(1) The Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders is hereby created and shall be attached to the Office of Autism within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for administrative purposes.
(2) The Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders shall consist of the following members appointed by the Governor:
(a) One (1) representative from the Department for Public Health;
(b) One (1) representative from the Department for Medicaid Services;
(c) One (1) representative from the Department for Community Based Services; (d) One (1) representative from the Department of Public Advocacy;
(e) One (1) representative from the Department of Education;
(f) One (1) representative from the Department of Juvenile Justice;
(g) One (1) representative from the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities;
(h) One (1) representative from the Office for Children with Special Health Care
Needs;
(i) One (1) parent or youth representative from the Commonwealth Council on
Developmental Disabilities;
(j) One (1) representative from the Kentucky Autism Training Center; (k) One (1) representative from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation; (l) One (1) representative from the University of Louisville;
(m) One (1) representative from the University of Kentucky Human Development
Institute;
(n) One (1) representative from the University of Kentucky;
(o) One (1) representative from the Center for Autism Spectrum Evaluation, Service, and Research;
(p) One (1) representative from the Education Professional Standards Board; (q) One (1) pediatrician representative;
(r) One (1) representative from the Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center; (s) One (1) representative from the First Steps Program;
(t) One (1) representative from the Arc of Kentucky; (u) The director of the Office of Autism;
(v) At least one (1) consumer representative, an adult with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum; and
(w) Five (5) citizen-at-large members.
(3) The co-chairs of the Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders shall be the representatives appointed by the Governor from the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.
(4) The Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders may invite individuals who
are not members to serve on committees and workgroups.
(5) Appointed members of the Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of duties in accordance with KRS § 45.101 and administrative regulations promulgated thereunder. Members of the council shall initially be appointed to serve staggered terms and thereafter shall be appointed to serve a term of four (4) years.
(6) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Personnel Cabinet, the Finance and Administration Cabinet, and the Office of the State Budget Director shall take all necessary actions to effectuate this section.
(7) The Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders shall be responsible for:
(a) Promoting the vision for Kentucky’s services and supports to persons on the autism spectrum and their families and advocating for improved quality and evidence-based practices for persons on the autism spectrum and their families;
(b) Promoting the early screening, identification, early intervention, and appropriate use of evidence-based practices and standards of care for persons on the autism spectrum across the lifespan;
(c) Strengthening state, regional, and local level collaboration and coordination with families, self-advocates, support groups, and state agencies to further coordinate, develop, and enhance the service delivery system for persons on the autism spectrum across the lifespan;
(d) Gathering and analyzing research and data to assess the quality and availability of programs and services for persons on the autism spectrum and providing recommendations on assessments, interventions, and treatment modalities across the lifespan;
(e) Developing recommendations for:
1. Increasing participation in existing federal, state, and local programs that serve children, youth, and adults on the autism spectrum;
2. Enhancing the current professional development and planning for future workforce development to incorporate research and evidence-based practices;
3. Establishing standards of care and undertaking efforts to ensure promotion of these standards statewide; and
4. Promoting the development of services and supports to transition youth and adults on the autism spectrum;
(f) Assessing the capacity and effectiveness of institutes of higher education in the state toward supporting the development of the workforce for persons on the autism spectrum;
(g) Requesting and utilizing federal, state, and private funds, including funds from philanthropic sources;
(h) Improving procedures for ensuring accountability and measuring success of
programs that receive state, federal, and philanthropic funds;
(i) Obtaining reports and issuing progress updates on state and federally funded services that impact the quality of Kentucky’s system of care for persons on the autism spectrum;
(j) Completing a biennial report with the Office of Autism and submitting it to the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Governor, and the Legislative Research Commission. The first report shall be due on or before September 30, 2017, and subsequent reports shall be due each September 30 in odd-numbered years thereafter; and
(k) Other duties and responsibilities as designated by the Governor.
Effective: June 29, 2017
History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 167, sec. 13, effective June 29, 2017. — Created
2016 Ky. Acts ch. 18, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2016.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2018). Under the authority of KRS
7.136(2), one or more references to the “Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs” in this statute have been changed in codification to the “Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs” to reflect the renaming of the commission by the General Assembly in 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 114.