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QUESTION: We have a resident that has a history of eloping. During COVID he has restarted eloping frequently. He is continuing to find ways to actually elope out into the community alone, which puts him in severe danger. The team has developed multiple programmatic items and some restrictions, such as alarms. He continues to elope by disconnecting the electronic monitoring, etc. Does anyone have any experiences with this behavior? Have you found any systems that successfully allow you to locate clients when they elope from the home? We do have extensive experience in this area, unfortunately. To date, the only way we've been able to address this is through the assistance of the local police. If the individual would benefit from a smartphone and would be willing to carry one, this could be tracked with the permission of the individual/guardian. The question does not indicate whether this is an ICF home or not but sounds like it may be. When it gets to this extreme, however, the provider may have no option but to provide 1:1 staffing. That’s not a long-term solution, but it can sometimes work to help the person deal with their current issue. We had a couple situations. In one situation, the consumer carried their cell phone and we downloaded Life360 and created a circle between her team and her. We were able to eventually provide unsupervised time for her based on keeping the app on her phone. The other consumer we looked at a necklace for him. It had a GPS locator in it. We did not end up getting it as a change in his BSP and medications were successful. Multiple members suggested using Project Life Saver. https://projectlifesaver.org/ Not sure if this is in an SGL or Waiver home – but I am in hopes that their Behavioral Consultant can be of some support to complete an FBA and realistically understand WHY he is eloping and address the underlying need. If he is capable of disconnecting the electronic monitoring – he is probably capable of managing in the community without line of site supervision. If this is the case and if he can give informed consent to the risks involved, I would suggest he have a phone where he gives consent for either Life360 or another “sharing his location” as a negotiation and compromise to the providers need to supervise and his need to be independent. We have never tried the new Verizon watch, but have heard great things about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1xRc4Rl90s&feature=youtu.be SafeinHome may potentially have some elopement mitigation solutions that could assist the care circle and this individual. Scott Steele Account Executive-Indiana 260-615-0626 www.safeinhome.com Angel Sense GPS Tracker – Non removable wearing device: https://www.amazon.com/AngelSense-Dementia-Nationwide-Speakerphone-Auto-Answer/dp/B08211HC64 Project Lifesaver (www.projectlifesaver.org) is utilized by law enforcement across Central Indiana. In Hamilton County, 29 individuals currently have the device. Firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and K9 crews have responded to five alerts there since 2009, and each time, the individual was found safe within minutes, says project coordinator Dave McCormick. The Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response and Education (AWAARE) collaboration is a group of six national nonprofit autism organizations whose mission is to reduce autism-related wandering incidents and deaths. The AWAARE website, awaare.nationalautismassociation.org, includes tools and resources for preventing wandering, including a helpful Big Red Safety Box kit for parents. This information is a compilation of suggestions, ideas, and opinions shared by INARF Members in response to the featured question. This information should not be considered official interpretation or guidance of State or Federal Policy. Additionally, statements within this document do not necessarily reflect an official position or opinion of INARF.
QUESTION: We have a resident that has a history of eloping. During COVID he has restarted eloping frequently. He is continuing to find ways to actually elope out into the community alone, which puts him in severe danger. The team has developed multiple programmatic items and some restrictions, such as alarms. He continues to elope by disconnecting the electronic monitoring, etc. Does anyone have any experiences with this behavior? Have you found any systems that successfully allow you to locate clients when they elope from the home?