Finger Printing 101

I recently took a job doing on-line tutoring for Sylvan Learning Centers. The program is their esylvan program. Basically I work from home via my computer and tutor kids in Math and Reading. So far it is has been pretty basic. I have tutored on young man in Reading and one young man in Math.

In order to finish my paperwork I have to be finger printed for the state of New York. The State of New York requires this if you are going to tutor students from that state. So this week my finger print kit arrived. Within this kit I found two finger print cards, one for the state of New York and the other for the FBI. This is done for my background check. So I made some phone calls to find out where I can get finger printing done, must be ink printing. Well Gladstone (the area I live in) does not do this service. I called NKC they too do not do this service but recommended KC Police. So I called KC police and spoke with a lady. To be finger printed with them, you must come between the hours of 8 am and 2 pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and the place you go is in a rough area of town. They charge $12 per card (so $24 total). I then called Clay County and spoke with a lady and she said they do this service FREE! You can come seven days a week between 7 am and 9 am. So we have a deal! I waited till today, Saturday, to do this so I could leave the kids home with Tony.

Clay County does this service at their Adult Detention Center (County Jail). I have never been to a Jail let alone a county Jail. So once I found the location I was happy. I walked in to see this big booth with a lady behind it. I told her what I was there for and she said I could have a seat and someone would be with me shortly, this was 8:15 am. While I was waiting people are coming in an sighing up for visitation for people who are locked up. I guess to visit someone you have to come on days their “tank” is having visitation. I learned the “tanks” are organized by letters. When you come you must turn in ID and are given a key to a locker, you must put all your stuff in the locker and then return the key to the lady in the booth. Then you sit and wait. Every 30 minutes they call those who can go visit. Then they start over again with people signing in for the next visitation time. What broke my heart was what a I saw. This young boy who was 3 was being brought by his grandmother. He knew the whole drill, he came in and stood by his grandma while she signed them in, and then he said “Key so I can put my coat away.” He then put his coat in the locker and sat on the floor by the locker playing with his cars till it was almost time. When he heard the lady in the booth say “Ok those for the 9 am visitation, (she then read the names of the people who where being visited) the boy said “key to put my cars away.” He locked his cars up and went to stand by the metal detector so he could go in. It just broke my heart that a 3 year old would know how to do this. My 3 year old knows how to do a lot of things, but visiting someone in Jail is not one of them. It is obvious to me that this young boys life is kind of “messed up” at this moment in time and I pray as Christmas approaches that he can have the kind of Christmas every 3 year old dreams of. A Christmas filled with joy, happiness, and some kind of sense of security and family.