FLEMINGTON -- A new safety program in Hunterdon is designed to improve the way first-responders deal with people who have special needs.
Hunterdon Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office's S.T.a.R. Program (Special Training and Registration) will provide critical information about a person to police that will be helpful 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.
"On a daily basis, police officers and other first responders have encounters with individuals with various developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and other mental health issues for various emergency and non-emergency reasons," Hunterdon Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III said in announcing the program.
"Just as the reasons for each response differ, so do the individuals they encounter. Too often we read about unfortunate outcomes between first responders and special needs individuals arising from a lack of information available to the first responders."
Information that can be provided can include dislikes, fears, whether the person is verbal or non-verbal, violent tendencies, or any other information that would be helpful to the first responders, according to a news release. Other information, such as nearby terrain hazards, can assist in the event someone wanders away from home.
The information provided will be loaded into a database at the Hunterdon County Communications Dispatch Center. There, trained dispatchers will be able to cross-reference names and addresses with the database and instantly provide details to first responders to assist them with the situation and help keep the person safe, it was stated in the release.
In another element of the county-wide program, first responders including state, county, and local police, firefighters, EMS personnel, Emergency Management personnel, dispatchers, as well as educators from several school districts in Hunterdon County will receive mandatory training on a number of issues related to autism and developmental disabilities.
The training will also cover safety, with a special emphasis on wandering and elopement.
The training will be hosted by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office in conjunction with Hunterdon Medical Center and will be held at the Hunterdon Medical Center auditorium on May 13 at 8:30 a.m.
Hunterdon County residents can register on a downloadable form that will be available after May 13 on the prosecutor's website, co.hunterdon.nj.us/prosecutor. For more information, call the prosecutor's office at 908-788-1129.
Sallie Graziano may be reached at sgraziano@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SallieGraziano. Find The Hunterdon County Democrat on Facebook.