II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1263 

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver Alert plans throughout the 

United States and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2011 

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver Alert plans 

throughout the United States and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Silver Alert 

5 Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) MISSING SENIOR.—The term ‘‘missing sen9 ior’’ refers to any individual who— 


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1 (A) is reported to, or identified by, a law 

2 enforcement agency as a missing person; and 

3 (B) meets the requirements to be des4 ignated as a missing senior, as determined by 

5 the State in which the individual is reported or 

6 identified as a missing person. 

7 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

8 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com9 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

10 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common11 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

12 SEC. 3. SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub14 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na15 tional Silver Alert communications network within the De16 partment of Justice to provide assistance to regional and 

17 local search efforts for missing seniors through the initi18 ation, facilitation, and promotion of local elements of the 

19 network (known as Silver Alert plans) in coordination with 

20 States, units of local government, law enforcement agen21 cies, and other concerned entities with expertise in pro22 viding services to seniors. 

23 (b) COORDINATION WITH AMBER ALERT NET24 WORK.—In establishing the Silver Alert Network under 

25 subsection (a), the Attorney General shall ensure that, 


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1 when feasible, the Silver Alert Network is able to operate 

2 in coordination with the AMBER Alert communications 

3 network, established under subtitle A of title III of the 

4 PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5791 et seq.), to maximize the 

5 efficiency of both networks. 

6 SEC. 4. SILVER ALERT COORDINATOR. 

7 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

8 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 

9 individual of the Department of Justice to act as the na10 tional coordinator of the Silver Alert communications net11 work. The individual so designated shall be known as the 

12 Silver Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice (re13 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Coordinator’’). 

14 (b) DUTIES OF THE COORDINATOR.—In acting as the 

15 national coordinator of the Silver Alert communications 

16 network, the Coordinator shall— 

17 (1) work with States to encourage the develop18 ment of additional Silver Alert plans in the network; 

19 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 

20 use in developing Silver Alert plans that will pro21 mote compatible and integrated Silver Alert plans 

22 throughout the United States, including— 

23 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es24 tablish a Silver Alert plan; 


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1 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa2 tion warrants issuing a Silver Alert, taking into 

3 consideration the need for the use of such 

4 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effec5 tiveness of the Silver Alert communications net6 work may be affected by overuse, including cri7 teria to determine— 

8 (i) whether the mental capacity of a 

9 senior who is missing, and the cir10 cumstances of his or her disappearance, 

11 warrant the issuance of a Silver Alert; and 

12 (ii) whether the individual who reports 

13 that a senior is missing is an appropriate 

14 and credible source on which to base the 

15 issuance of a Silver Alert; 

16 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

17 the Silver Alert name to readily identify the na18 ture of search efforts for missing seniors; and 

19 (D) recommendations on how to protect 

20 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton21 omy of any missing senior who may be the sub22 ject of a Silver Alert; 

23 (3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re24 cover missing seniors and to reduce the number of 

25 seniors who are reported missing, including protocols 


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1 for procedures that are needed from the time of ini2 tial notification of a law enforcement agency that 

3 the senior is missing through the time of the return 

4 of the senior to family, guardian, or domicile, as ap5 propriate, including— 

6 (A) public safety communications protocol; 

7 (B) case management protocol; 

8 (C) command center operations; 

9 (D) reunification protocol; and 

10 (E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 

11 and public information procedures; 

12 (4) work with States to ensure appropriate re13 gional coordination of various elements of the net14 work; 

15 (5) establish an advisory group to assist States, 

16 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

17 and other entities involved in the Silver Alert com18 munications network with initiating, facilitating, and 

19 promoting Silver Alert plans, which shall include— 

20 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

21 representation from the various geographic re22 gions of the United States; and 

23 (B) members who are— 


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1 (i) representatives of senior citizen ad2 vocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, 

3 and public safety communications; 

4 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis5 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

6 (iii) representatives of any other indi7 viduals or organizations that the Coordi8 nator determines are necessary to the suc9 cess of the Silver Alert communications 

10 network; and 

11 (6) act as the nationwide point of contact for— 

12 (A) the development of the network; and 

13 (B) regional coordination of alerts for 

14 missing seniors through the network. 

15 (c) COORDINATION.— 

16 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

17 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 

18 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com19 munications Commission, the Assistant Secretary for 

20 Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

21 Services, the head of the Missing Alzheimer’s Dis22 ease Patient Alert Program, and other appropriate 

23 offices of the Department of Justice in carrying out 

24 activities under this Act. 


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1 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

2 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 

3 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab4 lishing minimum standards under section 5 and in 

5 carrying out other activities under this Act, as ap6 propriate. 

7 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

9 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a re10 port on the activities of the Coordinator and the effective11 ness and status of the Silver Alert plans of each State 

12 that has established or is in the process of establishing 

13 such a plan. Each such report shall include— 

14 (1) a list of States that have established Silver 

15 Alert plans; 

16 (2) a list of States that are in the process of 

17 establishing Silver Alert plans; 

18 (3) for each State that has established such a 

19 plan, to the extent the data is available— 

20 (A) the number of Silver Alerts issued; 

21 (B) the number of individuals located suc22 cessfully; 

23 (C) the average period of time between the 

24 issuance of a Silver Alert and the location of 

25 the individual for whom such Alert was issued; 


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1 (D) the State agency or authority issuing 

2 Silver Alerts, and the process by which Silver 

3 Alerts are disseminated; 

4 (E) the cost of establishing and operating 

5 such a plan; 

6 (F) the criteria used by the State to deter7 mine whether to issue a Silver Alert; and 

8 (G) the extent to which missing individuals 

9 for whom Silver Alerts were issued crossed 

10 State lines; 

11 (4) actions States have taken to protect the pri12 vacy and dignity of the individuals for whom Silver 

13 Alerts are issued; 

14 (5) ways that States have facilitated and im15 proved communication about missing individuals be16 tween families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, 

17 and other authorities; and 

18 (6) any other information the Coordinator de19 termines to be appropriate. 

20 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS21 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH SILVER 

22 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

24 Subject to subsection (b), the Coordinator shall establish 

25 minimum standards for— 


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1 (1) the issuance of alerts through the Silver 

2 Alert communications network; and 

3 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

4 issued through the network. 

5 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

6 (1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The min7 imum standards established under subsection (a) of 

8 this section, and any other guidelines and programs 

9 established under section 4, shall be adoptable on a 

10 voluntary basis only. 

11 (2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

12 minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 

13 practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in 

14 consultation with State and local law enforcement 

15 agencies), provide that appropriate information re16 lating to the special needs of a missing senior (in17 cluding health care needs) are disseminated to the 

18 appropriate law enforcement, public health, and 

19 other public officials. 

20 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum stand21 ards shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as 

22 determined by the Coordinator in consultation with 

23 State and local law enforcement agencies), provide 

24 that the dissemination of an alert through the Silver 

25 Alert communications network be limited to the geoVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:56 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1263.IS S1263

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1 graphic areas which the missing senior could reason2 ably reach, considering the missing senior’s cir3 cumstances and physical and mental condition, the 

4 modes of transportation available to the missing sen5 ior, and the circumstances of the disappearance. 

6 (4) AGE REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum 

7 standards shall not include any specific age require8 ment for an individual to be classified as a missing 

9 senior for purposes of the Silver Alert communica10 tion network. Age requirements for determinations 

11 of whether an individual is a missing senior shall be 

12 determined by each State, and may vary from State 

13 to State. 

14 (5) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC15 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 

16 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

17 Silver Alert communications network comply 

18 with all applicable Federal, State, and local pri19 vacy laws and regulations; and 

20 (B) include standards that specifically pro21 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 

22 sensitive medical information of missing sen23 iors. 

24 (6) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA25 TION.—In carrying out the activities under subVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:56 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1263.IS S1263

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1 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 

2 the current system of voluntary coordination be3 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en4 forcement agencies for purposes of the Silver Alert 

5 communications network. 

6 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES. 

7 (a) TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.—The 

8 Coordinator shall make available to States, units of local 

9 government, law enforcement agencies, and other con10 cerned entities that are involved in initiating, facilitating, 

11 or promoting Silver Alert plans, including broadcasters, 

12 first responders, dispatchers, public safety communica13 tions personnel, and radio station personnel— 

14 (1) training and educational programs related 

15 to the Silver Alert communication network and the 

16 capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behaviors of 

17 missing seniors, which shall be updated regularly to 

18 encourage the use of new tools, technologies, and re19 sources in Silver Alert plans; and 

20 (2) informational materials, including bro21 chures, videos, posters, and web sites to support and 

22 supplement such training and educational programs. 

23 (b) COORDINATION.—The Coordinator shall coordi24 nate— 


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1 (1) with the Assistant Secretary for Aging of 

2 the Department of Health and Human Services in 

3 developing the training and educational programs 

4 and materials under subsection (a); and 

5 (2) with the head of the Missing Alzheimer’s 

6 Disease Patient Alert Program within the Depart7 ment of Justice, to determine if any existing mate8 rial with respect to training programs or educational 

9 materials developed or used as part of such Patient 

10 Alert Program are appropriate and may be used for 

11 the programs under subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

13 SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De15 partment of Justice $500,000 to carry out the Silver Alert 

16 communications network as authorized under this Act. 

Æ 


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