BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE HUMAN
SERVICES COMMITTEE
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1127
S
AUTHOR: Torres and Pavley
B
VERSION: April 7, 2014
HEARING DATE: April 22, 2014
1
FISCAL: Yes
1
2
CONSULTANT: Mareva Brown
7
SUBJECT
Emergency services: individuals with developmental
disabilities and cognitive impairments
SUMMARY
This bill would add individuals who are developmentally
disabled or cognitively impaired to the list of people who
may be the subject of a Silver Alert.
ABSTRACT
Existing law :
1) Establishes Emergency Alert System, which has been
nicknamed the "Amber Alert" system, which may be
activated if a law enforcement agency receives a
report that an abduction has occurred or that a child
has been taken by anyone, including a custodial parent
or guardian, and the victim is in imminent danger of
serious bodily injury or death, and there is
information available that, if disseminated to the
general public, could assist in the safe recovery of
the victim, as specified. (GOV 8594)
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1127 (Torres)
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2) Establishes a "blue alert" system, designed to
issue and coordinate alerts if a law enforcement
officer has been killed or seriously injured by a
suspect who has fled the scene and poses an imminent
threat to public safety, as specified. (GOV 8594.5)
3) Establishes a "Silver Alert" notification system,
operated by the California Highway Patrol to issue and
coordinate alerts when a person aged 65 or older is
missing, as specified. (GOV 8594.10)
4) Encourages radio, television, and cable and
satellite systems to cooperate with disseminating the
information contained in a Silver Alert. (GOV 8594.10
(b)(2))
5) Requires the California Highway Patrol to assist
the investigating law enforcement agency by issuing a
be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) alert, an Emergency Digital
Information Service message, or an electronic flyer.
(GOV 8594.10 (b)(3))
6) Defines a developmental disability as a disability
that originates before an individual attains 18 years
of age; continues, or can be expected to continue,
indefinitely; and constitutes a substantial disability
for that individual. This term includes disabling
conditions found to be closely related to intellectual
disability or to require treatment similar to that
required for individuals with an intellectual
disability, but shall not include other handicapping
conditions that are solely physical in nature. (WIC
4512)
7) Defines a cognitive impairment as the loss or
deterioration of intellectual capacity characterized
by impairments in short- or long-term memory,
language, concentration and attention, orientation to
people, place, or time, visual-spatial abilities or
executive functions, or both, including, but not
limited to, judgment, reasoning, or the ability to
inhibit behaviors that interfere with social,
occupational, or everyday functioning due to
conditions, including, but not limited to, mild
cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease or other
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1127 (Torres)
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form of dementia, or brain injury. (WIC 14522.4 (a)
(11))
This bill :
1) Adds to the list of individuals who may be the
subject of a Silver Alert anyone who is
developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired, as
defined in existing statute.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the bill :
The author states that adding individuals with
developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments to
those eligible for the state's Silver Alert system fills a
critical gap in existing alert systems. According to the
author, many children and adults with autism and other
developmental disabilities wander from home as a factor of
their disability. Many other adults are diagnosed with
cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer's Disease. If those
individuals wander from home and are lost they cannot be
the subject of existing alerts if they do not fall within
the parameters of those systems - a child must be abducted
and an adult must be older than 65 and have disappeared
under suspicious or unexplained circumstances.
The author cites specific cases of individuals who have
wandered and been found dead and argues that the death toll
for wandering children with developmental disabilities or
individuals with cognitive impairments is reducible. She
states that it makes sense to use the existing alert
systems to help coordinate communication when it is needed
to search for these individuals.
Emergency alert system:
Amber Alert
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1127 (Torres)
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The nation's first Amber alert was established in 1996, and
named after the after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was
kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in
Arlington, Texas, that same year. It was intended to help
inform local residents to search for a child who was
abducted nearby. Amber is an acronym for America's Missing:
Broadcast Emergency Response.<1>
The alerts were initially issued over broadcasting channels
designed to alert residents of dangerous weather events,
but since then they have grown to include highway billboard
signs, text messages and other notification methods.
Although the federal government does not have direct
control over the system, several federal agencies have
urged states to implement it. The US Department of Justice
created an Amber Alert page, and issued guidance to states
to establish criteria before issuing an alert, including
that the victim be at risk of serious bodily injury or
death, a sufficient description to be informative and that
law enforcement must confirm there was an abduction, among
others.<2>
California began the Amber Alert as a regional program in
1999 and it was adopted statewide in 2002 (AB 415, Runner).
As of February 2014, there have been 219 activations in
California, 255 recovered victims and 131 suspects
arrested. Of the abductions, twice as many were parental
abductions as stranger abductions. The California Highway
Patrol is responsible for statewide coordination of the
Amber Alert system.
Blue Alert
California expanded the alert system in 2010 to allow the
CHP to initiate a quick response to coordinate alerts
following an attack on a law enforcement officer if the
officer was killed, suffered serious bodily injury or was
assaulted with a deadly weapon and the suspect remains at
large.
Silver Alert
In 2012, California established the Silver Alert program to
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<1> http://ojp.gov/newsroom/pdfs/amberchronology.pdf
<2> http://www.amberalert.gov/guidelines.htm
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1127 (Torres)
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coordinate communication after the unexplained or
suspicious disappearance of an elderly person. The system
is intended to provide immediate attention to the public
about the missing person, including photographs,
descriptions and information about the last time and
location they were seen. The program is coordinated by the
California Highway Patrol, which will issue an alert only
if the missing person is 65 years or older, the
investigating agency has used all of its resources and
determines that the missing person disappeared under
suspicious or unexplained circumstances and the local law
enforcement agency believes the person is in danger. The
CHP also must determine that if the information was
disseminated to the public, it could assist in the safe
recovery of the missing person. According to the author,
there have been 182 Silver Alert activations since the
system was created, resulting in 166 successful recoveries
of one or more adults.
Developmental disability:
A developmental disability refers to a severe and chronic
disability that is attributable to a mental or physical
impairment beginning before the age of 18. These
disabilities include intellectual disability, cerebral
palsy, epilepsy, autism and related disorders, and
disabling conditions closely related to intellectual
disability or requiring similar treatment. Intellectual
Disability is characterized by significantly subaverage
general intellectual functioning (i.e., an IQ of
approximately 70 or below) with concurrent deficits or
impairments in adaptive functioning. In California,
approximately 265,000 individuals with developmental
disabilities live in their communities.
Cognitive impairment is defined as the loss or
deterioration of intellectual capacity characterized by
impairments in short- or long-term memory, language,
concentration and attention, orientation to people, place,
or time, visual-spatial abilities or executive functions,
or both, including judgment, reasoning, or the ability to
inhibit behaviors that interfere with social, occupational,
or everyday functioning due to conditions, including, but
not limited to, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1127 (Torres)
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disease or other form of dementia, or brain injury.
Elopment risk:
A study published in October 2012 in the journal Pediatrics
found that roughly half, or 49 percent, of children with
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) attempt to elope from a safe
environment. Researchers surveyed 1,367 families with
children between the ages of 4 and 17 who had been
diagnosed with ASD. Nearly half of the families reported
that their child had attempted to elope at least once after
age 4. Of those, 316 children were missing long enough to
cause concern. Researchers noted that greater autism
severity was associated with increased elopement risk and
that children eloped most commonly from their home, a
store, classroom or school.
According to a 2009 report issued by the Congressional
Research Service, "Alert Systems for Missing Adults in
Eleven States: Background and Issues for Congress," there
is growing concern about the dangers associated with adults
with cognitive disorders who wander.
Policymakers and advocates for the
missing have identified persons with
Alzheimer's disease and other forms of
dementia as being particularly vulnerable
to missing episodes. Increases in
longevity among the older population and
the aging of the baby boom generation
have contributed to interest in
establishing these systems. Wandering
from home can be a frequent behavior that
may pose a significant, sometimes
life-threatening, danger to the wellbeing
of those with Alzheimer's disease and
other forms of dementia. According to the
Alzheimer's Association, if not found
within 24 hours, nearly 50% of those who
wander risk serious illness or death.
Illness or death may occur from exposure
to the elements, lack of food or
hydration for an extended period, and
general inability of the individual to
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL 1127 (Torres)
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think, act, or communicate to gain
assistance.<3>
Related legislation:
SB 1047 (Alquist), Chapter 651, Statutes of 2012,
established California's Silver Alert System.
SB 839 (Runner), Chapter 311, Statutes of 2010, established
California's blue alert system.
AB 415 (Runner), Chapter 517, Statutes of 2002, established
California's Amber Alert system.
POSITIONS
Support: The Help Group (co-sponsor)
Association of Regional Center Agencies
Oppose: None received.
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<3> http://research.policyarchive.org/18546.pdf