On Aug. 1, parents will be able to begin registering their fingerprints for the new fingerprint scanners to be installed at federally subsidized childcare centers as part of a new requirement from the Mississippi Department of Human Services’ Division of Early Childhood Care and Development.

Parents will have until Aug. 30 to complete the registration and the scanning, and the scanners should be implemented by Oct. 1 by childcare centers.

Julia Bryan, public affairs director, said parents can watch the orientation video and register online at childcareinfo.ms. After registering online, they only need to go to the local MDHS office for the fingerprint scanning.

“All parents who utilize certificates and want to continue using certificates, must (register fingerprints) by Aug. 30,” Bryan said.

Each child will be able to have five people eligible, allowing for both parents to register as well as grandparents or older siblings.

The Lincoln County office is located at 300 E. Chickasaw St., and the office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Copiah County office is located on Highway 28 in Hazlehurst, the Lawrence County office is located at 1200 Nola Road in Monticello and the Franklin County office is located at 90 Mill Road in Bude.

The program is only required for parents who use childcare certificates and for childcare centers that accept them. The centers in Lincoln County that accept certificates are Cindy’s Day Care, Cornerstone Preschool and Nursery, Dribble Drabble Child Care, Inc, Kids “R” Us Learning Center, Linda F. Thrasher, Thompson Learning Center and Thompson Toddlerville.

MDHS will provide centers with the equipment, installation and training necessary for the program. The purpose of the program is to help monitor child attendance.