Bill Text: NY A00879 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Develops comprehensive assessment centers for autism spectrum disorders; provides grants for their development and lays out reporting and research requirements.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-5)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to ways and means [A00879 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A00879-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           879
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     January 9, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GUNTHER,  GOTTFRIED, ABBATE, RIVERA, COLTON,
          TITONE, ABINANTI, RAIA, MONTESANO, LUPINACCI, CROUCH -- read once  and
          referred to the Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the development of
          comprehensive autism assessment centers
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2801 of the public health law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  397  of  the  laws  of 2016, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    1. "Hospital" means a facility or institution engaged  principally  in
     5  providing services by or under the supervision of a physician or, in the
     6  case  of  a dental clinic or dental dispensary, of a dentist, or, in the
     7  case of a midwifery birth center, of  a  midwife,  for  the  prevention,
     8  diagnosis  or  treatment  of  human  disease, pain, injury, deformity or
     9  physical condition, including, but not limited to, a  general  hospital,
    10  public  health center, diagnostic center, treatment center, dental clin-
    11  ic, dental dispensary, rehabilitation center other than a facility  used
    12  solely  for vocational rehabilitation, nursing home, tuberculosis hospi-
    13  tal, chronic  disease  hospital,  maternity  hospital,  midwifery  birth
    14  center,  lying-in-asylum,  out-patient  department,  out-patient  lodge,
    15  dispensary and a laboratory or central service facility serving  one  or
    16  more  such  institutions,  a comprehensive autism assessment center, but
    17  the term hospital shall not include an institution, sanitarium or  other
    18  facility  engaged  principally in providing services for the prevention,
    19  diagnosis or treatment of mental disability and which is subject to  the
    20  powers  of  visitation, examination, inspection and investigation of the
    21  department of mental hygiene except for those distinct parts of  such  a
    22  facility  which provide hospital service. The provisions of this article
    23  shall not apply to a facility  or  institution  engaged  principally  in
    24  providing  services by or under the supervision of the bona fide members
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02951-01-7
        A. 879                              2
     1  and adherents of a recognized  religious  organization  whose  teachings
     2  include  reliance on spiritual means through prayer alone for healing in
     3  the practice of the religion of such organization and where services are
     4  provided in accordance with those teachings.
     5    §  2. Section 2801 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
     6  subdivision 12 to read as follows:
     7    12. "Comprehensive autism assessment  center"  means  a  comprehensive
     8  autism assessment center under section twenty-eight hundred twenty-seven
     9  of this article.
    10    §  3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2827 to
    11  read as follows:
    12    § 2827. Comprehensive autism assessment centers.  1. Definitions.  For
    13  the purposes of this section, unless the context clearly requires other-
    14  wise:
    15    (a)  "Autism  spectrum disorder" means any of a group of neurodevelop-
    16  mental disorders including: autism; pervasive developmental  disorder  -
    17  not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS); Rett's syndrome; Asperger's disorder;
    18  and  childhood  disintegrative  disorder.  Autism spectrum disorders may
    19  include characteristics such as language  disturbance,  social  disturb-
    20  ance,  and  restrictive  and  repetitive  patterns  of play with a rigid
    21  adherence to sameness.  Additional  co-occurring  impairments  in  those
    22  severely  affected  may include sensory problems such as auditory hyper-
    23  sensitivity, temperature regulation issues, seizure disorders,  abnormal
    24  pain  threshold,  gastrointestinal  problems, and psychiatric conditions
    25  such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and anxiety.
    26    (b) "Comprehensive autism  assessment  center"  or  "center"  means  a
    27  center designated by the commissioner under this section.
    28    2.  Comprehensive  autism  assessment  centers  established.  (a)  The
    29  commissioner shall facilitate the development and establishment of,  and
    30  designate,  four  comprehensive  centers  for the assessment of children
    31  primarily between the ages of five and eighteen  diagnosed  with  autism
    32  spectrum  disorders  and  development  of  appropriate short-term inter-
    33  ventions and individual treatment plans which are designed to manage and
    34  improve functioning. The commissioner  shall  establish  procedures  and
    35  criteria  for  the  designation  of  such  centers  consistent with this
    36  section.
    37    (b) The centers shall  utilize  an  array  of  disciplines  which  may
    38  include but not be limited to: physical, medical and psychiatric; neuro-
    39  behavioral; nutrition; gastroenterology; motor and fitness; sleep analy-
    40  sis; communication and social; and psycho-educational. Services provided
    41  by  the  centers  may include but not be limited to the following compo-
    42  nents:
    43    (i) Intensive assessment services, including  integrated,  interdisci-
    44  plinary analysis of a resident's functional characteristics and disabil-
    45  ities. Utilizing a comprehensive framework such as international classi-
    46  fication   of  functioning  disability  and  health-children  and  youth
    47  (ICF-CY)(World Health Organization 2007), centers shall  comprehensively
    48  assess  the range of functioning and development of children with autism
    49  spectrum disorders including but not limited to: communication; sociali-
    50  zation; general, behavioral, neurological, psychiatric, body and medical
    51  functioning; child-environmental interactions; activity limitations; and
    52  participation restrictions.
    53    (ii) Development of appropriate short-term interventions and  individ-
    54  ual treatment plans which are designed to manage and improve functioning
    55  for the children assessed by the center.
        A. 879                              3
     1    (iii) Residential services that provide short-term residential support
     2  for  children  admitted  to  the center who require a short stay for the
     3  period in which the assessment is conducted. These services are intended
     4  to provide support for the assessment activities and are not to be long-
     5  term  nor  are they to be provided in a general hospital or nursing home
     6  as defined in this article nor in the capacity of permanent housing.
     7    (iv) Educational services approved by the state education  department.
     8  Such  education  services  provided shall be consistent with the child's
     9  home school district's curriculum  and  the  educational  needs  of  the
    10  child, and appropriate to the child's short-term stay in the center. The
    11  center shall consult with the child's home school district to develop an
    12  appropriate educational plan.
    13    (v)  Medical  clinical  services.  Each center shall have the capacity
    14  on-site or readily accessible to provide for the resident's medical  and
    15  clinical  needs.  These  services  shall be available to provide medical
    16  services to address general, chronic and ongoing medical conditions.
    17    3. Grants for development of comprehensive autism assessment  centers.
    18  Within  amounts  appropriated,  the  commissioner shall provide funding,
    19  pursuant to a request for  proposals,  to  aid  in  the  development  of
    20  comprehensive autism assessment centers.
    21    4.  Reporting/research  requirements.  (a)  Each  recipient of funding
    22  pursuant to this section shall provide  the  following  information  and
    23  such  other  information  as  the department may reasonably require with
    24  respect to the center to the department, annually  as  required  by  the
    25  department:
    26    (i)  The annual number of children receiving services pursuant to this
    27  section;
    28    (ii) The average length of stay of those children who receive services
    29  at the center; and
    30    (iii) The type of programs and interventions that children received.
    31    (b) The department shall annually compile such reports on the centers'
    32  activities and findings and annually report on the centers to the gover-
    33  nor and legislature.
    34    (c) The commissioner shall assist in and encourage the development  of
    35  research  collaborations  between  the centers and relevant state agency
    36  facilities, colleges and universities and,  where  appropriate,  private
    37  research entities.
    38    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.