Sen. Schumer Calls For National 'Avonte's Law' To Track Autistic Children
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced a push Monday for a National "Avonte's Law" to create a program where parents can always know where their children are.
Avonte Oquendo slipped out of his school in Long Island City, Queens in October 2013, leading to an intensive search. His remains were found offshore from College Point a few months later.
As 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported, Schumer was set to bring Avonte's mother, Vanessa Fontaine, as his guest to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. He hoped that doing so would help him get Avonte's Law passed.
Sen. Schumer Calls For National 'Avonte's Law' To Track Autistic Children
"I'm going to send a letter to all of my colleagues that she's here, and why she's here, and ask them for support," Schumer said.
The law would provide money for young people like Avonte who suffer from autism to be outfitted with GPS tracking devices that could be purchased by local law enforcement agencies.
"My son is not here with us anymore, and if we had this device in place, I would still have him here," Fontaine said.
In June of last year, Avonte's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in Queens Supreme Court. It accuses the city, the Department of Education, NYPD and numerous individuals of negligence for allowing the 14-year-old boy to leave the school.
Schumer said the passage of Avonte's Law would be a top priority this year.
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