Councilmember Dawn Luedtke introduced Bill 33-23, which would establish a voluntary 9-1-1 registry program that would improve emergency response by allowing the public to provide personal and medical information to assist emergency responders, according to a press release.
The voluntary registry would enable individuals or their caregivers to store important information about their differing abilities or health challenges in the County’s emergency dispatch system, which would be regularly updated. These include being non-verbal, prone to avoid eye contact and sensitive to loud noises or bright lights.
“Voluntary 9-1-1 registry is a proven option to help our public safety professionals better support individuals during an emergency call,” Luedtke said in the press release. “When our first responders arrive on scene, we want them to have as much information as possible so they can provide the most effective and appropriate care.”
The Montgomery County Police Department’s Autism and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) outreach unit, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service’s Mobile Health Integrated Program, the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the Emergency Communications Center were all consulted in the drafting of this bill.
Council President Evan Glass, Council Vice President Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz, Sidney Katz and Kate Stewart are all cosponsors. The public hearing is scheduled for September 12.
The staff report can be accessed here.
This will allow individuals/caregivers to notify the County that someone may be non-verbal, sensitive to loud noises or bright lights, prone to avoid eye contact, or exhibit other traits that help public safety professionals better support them during an emergency call. https://t.co/8QqkNHAq1e
— Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (@dawn_luedtke) July 25, 2023
Feature photo courtesy of the Montgomery County Council.
