SAN DIEGO -- South Bay officials Monday launched a service that will allow parents to get profiles of their young ones, including DNA data, on record.

The National City Police Department will make the identification kits available free of charge to all interested local residents, NCPD Sgt. Jose Tellez said.

"With the recent tragedy involving Danielle van Dam, parents in our community were concerned about the safety of their own children, and interest in our program was heightened," the sergeant said.

National City's decision to create the kits happened to coincide with Danielle's disappearance from her northern San Diego home in early February, Tellez said.

Searchers found the 7-year-old Sabre Springs second-grader's body on an East County roadside about three weeks later. A man who lived two doors from her family is behind bars, facing charges of kidnapping and murder.

The NCPD will begin the new program by handing out the identification materials at elementary schools. The department will continue to distribute them at various community meetings and social events, Tellez said.

The kits have sections for a child's photograph and listings of blood type, medical history and other personal information.

They also include a one-time-use inkpad for fingerprinting, a dental chart to be completed by a family dentist and a spot for storage of a hair cutting that could be used as a source for a genetic profile.

"Parents should keep these kits for their own records and may choose to receive a new booklet every couple of years to update their child's information," Tellez said.