'2004 - '2005 Legislative Sessions

This past legislative session, ASRC, along with the Connecticut State Child Advocate's office and the Family Support Council advocated HARD for services to be put in place for our ASD Adults, (those 18 and over). This year, finally, we have gotten our foot in the door, with some money being budgeted for infrastructure to begin the federal waiver process. This money has been added to The Department of Mental Retardation's budget and has been allocated specifically for this purpose. We are still advocating that some money (this year) be set aside to do massive training of providers around the ASD diagnosis. Once we finally have funding for our folks, we need providers in place that well understand how to work with our population. We are hopeful that, within a few years, (only if we continue to advocate hard) the services our adults so desperately need will be in place.

We need families and others from our Autism Community to come together and help in this effort! If you are interested in helping, please call Lois Rosenwald at ASRC. Stay tuned, we expect this year to be an active one!

Report of The Commission on Persons with Developmental Disabilities without MR
Public Act No. 00-135 for Substitute House Bill No. 5792

Sec. 19. (NEW) (a) There is established an Advisory Commission on Services and Supports for Persons With Developmental Disabilities. The commission shall consist of: (1) One member appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives and one member appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall be members of the General Assembly; (2) one member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives and one member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be members of the General Assembly; (3) a representative of the Governor; (4) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee; (5) the Commissioner of Mental Retardation, or the commissioner's designee; (6) the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or the commissioner's designee; (7) the Commissioner of Children and Families, or the commissioner's designee; (8) the Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's designee; (9) the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; and (10) sixteen persons who shall be individuals with developmental disabilities who do not have a condition defined as mental retardation pursuant to section 1-1g of the general statutes, as amended, representatives of providers of services to such individuals, or members of the families of or advocates for such individuals, three of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, three of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, three of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, three of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, and four of whom shall be appointed by the Governor.

(b) The advisory commission shall advise the Commissioner of Mental Retardation concerning the need for services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities who do not have a condition defined as mental retardation pursuant to section 1-1g of the general statutes, as amended. Such advice shall include, but not be limited to, (1) defining the population to be served, (2) identifying the types of services and supports needed, (3) identifying how such services and supports can best be delivered, and (4) identifying the costs of such services and supports.

(c) The Department of Mental Retardation shall, within available appropriations, provide such staff as is necessary for the performance of the functions and duties of the advisory commission.

Advisory Commission on Services and Supports for Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Currently in Connecticut if you have an autism spectrum disability without a secondary diagnosis of mental retardation (MR), you are out of luck, because Connecticut is only one of six states in the country that does not provide services to those having ASD without mental retardation. As hard as this is to believe, that is our reality. We at the Center have been active, both publicly, and privately to change that! About 5 years ago several of us started working to get services established. We felt, that, by creating a state body to study the problem, we could clearly establish the need for services for both individuals with ASD and their families. Through the efforts of the ASRC and a few other dedicated advocates within the ASD community, a Commission was established in September 2000 by the Public Health Committee of the State Legislature. Appointments to that Commission were made by both legislatures and Governor Rowland. Both our Co-Directors, Stacy Hultgren and Lois Rosenwald, were appointed to the Commission and worked relentlessly to educate members of the Commission and other state officials as to the unmet needs of ASD children/adults and their families.

In the summer of 2002, the Commission finished its work and gave its recommendations to the Public Health Committee to act upon. Even though the legislature passed Bill 586 that required the Commissioners of the Department of Mental Retardation and the Department of Social Services to study our recommendations and come up with an implementation plan, it never happened; the reason - lack of money. Both Commissioners felt that our recommendations were 'right on', but, given the financial climate here in Connecticut, they could not put services in place at this time.

To read the Advisory Commission Documents please go to the following web page IDDW - Meeting Summaries & Documents.