HHS Launches First-Ever National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative
核心洞察
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (搜索), Department of Justice (搜索), and FEMA (搜索) announced the first national initiative to locate missing autistic children and adults and prevent wandering-related deaths.
The initiative will build on FEMA (搜索)'s IPAWS alert system and existing missing-person capabilities to develop an autism-specific national alert framework, though a nationwide alert is not yet active.
At least 98 children and young adults with autism were recovered deceased after wandering or eloping in 2025, with 88% of those deaths due to drowning.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (搜索) (HHS), the Department of Justice (搜索) (DOJ), and FEMA (搜索) announced Thursday the launch of the National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative, the first program of its kind in the country. The initiative aims to bolster coordination among emergency management agencies, law enforcement, first responders, and community partners nationwide to improve preparedness and response when autistic adults and children go missing.
"When an autistic child or adult goes missing, every minute matters," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. "President Trump has made improving the lives of Americans with autism and their families a priority. We are bringing federal, state, and local partners together to improve prevention, speed the response, and help bring autistic children and adults home safely."
The announcement was made in Rochester, Minnesota, which officials said is home to one of the most successful autism wandering response programs in the nation.
Building a National Alert Framework
Kennedy said the initiative will build on existing missing and endangered person alert capabilities and FEMA (搜索)'s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, known as IPAWS, to develop a national framework for autism-related missing person cases. "Our goal is an autism-specific alert capability that gets critical information to authorities and the public quickly and helps bring missing persons home safely," said Kennedy.
Kennedy was clear that a new nationwide autism-specific alert is not yet active. "Today begins the National Autism Missing Person Alert Initiative," he said. "A new nationwide autism-specific alert is not yet active. We are developing the framework, working with our federal, local and state partners to turn it into an effective national capability."
The federal effort will focus on improving how first responders handle autism-related missing-person cases, including training, search strategies, alert procedures, and data collection. Kennedy summarized the mission as: "Alert faster, search smarter and save lives."
The Scope of Wandering-Related Deaths
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, at least 98 children and young adults with autism were recovered deceased after wandering or eloping — running away from a safe area without permission — in 2025 alone. Of those deaths, 88% were due to drowning.
Kennedy noted that autistic children are 100 times more likely to drown than neurotypical children, and that wandering can be triggered by sensory overloads, anxiety, or a desire for new experiences.
National Autism Coordinator Diana Diaz Harrison, who is also a parent of an autistic child, spoke about the urgency behind the numbers. "Those are not just numbers to us," said Diaz Harrison. "It could be my kid, it could be yours. It could happen to anyone."
She said the goal is for first responders to immediately understand the risks when a parent calls 911 and says their loved one is missing and has autism. "Our goal is that when a parent or caregiver says, 'my loved one is missing, and he has autism,' first responders will understand the potential risks and know the immediate urgency," said Diaz Harrison.
Rochester's Project Lifesaver as a National Model
Officials traveled to Rochester specifically to learn from Project Lifesaver, a community program that uses telemetry transmitter devices worn on the wrist or ankle of autistic children who are prone to wandering. The Rochester Police Department and Olmsted County Sheriff's Office have achieved a 100% success rate in finding enrolled children before anything bad happens to them.
Kennedy said one of the most important lessons from the program is the relationship it builds between law enforcement and the children they serve. Officers visit every 45 days to change the battery on the device, which Kennedy said creates familiarity and trust.
"Many of these children are very wary of strangers. They hide from police during searches," said Kennedy. "But in this case we found their experience here is that they now run, they gravitate towards the police because they're familiar with the uniform. They feel safe with the police."
Project Lifesaver is now used by 37 counties in Minnesota and several counties in Wisconsin.
Federal Coordination and Next Steps
Vince Davenport, representing the DOJ's Office of Justice Programs, said the department plans to leverage its existing relationships with state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to roll out training and ready-made tools. "We want ready-made turnkey products for law enforcement. We want to make it as easy as possible," said Davenport. "And so we will start that process immediately. And our goal is to push it out as far and wide as quickly as possible."
Davenport also drew a comparison to the rollout of Amber Alerts, noting that building awareness and training took time but that the country now has decades of experience with alert systems to build from.
FEMA (搜索) Administrator Cameron Hamilton said the agency's IPAWS platform is already capable of delivering targeted alerts to the public and that FEMA stands ready to support the initiative. "With our integrated public alert warning systems capabilities, we are able to effectively deliver more networking and more ability to communicate with the American people so as to recruit their expertise and most importantly, recruit their action," said Hamilton.
Federal officials said they will develop a package of guidance protocols, share best practices from states and communities, and create autism-specific templates for the IPAWS system. The goal is for states and municipalities to adopt the guidance and develop proactive plans before another autistic child or adult goes missing.
In the meantime, Kennedy urged families not to wait. He said if an autistic loved one goes missing, people should call 911 immediately and be ready to share information about how the person communicates, their attraction to water, familiar locations, and known risks. He also encouraged families to teach water safety, secure pools and dangerous areas, consider alarms and location technology, and develop an emergency plan to share with family members, schools, and caregivers.
Broader Autism Health Initiatives
Along with the new national alert system, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (搜索) (CMS) has issued an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Toolkit for state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) officials. Additionally, the Health Resources and Services Administration (搜索) (HRSA) is launching several efforts seeking to strengthen healthcare for individuals with autism by enhancing clinical training and broadening care access.
About 1 in 31 U.S. children aged 8 years have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (搜索), according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.