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VietnameseGriffin: ‘I am proud to be part of this effort to keep Arkansas children safe while also supporting our law enforcement partners’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing a collaborative effort to protect children in Arkansas:
“Today I announced the launch of the Arkansas Child ID Program, which will help law enforcement identify children when they go missing. This program is being launched in partnership with the National Child ID Program, the Walmart Foundation and the AEP Foundation.
“The program consists of distributing child ID kits to families of first-graders throughout the state through sheriff’s offices and schools. Families can then complete the kits and have them on hand should a child in their care ever go missing. By having identifying information readily on hand, families will be able to share the kits with law enforcement, thereby cutting down on time that investigators would have to collect such information.
“The terror and grief felt by parents and caregivers when a child goes missing can be crippling. These ID kits can help give law enforcement clarity in an otherwise chaotic situation. I am proud to be part of this effort to keep Arkansas children safe while also supporting our law enforcement partners.”
National Child ID Program Hall of Fame Ambassadors Mike Singletary and Randy White, both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, added the following statements:
“In football and in parenting, playing defense is all about preparation,” Singletary said. “It’s important to be prepared, not scared. Parents need to be prepared for what seems impossible. One thousand children go missing every day, it is not impossible. This inkless Child ID Kit being provided by Attorney General Griffin is a gamechanger for parents. It provides parents with proactive tools to be prepared for the impossible, and to keep their child’s vital information at home in case of an emergency.”
“As a grandfather actively raising two grandchildren, nothing is more important than protecting our children,” White said. “Every parent, every grandparent and every caretaker needs to be prepared. Preparation and education were keys to winning the Super Bowl. I urge every parent to complete and keep their Child ID kits and keep it updated. They are a critical part to a winning safety game plan. I’m grateful for Attorney General Griffin working tirelessly to protect Arkansas families and appreciate everyone’s commitment to helping this program protect children across Arkansas.”
On average, 1,000 children go missing in the United States every day. When a child goes missing, time is of the essence and these ID kits allow parents to provide up to 90% of information needed by law enforcement to begin looking for the child. The Child ID kits will be provided at no cost to Arkansas families as part of a private-public partnership with the National Child ID Program.
Each kit includes an inkless fingerprinting kit, a DNA sample collection, physical identification information, location of medical records, a place for a recent photo, and easy-to-use instructions. The kits will be delivered to each school through its local sheriff’s office.
Kits should be completed by parents and stored in a safe place at home. The information does not enter a database.
To download a pdf of this release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 27 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin attends Immanuel Baptist Church and lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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To download a PDF copy of this release, click here.
