Dutch will track kids with electronic files.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis

Beginning January 1, 2007, all Dutch citizens will be tracked from cradle to grave in a single database that includes medical, education, family, and police records, according to the health ministry.

Currently, all Dutch births are registered with local authorities, and children receive tax ID numbers in the mail within several weeks of birth. But their health and other records are not available in a single file.

Now each child will get a Citizens Service Number, making it easier to keep track of children with problems even when their families move.

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To protect individual privacy, no single person or agency will be able to access all the...