The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has announced that nearly $90,000 in state grant funding is available to support local governments in finding missing persons, through the Supporting Recovery Programs Persons Who Wander Grant Program.
Supporting Recovery of ‘Persons Who Wander’ Grant Program
Applications for grants will be accepted from September 2 until November 8.
Colorado Senate Bill 187 was passed as part of the 2022 Legislative Session. The bill provides financial assistance to programs that work to attempt to locate persons who wander, and restructures a grant program that assists local governments or their designees in locating persons with medical conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, autism, brain injury, or developmental, cognitive, neurological, or chromosomal disorders that may cause them to wander away from safety.
“After two successful years, the CBI is pleased to announce another cycle of funding under the Persons Who Wander Grant Program. The Bureau recognizes the continued need for recovery resources to assist families with members who wander due to medical or cognitive issues,” said CBI Director Chris Schaefer. “This program has provided resources for Colorado communities to obtain equipment, training and valuable community outreach. We believe these efforts have and will continue to make a significant impact on recovery programs, particularly in our smaller or more rural communities.”
The funding is available to any county, municipality or local law enforcement agency seeking to create a new recovery program or maintain an existing program. The grants could be used in various ways, such as to provide tracking technology resources, personnel training and community outreach efforts. Law enforcement interested in applying for this grant who have questions should contact CBI Grant Specialist Drake Brownfield at drake. brownfield@state.co.us.
Applications can be submitted at https://www.zoomgrants.com/zgf/Wander2025.