The Michigan Senate is weighing a decision that could reshape how the state responds when vulnerable adults go missing. Lawmakers met in committee Thursday to discuss creating a statewide “Silver Alert” system, a tool designed to quickly notify the public when older adults or those with conditions like dementia are at risk and unaccounted for. It is a conversation rooted in urgency, one that comes as families and advocates continue to raise alarms about the gaps in Michigan’s current response system.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, builds on an already familiar model. Much like the Amber Alert system for missing children, Silver Alerts would send out emergency notifications through mobile devices and other channels, mobilizing the public to help find seniors who wander or otherwise disappear. McMorrow reminded her colleagues that the state already has the infrastructure. “Every day that we delay this system, Michigan families face the nightmare of searching for missing loved ones without the tools that could bring them home. We have the technology, we have the framework, and we have proof that it works,” she said during testimony.
Advocates argue that this is not an abstract problem. Studies show that nearly 60 percent of older adults with dementia will wander at some point. For families, that moment is terrifying. Loved ones can vanish in a matter of minutes, and without a rapid public alert, searches often take too long. The stakes are life and death: exposure, accidents, or getting lost near roadways are all risks when vulnerable adults go missing. In those moments, minutes matter. Jada Brown, a contracted CPA and caregiver who has spent five years working with Detroit’s seniors living with dementia, said she has seen the pattern up close. “I’ve witnessed on several occasions that these seniors will wander, sometimes in ways that families could never anticipate,” Brown said. “I’ve had clients step outside in the middle of the night thinking they were heading to work, or walk blocks away from home in freezing weather because their memory told them they needed to visit someone who had passed years ago. In those situations, every second counts. Families shouldn’t have to wait for hours hoping police can canvas fast enough. A Silver Alert could be the difference between bringing someone home safely and a tragedy that never should have happened.”
The cost of building out the system is not expected to be significant. Lawmakers and state officials cited estimates ranging from a “nominal fiscal impact” that could be absorbed into existing budgets to about $20,000 annually to cover subscription fees and software maintenance. Compared to the scope of the state’s $80 billion budget, supporters argued, the cost is minuscule. What cannot be measured, they said, is the relief for families and the lives potentially saved.
This debate comes at a moment when Detroit has already taken matters into its own hands. In August, the city rolled out its “Emerald Alert,” a local notification system designed to fill the gap for missing persons cases that don’t meet Amber Alert criteria. Emerald Alerts are issued for children under 10, individuals with special needs, and adults in cases where foul play or abductions outside domestic disputes are suspected. The program, operated through the Detroit Police Department, notifies residents via the city’s “Detroit Alerts 365” subscription system. Anyone can sign up by texting DetroitAlerts365 to 99411. In its first month, Detroit officials credited the system with rallying neighbors quickly when a vulnerable resident went missing, underscoring the community’s hunger for tools that make people safer.
On the state level, momentum for Silver Alerts has already taken shape. The Michigan House of Representatives passed a version of the legislation in September with overwhelming bipartisan support. Republican sponsors carried the bill in the House, demonstrating rare consensus on a public safety issue. For the families who testified, partisan politics mattered less than knowing their loved ones would not vanish into a system without tools to help.
McMorrow’s legislation dovetails with that House bill and signals that the Senate is ready to consider bringing the system statewide. Lawmakers are also weighing how to prioritize funding in the upcoming budget cycle. For McMorrow, the urgency is tied directly to lived experience. Each day without a Silver Alert system, she noted, is another day when families are left on their own to scour neighborhoods, issue flyers, and rely on local police departments that do not have a coordinated way to broadcast missing adult cases across jurisdictions.
During Thursday’s committee hearing, lawmakers also took up another proposal that intersects with caregiving. A separate bill would exempt certain caretakers from jury duty, recognizing that many family members responsible for round-the-clock care cannot leave vulnerable loved ones unattended for long stretches of time. Public comment showed strong support for both measures, reflecting how often caregiving responsibilities collide with policies that were not designed with vulnerable families in mind.
Both bills remain in committee, a procedural step that leaves their futures uncertain. Advocates say that’s where community voices matter most. Legislation can stall in Lansing without consistent pressure, even when it enjoys bipartisan backing. The history of Amber Alerts shows how long it took states to agree on and fully implement the system. Families of missing seniors hope Michigan won’t repeat that delay.
The debate over Silver Alerts also illustrates how local and state policies can evolve in tandem. Detroit’s Emerald Alert has proven nimble, covering categories that even a statewide Silver Alert might not reach. It shows how a city can pilot solutions while the state deliberates. Yet it also underscores inequities: a missing senior in Detroit may benefit from Emerald Alerts, while a family in Flint, Grand Rapids, or Benton Harbor does not yet have access to the same level of rapid community mobilization. That uneven landscape is precisely what lawmakers hope to resolve with a statewide approach.
For communities of color in Michigan, the issue carries additional weight. Black elders are disproportionately impacted by health conditions like dementia, and Black families often shoulder heavier caregiving responsibilities with fewer resources. When elders go missing, the compounded stress of navigating limited support systems can deepen the trauma. A coordinated Silver Alert system could offer a rare point of equity: ensuring that regardless of zip code or race, families can count on the same rapid response.
The conversation Thursday was less about whether to act and more about how soon. The House has already acted, Detroit has moved ahead locally, and Senate lawmakers now face a choice. The question is whether they will prioritize the funding and infrastructure before another family faces the nightmare McMorrow described. Supporters insist the state cannot afford to wait until tragedy makes the need undeniable.
Policy debates often get tangled in numbers and projections, but behind this one are countless Michigan families living with the reality of caring for vulnerable adults. For them, Silver Alerts are not theoretical. They are a promise of help when it matters most. And in a political climate where consensus is rare, the near-unanimous support for the idea is striking. It suggests that safety, dignity, and family remain common ground, even in a divided statehouse.
At the end of the day, lawmakers will have to decide how much urgency they place on turning that consensus into law. Until then, Detroiters can look to the Emerald Alert as an example of what is possible. But families across the state are still waiting for a system that acknowledges their reality. For them, every day without Silver Alerts is another day at risk. And for legislators, every day without action is a test of whether they truly see those families and the lives that hang in the balance.
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