This just in from the Bloomfield Parent Support Group over on Yahoo:

This is great... Thanks!!
--- In bloomfieldparentsup portgroup@ yahoogroups. com, Jennifer TRAPP <trapptrio@. ..> wrote:
 
Hi All:
  Just saw this, thought I would pass along... I didn't read the whole thing yet but didn't want to forget to send it.
 
Bloomfield Police Request Info On Children With Disabilities
 Friday, March 13, 2009
  
We wrote about Montclair police receiving training
 for responding to emergencies involving persons with autism. Now Bloomfield would like residents to respond with information about children with autism or other developmental disabilities. 

Chief  Mark Leonard of the Bloomfield Police Department is requesting assistance from all residents within the Township who are the parents or guardians of mentally handicapped, autistic, or severely developmentally disabled children. This Department is gathering information on children with disabilities so that it can identify and help prevent, as much as possible, unfortunate accidents and untimely
delays in identifying these children at risk if they go missing.

The reason for this release is to contact the guardian and make them aware that this Department is requesting information to make a record of their child and associated information that can easily be given to patrol units if the child is discovered missing. The Bloomfield Police Department has, in the past, and still does have a book of pertinent information on elderly residents of the Township who have Alzheimer's Disease or other mental disabilities.

In the past we have utilized this information to locate and return safely home the elderly who were found to be wandering and unable to inform us of the location of their
residence or other information. My goal is to attempt to make such a record to be utilized when a disabled minor child goes missing.

 All of our officers have recently been instructed on the special needs of children on the autism spectrum, and the dangers they may represent to themselves when they manage to go missing by wandering away from the safety of their homes. A four hour block of instruction was presented to our officers by the Executive Director of POAC (Parents of Autistic
 Children), Gary M. Weitzen who instructed them on Autism Recognition and Response: Specialized Training for Law Enforcement Officers.

It is because most children with an autism spectrum disorder or other mental handicap tend to show a delay or lack of development of a spoken language, coupled with their sometimes weak understanding of consequences of their actions, that it can be especially dangerous, if not deadly, for them to be wandering alone, lost, and unable to notify> anyone. It is also because of autistic children's strong attraction to  water, and the fact that drowning represents a leading cause of death among children and adults with autism, that we are asking parents to also answer questions about their neighborhoods that may help in a time of emergency when every second counts.                                

New Jersey currently has the highest rate of autism ever documented in the United States. One in every 94 children in New Jersey has some form of autism.  I am asking any parent or guardian that either lives within the Township of Bloomfield or has a child who attends school or daycare within Bloomfield, to send a current photograph of their child to our
 Police Department. The following information should also be enclosed, as well as, any other information which will be pertinent to an active investigation for their child should they appear to be missing; 
                               
* A current photograph of the child (3x5 or 4x6). 
 
* The child's full name
 
* Any other name or nickname they may understand or listen to.

 * The child's date of birth and current age.
 
* The child's primary address.
 
* Any other address the child knows, such as a school, a friend or relative's home, or any other location they may try to walk to.
* Contact information for a parent or guardian; home, cell, and work telephone numbers.
 * The exact medical condition of the child. Does he or she suffer from autism, Aspergers Syndrome, PDD's - Pervasive Developmental Delay, or another mental handicap that would endanger them if they went missing?
 
* Is your child verbal or non-verbal?

 * Do you live near a body of water? A pond, stream, river or any other body of water such as a swimming pool, a man-made fish pond or otherwise. Do your neighbors have a fish pond? Does your child know of a close-by body of water?

 * Does your child know how to swim?
 
* Has your child gone missing before?
 
* If so, where were they found? What were they doing when found?

 All correspondence to the Bloomfield Police Department pertaining to this program should be addressed to the Patrol Division, in the care of either Captain Glenn Wiegand or Captain Steve Flanagan. I would like to thank those parents that do take advantage of this program in advance for their participation.

 I believe this information will prove invaluable to my officers should the need arise in a time of crisis when a vulnerable child with a handicap appears to be missing and/or is in need of immediate assistance for his or her very survival. This will be an ongoing program and we ask that you please send an updated photograph of your child at least once a year. We ask that your information be mailed or delivered to the Bloomfield Police Headquarters before April 13th, 2009. Thank you again.

As a concerned citizen of the Township of Bloomfield of New Jersey, I urge you to provide adequate funding to support the 2009-2010 school budget for the Township. The provision of this funding is essential—without it, our school officials will be unable to meet the educational needs of our children.

By the State’s own calculations regarding adequacy in funding, Bloomfield is a grossly under-funded and over-taxed township. Indeed, under the State’s new funding formula, Bloomfield was slated to receive a 20% increase in funding this year. The Bloomfield community was heartened by the new funding formula legislation initiated last year, viewing it as a significant and positive step toward attaining fairness and equity in state funding to school districts. Continuance of this increased aid will enable our district to address its many challenges, including those identified by state mandated programs.

For your review: Bloomfield is a diverse community with a growing population of economically disadvantaged children who do not benefit from funding disseminated to students from similar backgrounds attending schools in Abbott districts.

We understand these are difficult times for our state and for our nation. Nonetheless, as Governor of the Great State of New Jersey, we believe you will keep the best interests of the citizens of our state at the forefront of your decision-making.

Thus, we ask you to strongly consider Bloomfield’s indisputable history of under-adequate funding and over-taxation, a burden that its citizens have shouldered for many years, and provide the promised 20% increase in funding to benefit the children of Bloomfield Township.