Ohio bill would create 911 disability database to aid first responders

By Farah Siddiqi, Freda Ross

By Ivory Herman / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

The Ohio House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would establish a database of information about people with autism and other disabilities to help police officers and other first responders better assist them.

The database that would be established under House Bill 144, also known as Keith’s Law, would include not only information about autism but a range of physical, sensory, cognitive, emotional and mental health conditions “that make it difficult for a person to do certain activities or to interact with others.” Representatives Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Brian Lorenz, R-Powell, introduced the bill in March. It passed in the House in May, and the legislation is now working its way through the Senate.

“I have a personal connection to that [House Bill 144], my son is on the autism spectrum,” Lorenz said. “And I know a lot of kids and adults that have challenges, especially when they interact with law enforcement.”

Lorenz maintained that first responders will have access to the 911 database, and the list would be completely voluntary.

“This bill would allow for that caregiver or the individual, if they have the cognitive function, to illustrate what issues they have,” he said.

In his testimony, Rep. Click explained the impetus behind the bill was outreach by Keith Jesse, an Ohioan with special needs who advocates for others with disabilities and teaches them about safety. He was the one who suggested the idea of informing first responders of disabled people’s needs before there is a crisis. Lorenz said, “Keith is a really, really neat guy, he’s been a really big advocate for this [House Bill 144] and that’s obviously why we named it Keith’s Law, he’s trained dogs to you know we have therapy dogs, we have rescue dogs . . . . He’s trained dogs, and that’s what he does to seek out people that have mental, social disorders and to be a comfort to them.”

The Autism Society of Ohio supports the legislation.

“Data from the Department of Justice indicates that as many as 10% of all 911 calls involve a person with a disability. This means there are many people with disabilities interacting with 911 first responders,” the Autism Society of Ohio wrote in a letter to Ohio legislators. “Additionally, according to the National Institute of Health, obstacles associated with sensory sensitivities, verbal communication abilities, and slower processing speed significantly impact the efficacy of engagements with healthcare or other emergency professionals.”

Nathan Briggs, executive director of the Autism Society of Greater Akron, said, “The more information that is available to those who need it in moments that it is actually necessary, we [ASGA] certainly support that. That, ultimately the more education that can occur around what autism is and is not, and then how to incorporate that knowledge into our society is precisely what we support.”

Briggs said that the ASGA is doing everything they can to make sure the legislation passes. He said some may have fears about the list getting in the wrong hands, but he hopes the legislators have done enough to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

Lorenz said he does not believe this bill will be hard to pass in the Senate, and he hopes they do so once they return from summer recess.

This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.