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6/16/2025
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Bill signed to create ‘PURPLE Alert’ for missing individuals with disabilities
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 STATE HOUSE — Legislation sponsored by Rep. Tina L. Spears and Sen. Todd M. Patalano has been signed into law to establish a “PURPLE Alert” system to help quickly find missing adults with serious disabilities whose health and safety is at risk.
“This is a missing piece in our statewide system of care for the health and safety of adults with disabilities,” said Representative Spears (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly), who serves as the executive director of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, which represents providers who support people with disabilities. “This legislation brings together law enforcement, disability advocates, media outlets and state agencies in a collaborative effort to build a system that works similarly to the alert programs that we already have to get out the word to our communities about a missing person whose disability and the circumstances of their disappearance place them in danger.”
In March, a nonverbal autistic woman went missing for several days in Cranston before being found alive in the back of a parked vehicle.
“Our recent experience in Cranston showed clearly that we need an alert program that is tailored to the specific needs of adults with more serious disabilities in our community who rely on caregivers in their daily lives,” said Senator Patalano (D-Dist. 26, Cranston), who is a major in the Cranston Police Department. “This is a tool that I sincerely hope we will not have to use often, but it is important that we establish a working protocol now before the next time we are on the clock with a missing individual.”
The bill (2025-H 6165A, 2025-S 0983A), which was amended to include elements of a similar bill (2025-H 6188) introduced in the House by Rep. Christopher G. Paplauskas (R-Dist. 15, Cranston), establishes an alert system similar to existing Silver and Amber Alerts to help locate a missing adult with a physical or neurological disability serious enough to warrant concern for their immediate safety and well-being. The disappearance would have to pose a credible threat to the immediate safety and health of the missing person in order to trigger the alert protocol.
To establish that the missing individual’s conditions were serious enough to warrant the alert, law enforcement would first review appropriate documentation from the missing person’s family, legal guardian or long-term care facility.
The Division of State Police, in collaboration with the Department of Health, cooperating media outlets, the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) and other appropriate agencies will develop the policies and procedures of the PURPLE Alert system, within the framework provided by the bill and the existing Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
“An alert catches people’s attention and prompts action. It gives urgency to a situation and when the community reacts quicker and takes the missing person alert seriously more people will be found sooner,” said Joanne G. Quinn, executive director of the Autism Project. “It’s also critical to pair the alert with training of public safety personnel on how to engage best with members of the autistic community and other people with disabilities so they may answer the call out and not fear the people working to help them.”
The law requires RIEMA to annually review the policies and procedures of the PURPLE Alert system and provide annual trainings to all participating agencies. This training will be mandatory for all personnel involved in conducting PURPLE Alert operations.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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