County officials eye new procedures for daycare
Discussion comes in wake of incident involving autistic child
By Sarah Daniels
sdaniels@patuxent.com
Posted 7/17/08
In the wake of an autistic boy roaming away from a county government-run daycare program last month, representatives from the Howard County Autism Society and county officials met yesterday to discuss procedures designed to prevent such an occurrence in the future.
Colin Hays, 7, was found by his mother walking along Route 100 on June 23 after Colin walked away from a daycare program at Veterans Elementary School, in Ellicott City, that is run by the county’s Department of Recreation and Parks.
Officials said Colin left during a moment when his aide turned away from him and he ended up walking westbound along the eastbound lane of Route 100.
His mother, Kristen Detwiller, happened to be driving by when she spotted her son walking alone along the highway. She stopped and scooped him up just as police arrived. The boy was not injured.
Staff at the daycare program spent too much time searching the school for the child rather than quickly notifying police of his absence, said Gary Arthur, director of the parks department.
In the aftermath, Detwiller said she was dissatisfied by the county’s slow response to her inquiries for information on the incident. As a result, county officials set up a meeting with the autism society to discuss how to avoid such incidents in the future.
The July 16 meeting yielded several procedures that officials will implement over the next six months, said Beth Benevides Hill, co-president of the autism society.
“I was very pleased with how (the meeting) went,” she added.
The society will work with the county on staff training and produce brochures about autism for county employees, Hill said. Parents of autistic children also will speak to county employees about their experiences raising an autistic child.
Arthur said training for employees will be intensified and special training about serving autistic children will be added. The county’s lost child policy also will be clarified and stressed with all department employees, he said, adding that the autism society will review the policy.
Parents of autistic children will also be asked to fill out an extensive survey for their advice on ways to improve recreation and parks programs, Arthur said.
In six months, members of the autism society will visit recreation and parks childcare sites to ensure that the changes have been implemented and the proper policies are being followed, Hill said.
If the parents of autistic children are concerned about their children possibly roaming away from home or school, Hill urges them to contact the society to inquire about the Project Lifesaver tracking program.
Project Lifesaver, which is jointly sponsored by the autism society and Howard County police, offers tracking device bracelets to area children, Hill said, adding that about 15 children in the county are wearing the bracelets. The bracelets enable police to pinpoint a child’s location within a matter of minutes.
Detwiller was not available for comment.
Colin Hays, 7, was found by his mother walking along Route 100 on June 23 after Colin walked away from a daycare program at Veterans Elementary School, in Ellicott City, that is run by the county’s Department of Recreation and Parks.
Officials said Colin left during a moment when his aide turned away from him and he ended up walking westbound along the eastbound lane of Route 100.
His mother, Kristen Detwiller, happened to be driving by when she spotted her son walking alone along the highway. She stopped and scooped him up just as police arrived. The boy was not injured.
Staff at the daycare program spent too much time searching the school for the child rather than quickly notifying police of his absence, said Gary Arthur, director of the parks department.
In the aftermath, Detwiller said she was dissatisfied by the county’s slow response to her inquiries for information on the incident. As a result, county officials set up a meeting with the autism society to discuss how to avoid such incidents in the future.
The July 16 meeting yielded several procedures that officials will implement over the next six months, said Beth Benevides Hill, co-president of the autism society.
“I was very pleased with how (the meeting) went,” she added.
The society will work with the county on staff training and produce brochures about autism for county employees, Hill said. Parents of autistic children also will speak to county employees about their experiences raising an autistic child.
Arthur said training for employees will be intensified and special training about serving autistic children will be added. The county’s lost child policy also will be clarified and stressed with all department employees, he said, adding that the autism society will review the policy.
Parents of autistic children will also be asked to fill out an extensive survey for their advice on ways to improve recreation and parks programs, Arthur said.
In six months, members of the autism society will visit recreation and parks childcare sites to ensure that the changes have been implemented and the proper policies are being followed, Hill said.
If the parents of autistic children are concerned about their children possibly roaming away from home or school, Hill urges them to contact the society to inquire about the Project Lifesaver tracking program.
Project Lifesaver, which is jointly sponsored by the autism society and Howard County police, offers tracking device bracelets to area children, Hill said, adding that about 15 children in the county are wearing the bracelets. The bracelets enable police to pinpoint a child’s location within a matter of minutes.
Detwiller was not available for comment.
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