Take Me Home Program

About the Program

Take Me Home is a program that began in Pensacola, Florida when a local Police Officer met with members of the community with autistic children. These parents expressed concern about children who are prone to wander and are unable to communicate with public safety employees trying to help them. 

The Pensacola Police Department partnered with a software company to develop a program that allowed officers to receive pictures and descriptions of autistic children so that they could be connected with their families.

Canton officials learned about the program in 2017 and immediately began developing a Take Me Home program for Canton. We reached out to the Stark County Auditor's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department, who created a unique web-based platform for Take Me Home Canton.

How It Works

Family members of those with communication challenges can fill out the Take Me Home Registration Form. The registrant can include a description, a photograph, and cues for officers to use to assist with communication. 

Officers in the field who make contact with someone unable to communicate with them or confused about where they belong have immediate access to the database using any web-enabled device. Officers can search by description or geographically to find information about the individual.

Registrations can be made for individuals of any age in any Stark County community. Information entered will only be accessible by law enforcement officers. Although it will be administered by the Canton Police Department, this program will be available to every Stark County community at no charge.