We all know from real life news and TV docu-drama shows that the first few hours are critical in successfully finding a missing person. However, for adults with developmental disabilities* a successful outcome can be complicated due to significant communication deficits and/or limited to non-existent community safety skills.

Waiting 24 hours to initiate public outreach to find an adult with developmental disabilities who is missing could be a tragedy in the making.

In fact, such a tragedy may be unfolding in Aurora regarding Franklin Benjarano, 24. He has been missing for more than 10 days. The Aurora Police Department has released a public request for assistance including stating Franklin is developmentally disabled.

As we all hope for Franklin Benjarano's safe return, it has become crystal clear that when an adult with developmental disabilities is discovered missing fast action and a clear description of the person's skills and challenges are the best plan for success.

Help is on the way -- the 2007 Colorado Legislature has unanimously passed HB 07-1005, Developmental Disabilities Missing Person Alert Program. The bill will be sent to Governor Ritter who is the last stop in making the Developmental Disabilities Missing Alert Program a reality.

This legislation would allow local police or sheriff departments to launch the media alert program through the Colorado Bureau of Investigations upon formal notification of a missing adult with developmental disabilities. The law requires that formal proof is provided of the adult's developmental disability, and is similar to the senior alert program passed last year.

The grassroots of the bill are tied to The Arc PLAN* who shared with Representative John Soper (HD 34) and Senator John Morse (SD 11) families' frustration over a sluggish response mechanism to missing adults with developmental disabilities. This legislation corrects the hurdles that caused a delayed response and the bill was strongly supported by the Media, Colorado Bureau of Investigations and Police and Sheriff departments statewide.

Although this law won't fix the problem of how or why some adults with developmental disabilities become missing, it will make sure that a public outreach for help can be quickly activated ultimately reducing the chance of harm and increasing the success of a safe and speedy recovery.

*"Developmental disability" means a disability that is manifested before the person reaches twenty-two years of age, which constitutes a substantial disability to the affected individual, and is attributable to mental retardation or related conditions which include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or other neurological conditions when such conditions result in impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior similar to that of a person with mental retardation. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the federal definition of "developmental disability" found in 42 U.S.C. sec. 15001 et seq. shall not apply.

** For more information on The Arc PLAN visit www.thearcplan.org or call Tim Cairns at ACL Boulder 303.527.0888.