19-13-117. Lifesaver programs; process for grants; administration; account established; rules; grant criteria.

(a) The office of homeland security shall administer a lifesaver program to provide grants to counties for search and rescue designed to quickly find a person suffering from Down syndrome, brain injuries, autism, Alzheimer's or other dementia related disorders who wanders and becomes lost and missing. The program shall operate on a county basis, under which participants wear transmitters to allow the county sheriff's departments to electronically locate participants if necessary.

(b) The office of homeland security shall establish by rule and regulation an application procedure and calendar for grants under this section and adopt other rules as necessary to implement this section.

(c) In administering this program, the office of homeland security and counties shall establish a policy of including private sector participants to the fullest extent possible unless a viable private sector solution does not exist.

(d) Grant applications shall include, but not be limited to:

(i) An estimate of the number of people who might qualify for assistance in the county;

(ii) An estimate of the startup cost;

(iii) A statement of the number of personnel available for tracking lost persons; and

(iv) A statement of the local resources available to support ongoing operation of a lifesaver program.

(e) The office of homeland security shall provide grants, subject to the following:

(i) Grants to any one (1) county shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) of state funds in any calendar year;

(ii) The director of the office of homeland security shall prioritize the grant awards in accordance with the respective needs of each county for tracking services and the availability of local funding sources, as documented in the applications submitted.

(f) A grant recipient under this section shall use the grant monies only for startup costs associated with the contracting or purchasing of emergency response kits or services which shall include equipment and services necessary to track and triangulate searches, as well as transmitters or any other related equipment.

(g) The lifesaver program account is created. The account shall consist of those funds appropriated to the account by the legislature and all monies received from federal grants and other contributions, grants, gifts, transfers, bequests and donations to the account. The office of homeland security is specifically empowered to accept grants, gifts, transfers, bequests and donations to the account. Funds in the account shall only be expended by the office of homeland security for the purpose of providing grants under this section.