BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 4
Author: Correa (D), et al
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
SUBJECT : Alzheimers Silver Alert program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the President and Congress
of the United States to act to establish a federally
controlled Alzheimers Silver Alert program to locate
missing persons with dementia and establish a federal grant
program to aid states in establishing local Silver Alert
programs.
ANALYSIS :
Resolution Findings
1.At least 5.2 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's
disease, a progressive and fatal brain disease that
causes loss of memory and verbal, sensory, and other
cognitive functions.
2.Sixty percent of patients with Alzheimer's disease will
wander away from home and only four percent of those will
be able to find their way back unassisted. Half of
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SJR 4
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seniors and others with dementia who wander away from
home, on foot or in a car, sustain injury if not found
within 24 hours.
3.The senior population has been steadily growing and the
aging of the baby boomer generation will likely increase
the number of persons suffering from dementia, thereby
increasing the number of persons injured or killed while
wandering.
4.A new type of missing persons program, known as the
Silver Alert, has been developed and adopted by several
states and has resulted in the safe return of a majority
of persons with dementia reported missing.
5.Legislators from other states are discussing proposals
for Silver Alert programs for introduction in 2009.
6.A nationally coordinated program, similar to the Amber
Alert program for missing children, could promote the
best practices, based on ideas and experiences of
existing states' Silver Alert programs, and spread those
best practices to other states, resulting in a national
program incorporating the media and law enforcement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
CTW:cm 4/21/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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