The New York State Fraternal Order of Police (NYS FOP), in conjunction with Simon Property Group and Eastman Kodak Company, have joined forces in its third annual cooperative program designed to assist parents with maintaining an up-to-date database of their children. Visiting Simon's The Mall at The Source in Westbury from 12 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, the "Kids Care Tour" offers parents an opportunity to utilize safety identification kits - free of charge - to record photographs, fingerprints and other vital statistics about their children for possible use in the future.

"Too often we hear the news that a child is missing," said FOP President Frank Ferreyra. "The Safety ID Kit we give parents and guardians as part of our 'Kids Care Tour' provides them with the tools and guidance to create a personal confidential record of their youngsters to be put away in a safe place. We, of course, hope that no one ever has to use the information, but it is always prudent to be prepared in the event an emergency situation arises."

Volunteers from the FOP will fingerprint participating children then give parents a safety kit along with instructions for gathering the necessary vital statistics about their youngsters. For 2005, Kodak has donated two digital cameras and a printer, which will be utilized so up-to-date photographs of the children can be included in the completed kit.

"The goal of every parent is to safeguard their children. With that in mind, we are pleased to join the New York State Fraternal Order of Police and Kodak for the third year to provide the community with this important service," said Vanessa Cusano, director of marketing for The Source Mall. "Since we have hundreds of families visiting our property each day, it makes perfect sense to host this program at The Mall at The Source. We encourage those with youngsters to take a few minutes out of their busy schedules to participate."

This is the third year that the Simon Property Group has co-sponsored this event at their four Long Island malls. The "Kids Care Tour" will also visit Simon's Roosevelt Field in Garden City on Oct. 15 from 12 to 3 p.m.