Before you let your kids hit the streets for trick-or-treating this weekend, we have an important reminder from the Department of Corrections: The agency wants you to know what sex offenders are in your neighborhoods and which houses your kids should avoid.

The festivities kicked off in Eau Claire Friday afternoon—little kiddos in costumes collected their candy with moms and dads in tow. But, if your kids are at the age where they don't want you parents cramping their style, a sex offender registration specialist says make sure you set some guidelines before they leave the house.

“You should know who your child is going to be with, where they're going and during what hours. Talk to your child about always walking in groups and never going along, not talking to anybody strange, helping anybody, or going anywhere with anybody strange,” says Jodi Voegeli, a sex offender registration specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Voegeli says parents should also know where sex offenders live and show your kids which houses to avoid. An online map (see link at bottom of story) shows every registered sex offender in your zip code; the ones with red boxes are child sex offenders.

“Really both for parents and kids, trust your instinct and if anything feels weird or odd we really encourage them to call law enforcement,” Voegeli says.

Voegeli says sex offenders who are still on supervision, marked active on the sex offender registry, are not allowed to participate in Halloween. They can't have their light on or answer the door and they can't go door to door with their own children.

Sex offenders who are off of supervision, marked as terminated on the registry, have no legal restrictions when it comes to Halloween. That's why Voegeli says it's incredibly important for parents to be vigilant. The Department of Corrections will be doing the same.

“We just want the community to know that we're working with them. We will be working. We want to keep the kids and the community safe as well. And we want people to know we're working so if they have concerns they can contact law enforcement and they know how to get a hold of us,” Voegeli says.

Other advice from the DOC, if your child has a cell phone make sure they have it on them so they can call you if they need to. She says you also need to give them an emergency option if they don’t have a way to reach you.

“Sometimes kids have to go to a stranger for help which I think is kind of counter-intuitive to what we tell kids—to not talk to strangers. But, sometimes that is who they need to go to if they need help. Talk to them about that. If they don't have a cell phone and they need to get a hold of someone, to maybe approach an adult who has children with them or go to the house of a neighbor--someone they know and trust and talk to them,” Voegeli says.

Click here to connect to the WISCONSIN SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Click here to see a MAP OF SEX OFFENDERS IN YOUR AREA