NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On June 9, 2016, Governor Bill Haslam signed The Care Alert into law after Margaret Davis, Supported Employment Director at Progressive Directions, contacted Representative Joe Pitts with the idea of an alert system for Tennessee Residents with disabilities.
Representative Pitts became the champion of this new law and worked to bring it into law over the last year.
“The Care Alert Act is one of the more important public safety laws enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly this year. Great thanks to Margaret and J.T. Davis for championing this legislation that provides peace of mind for families across our state,” Pittsa said.
Previously, citizens with a disability over the age of 18 who were missing or endangered had few options for their families to get the word out to the public that assistance was needed to help bring them home. The Silver Alert did not cover people under the age of 60 with a disability.
Inspired by a story about a gentleman with a disability missing for eight years after taking the wrong bus to a family member’s home in another state, Margaret knew she had to take action. Margaret’s son, J.T., has Autism and Margaret felt the time was right to introduce this new law to state policy makers.
The Care Alert was received on Capitol Hill with approval by lawmakers. Margaret named the Care Alert after the charity organization, Bikers Who Care, who have always advanced the care of people with disabilities through their ongoing fundraising for charities supporting people with disabilities.
Davis spoke on what the law being passed means to her, “Knowing that there is something out there that can protect people with intellectual and/or developmental disability means the world to me. I am inspired by the people we support daily and my son who is 24 (and no longer covered by the Amber Alert). I wanted to do something that could further protect those people I care so much about.”