Feds Clarify How to Apply for Autism Tracking Devices

A week after announcing that the federal government will pay for tracking devices for kids with autism, officials are offering more details about how families can access the technology.

Police departments nationwide will be able to make the tracking devices available to children in their communities who are at risk of wandering using money available through the Justice Department’s Byrne grant program, officials at the federal agency said.

Byrne is an existing program that law enforcement agencies routinely tap to pay for everything from crime prevention programs to officer training and equipment like police radios and lights for emergency vehicles.

Last week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that his office had determined that Byrne funding could be used for tracking devices.

“Byrne grant money can be made and will be made available for the purchase of these devices,” Holder told a U.S. Senate panel.

The commitment came in response to a  request from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. The New York Democrat was prompted to act after 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, who had autism, went missing from his New York City school in October and was recently found dead.

Now it’s starting to become clearer how communities can obtain the funds Holder referenced.

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Feds Clarify How to Apply for Autism Tracking Devices