Silver Alert Bill to Help Find Lost Dementia Victims
Reintroduced in U.S. Senate
House passed Silver Alert last month, many state and
local governments setting up programs
March
17, 2009 – Legislation was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate last week to
create a nationwide network for locating missing senior citizens and
other adults. The Silver Alert Act, first introduced last Congress,
would create a program modeled after the Amber Alert and provide federal
coordination and assistance to local and state law enforcement agencies.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives
unanimously passed the National Silver Alert Act (H.R. 632), a version
of the bill sponsored by Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the
Senate Special Committee on Aging, and U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL),
Ranking Member, again joined forces to reintroduce a bill in the Senate.
“Setting up a Silver Alert system for seniors who
go missing due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia will promote the
safety of our nation’s seniors, while bringing peace of mind to many
concerned families,” said Senator Kohl. “With half a million new cases
of Alzheimer’s every year, the need for a system of this kind will only
grow.”
“With the growing number of aging Americans,
especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, thousands of
adults go missing every year,” said Senator Martinez, the top Republican
on the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging.
“Providing families and law enforcement agencies
with the combined resources they need to locate loved ones is essential.
This type of proven nationwide network will assist states and
territories with developing their own location system and integrate
local Silver Alert plans currently in place with the national network.”
The bill encourages states to develop Silver Alert
plans and provides funding to enhance and integrate Silver Alert plans
that are currently in place in various states by directing the
Department of Justice to establish a national communications network to
assist efforts to locate missing senior citizens.
It also reauthorizes Kristen’s Act, which helps to
maintain a national, interconnected resource center and clearinghouse
for missing adults.
The National Association of State Units on Aging
surveyed states last spring to determine actions being taken in the
states to establish Sliver Alert programs, which are primarily aimed at
protecting adults with cognitive impairment.
“Silver Alert programs are modeled after the Amber
Alert programs now present in all 50 states according to the report by
NASUA.
“The Amber Alert programs can quickly distribute
information about missing persons to law enforcement, radio, and
television stations. It is designed to alert the public and law
enforcement agencies so that citizens can be on the look out for missing
adults.
“While the Amber Alert programs are targeted at
getting information quickly disseminated about children, Silver Alert
programs are targeted for adults with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms
of dementia.
Of the states that responded to the NASUA survey,
seven states had Silver Alert Programs and at least two states reported
that they had legislation pending.
Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia have Silver Alert Programs in place, the
survey found. Ohio had legislation that had been signed by the governor
but was not yet effective.
It allows law enforcement to use media alerts,
phone alerts, and even activate signs on major highways to alert folks
when seniors with dementia and Alzheimers go missing, according to a
report by WCTV-TV.
It's great for our seniors and their families,"
said Tallahassee Police Chief Dennis Jones. "It gives them the assurance
that the information is getting out and you have more than just one or
two people looking for this person and hopefully prevent any tragedy,"
Jones told WCTV.
Many cities and counties across the U.S. have also
created Silver Alert systems.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
March
17, 2009 – Legislation was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate last week to
create a nationwide network for locating missing senior citizens and
other adults. The Silver Alert Act, first introduced last Congress,
would create a program modeled after the Amber Alert and provide federal
coordination and assistance to local and state law enforcement agencies.