Andrew Powell
The House Government Operations Subcommittee advanced a bill that seeks to alert law enforcement when a child on the autism spectrum goes missing.
Doral Republican Rep. David Borrero and Fort Lauderdale Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell introduced the bipartisan measure (HB 711) in hopes of ensuring that children who go missing are safely brought home, while law enforcement is equipped to deal with these situations.
Borrero said that as a new father, he was shocked to learn that almost half of all children on the autism spectrum go missing at some point.
“I became mortified just at the idea of my children being missing,” Borrero said. “I was shocked to learn that there’s a statistic by the … American Academy of Pediatrics, that nearly half of children on the autism spectrum disorder, at some point, they become missing, or they stray from their environment. Half of them.”
Borrero added that it’s important for law enforcement to be aware of how to deal with these situations.
“What this bill does is, it’s two-fold,” Borrero said. “One, it creates a state-wide spectrum alert, so that when children with autism go missing, that there’s an alert that’s placed out there in the public so that law enforcement and the general public is aware. The second, and very importantly, is that law enforcement receives training.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be required to work with different departments, including the Florida Department of Transportation, the Department of the Lottery, and the Department of Motor Vehicles to create best practices and develop a program that would be available for local law enforcement agencies to educate on how to handle autistic children.
“Do law enforcement know that children with autism spectrum disorder, they flee from bright lights, and heavy sounds, or that they gravitate towards bodies of water? … The leading cause of death for children with autism is drowning,” Borrero said. “This is important I think for law enforcement to be aware of and receive this training.”
North Miami Democratic Rep. Wallace Aristide, who is an educator, supported the bill and thanked both Borrero and Campbell for bringing it forward.
“I want to thank you for bringing this bill, I work with so many autistic students, I get it, I fully understand it, and I’m so appreciative because you are gonna do a lot to make their lives a lot better, so I want to thank you both for bringing this bill to the floor,” Aristide said.
In closing, Campbell said the bill will help law enforcement ensure children with autism get home safely.
“As you all are aware, I’m a social worker, and one of the things that we try to do is meet individuals where they’re at,” Campbell said. “In this bill, I’m proud to say, this allows us to meet kids on the spectrum where they’re at, by providing training amongst our law enforcement but also ensuring that if one child goes missing, all eyes will be on alert and making sure that child gets home safely back to their family.”
The bill passed committee by a vote of 16 to 0 and will now go to the Health & Human Services Committee.
