Many people find encounters with law enforcement stressful, even if it’s a routine traffic stop or security screening at the airport. This is particularly true for people with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD) who can’t always communicate effectively under the best circumstances. In 2018, The Arc of Benton County, a nonprofit providing programs and advocacy for people with IDD and their families, started the CommCard program to make this and similar situations safer for all involved.
The CommCard gives people with IDD a physical card they can show to law enforcement, doctors, and other helping professionals they might interact with. The cards are very customizable and list the person’s name and contact information for their advocate. They also contain information on behaviors that might make communication with this specific card-holder difficult and accommodations that can help the person cooperate. The cards were finalized over a period of a few years with input from law enforcement on how to make them useful and readable in different conditions.
“The cards help people be more capable and as independent as they want to be and can be,” said Misha Marie, Program Director for The Arc. But the program is more than just the card itself. Before a person has a card, they complete training to help them better handle stressful situations and to use the CommCard in a safe and effective way. The Arc also runs training programs with law enforcement to help them understand not just how the cards work but how people with IDD might respond during an encounter.
In the United States, up to fifty percent of people killed by law enforcement have a disability. People with IDD are often unable to hear or respond to police commands quickly. “Even if it doesn’t rise to the level of a fatality, there is so much trauma involved with a law enforcement encounter when it doesn’t go well.” Marie explained that just the simple act of a person asking if they can hand the CommCard to an officer slows the encounter down. “Even a few moments can make a difference,” Marie added.
Repeated trainings are important so new officers are able to access this information. A grant from The Roundhouse Foundation is helping to cover staffing and travel costs to rural parts of Benton County where The Arc hasn’t yet rolled out the CommCard program.
While the first trainings happen separately for professionals and potential cardholders and their advocates, a second round of training brings the groups together. Cardholders and law enforcement officers are able to roleplay scenarios using the CommCards, a process which can help cardholders immensely by putting them in contact with law enforcement in a low-stress scenario. One CommCard participant was so upset during any law enforcement encounter that it took several attempts for them to get through the roleplay scenario with an officer. “Once they did, they were very excited,” Marie said. “The next time they were going through security, they said it made all the difference. They handed the card to the TSA agent and the CommCard entirely shifted the interaction with the security personnel.”
While cardholders might have different degrees of independence, the CommCard is a tool that can help them navigate the world more independently, opening up new interactions that might not have been possible before. “For the folks we support, just to be able to go to the local coffee shop and hang out with friends is huge,” Marie said. “We want our participants to feel like public spaces and the community are for them too.” The CommCard is a simple but effective tool helping to make that a reality.
