“When an autistic child goes missing, every minute matters,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., announcing the first-ever National Autism Missing and Endangered Person alert initiative last month – HHS Launches First National Autism Missing And Endangered Person Alert Initiative. HHS, in concert with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will coordinate the nationwide preparedness and response initiative while also releasing a broad set of collaborative actions aimed at improving safety, health care, and services available to autistic consumers at every stage of life according to the announcement.

This initiative will improve the response and coordination of emergency…