Posted: | January 28, 2015 03:12 PM |
---|---|
From: | Representative Dan L. Miller and Rep. Thomas P. Murt |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Re-Introduction of legislation: LB&FC report on the plan to provide home & community based supports to Adults with Autism |
We are preparing to reintroduce former resolution HR 948, that will direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LB&FC) to conduct a study of the current programs for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to receive assistance with housing, employment, transportation, financial management, and healthcare. Under current law, there are two programs for which adults with autism spectrum disorders may qualify: Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP) and Adult Autism Waiver (AAW). Current data from the Department of Public Welfare indicates that these programs are not adequate to serve the large and growing numbers of adults with ASD across the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the process to qualify and receive services through these waivers differs substantially from the process to qualify and receive services through intellectual disability waivers, creating confusion and a lack of fair and consistent rules to qualify for services. Therefore, we are asking for an evaluation of data from the Department of Education on current students (who are future adults) with ASD and for the Department of Public Welfare to assess their data on current and future numbers of adults with ASD (including sources of this data that have been excluded from past counts), and then to issue a report on the plan to provide home and community based support and services to these individuals. Last session this resolution passed out of the Human Services Committee unanimously (25-0) on September 24, 2014. We request your support for this important step in improving services for adults with autism. Previous co-sponsors include: READSHAW , McGEEHAN , BROWNLEE, BISHOP , DiGIROLAMO , ENGLISH, J. HARRIS, SCHLOSSBERG, DAVIS, YOUNGBLOOD , CALTAGIRONE , MAHONEY , ROZZI, SAMUELSON , COHEN , McCARTER, SABATINA , HARHAI , DERMODY , GIBBONS , DeLUCA and WHITE |
Introduced as HR183