalo Public School district. Those kits can provide vital information to law enforcement agencies if your child goes missing.
On the Buffalo Police Department's Facebook page, you'll find photo after photo of children who are missing. This has caught the attention of University District Council Member Rasheed Wyatt. He put together a resolution to address this problem.
"We had to do something," Wyatt.
Adopted at Tuesday's Buffalo Common Council meeting Wyatt suggested that families who live in the city have some kind of ID card or child ID kit ready for when a kid goes missing. He said prior to this resolution, this was done by Buffalo Police years ago and believes funding may have stopped this. His resolution would include an updated photo of your child, basic information, and possibly fingerprints that would be given to the police.
'You don't have to scramble for a picture. I mean in those moments of crisis you may not have a picture somewhere that you can give to police or to neighbors to find your child," Wyatt said, "I think to have something like this to be put in place with the resolution, working with the Buffalo Police working with the [Buffalo Public Schools] Board of Education, it's certainly the right thing to do at this point in time."
Jessica Bauer Walker is a mom of two kids who attend BPD and is president of the BPS Community Health Worker Parent Association. She said she doesn't think the ID cards are a bad idea, but added the root of why children are going missing needs to be addressed.
"I think it can be a tool in our tool kit but I think it's really important for us to have difficult conversations and talk directly with our young people," she said, "A lot of times there's mental health issues. A student is in distress. A student is in conflict with a family member, so people need help."
7 News reached out to Buffalo Public Schools about this. A spokesperson said in a statement:
"While this is the first time the Buffalo Public Schools has heard about this proposal, we look forward to having a thoughtful discussion with both Council Member Wyatt and officials from the Buffalo Police Department to learn more about their ideas surrounding child ID kits."
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia would not comment until he learned more about the kits and this resolution.
Until then, this resolution moves to the Police Oversight Committee. Wyatt does not know yet how much this would cost.
"I hope that cost is not a factor when it comes to saving the lives of a child," he said.
