No child walks alone. Rooted in Luke 15:4, we provide specialized wandering prevention and elopement support for families across Henry, Clayton, and DeKalb.
👉 Swipe left to grab free tracking resources and find adaptive local support near you.
Neurodivergent and sensory-seeking children experience the world with a beautiful curiosity, though unique traits can sometimes lead to sudden wandering. This initiative was born from a deep calling to protect our little ones, especially after our local community suffered the heartbreaking loss of two precious autistic children who eloped right here in Clayton County.
When a vulnerable child goes missing, seconds matter. By providing centralized, life-saving frameworks for families and first responders, we can prevent these tragedies and build a safety net across Henry, Clayton, and DeKalb counties.
Hi, I'm Tiffany Jones!
The Safe Shepherd Initiative is a mission deeply rooted in my daily life as a devoted mother to two incredible neurodivergent children. Navigating the beautiful joys, intense daily anxieties, and real-time elopement worries of both ends of the spectrum isn’t just something I study—it is a reality I live and breathe every single day.
When a child elopes, a parent has only seconds to find critical information. Yet, vital public safety databases and specialized county-backed programs are often scattered across completely separate, hidden spaces—especially on the South Side of Atlanta.
I founded this central hub to close those dangerous gaps. By uniting every overlooked resource into one accessible space across Clayton, Henry, and DeKalb counties, we replace panic with preparation. We are in this together!
When you have a runner, hope is not a strategy—preparation is. Think of this as your proactive "pre-flight" safety inspection. By checking off these core items today, you build an instant shield of defense around your explorer.
🔒 1. Elope-Proof Your Home Boundaries
Don't rely on standard deadbolts. Install high-decibel door chime sensors and heavy-duty flip latches at the absolute top of your exterior doors and sliding glass windows, well out of reach.
📸 2. Register with Logan’s List
Take a clear, up-to-date digital photo of your child’s face today. Keep a brief written description of their sensory triggers, calming techniques, and communication style, and officially register them with Logan’s List so local Georgia law enforcement has their safety profile on file instantly.
🌊 3. Lock In a Water Safety Plan
Walk your neighborhood to explicitly map out every retention pond, pool, or creek. Make sure your child is enrolled in specialized adaptive survival swimming lessons to give them life-saving aquatic boundaries.
🛰️ 4. Deploy Active Tracking Hardware
Invest in specialized, sensory-safe tracking devices like AngelSense or apply for county-backed Project Lifesaver tracking bands through your local sheriff’s department.
📞 5. Secure Your Emergency Crisis Contacts
Create a dedicated laminate sheet or phone contact folder with direct 911 dispatch lines for Clayton, Henry, or DeKalb counties.
🎒 6. Pack an Emergency Sensory "Go-Bag"
Keep a backpack ready by the door with a spare change of clothes, a high-buoyancy safety vest, their favorite sensory fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, and a familiar snack to help calm them instantly once found.
👋 7. Build a Trusted Neighbor Network
Introduce your child to your immediate neighbors. Ensure they know your child is autistic, may not respond to their name, and who to call immediately if they see them walking alone.
Seconds matter.
STOP 🛑 and follow these chronological steps immediately to launch an organized, rapid search for your explorer:
1️⃣ Call 911 Immediately: Tell the operator exactly: "My child is neurodivergent, non-verbal, and has eloped."(Clearly state if they have Autism, Down syndrome, ADHD, or a specific cognitive need so dispatchers understand their communication barriers).
2️⃣ Check Water Sources First: Autistic and sensory-seeking children are heavily drawn to water for comfort. Immediately check nearby pools, retention ponds, creeks, drain ditches, and lakes.
3️⃣ Check Favorite Sensory Spots: Think about where your child goes for comfort—a nearby playground, a store with bright lights, a train track, or a specific neighborhood tree.
4️⃣ Search Inside the House Thoroughly: Double-check closets, under beds, inside vehicles (especially the trunk), and behind large furniture before running outside.
5️⃣ Have a Photo Ready: Have a clear, close-up digital photo of your child’s face ready on your phone to show responding officers immediately.
Use the direct county hotlines below to connect with emergency dispatchers instantly:
Water safety for an autistic, neurodivergent, or sensory-seeking child goes far beyond learning how to swim. Because many children are non-verbal or motor-driven sensory seekers, we must proactively secure our environments and remain hyper-vigilant.
📍 1. Mapping Local Water Hazards:
Do not just think about community pools. Take time to explicitly map out and walk the boundaries of every hidden body of water within a 1-mile radius of your home, including:
🚧 2. Securing the Home & Pool Boundaries:
🦺 3. Specialized Underwater-Proof Trackers:
Minutes matter during an active elopement. Standard tracking hardware often shuts down if it gets wet, but utilizing specialized underwater-proof tracking devices like AngelSense (with a specialized waterproof pouch) and Project Lifesaver (a 24/7 radio beacon bracelet that transmits a signal underwater) ensures local emergency search teams can track your child directly to a water source immediately.
(Note: We will dive deep into setting up these specific devices on our dedicated Trackers Tab!)
When an adventurous runner breaks away, seconds matter. Standard consumer tags often fail during an elopement crisis because they lack active GPS. Purpose-built safety hardware creates a true line of defense. Here is how the leading options compare in pricing and actual emergency effectiveness:
🛰️ 1. AngelSense(Autism-Specific GPS)
📟 2. Project Lifesaver (Police-Monitored Radio Frequency)
🦅 3. Space Hawk (Rugged Real-Time Tracker)
🍁 4. StepSafe Kids (New Budget Autism Tracker)
🏷️ 5. Apple AirTag (Low-Cost Consumer Backup)
Traditional swimming lessons often fail our kids because standard instructors aren't trained to handle sensory overload, echoing pool acoustics, or non-verbal communication thresholds. Specialized adaptive instruction treats water safety as a critical milestone—focusing on independent back-floating, air management, and survival instincts before teaching traditional swim strokes.
I have vetted the top specialized adaptive resources across the South Side, prioritizing small-group and private 1-on-1 programs that keep your explorer safe:
📍 The South Side Directory At A Glance:
(👉 Swipe left to access your dedicated County Hub tabs for direct booking links, phone lines, and owner advocacy backgrounds for each location!)
A determined eloper can bypass standard deadbolts in seconds while a caregiver is sleeping, cooking, or in the restroom. Securing your home requires layered physical boundaries on all exterior exits, bedroom doors, and windows. Here is your integrated hardware and placement guide:
🔔 1. METAK Wireless Door & Window Chimes ($15 – $30)
🛡️ 2. SnapPower HugLock Interior Top Locks ($15 – $25)
🚧 3. AceMining Security High Flip Latches ($10 – $15)
🪟 4. Adjustable Window Security Track Locks ($5 – $12)
For many neurodivergent and sensory-seeking children, the impulse to explore doesn’t rest when the lights go out. Nighttime elopement is exceptionally dangerous because caregivers are asleep, leaving zero early-warning reaction time.
Standard bedroom layouts are simply not built to withstand a determined midnight explorer.
When structural door locks aren't enough to secure a sensory-driven flight risk, a specialized, fully enclosed safety bed provides a compassionate, therapeutic sanctuary that keeps your child secure until morning.
🛏️ The Cubby Safety Bed
🎒 Safe Place Travel Bed (Model 100)
🔊 Additional Nighttime Defensive Layers:
📋 How to Secure Funding Through Insurance:
Specialized safety beds are classified as durable medical equipment (DME) and are eligible for full insurance and Medicaid coverage if medical necessity is documented. Follow this roadmap to start the process:
Building a protective shield starts right here in our home community. Clayton County has incredibly dedicated leadership leading the charge on autism awareness, but critical safety gaps still remain. Explore our localized first responder databases, vetted adaptive swim schools, and community support networks below:
🎨 1. Law Enforcement Awareness:
Sheriff Levon Allen features custom-wrapped, autism-decorated patrol cruisers inside the fleet to proudly spark awareness and build bridges of trust between officers and special needs families across Jonesboro and Riverdale.
🚨 2. Active Protection — CCPD Logan’s List:
The Clayton County Police Department fully operates Logan's List, a voluntary safety database. By registering your child, a protective profile detailing their photo, communication style, sensory triggers, and a tendency to head toward water is attached straight to your home address in the E911 system. Responding patrol cars automatically see this profile on their laptop dashboards before they even pull up.
🏊♂️ 3. Vetted Adaptive Swim & Water Safety Advocates:
🤝 4. Community Collaboration & Family Support:
🎯 Safe Shepherd Advocacy Goal — Project Lifesaver:
⚠️ Current Safety Gap: While surrounding counties utilize Project Lifesaver radio tracking bands, the program is not currently deployed in Clayton County. The Safe Shepherd Initiative is actively campaigning alongside county commissioners and first responders to fund and bring this life-saving tracking infrastructure here.
📢 Advocacy Action Plan — Call Your Commissioner:
Change requires community voices. Use the direct constituent service lines below to call your district commissioner. Tell them your family supports the Safe Shepherd Initiative and urge them to officially sponsor and fund Project Lifesaver for Clayton County minors!
🏛️ CLAYTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Know your leaders and join the advocate network:
District 1: Commissioner Alaina Reaves
District 2: Commissioner Gail Hambrick (Vice Chair)
District 3: Commissioner Tashé Allen
District 4: Commissioner DeMont Davis
For our families living in Henry County, proactive law enforcement registries, dedicated special needs support networks, and active radio tracking hardware are fully deployed to protect your sensory explorer.
🎨 1. Law Enforcement Awareness:
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is deeply committed to neurodivergent inclusion and community safety under active local leadership. The department coordinates specialized safety outreach events and actively sponsors programs to ensure first responders are fully equipped to understand, support, and safely interact with special needs families across McDonough, Stockbridge, and Hampton.
🚨 2. Active Protection — Henry County Logan's Law:
In partnership with the Georgia Emergency Communications Authority, Henry County E9-1-1 operates a robust, localized Logan's Law Database. Registering your child ensures that the moment a crisis call is placed regarding your address, dispatchers alert responding units with an automated special needs flag. Officers approach with pre-flight awareness of your child's communication style, sensory triggers, and calming techniques before they even arrive.
🏊♂️ 3. Vetted Adaptive Swim & Water Safety Advocates:
🤝 4. Community Collaboration & Family Support:
🛰️ Safe Shepherd Advocacy Spotlight — Project Lifesaver is LIVE:
🎉 Great news for our community! The Henry County Sheriff’s Office actively operates the Project Lifesaver program. Eligible minors are provided a heavy-duty, 100% waterproof wrist or ankle transmitter bracelet completely free of cost via specialized safety grants. If an elopement crisis happens, specially trained search deputies deploy immediately with handheld tracking antennas to locate your child's silent radio frequency signal in minutes.
📢 Advocacy Action Plan — Call Your Commissioner:
Change requires community voices. While Henry County has excellent tracking tools, we must keep our community voice loud to ensure these safety registries remain robustly funded and active. Use the direct constituent service lines below to contact your district leadership:
🏛️ HENRY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Know your leaders and keep our safety tools funded:
District 1: Johnny Wilson
District 2: Neat Robinson
District 3: Dee Anglyn III
District 4: Michael T. Price
District 5: Kevin J. Lewis
DeKalb County features some of the most progressive, immediate crisis communication networks and adaptive infrastructure on the South Side. We have mapped out the county's specialized law enforcement units, localized E911 protection tools, and exceptional sensory swim networks to give your child an instant perimeter of safety.
🛰️ 1. Active Tracking — Project Lifesaver is LIVE:
The DeKalb County Police Department actively runs the Project Lifesaver Program. Eligible minors prone to elopement are provided a heavy-duty, 100% waterproof wrist or ankle transmitter bracelet completely free of cost through the DKPD Special Victims Unit.
🚨 2. First Responder Protection — DeKalb Logan’s List:
The DeKalb County E911 Center and local municipal police networks fully operate the Logan's List Database. By voluntarily registering your child, a protective profile detailing their photo, sensory overstimulation triggers, communication boundaries, and water-seeking habits is locked directly into the county's dispatch system. Responding patrol cars see these critical safety prompts on their laptops before arriving at the scene.
📱 3. Active Recovery — Vulnerable Persons Rapid Network:
DeKalb County Police utilize a high-impact community notification system for active elopements. If a non-verbal child wanders or is found wandering alone, the department's specialized community communications division immediately launches a localized photo alert blast across social media to bypass standard delays and safely reunite caregivers within hours.
🏊♂️ 4. Vetted Adaptive Swim & Water Safety Advocates:
🏥 5. Core County Support & Advocacy Departments:
🤝 6. Community Collaboration & Family Support:
📢 Advocacy Action Plan — Raise Your Community Voice:
Grassroots change requires parental voices. Use your direct local representative lines below to contact your district commissioner and tell them your family supports expanding county-backed tracking hardware grants!
🏛️ DEKALB COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Know your leaders and call your representatives:
District 1: Robert Patrick
District 2: Michelle Long Spears
District 3: Nicole Massiah
District 4: Chakira Johnson
District 5: Mereda Davis Johnson
Super District 6: Ted Terry
Super District 7: LaDena Bolton, PhD
When first responders arrive at a scene, a lack of communication can turn a scary situation into a dangerous one. That is why Logan's Law was passed in Georgia to give local 911 centers the power to flag homes where individuals have communication challenges or severe sensory triggers, ensuring our kids get understanding.
📜 The History of Logan’s Law (HB 631)
📊 Vital Statistics Parents Need to Know
💻 How to Register Your Loved One Today
Registration is entirely free, voluntary, and strictly confidential. Because each county manages its own database system, find your county below to submit your special concerns form:
📍 If You Live in Clayton County:
The Clayton County Police Department actively participates in the program. Caregivers can register directly by checking the public safety notifications on the Clayton County Police Department Registry Portal.
📍 If You Live in Henry County:
The Henry County Police & Fire E9-1-1 Communications team maintains a localized database. You can download and submit your paperwork directly via the Henry County Logan's Law Database Sheet.
📍 If You Live in DeKalb County / Surrounding Metro Area:
DeKalb County’s 9-1-1 Communications Center is fully integrated into the state emergency grid. You can complete your electronic filing or view the master center directory using the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) Logan List System.
Project Lifesaver is a specialized search-and-rescue program designed to protect individuals prone to elopement and wandering. While we are actively campaigning to bring this as a completely free resource to eligible families in Clayton County, the program operates under strict safety criteria governed by public safety agencies.
Please review the standard requirements and caregiver guidelines for Henry and Dekalb counties below:
📋 Core Participant Criteria
🤝 Caregiver Responsibilities & Rules
Let's talk real, raw numbers: reinforcing your home boundaries, setting up tracking devices, and securing specialized medical bedding can cost thousands of out-of-pocket dollars. For families running paycheck to paycheck, safety shouldn't be a luxury.
Before applying for charity grants, your first line of defense should always be your health insurance, Georgia Medicaid, the Katie Beckett Waiver, or COMP/NOW waivers.
📋 What Most Insurances & Medicaid Cover (As DME):
When a child has a documented wandering or safety risk, major insurance plans can cover critical safety items under Durable Medical Equipment (DME). While they usually won't cover basic hardware store locks, most major plans, including Medicaid and commercial insurance, will cover:
🛡️ How to Get Safety Items Covered by Insurance:
🔊 SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE: ACTIVE SAFETY GRANTS
If your insurance plan denies coverage or you are facing out-of-pocket deductibles, use these vetted, active 2026 grant foundations to cover the remaining costs:
🍑 1. FOCUS Georgia Equipment Grants
🚨 2. Autism Care Today (ACT Today) Grants
🎒 3. National Autism Association — Give A Voice Program
🧩 4. My Gym Foundation Assistive Grants
📱 5. Danny’s Wish — iPads for Autism
📋 Pro-Tips to Keep Your Application from Being Rejected:
We don't just share resources—we are actively on the ground building a safer, more inclusive Georgia for our brilliant sensory explorers. Here is exactly what the Safe Shepherd Initiative is tackling right now, and where you'll see us out in the community:
The Action: We are actively campaigning alongside county commissioners and first responders to launch Project Lifesaver in Clayton County. Our goal is to secure grant funding so tracking devices can be provided completely free of cost to eligible autistic individuals, entirely removing the financial burden for families.
How to Help: Safety shouldn't have a price tag. We need your voice to make this free resource a reality! Click below to find your district commissioner and urge them to officially sponsor and fund Project Lifesaver for Clayton County minors.
📌 Note: Please check our upcoming Project Lifesaver Tab for specific program eligibility guidelines and restrictions.
The Action: We are actively partnering with local special needs organizations to champion neurodiversity. On Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, me and the kids will be out in the community marching alongside Certified Autism Coach Mrs. Kim and other autistic nonprofits in the Morris Brown College Homecoming Parade!
How to Join Us: Come line the streets and show your support! The parade kicks off at 9:00 AM at the corner of Walnut Street NW & Atlanta Student Movement Blvd in Atlanta, GA. Look for us under the big blue and yellow banners!