Latest news with #BlueEnvelopeProgram
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Sutter County sheriff introduces program to support people with disabilities during law enforcement encounters
Encountering law enforcement can be stressful for anyone, let alone for those who may have a disability, hidden or otherwise. The Sutter County Sheriff's Office is rolling out a new tool aimed at making encounters with law enforcement safer and less stressful for people with disabilities. It's called the Blue Envelope Program. "It sets a good tone. It opens those communication lines in a safe fashion," said Deputy Sheriff Andre Licon with the Sutter County Sheriff's Office. Earlier this year, the Placer County Sheriff's Office was the first in the Sacramento region to launch a Blue Envelope Program. "It basically helps notify law enforcement of some sort of special need that the individual has, whether that's autism, could be dementia, could be PTSD, trauma, anything. Lights and sirens sometimes trigger people," said Sutter County Sheriff's Office's Public Information Officer Sierra Pedley. The idea is to hand over a blue envelope or have the decals visible to law enforcement during a traffic stop or any other encounter. "It's not always going to be an enforcement issue. It might be someone we encounter in the park or maybe they have an issue that isn't criminal related, but there's going to be a communication factor there that we're working through," Licon said. It's an initiative that's important to Sutter County Sheriff Brandon Barnes. "My grandson Liam has autism, so to me this is very personal thing that we're able to do to provide another level of service to our community," Barnes said. "We decided to launch it this week after a soft launch and items have been going quite quickly," Pedley said. So quickly, in fact, the sheriff's office has already had to restock the blue envelope station a couple of times. "You can come into the front of the sheriff's office, you'll walk in to the left-hand side. We have a basket here that has blue envelope products. Seatbelt covers, wristbands, buttons," Licon said. The program station is monitored daily and refilled as needed. The sheriff's office wants to emphasize these are not get out of jail free cards. "The blue envelope doesn't absolve anyone of their responsibilities from a criminal standpoint or behavioral standpoint. It just lets us know there may be a communication challenge or a workaround that we may need to be aware of when communicating with folks," Licon said. The sheriff's office is educating its deputies to be aware of and on the lookout for blue envelopes while out in the community.
Chicago Tribune
07-07-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Grant helps Portage Township Autism Action Coalition's work spread throughout Porter County
The Portage Township Autism Action Coalition's actions have spread beyond the township. Three of its programs expanded throughout Porter County because of a grant from the Porter County Community Foundation, said Joyce Russell, community outreach and communications coordinator for the Portage Township trustee's office. Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy formed the committee in 2020. It includes the three police and three fire departments serving Portage Township, Portage Township Schools, Portage Township YMCA, Porter County Search and Rescue and Porter County Central Communications. One of the group's first projects was to create autism sensory kits for first responders. The kits contain fidget toys, noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, a communications board and dry erase board with marker. In February 2021, the group distributed 170 of these kits. After other Porter County police departments inquired about the kits and equipping their officers with the de-escalation tools used to help someone on the spectrum or improve communication between the officer and autistic person, the group looked for ways to make it happen, Russell said. Clancy saw the Porter County Community Foundation's latest round of grants as an opportunity not only to provide sensory kits to all Porter County police departments but also to expand other programs and to provide a regional autism training workshop. The foundation awarded the $10,000 grant in April. The majority was used for the kits and to stock a sensory kit pantry at the trustee's office. In June, PTAAC distributed 140 kits to Valparaiso, Chesterton, Hebron, Kouts, Burns Harbor and Porter police departments. An additional 12 were given to the Porter County sheriff's office and Portage Police Department to restock their original kits. This allows every patrol car in Porter County to have a sensory kit, Russell said. PTAAC also expanded its new Blue Envelope Program throughout the county. It includes a decal to be placed on a vehicle's rear window to inform a police officer during a traffic stop that the driver is on the spectrum. It also includes a blue envelope with information for both the driver and officer as to what to expect during a traffic stop or interaction with someone on the spectrum as well as a contact card with the name and telephone number of a family member or friend in case the officer needs to contact someone on the driver's behalf. Since the Blue Envelope Program was launched countywide on April 1, police departments have distributed 48 packets, Russell said. The materials are also available at the Valparaiso and Portage branches of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Porter County is a pilot program for Indiana, following the introduction of legislation by state Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, in January to adopt the program statewide. Moseley and state officials agreed to use Porter County as a pilot program, Russell said. A third program being expanded is the window cling program, featuring a primary-colored autism puzzle piece. Parents may get up to three of the clings at their local police station. Placing the clings on their vehicle or their home's front window or door lets first responders know a child with autism is likely in the car or house. The rest of the community foundation's grant will fund a regional autism training workshop Oct. 16 at Portage High School, Russell said. Jerry Turning, a retired police officer and father of a 21-year-old autistic son, will return to Portage to provide the free workshop to first responders and others in Porter, Lake and LaPorte counties.
Chicago Tribune
19-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Elgin News Digest: School District U-46 honors top graduates in class of 2025; Elgin police launch new initiative to help autistic drivers
The District U-46 School Board honored the academic accomplishments of the top 47 graduating seniors from the district's five high schools in a program held May 12 at South Elgin High School. Those recognized were: Bartlett High School: Kaitlyn Jenison, Krish Patel, Jingyuan Wen, Whalan Eid, Ryan Chien, Benjamin Emro, Audrey Martin, Zara Yasoob and Jack Conner. Elgin High School: Sebastian Siwiec, Jason Allen, Rishi Shah, Joshua Nato, Aaditya Sanghavi, Eric Nazario, Evangeline Comings, Brody Grosenbach, Liza Aygul and Jai Patel. Larkin High School: Lucy Akemann, Lara Amaro, Erany Fahmy, Addison Kuttnauer, Jenna Mack, Lydia Soto, Caitlin Sweeney and Samantha Winer. South Elgin High School: Carter Beucler, Anthony Cavallo, Anna Christopherson, Donald Doan, Ava Franch, Emmett Hanson, Mackenzie Klinger, Ethan Messer, Nishar Parekh, Ayush Patel, Dia Patel, Kamila Sangabriel and Kalia Verdino. Streamwood High School: Sophia Lortie, Danielle Althea Sotto, Sophie Saflarski, Salman Amir, Ream Basraoui, Leonor Nevarez and Claire Dresser. The Elgin Police Department, in partnership with The Autism Hero Project, is now participating in the nationwide Blue Envelope Program. The program 'is designed to support autistic drivers during traffic stops or other motor vehicle interactions, bridging communication gaps and ensuring safer, more respectful encounters with law enforcement,' according to a post on the police department's Facebook page. Blue Envelope kits are provided to drivers with autism and include the person's driver's license, vehicle registration, insurance card, communication method (verbal, nonverbal, etc.) and support contact information, the post said. Instructions are printed on the envelope for both the driver and the officer and can be presented at the time of a stop or police event, helping to reduce anxiety, prevent misunderstandings and to build trust. The kits are available at the front desk of the Elgin Police Department, 151 Douglas Ave. For more information, call 847-289-2700. Debra Miller will portray author Laura Ingalls Wilder in a show called 'All That I Have Told Is True' being presented at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. Miller is a professional actress with more than 30 years of experience performing for live audiences, on television and in film, library officials said. For more information or to register for the program, go to or call 630-584-0076. The Elgin and Carpentersville police departments are taking part in the nationwide 'Click It or Ticket' campaign enforcing seat belt usage through the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The campaign will be conducted in the evening hours because Illinois crash data shows higher rates of traffic accident fatalities occur at night involving people not wearing seatbelts, a news release said. 'Seat belt use should be an automatic habit for everyone,' Carpentersville Police Chief Todd Shaver said in the release. 'Buckling up is the simplest way to reduce injury or save a life in a crash.' The 'Click It or Ticket' campaign is funded with federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. For more information, go to
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Fairborn and Miami County launch Blue Envelope program for drivers with disabilities
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Both the Fairborn Police Department and the Miami County Sheriff's Office are joining the Blue Envelope Program to help drivers with disabilities. The Blue Envelope Program is designed to support people with communication needs – primarily people on the Autism Spectrum – but Fairborn is also including drivers with anxiety or dementia. Kettering Police start Blue Envelope program for drivers with ASD Drivers can show officers the envelope at traffic stops to signal they need extra support. The envelope holds the driver's important documents and has printed communication tips on the outside for officers to read. The Fairborn envelopes can be picked up at the Fairborn Police Department, 70 W. Hebble Ave. The envelope also includes a form to request a communication disability alert on your license or plates. To learn more, click here. The Miami County Sheriff's Office partnered with the Miami County Board of Developmental Disabilities to offer its envelopes. They can be picked up at 201 W. Main St., Troy, during the weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 937-440-6085 for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Sacramento Police launch 2025 'Click it or Ticket' campaign
( — The Sacramento Police Department is launching its 'Click it or Ticket' campaign from May 12 to June 1, to remind drivers to buckle up themselves and their children when traveling. Video Above: Placer County launches Blue Envelope Program for neurodiverse communities SPD said there will be additional officers on patrol looking out for drivers and passengers who are not wearing their seat belts. They will also be searching for children not secured in the proper safety seats for their age. 'Wearing a seat belt should be automatic for all drivers and passengers every trip,' Sacramento Police Sergeant Anna Mahoney said. 'Seat belts save lives, and everyone — front seat and back, child and adult — needs to remember always to buckle up.' National statistics from 2022 showed that 11,302 people killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts, 842 of those being from California, according to SPD. SPD is reminding the community that California law requires children under 2 years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat, with the exception of a child weighing 40 pounds or more or is 40 or more inches tall. CHP unveils new fleet of bold colored vehicles Children between 2 years old and 8 years old are required to be in a secured car seat or booster seat and cannot ride in the front seat. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
