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Crime & Safety

'Take Me Home' Program Helps the Developmentally Disabled

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department offers a program to keep developmentally disabled people safe.

Because of a new program initiated by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, families and caregivers of people with developmental disabilities can breathe a small sigh of relief.

Announced by the Sheriff’s Department in June 2010, the "Take Me Home” program is a regional special-needs registry implemented to help families of those with disabilities such as Alzheimer’s and autism. Because many people with these disabilities have difficulty identifying themselves and communicating their needs, the registry provides law enforcement officers with information necessary to assist them and to bring them home.

Take Me Home was envisioned by Palomar College Police Officer Brian Herritt. Herritt, the father of an autistic child, had also responded to incidents involving people with special needs, and approached the Sheriff’s Department with his idea.

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Caregivers must volunteer the person's information through one of the supporting organizations, which include the Alzheimer’s Association, The ARC of San Diego, the Autism Society of America, the Epilepsy Foundation, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Developmental Services, the Aging and Independence Service of the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency and the Office of the State Council On Developmental Disabilities. They must submit a photograph and also complete an application which includes information about the affected person’s disabilities.

“It’s a great concept as far as law enforcement when they come into contact with someone with special needs,” said John Hannon, director of operations and compliance at The ARC of San Diego. ARC works primarily with those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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The registry is accessible by all policing agencies in the San Diego region, allowing them to identify someone who is developmentally disabled. Officers who contact people in the registry can also access information about his or her disability, and where to take them if they are lost.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, the number of missing adults rose by 11 percent in 2010. Those at risk rose by 13 percent. One of the more recent and notable incidents of a missing adult occurred in April of this year. According to Oceanside Police, 79-year-old Robert Worden disappeared from his Oceanside home April 26 and was later found dead. Worden suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

According to Sheriff’s Department Crime Prevention Specialist Henry Tirado, 196 people currently are on the registry countywide. So far, no incidents have been reported of participants being contacted by deputies in the Mount Helix or Lemon Grove areas, Crime Prevention Specialist Kelly Marline said.

“It’s a great program,” said Marline. “Whenever you see someone who’s runaway on TV, my thought is, I hope they’re on the ‘Take Me Home’ program.”

More information about the Take Me Home program can be found at sdsheriff.net, or by visiting the websites of the stakeholder organizations.

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