KIDS ID Program
CSDL began working with the Boys & Girls Club in Washington State in November, 2009, on the Keeping identities Safe (KIDS) program to raise awareness of the need for parents and guardians to take steps to protect their children’s identities from theft and fraud. It follows a suggested series of actions to be undertaken by parents on behalf of their children and encourages parents to obtain Washington State ID cards for their children.
This program was formed because criminals are increasingly using the identity information of children to obtain driver's licenses and IDs in new names. In 2005, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimated that half a million children nationwide were victims of identity theft. In 2008, more than 20,500 identity theft complaints were filed with the FTC on behalf of individuals under the age of 19. According to the FTC, identity theft and identity fraud complaints have increased from 230,000 in 2000 to more than 1.2 million in 2008, costing Americans more than $1.8 billion annually. The reason for this is that children have no criminal records or credit history so it offers a blank slate for criminals, thus by using a fraudulently obtained driver’s license they can establish a line of credit or obtain employment with the child’s identity.
Two Levels of KIDS:
Level 1: A local sponsoring organization agrees to advise the community (through flyers, newspaper articles, state licensing agency contacts) that children are at risk from identity thieves and distributes educational brochures that explain why and how in detail. The brochures also explain that obtaining a state issued identity document reduces the risk, and will assist to correct the record should the child still be a victim of ID theft/ fraud.
Level 2 (Optional): Parents are asked to get their child a state issued identity document from the state licensing agency (DMV) (in Washington it is “DOL”), with the inducement that during the time period the program is offered there will be a 100% reimbursement. CSDL will reimburse all parents with valid vouchers during the program’s duration, usually 3 to 6 months from the distribution of educational brochures/vouchers.
The parent must bring the state issued Identification Document (ID) or an Enhanced Identification Document (EID) with the child, to a location where the sponsor can confirm that the child has been recently issued a state ID/EID. Based on a completed request for reimbursement, the parent receives a check in the amount of the state fee for the ID/EID.
Read more about this topic: Coalition For A Secure Driver's License
Famous quotes containing the words kids and/or program:
“When our kids are young, many of us rush out to buy a cute little baby book to record the meaningful events of our young child’s life...But I’ve often thought there should be a second book, one with room to record the moral milestones of our child’s lives. There might be space to record dates she first shared or showed compassion or befriended a new student or thought of sending Grandma a get-well card or told the truth despite its cost.”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“Most of the folktales dealing with the Indians are lurid and romantic. The story of the Indian lovers who were refused permission to wed and committed suicide is common to many places. Local residents point out cliffs where Indian maidens leaped to their death until it would seem that the first duty of all Indian girls was to jump off cliffs.”
—For the State of Iowa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)