Late last week, the U.S. Senate announced that it has unanimously passed legislation named for a Jefferson native. Kevin and Avonte’s Law has been enacted to help families locate missing loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease, autism and related conditions, and is named to honor two boys with autism who died after wandering from caregivers. Nine-year-old Kevin Curtis Wills of Jefferson jumped into the Raccoon River and tragically drowned in 2008, and 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo of New York City wandered away from school and drowned in the East River in 2014. The bipartisan bill applies proven community alert systems to help locate these individuals and it supports training for first responders and other community officials to better prevent and respond to such cases. Justice Department grants will be able to be used for the state and local education and training programs.
