STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2527--A
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 26, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  PARKER, AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance -- recom-
          mitted to the Committee on Finance in accordance with Senate  Rule  6,
          sec.  8  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to creating the New  York
          autism spectrum disorders treatment, training and research council and
          providing for the powers and duties of the council
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Intent. The legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares  that
     2  autism  spectrum  disorders, hereinafter ASDs, currently affect approxi-
     3  mately one in 110 children and are considered to be  an  "urgent  public
     4  health concern" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
     5    The  legislature  further  finds that New York state has not responded
     6  sufficiently to this crisis. In its 2010  report,  the  New  York  state
     7  Interagency  Task  Force  on  Autism, hereinafter Task Force, identified
     8  five primary needs of  the  growing  population  of  New  York  citizens
     9  affected  by ASDs: coordination of state services, early identification,
    10  lifelong service delivery, increased dissemination of  information,  and
    11  coordination of research efforts. First, as a collaborative effort of 11
    12  independent state agencies that each serve individuals impacted by ASDs,
    13  the Task Force itself exemplifies the need for coordination of research,
    14  treatment  and  training  responsibilities. Second, while the Task Force
    15  determined that early identification and intervention  were  crucial  to
    16  minimizing  the symptoms and impact of ASDs, it reported that only eight
    17  percent of pediatricians routinely screen for ASDs and approximately  30
    18  percent  of  children  with  ASDs  do not receive the early intervention
    19  services provided by the New York State  Department  of  Health.  Third,
    20  recognizing that the thousands of children diagnosed with ASDs will soon
    21  age out of the state's educational system, the Task Force noted a dearth
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06638-02-6