'Silver alert' system in place in some New England states

'Silver Alert' system in place in some
New England states
(July 2009 Issue)

By Ami Albernaz

With the population aging, lawmakers in some states are hoping to piggyback on the successful Amber Alert system for missing children in order to quickly locate senior citizens who have gone missing.

According to a survey released earlier this year by the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASAU), 32 states currently have some sort of "Silver Alert" system in place or have legislation pending. In New England, Conn. and N.H. passed bills in early June and R.I. approved a Silver Alert law last year. Federal legislation passed the House of Representatives last September, but the Senate failed to act on a similar bill.

"We know there's a lot of support," says Betsy Fitzgerald-Campbell, vice president of Communications and Public Affairs at the Mass./N.H. chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. "It's not going to cost states a lot of money and it will save lives."

Like an Amber Alert, a Silver Alert sends out a description of a missing person to media outlets.

According to a report by the Conn. General Assembly's Office of Legislative Research, the alerts have been helpful in finding seniors in the states that have enacted them; in some cases, missing seniors have been found specifically because of the alert. According to the national Alzheimer's Association, more than 60 percent of people with dementia will wander at some point. Up to half will suffer serious injury or death if not found within the first 24 hours.

The Conn. law applies to people ages 65 or older who have been reported missing by a relative, guardian or health care representative. (The law also covers adults ages 18 and older with a mental impairment). In N.H., the system includes adults ages 55 and older who have "a verified impaired mental condition," and in R.I., people ages 60 and older with a cognitive impairment are covered. (Written documentation verifying the person's impairment is required).

Mass. legislators are now considering a Silver Alert bill sponsored by Sen. Robert A. O'Leary (D-Cape and Islands). Corresponding with findings that almost all Alzheimer's patients who wander are found within just over a mile of their homes or the place they were last seen, the search would be focused on the area near where the person disappeared.

The Mass. Silver Alert would also include special training for law enforcement officers and 911 operators as well as a reverse 911 call system that would alert neighbors and nearby businesses, according to a release from the Mass./N.H. chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The proposed Mass. bill has received around 40 endorsements, Fitzgerald-Campbell says.

Maine is not currently considering a Silver Alert system, according to John Martins, spokesperson for the state's Department of Health and Human Services and Vermont was not considering one as of January, according to the NASAU report. (A call to the Disabilities and Aging Services Division of the Vt. Agency of Human Services was not returned).

In states to have rejected Silver Alert proposals - and even among a few states that have enacted the systems - some fear the systems might be overused. One respondent in the NASAU survey said police in the state "feel as though the families and caregivers repeatedly allow individuals to wander because they know that law enforcement officials will find them."

However, two other respondents said they thought the system was under-utilized, perhaps because of a lack of information about it.