‘Elopement’ bills boost resources for times when people with autism, dementia wander or run off

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
February 24, 2026

Shari Bailey will never forget the day in 2020 when her children’s nanny called to tell her that her 6-year-old daughter was missing.

“I remember the day the nanny called me …  ‘I can’t find Laila … the door is open,’ and I freaked out,” Bailey said, fighting back tears as she retold the story during a news conference Tuesday.

Laila, who is autistic and nonverbal, had “eloped,” meaning she wandered out of sight from the caregiver looking after her, a situation familiar to many families with autistic kids.

“The world shattered in front of me,” Bailey said. “I thought, ‘What if Laila got hit by a car? What if Laila fell? What if she injured herself? What if we couldn’t find her?’”

Laila was found that same day, but that’s not the case for all instances of elopement, which can end in death or injury.

Bailey, who runs an Aberdeen-based nonprofit called Laila’s Gift, was in Annapolis to push for a package of bills that boost resources and education for elopement cases — a scary and dangerous challenge that is often misunderstood.

“Every time I ask someone, even physicians, what elopement is, they would chuckle and say, ‘Yeah, my daughter did it last year in Vegas.’ And to me, it’s not funny – because I almost lost Laila that day,” Bailey said.

The LEAD Act – Laila’s Elopement Awareness and Dissemination Act – is the package of bills affecting how schools, health insurance and state agencies respond to the issue, as well as a specific bill that would require police training for situations involving elopement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that about 1 in 31 8-year-olds have autism. Several autism-focused associations and resource organizations say that roughly 45%-50% of kids with autism are reported to wander or bolt from safe locations and out of the supervision of a safe adult.

But the safety risks involved with developmental disabilities also impact people with dementia, who may get confused or frightened and leave without warning.

According to the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners, about 60% of dementia patients will elope at least once, and those who are missing for more than 24 hours only have a 50% chance of survival.

“This is why it is critical we look at elopement emergencies across the lifespan,” Bailey said. “Every second counts.”

Police and other first responders are often the first people to interact with someone who has eloped, but there is not currently standard training across the state about how officers should interact with an autistic person or someone with dementia who eloped.

Sen. Mike McKay (R-Western Maryland) is sponsoring Senate Bill 745, a bill officially called the “LEAD Act of 2026” to require that training. Del. Aaron M. Kaufman (D-Montgomery) sponsored the House version, House Bill 634.

“Without this proper training, misunderstandings can easily escalate unnecessarily,” McKay said during the press conference. “But with proper training, officers can recognize the signs, deescalate and more effectively respond in ways that are both protecting the individual and the officer.”

SB 745 would require that law enforcement officers receive training on how to respond in elopement cases. The training would include procedures on locating a wandering individual, searching near bodies of water and using sensory-aware approaches, among other information.

“It’s about providing practical skills that improve outcomes, reduce the risk and strengthen the trust – let me say that again, strengthen the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” McKay said.

Both House and Senate versions of the police training legislation had hearings Tuesday and now await committee votes before moving on. Another bill in the LEAD Act package will be heard Wednesday in the House Ways and Means Committee – House Bill 1000, sponsored by Del. Aletheia McCaskill (D-Baltimore County).

That bill would require that school mapping data expand a mile radius around the school grounds, includling bodies of water. Most fatalities among autistic kids who wander are due to drowning.

McCaskill is also sponsoring two other bills in the package. House Bill 1434 would require the state health department to create a webpage of resources for family caregivers who take care of individuals — due to age, disability, chronic illness or other functional limitations — including information on safety planning for wandering and elopement. House Bill 1182 would let schools coordinate with parents on voluntary use of a location tracking device for a child with a history of elopement.

The final bill, House Bill 1117, sponsored by Del. Lesley J. Lopez (D-Montgomery), would require Maryland Medicaid and other state programs to cover the cost of monitoring devices, by classifying them as “medical equipment” for those with a higher chance of elopement.

Lopez, who chairs the House Health Subcommittee on Elder And Long-Term Care, said she knew that one of the most immediate topics to work on was elopement, and she appreciates the “really comprehensive package of bills” to address the issue.

For parents like Bailey, the slate of bills will help give families a greater peace of mind when it comes to their vulnerable family members.

“It is set to transform Maryland and set Maryland as a national model,” she said. “This elopement emergency crisis does not only affect Maryland, it affects the entire country.”

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