A new measure to protect children with autism is working its way through the Ohio Legislature. The Ohio House of Representatives has passed House Bill 359, legislation to establish the Joshua Alert. The statewide emergency alert system is designed to protect children with autism and other developmental disabilities who go missing.
The bill honors the memory of 6-year-old Joshua Al-Lateef Jr, a young boy with autism from West Chester who lost his life in November 2024. Al-Lateef Jr. was reported missing and his body was found a few days later in a pond near an apartment building where he lived on Wyndtree Drive.
