National Autism Alert Initiative
HHS Launches First National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
ROCHESTER, MN — AUGUST 21, 2026 — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today announced the development of the first-ever National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert initiative. Led by HHS in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the initiative will work to strengthen coordination among emergency management agencies, law enforcement, first responders, and community partners nationwide to improve preparedness and response when autistic individuals are reported missing. It will also establish a national framework of best practices to address the leading causes of preventable injury and death among autistic individuals, which include accidental drowning linked to wandering and elopement.
“When an autistic child or adult goes missing, every minute matters,” said Secretary Kennedy. “President Trump has made improving the lives of Americans with autism and their families a priority. We are bringing federal, state, and local partners together to improve prevention, speed the response, and help bring autistic children and adults home safely.”
“Protecting vulnerable Americans is a core responsibility of the Department of Justice, and we are proud to join HHS and FEMA in launching this first‑ever National Autism Missing Person Alert initiative,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This effort will help law enforcement and emergency responders act quickly and effectively when an autistic individual goes missing, strengthening coordination and saving lives. Families deserve to know that when every minute matters, their government is working together to bring their loved ones home safely.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, DHS is proud to work alongside Secretary Kennedy and HHS to help communities respond faster and more effectively when autistic individuals go missing,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “FEMA’s role is to support coordination across emergency management, law enforcement, first responders, and community partners so local officials have the tools and relationships they need before an incident occurs. This initiative is about preparedness, rapid response, and protecting vulnerable Americans when every minute counts.”
In addition to the National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert initiative, HHS is also releasing a broad set of coordinated actions designed to improve the safety, healthcare, and services available to individuals with autism across all stages of life.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Toolkit for state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) officials. The toolkit is intended to help states improve quality-care while ensuring taxpayer resources are used effectively to deliver evidence-based care. The toolkit provides states with guidance on best practices for implementing high-quality Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services, promoting appropriate utilization of evidence-based ABA, strengthening program integrity and oversight, and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in ABA service delivery. CMS will reach out to state Medicaid directors regarding relevant initiatives, as appropriate.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is launching several initiatives to strengthen healthcare for individuals with autism by improving clinical training and expanding access to care. These efforts include increasing graduate training focused on recognizing diagnostic overshadowing and co-occurring medical conditions. HRSA will also be working with the Health Center Program to improve services for individuals with autism. These efforts are designed to improve early recognition of medical conditions, strengthen the healthcare workforce, and increase access to comprehensive, high-quality care.
During its April 28, 2026, meeting, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) approved several recommendations that complement these broader Trump Administration initiatives, including:
Enhanced screening for co-occurring medical conditions.
Development of federal guidance addressing wandering and elopement.
Advancing a proposal to establish a “Profound Autism” designation to improve research and service planning for individuals with the highest support needs.
Creation of new working groups focused on communication, medical research priorities, and lifespan supports.
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism affects approximately 1 in 31 children in the United States, underscoring the need for continued federal support.
Together, these actions announced today represent the Trump Administration’s most comprehensive efforts yet to improve outcomes for autistic individuals and their families through coordinated federal leadership.
View the HHS autism fact sheet and resources
Fact Sheet: National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative
10 Things Everyone Should Know
HHS is launching a new federal partnership with DOJ and FEMA. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching the National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The partnership is designed to strengthen coordination amongst emergency managers, law enforcement, first responders, and community partners when an autistic child or adult is reported missing.
The initiative will build on the existing Missing and Endangered Person alert processes. Rather than creating an entirely separate national alert infrastructure, the partnership will promote appropriate and more consistent use of the existing Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) alert category using FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) capabilities for qualifying autism-related incidents.
Autism-related wandering can become life-threatening within minutes. Approximately half of autistic children engage in wandering behavior at some point. A pediatrics study found that 49% of children with autism had attempted to elope at least once after age 4; Center for Disease Control (CDC) similarly summarizes this evidence reporting that about half of children and youth with autism wander. The National Autism Safety Council reports that an average of eight autistic children die each month in the U.S. following wandering or elopement, most often from drowning in nearby water. Drowning accounts for the majority of autism wandering fatalities, and many missing individuals are found close to their last known location. Rapid action—including searches of nearby water sources and other high-risk areas—can be critical.
Federal partners will develop guidance and best practices for states and local communities. HHS, DOJ, and FEMA will follow up with national guidance and best practices to help state, tribal, territorial and local authorities determine how to make the best use of existing MEP protocols for autistic individuals who wander or elope and are at imminent risk. The goal is a more consistent, rapid, autism-informed response while preserving state, tribal, territorial, and local discretion over alert activation.
FEMA will work to update IPAWS messaging resources for autism-related incidents. The partnership will support updated IPAWS message templates and autism-specific messaging guidance, including information addressing risks and response practices common in autism-related wandering incidents. This may include emphasizing any nearby water hazards, high-risk traffic areas, and clear instructions for how the public can assist.
DOJ’s will help strengthen law-enforcement and first-responder response. The initiative envisions DOJ support for national guidance, model MEP activation protocols, autism-specific response procedures, standardized public alert language, and evidence-informed search practices. Training priorities include recognizing autism-related wandering, communication differences, rapid alert activation, water searches, safe recovery, and coordinated multiagency response.
Implementation will depend on state, tribal, territorial and local adoption. The federal partnership will provide a national framework, guidance, templates, training, and best practices, but the effectiveness of the initiative will depend on state, tribal, territorial, and local jurisdictions adopting and using federal guidance within their existing alert and emergency-response systems. State, tribal, territorial, and local authorities will continue to make alert activation decisions under applicable protocols.
Families and caregivers should act immediately when an autistic loved one goes missing. In the meantime, if a loved one with autism goes missing, families and caregivers should call 911 immediately, tell authorities the missing person is a high-risk autistic individual, share relevant information about communication, behavior, water attraction or other known risks, and ask authorities to use their Missing and Endangered Person protocols to support a quick recovery. For children and adults with autism who are known to be at risk of wandering or elopement, families and caregivers should also consider appropriate GPS or other location-tracking devices as part of a broader individualized safety plan. Tracking technology can help support faster location and recovery, but it should complement - not replace - close supervision, prevention planning, and an immediate call to 911 when someone is missing.
The initiative is intended to improve both public alerts and the search response behind them. The effort goes beyond alert language. Federal partners will encourage autism-specific response protocols, first-responder education, evidence-informed search practices, stronger state, tribal, territorial, and local implementation, and improved data collection so future policy and training can continue to be improve.
The goal is a faster, more coordinated response that can save lives. The National Autism Missing and Endangered Person Alert Initiative reflects a shared federal commitment to treat high-risk, autism-related missing-person cases with appropriate urgency. By bringing HHS, DOJ, FEMA, state, tribal, territorial, and local authorities, first responders, families, and community partners together, the initiative aims to improve timely identification and safe recovery of autistic individuals who wander or elope.
Sources: Anderson et al., Pediatrics (2012), “Occurrence and Family Impact of Elopement in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders”; CDC, “Wandering (Elopement)”; National Autism Safety Council, “Autism & Safety.”
If an Autistic Loved One Goes Missing
Call 911 immediately. Report that the person is a high-risk, autistic individual and ask authorities to use their Missing and Endangered Person protocols.