Sheriff's Department
Care Trak Program

Printed in the Daily Chronicle on Saturday, May 8, 2010
   -County program aims to help locate missing individuals with special needs
By DANA HERRA - dherra@daily-chronicle.com

WATERMAN – When Waterman Police Chief Charles Breese learned the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office had a program to locatepeople with special needs prone to wandering, he thought immediately of J.T. Baine.

"I thought, ‘I know an 11-year-old who could use this. I've had to chase him once already,'" Breese said. "I knew aboutthe program, but I thought it was only for senior citizens."

The program, Care Trak , went online in April. Clients with special needs receive a bracelet about the size of a wristwatch that transmitsa radio signal. If the person goes missing, police can use receivers to track the signal. Receivers are located at the sheriff'soffice, the DeKalb Police Department and the Waterman Fire Department.

The sheriff's office also keeps a photo and identifying information of each client on a computer server, which is accessibleto deputies and to local police in the client's hometown.

J.T., who has Down syndrome, is the fifth person in the county to get a bracelet, Sheriff Roger Scott said. There arethree other children with special needs and one senior with Alzheimer's on the program.

"It's been such a relief," said J.T.'s mother, Theresa Baine. "When the chief told us about this program, my heart said,‘Yes, thank you.'"

A few days before the meeting where Breese learned about Care Trak , J.T. had gone missing, and the entire neighborhood was looking for him, Theresa Baine said. She finally found himin the trunk of her car.
"He was playing hide-and-seek. I opened the trunk and he said, ‘Boo!'" she said. "J.T. is very adventurous. He nevermeans any harm, but he doesn't realize the dangers beyond and doesn't realize he can't explore whenever and wherever he wants."

There is no cost to be on the program, but there is a $200 initial fee to get the bracelet. When Breese mentioned thatto the Baines, he noticed "the tone of the conversation changed." He told the family not to worry and placed a call to theWaterman Lions Club, which agreed to donate the funds.

"This kind of thing is what we're in business for," club president Mark Fenske said. "It just fits right in with whatwe do."

Though the bracelet took a few days to get used to, now J.T. enjoys showing it off, his mother said. His parents sleepbetter at night and are finally able to get more things done because they aren't constantly shadowing J.T., she said.

Scott said he knows there are more people in the county who could benefit from Care Trak , and he hopes they sign up. He is also asking the public to donate to a hardship fund to help families who can't comeup with the $200 fee.

"We won't turn anyone away, but then we would need to recover those transmitter costs," he said. "It's fortunate thatthe Baines had a group like the local Lions Club to help them, but not everyone will have that."

Know more
For more information about Care Trak or to make a donation to the program, contact the sheriff's office at 815-895-5829 during business hours or visit www.dekalbcountyilsheriff.organd click on " Care Trak ."
Copyright 2010, The Daily Chronicle, Shaw Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.

Printed with permission from The Daily Chronicle

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