Opioid subcommittee recommends full-board consideration of ‘lifesaver’ tracking devices

The JRAC opioid subcommittee on Wednesday voted to recommend that the full board consider funding a Lifesaver tracking-device program intended to help locate missing children and older adults with dementia or autism.

The Chair opened new business by presenting an application for the JRAC 11 Lifesaver project and said the applicants, identified in the application as Amanda Yake and Joe Keltner, were present to answer questions. A presenter for the program described the devices as a nationwide system Washington County has used to help return missing people more quickly and said the program currently serves about seven people, ranging from preschool age to roughly 82 years old.

The presenter described how the technology works and its limits: vehicle-mounted antennas are used to pick up a signal, staff may need to drive slowly until they get a bearing, then switch to a foot search; the presenter cautioned that locating someone is more difficult if a device is removed or if a person is taken in a vehicle. The presenter said the program has not had an alert in about eight months and recounted one earlier case in which a participant cut the bracelet off.

On costs, the presenter said a full transmitter package runs under $500 and that device batteries must be replaced about every 60 days. The presenter said participants do not pay for the devices and the program has relied on grants, donations and volunteer effort; the presenter said a $1,800 grant from the Washington County Community Foundation in 2021 supported the program until recently and the program currently has about $150 remaining in its account.

A committee member raised a separate fiscal concern about a grantee invoice: the member said one grantee, Our Place, had budgeted $800 per laptop (two laptops totaling $1,600) but submitted a bill that listed about $200 more per computer; the member said he adjusted the reimbursement to the originally approved amount and flagged the discrepancy for members to note.

After discussion about costs, inventory and technical limits, a member moved to recommend the JRAC 11 Lifesaver application for consideration by the full board and another member seconded. The Chair called for a show-of-hands vote and declared the motion passed. The Chair noted the item was not listed on the full board agenda but would be proposed there and the applicants were welcome to remain for a final answer.

The committee also received quarterly reports from two grantees funded by the opioid subcommittee: a CAST quarterly report previously emailed to members, and a report from Our Place Drug and Alcohol Education Services that was distributed the morning of the meeting. The Chair reported restricted funds of $442,761.62 and read the unrestricted funds amount as '177,000' and later as '177 and $53.63' in the transcript. The Chair said the committee’s allocations leave somewhat less immediately available for dispersal this year but that, based on the year's allocation, there was enough to fully fund the Lifesaver project if the committee chose to do so.

The meeting concluded with a brief update on a previously discussed application, JRAC 10 Lifehouse Recovery Residence: the Chair said community contacts reported a city meeting approved a zoning variance but the Chair had not independently verified that outcome. The committee adjourned at 11:42 a.m.