Florida Launches Spectrum Alert System to Help Find Missing Children with Autism

Florida launches Spectrum Alert system to help find missing children with autism

Local advocates say the new Spectrum Alert system is a long-overdue tool that could save lives by helping locate missing children with autism more quickly.

Spectrum Alert expands Florida’s efforts to safeguard children with autism

Effective July 1, Florida introduced the Spectrum Alert, a new statewide system aimed at speeding the safe recovery of missing children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by engaging the public in real time.  The alert, established by the Florida Legislature in 2025 and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, will be administered by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s (FDLE) Missing Persons and Offender Enforcement Division. It functi…