Latest news with #AutismandSpecialNeedsRegistry
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Attorney discusses privacy of local Autism and Special Needs Registry
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The Raleigh County Sheriff's Office voluntary Autism and Special Needs Registry aims to better serve those people and understand their needs during emergencies. While some in the community asked whether the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office officials could possibly be forced to share the information with federal officials, Beckley attorney Robert Dunlap said the answer was 'no.' Dunlap addressed the concerns on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, by explaining that federal health privacy laws protect those in the registry. Beckley VFW to hold bag drive for children in the foster system 'We have HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) protections. We have federal law protections,' said Dunlap. 'There must be a court order, some sort of administrative request that meets the court order's requirement, or there must be mandatory reporting laws or explicit consent from the individual.' Raleigh County Sheriff's Office offers voluntary Special Needs Registry Dunlap added that other exceptions include a public health emergency, legal court proceedings such as subpoenas, when an agency receives federal funding and when there is a shared data agreement between agencies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Raleigh County Sheriff's Office offers voluntary Special Needs Registry
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — Elizabeth Walker said that her 21-year-old son, Connor, is on the autism spectrum and that he has an intellectual disability. A longtime advocate for those with special needs, Walker said she would register Connor in the Autism and Special Needs Registry launched last year by the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office. 'He's nonverbal, and he doesn't really have a sense of danger, so if we need fire department, police, ambulance, or whatever, come into our house, they need to be aware he may run off from them, he may become aggressive,' Walker said on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Raleigh County Sheriff's Office Special Needs Community Liaison Eric Jordan said the Special Needs Registry is voluntary and that it is available for anyone in the county, of any age, who has a special need. He said that, in an emergency, 911 operators would notify law enforcement if they were helping a person who appears on the Registry. He said the information will allow better emergency services to those on the Registry and their families. 'Some of the questions that are in the questionnaire are, do they like to wander? And if they do wander where are some of the places they like to go? Do they like to gravitate towards water?' he said. 'So little bits of information like that could help out.' Bluefield West Virginia Police Department asks for help finding missing woman Some parents of special needs children in the county expressed fears on social media about registering their children into a government database, due to comments made on April 16 by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy mischaracterized autism as a 'preventable disease' and made comments which many said disparaged autistic people, prompting some local parents to be skeptical of the local Special Needs Registry. Walker, however, said she had no fears about the goal of the local registry. 'I don't believe they have any nefarious intentions,' said Walker. 'They want to keep the citizens safe, and when you have a kid like mine who might become aggressive in an emergency situation and is unable to adequately express themselves, the first responders need to know how to react and how to respond so he does remain safe.' Jordan said the Autism and Special Needs Registry is completely local and that the information is not shared with federal health officials or others. Former War police chief and son die in car accident in McDowell County, arrest warrant issued 'The database is located at our 911 Center. Nobody has access to it,' he said. 'We don't even have access to it. The only people that do our dispatchers, and they're the ones that relay the information to us.' Jordan suggested law enforcement officers may be able to get the information, if they conducted a specific search of the database. He said, however, that the goal of the registry is to simply keep residents safer during emergencies. Jourdan said his own son is on the autism spectrum and that the registry is reassuring. 'I would know that they knew how to approach my son,' he explained. 'So, they would have his name, they would have the ability to know that he's nonverbal, that he won't try to communicate whatsoever, that the lights would probably scare him. So, they would know this stuff coming in.' The Autism and Special Needs Registry is available here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
