Madison - State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) hailed the signing into law a bill establishing a statewide Silver Alert program (AB 710). The Silver Alert system notifies the public in case of a missing at-risk senior, much like the Amber Alert system does in case of a missing child in danger. 

Senator Carpenter was the lead Senate author of AB 710. 

Senator Carpenter noted that when his late mother suffered from Parkinson’s disease, she managed to leave her care facility unnoticed, and it was due to the alertness of law enforcement that no harm came to her. “My family was fortunate, but others in similar situations may not be so lucky, and I want to make sure that our communities have the best tools to look after seniors that need special care,” said Carpenter.

“This session, I was on a task force to help plan for the care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, along with their families and caregivers. Alzheimer’s disease is now the third leading cause of death. As our society ages, more folks are tragically being diagnosed with this disease. We need to redesign our health care system to provide specialized care that respects the independence and dignity of individuals, like the ‘Silver Alert’ program,” Carpenter said.

Senator Carpenter expressed his thanks to lead Assembly authors Ken Skowronski (R-Franklin) and Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) for their work on the bill. He also thanked his legislative colleagues for unanimously passing this important bill, and he thanked Governor Scott Walker signing it into law.