Chapter 201
2009 -- H 5266 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 11/09/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH
AND SAFETY - THE
Introduced By: Representatives Palumbo, Corvese, Naughton, DeSimone, and D Caprio
Date Introduced: February 03, 2009
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 23-79 of the General Laws entitled
"The Rhode Island Autism
Spectrum Disorder
Evaluation and Treatment Act" is hereby repealed in its entirety.
CHAPTER
23-79
The
23-79-1.
Short title. -- This chapter shall
be known and may be cited as "The Rhode
Island Autism Spectrum Disorder
Evaluation and Treatment Act."
23-79-2.
Legislative purpose and policy. --
Autism Spectrum Disorders ("ASD") is a
neurological disorder that affects one in one hundred fifty-seven
(157) children within the state of
Rhode Island as of the enactment of this law. In 1992, this disorder affected one in ten thousand
(10,000) children nationally. Modern scientific and neurological studies have not
identified any
one factor contributing to the increase in diagnosis.
Early diagnosis and therapeutic strategies
greatly assists in the assistance to children with autism.
The
declares "ASD" to be a matter of public health and
urgency to assist children and adults affected
with this disorder and hereby creates the "Rhode
Island Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluation
and Treatment Act."
23-79-3.
Legislative findings. -- It is hereby
found and declared as follows:
(a) Autism is a
significant neurological disorder that is a threat to the development of
children. Autism Spectrum Disorder ("ASD") has
rapidly increased in diagnosis over the past
decade.
(b) The incidence of
autism spectrum disorder continues to increase at a dramatic rate. In
1992, one in ten thousand (10,000) children were
diagnosed with "ASD". By 2003, one in one
hundred fifty-seven (157) children was diagnosed with this
disorder.
(c) "ASD"
exacts an enormous economic toll on society, including the public school
system and family finances.
(d) Medical and
psychological experts still do not know the causes of "ASD",
prevention
of "ASD" or unified strategies dealing with
children and adults afflicted with such disorder.
(e) The State of
problems associated with "ASD" and the current
treatments and strategies.
(f) It is the intent
of the legislature in enacting this chapter to reinforce screening for
children who are uninsured and/or underinsured through the
with assistance from experts, service providers and
parents.
(g) It is the
further intent of the general assembly, subject to appropriation and/or the
receipt of other resources designated for these purposes, to
authorize the
of health to provide appropriate testing and screening
models to determine a proper diagnosis of
"ASD" and to create a
case management system to properly catalogue such diagnosis.
(h)
In addition, subject to appropriation and/or the receipt of other resources
designated
for these purposes, this chapter shall authorize programs
of outreach, education, increased
awareness and cultural competence to the statewide community.
SECTION 2. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled
"EDUCATION" is hereby amended
by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
24.1
THE
16-24.1-1.
Short title. – This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as “The Rhode
16-24.1-2.
Legislative findings. – It is hereby found and
declared as follows:
(a) Autism is a
neurobiological, developmental disorder that is defined by behavioral and
development features.
(b) Autism is best
characterized as a spectrum of disorders that vary in severity of
symptoms, age of onset and association with other disorders
(e.g. mental retardation, specific
language delay, epilepsy) and are unique in their pattern of
deficits and areas of relative strengths.
They generally have lifelong effects on how children
learn to be social beings, to care for
themselves, and to participate in the community.
(c) The incidence of
autism has dramatically increased. In 1992, one in ten thousand
(10,000) children were diagnosed with “ASD”, yet
currently one in one hundred fifty (150)
children have this disorder.
(d) Children and
youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) offer unique challenges
to families, teachers and others who work with them,
particularly with nonverbal and verbal
communication and behavior problems.
(e) Medical and
psychological experts still do not know the causes of “ASD”, prevention
of “ASD” or unified strategies dealing with children and
adults afflicted with such disorder.
(f) Education, both
directly of children and youth, and of parents and teachers, is
currently the primary form of treatment for Autism Spectrum
Disorders (ASD).
(g) The education of
children and youth with ASD is accepted as a public responsibility.
However, goals, methods and resources available vary
greatly from school system to school
system, school to school, and class to class.
(h) Education is
defined as the fostering of the acquisition of skills or knowledge—
including not only academic learning, but also socialization,
adaptive skills, language and
communication, and reduction of behavior problems to assist the child
to develop independence
and social responsibility.
(i)
“ASD” exacts an enormous economic toll on society, including the public school
system and family finances.
(j) The Autism
Society of America estimates that the lifetime cost of caring for a child
with autism ranges from three million five hundred
thousand dollars ($3,500,000) to five million
dollars ($5,000,000), and that the
($90,000,000,000) annually in
costs for autism.
16-24.1-3.
Legislative purpose and policy. – It shall be
the goal and purpose of this act
to promote the early diagnosis of ASD and therapeutic
strategies for treatment and assistance to
individuals with autism. The state of
increasingly rapid problems associated with “ASD” and the current
treatments and strategies. It is
the intent of the legislature in enacting this chapter to
reinforce screening for children who are
uninsured and/or underinsured through the
from experts, service providers and parents. It is the
further intent of the general assembly,
subject to appropriation and/or the receipt of other
resources designated for these purposes, to
authorize the
models to determine a proper diagnosis of “ASD” and to
create a case management system to
properly catalogue such diagnosis. In addition, subject to
appropriation and/or the receipt of other
resources designated for these purposes, this chapter shall
authorize programs of outreach,
education, increased awareness and cultural competence to the
statewide community.
16-24.1-4.
Implementation. – To implement the state’s
autism public policies, the
following steps should be taken:
(1) The department of
health shall develop a coordinated plan for collecting prevalence
data and reporting it;
(2) The department of
human services shall continue to raise public awareness especially
among families regarding the need for early intervention
and how to access it;
(3) The department of
human services shall continue its current practice, to raise
awareness of early intervention providers and families for
earlier assessment and intervention;
(4) The department of
human services will increase the capacity and improve consistency
of early intervention programs and providers;
(5) The department of
education shall develop a “Needs Assessment Document” to
perform a random sampling in the public schools to
differentiate between what student needs are
being met and what needs are not being met. This
information will be used to identify how needs
are currently being met and how that information can be
used to develop a way to meet the unmet
needs; identify ways the existing system could be modified
to support the unmet needs;
(6) The department of
education in conjunction with
a series of instructional modules that could be
embedded into existing pre-service courses in
multi-disciplines; and
(7) The department of
education in conjunction with
a continuing education certificate in autism spectrum
disorders at
offered jointly with
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00650/SUB A
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