BH&F Blog

Friday, September 19, 2008

House passes "Silver Alert" Legislation to Help Locate Missing Seniors

McKnight's Long Term Care News reports that [T]he U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed legislation that would set up a nationwide "silver alert" system to help coordinate local law enforcement officials in the event of a missing senior. The silver alert system would augment the amber alert system, which alerts law enforcement agencies and the general public when a child has disappeared or been kidnapped. Recent reports suggest that up to 14 million seniors will develop Alzheimer's disease in the next few decades, and that up to 60% of them are likely to wander (McKnight's, 6/2). The bill would allow for up to $5 million per year between 2009 and 2013 to be spent implementing the silver alert system. The bill, the National Silver Alert Act (H.R. 6064), also would reauthorize Kristen's Act, which was established to create a national database to track missing adults who are endangered due to age or diminished mental capacity. The Kristen's Act re-authorization would provide an additional $4 million per year over the next decade to help families locate and recover missing adults.

Every year elderly individuals as a result of diminished mental capacity become injured or even die as a result of wandering away from their homes. Unfortunatley, there are documented cases of nursing home residents wandering away from the their facilities -- many of these residents fall down and are injured while still others die as a result of drowning, being struck by moving vehicles or as a result of exposure. Often, these residents are missing for hours or even days before anyone realizes they are gone after which they are difficult to locate. We are hopeful that laws such as the National Silver Alert Act and Kristen's Act will help to prevent these terribly unfortunate incidents. Burke Harvey & Frankowski is committed to representing our nation's elderly particularly in cases where they have been abused and neglected in nurisng homes, assisted living facilities and other long term care factilites. We have handled cases in which residents have been allowed to wander away from or elope from their nursing home. If you or someone you know has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home, call the experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Burke, Harvey & Frankowski. We are currently representing nursing home residents and their families in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. We are here to help you.

Labels: Nursing Home Abuse; Nursing Home Neglect

posted by Todd Harvey at 7:28 PM

1Comments:

National Center for Missing Adults said...: I would like to thank everyone at Burke, Harvey & Frankowski for your blog article to bring attention to the Silver Alert, (HR 6064) and Kristen’s Act Reauthorization, (HR 423).

I am the Chief Executive Officer of the National Center for Missing Adults, a nonprofit 501c3 organization founded in 1994.

Initially established to provide assistance to law enforcement and families of missing children, we quickly identified that anyone over the age of eighteen were without any national resource. In 1995, our agency expanded its charter to provide national assistance to missing adults and their family members.

In 1996, on her 18th birthday, Kristen Modafferi, waved goodbye to her parents, Robert and Deborah, as she boarded a plane to travel to San Francisco for a summer photography program. It was her first time away from home. The North Carolina student vanished two weeks later and remains missing today.

In 2000, President Clinton signed the original Kristen’s Law, appropriating $1 million annually to formally establish a national clearinghouse for missing persons who are over the age of eighteen. My agency was the recipient of the Kristen’s Law appropriation formally establishing NCMA as the first national clearinghouse for missing adults.

NCMA is the primary national resource for law enforcement and families of missing adults. NCMA operates a clearinghouse and information database available to law enforcement, medical examiners, victim advocates and the general public. NCMA staff provides support and advocacy to victims, technical assistance and training to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the country and public education programs. NCMA provides assistance to missing persons who have been determined to be “at risk” due to diminished mental capacity, such as Alzheimer’s disease or those who may be mentally challenged; physical disability; suspicious circumstances or foul play is suspected.

Over $35 million in annual federal funding is appropriated to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the national clearinghouse for missing children in Alexandria, Virginia. Sadly, missing adults remain a significantly underserved segment of the victim population. Despite the intended appropriation of $1 million annually, the federal government steadily cut Kristen’s Law funding, citing non-domestic spending priorities. In addition, Kristen’s Law expired in 2004 occurring at a time of increased demand for service at NCMA, to include providing assistance to over 13,000 Hurricane Katrina victims, directly impacting NCMA’s ability to provide services to families of missing adults.

While most of us may think we may never join the over 50,000 families searching for a missing loved in the United States, we must consider that as many as 5.2 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease and it is projected 10 million Baby Boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime. All are at risk to wandering, and if not located within the first 24 hours half of those will result in serious injury or death. According to Congressional Committee Findings for ADA, it is estimated 43 million individuals in the United States have disabilities; 1 out of 5 persons (other sources indicate higher figures). Regardless of age, individuals with cognitive disabilities are considered high risk to be at higher risk when reported missing and immediate assistance is necessary to save lives.

HR 6064 and HR 423 will ensure additional resources are available for families and we are urging the Senate to take swift action to pass these important pieces of legislation. In addition, it is our hope the federal government, corporations and private citizens will take a more active role in supporting agencies like NCMA so that services are available to any family in crisis.

Burke, Harvey & Frankowski, LLC., are to be commended for taking an active role in providing much needed representation to these families in need.

Sincerely,

Kym L. Pasqualini
Chief Executive Officer
National Center for Missing Adults
www.missingadults.org; September 27, 2008 8:45 PM