Sheriff's Office

703-246-3227 TTY 711
4110 Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
Stacey A. Kincaid
Sheriff

Community: Project Lifesaver

The Sheriff’s Office has temporarily suspended accepting new clients into the Project Lifesaver program. The suspension does not apply to current clients. We will accept names for our waiting list. Please include both the caregiver's name and the potential client's name and age. 

The primary reason for the suspension is our significant staff shortage, which means there is less available staff time to service clients. Our core functions are to operate the Adult Detention Center, provide security for the Courthouse and serve civil law process. We cannot regularly pull staff from these assignments to conduct battery changes in people’s homes nor respond to potential callouts to locate wanderers. We would never take on more clients than we can properly manage.

If you have questions, please email the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputy changes transmitter battery in boy's ankle band.

The Sheriff’s Office Project Lifesaver program serves the needs of children and adults with autism, Down syndrome or a cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, that may cause them to chronically wander and not find their way back home.

Project Lifesaver clients wear a wrist or ankle band that emits a silent radio frequency. When caregivers notify the Sheriff ’s Office that their loved one is missing, specially-trained Sheriff’s deputies respond to the area and conduct a search with state-of-the-art locating equipment. Project Lifesaver has a 100 percent success rate in locating wandering children and adults and bringing them safely home.

After a deputy meets with the client and caregiver to put on the wrist or ankle band, he or she will visit the client every 60 days to replace the transmitter battery and band. Deputies can electronically update client information, such as height and weight, a photograph, medical issues and favorite hiding places without having to rely on site visits or paper files.

Project Lifesaver equipment is funded through individual and corporate donations. Our cost per client is $300 per year. We suggest a $25 monthly donation from the caregiver, but the inability to pay does not prevent participation in the program.

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