“PURPLE alert” legislation for missing individuals with disabilities
“As recent events have shown, this is a missing piece in our statewide system of care for the health and safety of adults with disabilities,” said Representative Spears (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly), who serves as the executive director of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, which represents providers who support people with disabilities.
“This legislation would bring together law
enforcement, disability advocates, media outlets and state agencies in a collaborative
effort to build a system that works similarly to the alert programs that we
already have to get out the word to our communities when a person goes missing
whose disability and the circumstances of their disappearance place them in
danger.”
Last month, a nonverbal autistic woman went missing for several days in Cranston before being found alive in the back of a parked vehicle.
“Our recent experience in Cranston showed clearly that we need an alert program that is tailored to the specific needs of adults with more serious disabilities in our community who rely on caregivers in their daily lives,” said Senator Patalano (D-Dist. 26, Cranston), who is a Major in the Cranston police department. “This is a tool that I sincerely hope we will not have to use often, but it is important that we establish a working protocol now before the next time we are on the clock with a missing individual.”
The bill (2025-H 6165) would establish an alert system similar to
existing silver and amber alerts to help locate a missing adult with a physical
or neurological disability serious enough to warrant concern for their
immediate safety and wellbeing. The disappearance would have to pose a credible
threat to the safety and health of the missing person in order to trigger the
alert protocol.
To establish that the missing individual’s conditions were
serious enough to warrant the alert, law enforcement would first review
appropriate documentation from the missing person’s family, legal guardian or
long-term care facility.
“My heart just broke reading about the disappearance in
Cranston. How do you just lose another human being in your care?” said
disability advocate Christina Battista. “I appreciate the work of
Representative Spears and Senator Patalano to develop a program that can more
quickly find a vulnerable community member who has gone missing. It is
important that the program that comes from this legislation operate within
strict guidelines in order to respect the autonomy of disabled people and
ensure that the program operates as intended. I welcome a collaborative process
in which law enforcement works closely with people with disabilities and their
families toward a common goal of safety and respect for the disabled community.
In addition, facilities that provide care for individuals with
disabilities should review their hiring procedures and safety guidelines
to help to eliminate these kinds of disappearances from happening.”
The Division of State Police, in collaboration with the
Department of Health, cooperating media outlets, the Rhode Island Emergency
Management Agency and other appropriate agencies would develop the policies and
procedures of the PURPLE alert system, within the framework provided by
Representative Spears’ and Senator Patalano’s bill.
