Full Notification

Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III, Chief John Kuczynski and Director of Public Safety George Wagner announce the roll out of a new initiative that will provide important information to police officers responding to incidents involving special needs individuals.According to Kearns, “The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office developed the S.T.a.R.Program (Special Training and Registration) in order to provide critical information about an individual to police that will be of assistance in the event of an emergency or other encounter.

The program will allow parents and legal guardians, on a voluntary basis, to provide information to law enforcement that they believe is important to the well-being of their loved ones, wards, or clients.”First responders including state, county and local police, fire and EMS and Emergency Management personnel, county communication dispatchers as well as educators from several school districts in Hunterdon County, recently received professional training on a number of issues relating to autism/developmental disabilities and safety, with a special emphasis on wandering and elopement.

Matt Brown,federal law enforcement officer(retired), Autism Safety Trainer and parent of a child on the autism spectrum, conducted this training on May 13, 2016. The training was held at and co-hosted by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office and Hunterdon Medical Center and the Hunterdon County Department of Public Safety. Matt and his wife Nancy operate ASET -Autism Safety Education & Training, and are dedicated to providing this training to any interested first responders, schools or other community groups. For more information, visit www.aset911.com, or call (207) 415-1392.

A recent study of wandering and autism by the Kennedy Krieger Institute found that 46% of children on the spectrum wander, and of those that wander and are found deceased, 91% drown. This is a startling statistic, and one that brings home all to clearly the lethal nature of this common problem.

While specific training on this issue for first responders and schools is critical, it is equally important that we as parents take the initiative to provide potentially life-saving information, in advance, to our local first responder agencies. Registration or information forms have been developed that provide such important information as: Whether the child is verbal or non-verbal; Whether the child is wearing a tracking device;Places the child has previously wandered to; Location of all nearby water sources, including swimming pools, lakes, ponds, streams or rivers, drainage ponds or quarries; Sensory, processing or other issues that may challenge rescuers; Meltdown triggers and calming techniques; Favorite topics or objects.

These pieces of information can be entered into the local dispatch system, to be used in emergency situations only, and then critical information can be rapidly relayed to responding agencies, who can properly allocate assets for an effective search. Remember that when your child wanders, your ability to remember to relay some of this information will be impaired by your stress level. Providing this information in advance will ensure that no important information is forgotten.

In Hunterdon County, Sheriff Fred Brown’s Office utilizes Project Lifesaver technology, which enables persons with autism and other developmental disabilities to be tracked via wristbands that emit a signal 24 hours a day. Any families with children on the spectrum should strongly consider registering with the S. T. a R. Program in addition to Project Lifesaver to utilize this life saving service.

Hunterdon County residents can register on a downloadable form that will be available today, May 16, 2016 at www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/star.html.

Residents can also pick up a registration form from their local police. For further information, call the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office at 908-788-1129.