How your school communicates with parents and guardians about the SmileSafe Kids® program will significantly impact its overall success.  Lifetouch and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) have partnered to provide a variety of tools and templates to simplify communication with parents, guardians and school staff.

Three Steps to Program Success * Using NCMEC Safety Tips  *  Implementing NCMEC Safety Tips

Three Steps to Program Success:

1. Preparation
Inform school staff about the program.  They will want to know:

• What is the SmileSafe Kids program?
• Why is our school participating?
• What is my role, if any, in distributing the safety cards to parents/guardians?
• How should I respond to parent/guardian questions about the program?
  Refer to the Teacher Communication: Responding to Parent Questions (PDF) for a staff response guide.

Review the SmileSafe Kids communication tools and templates.  Decide who will communicate with parents about the program.  Familiar options include:

• Principal
• PTA/PTO
• District Office

2. Parent & Guardian Communication
Promote the program prior to Picture Day.  This is a critical activity so parents and guardians know that the SmileSafe Kids program will be provided free of charge to the families of every student photographed. 

Remind parents/guardians of your Picture Day date to help ensure all students are in attendance.  In efforts to make the communication process as convenient as possible for your school, provided are customizable Microsoft Word templates in both English and Spanish to better promote the SmileSafe Kids program.

• Send a letter home to parents & guardians
  • English - Before Picture Day Letter to Parents
  • Spanish - Before Picture Day Letter to Parents
• Announce SmileSafe Kids in your school newsletter and website
  • English - School newsletter article

3. Implementation
Select a distribution method that will get safety ID cards home quickly and reach all parents and guardians.  Options include:

• Mail the cards home from the school or PTA/PTO
• Hand out at parent/guardian conferences or open house
• Send home with students

Any safety ID cards that are not distributed to families should be collected in your office.  Your local Lifetouch representative will pick up the cards during his/her next school visit for proper disposal.

Send a letter to parents/guardians with the safety ID cards to describe your commitment to help keep the community safe and remind parents why your school partnered with NCMEC and Lifetouch to deliver the SmileSafe Kids program.  In efforts to make this as convenient as possible for your school, provided are customizable Microsoft Word templates in both English & Spanish. 

• English: SmileSafe Kids Program Introduction
• Spanish: SmileSafe Kids Program Introduction

Provide parents and guardians with safety prevention tips. NCMEC offers a variety of safety tips and prevention strategies to help your school deliver a more comprehensive and effective safety program.  Distribution options include:

• With a letter informing parents about the program
• With the safety ID cards
• All at once
• At separate occasions during the year
  Refer to Using NCMEC Safety Tips  materials for an overview.

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