II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 937 

To improve support and services for individuals with autism and their 

families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. ALLARD) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To improve support and services for individuals with autism 

and their families. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding the Prom5 ise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Autism is a natural part of the human ex9 perience. Individuals living with autism have the 

10 same rights as other individuals to exert control and 

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1 choice over their own lives, to live independently, 

2 and to fully participate in and contribute to their 

3 communities through full integration and inclusion 

4 in the economic, political, social, cultural, and edu5 cational mainstream of society. 

6 (2) Autism is a complex developmental dis7 ability that affects the functioning of the brain and 

8 lasts through a person’s lifetime. 

9 (3) The prevalence of autism appears to be 

10 growing. The Centers for Disease Control and Pre11 vention report that in 2007, autism affects 1 in 

12 every 150 children and 1,500,000 Americans have 

13 autism. 

14 (4) Both children and adults with autism typi15 cally show difficulties in verbal and nonverbal com16 munication, social interactions, and sensory proc17 essing. Individuals with autism exhibit different 

18 symptoms or behaviors, which may range from mild 

19 to significant, and require varying degrees of sup20 port from their friends, families, and communities. 

21 (5) Although the overall incidence of autism is 

22 consistent around the globe, it is 4 times more prev23 alent in boys than in girls. Autism knows no racial, 

24 ethnic, or social boundaries, or differences in family 

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1 income, lifestyle, or educational levels and can affect 

2 any family and any child. 

3 (6) Individuals with autism often need assist4 ance in the areas of early intervention, education, 

5 employment, transportation, housing, health, and 

6 recreation. With access to these types of services and 

7 supports, individuals with autism can live full, rich, 

8 productive lives. Greater coordination within the 

9 service delivery system will enable individuals and 

10 families to access assistance from all sectors 

11 throughout the lifespan, thus facilitating the appro12 priate delivery of information, education, and serv13 ices. 

14 (7) There is strong consensus within the re15 search community that intensive intervention started 

16 as soon as possible following diagnosis yields the 

17 most positive outcomes for children with autism. 

18 (8) The limited amount of credible evidence19 based research on services to children and adults 

20 with autism is a major impediment to the develop21 ment of quality services. Without this base of re22 search, many services and supports for individuals 

23 with autism are not covered by private or public 

24 health insurance programs, nor are certain interven25 tions provided as part of a child’s special education 

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1 individualized education plan. As a result, individ2 uals and families who wish to access services are 

3 often only able to do so through incurring significant 

4 nonreimbursable costs. 

5 (9) Workforce shortages contribute to the lim6 ited availability of treatments, interventions, and 

7 supports. There is a need for more professionals who 

8 can appropriately provide employment, residential, 

9 and other community-based services to adults with 

10 autism, as well as a need for professionals who can 

11 appropriately diagnose autism in very young chil12 dren, and those who can develop appropriate evi13 dence-based treatments, interventions, and supports 

14 across the lifespan of individuals with autism. 

15 (10) The combined characteristics of an indi16 vidual with autism, a lack of or limited verbal com17 munication, the inability to gauge social cues, and 

18 challenging behaviors, has resulted in a growing 

19 need for community-based individual and family sup20 port services and increased monitoring for abuse, ne21 glect, and rights violations. 

22 (11) Preliminary numbers on 20 States indicate 

23 that in 2006, almost a quarter of individuals served 

24 under protection and advocacy programs for individ25 uals with developmental disabilities were individuals 

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1 with autism, a 6 percent increase from the previous 

2 year, yet thousands of individuals with autism were 

3 unable to access services due to a lack of resources. 

4 (12) Whatever their individual needs, children 

5 and adults with autism should receive the treat6 ments, interventions, services, and programs that 

7 will enable them to fully participate in and enjoy a 

8 good quality of life in their communities. 

9 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

10 ACT. 

11 Part R of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 280i et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) by inserting after the header for part R the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘Subpart 1—Combating Autism’’; 

16 (2) in section 399AA(d), by striking ‘‘part’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘subpart’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘Subpart 2—Support for Individuals With Autism 

20 and Their Families 

21 ‘‘SEC. 399GG. DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘In this subpart: 

23 ‘‘(1) ADULT WITH AUTISM.—The term ‘adult 

24 with autism’ means an individual with autism who 

25 is 18 years of age or older. 

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1 ‘‘(2) AUTISM.—The term ‘autism’ means an au2 tism spectrum disorder or a related developmental 

3 disability. 

4 ‘‘(3) CHILDREN WITH AUTISM.—The term ‘chil5 dren with autism’ means individuals with autism 

6 who have not attained 18 years of age. 

7 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUAL WITH AUTISM.—The term ‘in8 dividual with autism’ means an individual who has 

9 been diagnosed with autism. 

10 ‘‘(5) INTERVENTIONS.—The term ‘interven11 tions’ means the educational methods and positive 

12 behavioral support strategies designed to improve or 

13 ameliorate symptoms associated with autism. 

14 ‘‘(6) SERVICES.—The term ‘services’ means the 

15 services to assist individuals with autism to live 

16 more independently in their communities. 

17 ‘‘(7) TREATMENTS.—The term ‘treatments’ 

18 means the health services, including mental health 

19 services, designed to improve or ameliorate symp20 toms associated with autism. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 399HH. TREATMENTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND SERV22 ICES EVALUATION TASK FORCE. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

24 date of enactment of the Expanding the Promise for Indi25 viduals With Autism Act of 2007, the Secretary, on behalf 

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1 of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (es2 tablished in section 399CC), shall convene a Treatments, 

3 Interventions, and Services Evaluation Task Force (re4 ferred to in this subpart as the ‘Task Force’) to evaluate 

5 evidence-based biomedical and behavioral treatments and 

6 services, including the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) Treatments, interventions, and services 

8 that are effective in reducing the impact of symp9 toms associated with autism upon the quality of life 

10 outcomes for children with autism and adults with 

11 autism. 

12 ‘‘(2) Treatments, interventions, and services 

13 that are effective in reducing the long-term costs of 

14 treatments associated with autism. 

15 ‘‘(3) Treatments, interventions, and services 

16 that are effective in assisting individuals with autism 

17 to live independently in their communities. 

18 ‘‘(4) Treatments, interventions, and services 

19 that can be widely replicated across States and com20 munities during the 2-year period after the date of 

21 enactment of the Expanding the Promise for Indi22 viduals With Autism Act of 2007. 

23 ‘‘(5) Gaps in applied research on treatments, 

24 interventions, and services that should be addressed 

25 by future research. 

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1 ‘‘(6) The cost effectiveness of such treatments, 

2 interventions, and services. 

3 ‘‘(7) The availability of such treatments, inter4 ventions, and services in each of the States. 

5 ‘‘(8) Successful State- and community-based 

6 models that organize, integrate, and deliver com7 prehensive services, interventions, and treatments 

8 across the lifespan of individuals with autism. 

9 ‘‘(9) Other relevant concerns regarding the 

10 availability of such treatments, interventions, and 

11 services, as designated by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

13 the Task Force membership shall consist of the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) Health care providers with expertise in 

15 treating children or adults with autism in hospitals 

16 or other health care settings where comprehensive 

17 health care is available. 

18 ‘‘(2) Licensed mental health professionals with 

19 experience in treatments of autism or other related 

20 behavioral therapies and interventions. 

21 ‘‘(3) Developmental pediatricians with expertise 

22 in autism. 

23 ‘‘(4) Researchers with an expertise in neu24 rology, gastroenterology, behavioral sciences, endo25 crinology, special education, vocational services, and 

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1 other specialties that pertain to treatments, inter2 ventions, and services as designated by the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(5) Health economists or other individuals 

5 with expertise in cost-benefit analysis and health 

6 policy. 

7 ‘‘(6) Service providers with an expertise in as8 sisting individuals with autism to access housing, 

9 employment, and other services necessary to live in 

10 such individuals’ communities. 

11 ‘‘(7) Educators with expertise in early interven12 tions, special education, and transition services for 

13 children with autism, and education or training for 

14 adults with autism. 

15 ‘‘(8) A representative of the National Council 

16 on Disability. 

17 ‘‘(9) A liaison from the National Institutes of 

18 Health involved with the Interagency Autism Coordi19 nating Committee. 

20 ‘‘(10) Representatives of State agencies man21 aging services to individuals with autism. 

22 ‘‘(11) Individuals with autism, families affected 

23 by autism, and members of organizations that advo24 cate for individuals with autism and their families, 

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1 whose representation on the Task Force shall be not 

2 less than one-third of all members. 

3 ‘‘(12) Other individuals, as designated by the 

4 Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(c) REPORT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 first convening, the Task Force shall deliver a report 

8 to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, 

9 the Director of the National Institutes of Health, 

10 the Secretary, the heads of other agencies rep11 resented on the Interagency Autism Coordinating 

12 Committee, and the relevant committees of Congress 

13 containing the evaluation as detailed in subsection 

14 (a). 

15 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE.—Not later than 90 days after 

16 receiving the report described in paragraph (1), the 

17 Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee shall 

18 provide to the Director of the National Institutes of 

19 Health, the Secretary, and the relevant committees 

20 of Congress a response to the Task Force report. 

21 Such report shall be posted on the Internet and shall 

22 be available and easily accessible to the public. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 399II. DEMONSTRATION GRANTS FOR COVERAGE OF 

2 TREATMENTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND SERV3 ICES. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 months after 

5 the date of enactment of the Expanding the Promise for 

6 Individuals With Autism Act of 2007, the Secretary shall 

7 establish a demonstration grant program awarding 

8 multiyear grants to enable selected States to provide evi9 dence-based autism treatments, interventions, and serv10 ices, as identified by the Task Force under section 

11 399HH. 

12 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—A State that desires to receive 

13 a grant under subsection (a), shall submit an application, 

14 in consultation with the State Developmental Disabilities 

15 Council and organizations representing or serving individ16 uals with autism and their families, that contains the fol17 lowing information: 

18 ‘‘(1) The treatments, interventions, or services 

19 that the State proposes to provide. 

20 ‘‘(2) Demonstrated capacity to provide or estab21 lish such treatments, interventions, and services 

22 within the State. 

23 ‘‘(3) Demonstrated capacity to monitor and 

24 evaluate the outcomes of such treatments, interven25 tions, and services upon individuals with autism. 

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1 ‘‘(4) Demonstrated ability to develop a process 

2 for distributing funds to a range of community3 based or nonprofit providers of treatments, interven4 tions, and services, as well as local governments that 

5 provide services for individuals with autism at the 

6 community level. 

7 ‘‘(5) Estimates of the number of individuals 

8 and families who will be served by such grant, in9 cluding an estimate of the number of individuals and 

10 families in medically underserved areas who will be 

11 served by such grants. 

12 ‘‘(6) Documented ability to administer such 

13 grants in partnership with community-based or non14 profit providers of treatments, interventions, and 

15 services, including those that act as advocates for in16 dividuals with autism, and local governments that 

17 provide services for individuals with autism at the 

18 community level. 

19 ‘‘(7) A description of the ways in which access 

20 to such treatments and services may be sustained 

21 following the grant period. 

22 ‘‘(8) Compliance with the integration require23 ment provided under section 302 of the Americans 

24 With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12182). 

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1 ‘‘(c) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall contract, 36 

2 months after establishing the demonstration grant pro3 gram under this section, with a third-party organization 

4 with expertise in evaluation to evaluate such demonstra5 tion grant program and release a report not later than 

6 4 years after the date of enactment of the Expanding the 

7 Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007, on the 

8 ways in which the treatments, interventions, and services 

9 provided through the demonstration grant program have 

10 resulted in improved health, educational, employment, and 

11 community integration outcomes for individuals with au12 tism. 

13 ‘‘(d) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Demonstra14 tion grant funds provided under this section shall supple15 ment, not supplant, existing treatments, interventions, 

16 and services for individuals with autism. 

17 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

20 2012. Amounts not expended in 1 fiscal year shall be car21 ried over to the next fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 399JJ. PLANNING AND DEMONSTRATION GRANT FOR 

23 SERVICES FOR ADULTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—In order to enable States to provide 

25 appropriate services to adults with autism, thus enabling 

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1 such adults to be as independent as possible, the Secretary 

2 shall establish— 

3 ‘‘(1) a 1-time, single year planning grant pro4 gram for selected States; and 

5 ‘‘(2) a multiyear service provision demonstra6 tion grant program for selected States. 

7 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

9 1-time grants to selected States to support the plan10 ning and development of initiatives that will expand 

11 and enhance service delivery systems for adults with 

12 autism. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—In order to receive such a 

14 grant, a State shall submit an application at such 

15 time and containing such information as the Sec16 retary may require, including a demonstrated ability 

17 to carry out such planning grant in partnership with 

18 the State Developmental Disabilities Council and or19 ganizations representing or serving individuals with 

20 autism and their families. 

21 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this subsection $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

24 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

2 grants to States that have received a planning grant 

3 under subsection (b) to enable such State to provide 

4 appropriate services to adults with autism. 

5 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a grant 

6 under paragraph (1), the State shall submit an ap7 plication at such time and containing such informa8 tion as the Secretary may require, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) the services that the State proposes 

10 to provide and the expected outcomes for adults 

11 with autism who receive such services; 

12 ‘‘(B) the number of adults and families 

13 who will be served by such grant, including an 

14 estimate of the adults and families in under15 served areas who will be served by such grant; 

16 ‘‘(C) the ways in which services will be co17 ordinated among both public and nonprofit pro18 viders of services for adults with disabilities, in19 cluding community-based services; 

20 ‘‘(D) the process through which the States 

21 will distribute funds to a range of community22 based or nonprofit providers of services, includ23 ing local governments, and their capacity to 

24 provide such services; 

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1 ‘‘(E) the process through which the States 

2 will monitor and evaluate the outcome of activi3 ties funded through the grant upon adults with 

4 autism who receive such services; 

5 ‘‘(F) the process by which the State will 

6 ensure compliance with the integration require7 ment provided under section 302 of the Ameri8 cans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

9 12182); and 

10 ‘‘(G) a description of how such services 

11 may be sustained following the grant period. 

12 ‘‘(d) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall contract, 36 

13 months after establishing the demonstration grant pro14 gram under this section, with a third-party organization 

15 with expertise in evaluation to evaluate such demonstra16 tion grant program and release a report, not later than 

17 4 years after the date of enactment of the Expanding the 

18 Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007, as to 

19 whether the services provided through this grant program 

20 have resulted in improved health, education, employment, 

21 and community integration outcomes for adults with au22 tism. 

23 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Demonstration 

24 grant funds provided under this section shall supplement, 

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1 not supplant, existing treatments, interventions, and serv2 ices for individuals with autism. 

3 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 

6 2012. Any amounts not expended in 1 fiscal year shall 

7 be carried over to the next fiscal year 

8 ‘‘SEC. 399KK. EXPANDING ACCESS TO POSTDIAGNOSIS 

9 CARE. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

11 grants to States to enable the States to assist with the 

12 provision of treatments, interventions, and services to chil13 dren with autism, with the goal of— 

14 ‘‘(1) providing multi-agency, intensive, and 

15 comprehensive, evidence-based treatments, interven16 tions, and services; 

17 ‘‘(2) coordinating supplementary health care, 

18 behavioral support services, and individual and fam19 ily-support services through Federal and State-fund20 ed programs; and 

21 ‘‘(3) supplementing, not supplanting, Federal 

22 and State funds supporting early interventions, edu23 cation, and health and long-term care services to in24 crease treatments, interventions, and services, and 

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1 eliminate delays in access to such treatments, inter2 ventions, and services. 

3 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE TO STATES.—Not later than 6 

4 months after the date of enactment of the Expanding the 

5 Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007, the 

6 Secretary, in conjunction with the heads of other relevant 

7 agencies, shall develop a guidance to States, with the pur8 pose of increasing the amount and quality of postdiagnosis 

9 treatments, interventions, and services, and eliminating 

10 delays in access to supplementary health care, behavioral 

11 support services, and individual and family-support serv12 ices through Federal and State funded programs. 

13 ‘‘(c) TIMELINES.—Following the release of the guid14 ance described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall de15 velop an implementation timeline for States to establish 

16 programs that reduce the amount of time between diag17 nosis of autism in children and the point when children 

18 with autism receive evidence-based treatment, interven19 tions, and services. 

20 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION AND GRANTS.—Not later than 12 

21 months after the date of enactment of the Expanding the 

22 Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007, the 

23 Secretary shall award grants to States to enable the States 

24 to carry out the guidance established in subsection (b). 

25 States that desire to receive a grant under this subsection 

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1 shall submit an application at such time and containing 

2 such information as the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 

4 provided under this section shall supplement, not sup5 plant, existing treatments, interventions, and services for 

6 individuals with autism. 

7 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall contract, 36 

8 months after establishing the demonstration grant pro9 gram under this section, with a third-party organization 

10 with expertise in evaluation to evaluate such demonstra11 tion grant program and release a report not later than 

12 4 years after the date of enactment of the Expanding the 

13 Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007 on the 

14 following topics: 

15 ‘‘(1) Whether such grant program has resulted 

16 in increased and improved provision of multi-agency, 

17 intensive, and comprehensive, evidence-based treat18 ments and interventions, and elimination of delays in 

19 access to Federal and State-funded programs. 

20 ‘‘(2) The best practices in States to increase 

21 and improve services and eliminate delays in access 

22 to such services. 

23 ‘‘(3) Additional actions that may be required in 

24 order to ensure increases and improvement in 

25 postdiagnosis treatments, interventions, and services, 

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1 and eliminating delays in access to Federal and 

2 State-funded programs. 

3 ‘‘(4) Other information, as required by the Sec4 retary. 

5 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

9 ‘‘(2) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

10 ‘‘(3) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

11 ‘‘(4) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 399LL. NATIONAL TRAINING INITIATIVES ON AUTISM. 

13 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL TRAINING INITIATIVE SUPPLE14 MENTAL GRANTS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 award, in consultation with the Interagency Au18 tism Coordinating Committee, multiyear na19 tional training initiative supplemental grants to 

20 University Centers of Excellence for Develop21 mental Disabilities in order to allow each such 

22 center to provide training, technical assistance, 

23 dissemination, and services, and address the 

24 unmet needs of individuals with autism and 

25 their families. 

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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—A University Cen2 ter of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities 

3 that desires to receive a grant under this para4 graph shall submit to the Secretary an applica5 tion containing such agreements and informa6 tion as the Secretary may require, including 

7 agreements that the training program shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) provide trainees with an appro9 priate balance of interdisciplinary academic 

10 and community-based experiences; 

11 ‘‘(ii) have a demonstrated capacity to 

12 provide training and technical assistance in 

13 evidence-based practices to evaluate and 

14 provide effective treatments, interventions, 

15 and services to children with autism, 

16 adults with autism, and their families; 

17 ‘‘(iii) have a demonstrated capacity to 

18 include individuals with autism, parents, 

19 and family members as part of the training 

20 program to ensure that a person and fam21 ily-centered approach is used; 

22 ‘‘(iv) provide to the Secretary, in the 

23 manner prescribed by the Secretary, data 

24 regarding the outcomes of the provision of 

25 training and technical assistance; 

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1 ‘‘(v) demonstrate a willingness to 

2 share and disseminate materials and prac3 tices that are developed and evaluated to 

4 be effective in the provision of training and 

5 technical assistance; and 

6 ‘‘(vi) provide assurances that training, 

7 technical assistance, and service dem8 onstration performed under grants made 

9 pursuant to this paragraph shall be con10 sistent with the goals established under al11 ready existing disability programs author12 ized under Federal law and conducted in 

13 coordination with other relevant State 

14 agencies and service providers. 

15 ‘‘(C) ACTIVITIES.—A University Center of 

16 Excellence for Developmental Disabilities that 

17 receives a grant under this paragraph shall ex18 pand and develop interdisciplinary training and 

19 continuing education initiatives for health, al20 lied health, and educational professionals and 

21 develop model services that demonstrate evi22 dence-based practices, by engaging in the fol23 lowing activities: 

24 ‘‘(i) Training health, allied health, and 

25 educational professionals to identify, diagmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 nose, and develop interventions for individ2 uals with, or at risk of developing, autism. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Working to expand the avail4 ability of effective, lifelong interventions, 

5 educational services, and community sup6 ports. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Providing statewide technical as8 sistance in collaboration with relevant 

9 State agencies, autism advocacy groups, 

10 and community-based service providers. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Working to develop comprehen12 sive systems of supports and services for 

13 individuals with autism and their families. 

14 ‘‘(v) Promoting and engaging in train15 ing, technical assistance, dissemination, 

16 and evidence-based supports and services. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Developing mechanisms to pro18 vide training and technical assistance, in19 cluding for-credit courses, intensive sum20 mer institutes, continuing education pro21 grams, distance-based programs, and web22 based information dissemination strategies. 

23 ‘‘(vii) Promoting activities that sup24 port community-based family and indi25 vidual services and enable individuals with 

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1 autism to participate in society and achieve 

2 good quality of life outcomes. 

3 ‘‘(viii) Collecting data on the out4 comes of training and technical assistance 

5 programs to meet statewide needs for the 

6 expansion of services to children with au7 tism and adults with autism. 

8 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

9 shall reserve 2 percent of the appropriated funds to 

10 make a grant to a national organization with dem11 onstrated capacity for providing training and tech12 nical assistance to University Centers of Excellence 

13 for Developmental Disabilities to— 

14 ‘‘(A) assist in national dissemination of 

15 specific information, including evidence-based 

16 best practices, from interdisciplinary training 

17 programs, and when appropriate, other entities 

18 whose findings would inform the work per19 formed by entities awarded grants; 

20 ‘‘(B) compile and disseminate strategies 

21 and materials that prove to be effective in the 

22 provision of training and technical assistance so 

23 that the entire network can benefit from the 

24 models, materials, and practices developed in 

25 individual centers; 

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1 ‘‘(C) assist in the coordination of activities 

2 of grantees under this section; 

3 ‘‘(D) develop a web portal that will provide 

4 linkages to each of the individual training ini5 tiatives and provide access to training modules, 

6 promising training, and technical assistance 

7 practices and other materials developed by 

8 grantees; 

9 ‘‘(E) serve as a research-based resource for 

10 Federal and State policymakers on information 

11 concerning the provision of training and tech12 nical assistance for the assessment, diagnosis 

13 of, and provisions for supports and services for 

14 children with autism and adults with autism; 

15 ‘‘(F) convene experts from multiple inter16 disciplinary training programs and individuals 

17 with autism and their families to discuss and 

18 make recommendations with regard to training 

19 issues related to the assessment, diagnosis of, 

20 treatment, interventions and services for, chil21 dren with autism and adults with autism; and 

22 ‘‘(G) undertake any other functions that 

23 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) FISCAL YEAR 2008.—There is author2 ized to be appropriated to carry out this sub3 section $13,400,000 for fiscal year 2008— 

4 ‘‘(i) to award supplemental grants, in 

5 equal amounts, to University Centers of 

6 Excellence for Developmental Disabilities; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of University Centers 

9 of Excellence for Developmental Disabil10 ities located in American Samoa or the 

11 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

12 Islands, to award supplemental grants of 

13 not less than $100,000 each. 

14 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEAR 2009 THROUGH 2012.— 

15 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

16 out this subsection such sums as may be nec17 essary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 

18 2012— 

19 ‘‘(i) to award supplemental grants, in 

20 equal amounts, to University Centers of 

21 Excellence for Developmental Disabilities; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in the case of University Centers 

24 of Excellence for Developmental Disabil25 ities located in American Samoa or the 

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1 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

2 Islands, to award supplemental grants of 

3 not less than $100,000 per individual 

4 grant. 

5 ‘‘(C) APPROPRIATIONS LESS THAN

6 $13,400,000.—Notwithstanding subparagraphs 

7 (A) and (B), with respect to any fiscal year for 

8 which the amount appropriated under this 

9 paragraph to carry out this section is less than 

10 $13,400,000, the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) award supplemental grants, on a 

12 competitive basis, from such amount to in13 dividual University Centers for Excellence 

14 in Developmental Disabilities of not less 

15 than $200,000 per individual grant; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of University Centers 

17 of Excellence for Developmental Disabil18 ities located in American Samoa or the 

19 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

20 Islands, award supplemental grants, on a 

21 competitive basis, of not less than 

22 $100,000 per individual grant. 

23 ‘‘(D) RESERVATION.—Not more than 2 

24 percent of the amount appropriated under this 

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1 paragraph for a fiscal year may be reserved to 

2 carry out paragraph (2) for such fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(b) EXPANSION OF THE NUMBER OF UNIVERSITY

4 CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN DEVELOPMENTAL DIS5 ABILITIES RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND SERVICES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall award not 

7 more than 4 additional grants for the University 

8 Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities 

9 for the purpose of expanding the capacity of existing 

10 national networks and enhancing the number of 

11 training facilities with a primary focus on autism. 

12 Such Centers shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) train health, allied health, and edu14 cational professionals to identify, diagnose, 

15 treat, and provide services for individuals with 

16 autism; 

17 ‘‘(B) provide services to individual with au18 tism; and 

19 ‘‘(C) provide other training and technical 

20 assistance, as necessary. 

21 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri22 ority in awarding grants to Centers in— 

23 ‘‘(A) minority-serving institutions that 

24 have demonstrated the capacity to meet the re25 quirements to qualify as a University Center for 

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1 Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and 

2 provide services to individuals with autism; or 

3 ‘‘(B) States with underserved populations. 

4 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this subsection $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

7 years 2008 through 2012. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 399MM. GAO STUDY ON SERVICE PROVISION AND FI9 NANCING. 

10 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

11 of the Expanding the Promise for Individuals With Autism 

12 Act of 2007, the Comptroller General of the United States 

13 shall release a report that examines the following issues: 

14 ‘‘(1) The ways in which autism services and 

15 treatments are currently financed in the United 

16 States. 

17 ‘‘(2) Current policies for public and private 

18 health insurance coverage of autism treatments, 

19 interventions, and services. 

20 ‘‘(3) Geographic and regional disparities in pro21 vision of services across the lifespan of individuals 

22 with autism, levels of community-based versus insti23 tutional services, and coverage for such services. 

24 ‘‘(4) Ways in which to improve financing of au25 tism treatments, interventions, and services, so as to 

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1 ensure a minimum level of coverage across the 

2 United States. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 399NN. EMERGING NEEDS PROTECTION AND ADVO4 CACY PROGRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

6 to protection and advocacy systems for the purpose of ena7 bling such systems to address the needs of individuals with 

8 autism and other emerging populations of individuals with 

9 disabilities. 

10 ‘‘(b) SERVICES PROVIDED.—Services provided under 

11 this section may include the provision of— 

12 ‘‘(1) information, referrals, and advice; 

13 ‘‘(2) individual and family advocacy; 

14 ‘‘(3) legal representation; and 

15 ‘‘(4) specific assistance in self-advocacy. 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

17 under this section, a protection and advocacy system shall 

18 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

19 such form and manner, and accompanied by such informa20 tion and assurances as the Secretary may require. 

21 ‘‘(d) APPROPRIATIONS LESS THAN $6,000,000.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any fiscal 

23 year in which the amount appropriated under sub24 section (i) to carry out this section is less than 

25 $6,000,000, the Secretary shall make grants from 

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1 such amount to individual protection and advocacy 

2 systems within States to enable such systems to plan 

3 for, develop outreach strategies for, and carry out 

4 services authorized under this section for emerging 

5 populations of individuals with disabilities. 

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a 

7 grant under paragraph (1) shall be based on the size 

8 of the State in which the individual protection and 

9 advocacy system is located but be not less than 

10 $100,000 for individual protection and advocacy sys11 tems located in States and not less than $50,000 for 

12 individual protection and advocacy systems located 

13 in territories and the American Indian consortium. 

14 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATIONS OF $6,000,000 OR MORE.— 

15 The Secretary shall make grants during each fiscal year 

16 not later than October 1 to States as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) POPULATION BASIS.—Except as provided 

18 in paragraph (2), with respect to each fiscal year in 

19 which the amount appropriated under subsection (i) 

20 to carry out this section is $6,000,000 or more, the 

21 Secretary shall make a grant to a protection and ad22 vocacy system within each State. 

23 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant pro24 vided to a system under paragraph (1) shall be equal 

25 to an amount bearing the same ratio to the total 

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1 amount appropriated for the fiscal year involved 

2 under subsection (i) as the population of the State 

3 in which the grantee is located bears to the popu4 lation of all States. 

5 ‘‘(3) MINIMUMS.—Subject to the availability of 

6 appropriations, the amount of a grant to a protec7 tion and advocacy system under paragraph (1) for a 

8 fiscal year shall be— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a protection and advo10 cacy system located in American Samoa, Guam, 

11 the United States Virgin Islands, or the Com12 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

13 and the protection and advocacy system serving 

14 the American Indian consortium, not less than 

15 $50,000; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a protection and advo17 cacy system in a State not described in sub18 paragraph (A), not less than $100,000. 

19 ‘‘(4) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For each fiscal 

20 year in which the total amount appropriated under 

21 subsection (i) to carry out this section is $7,000,000 

22 or more, and such appropriated amount exceeds the 

23 total amount appropriated to carry out this section 

24 in the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary shall in25 crease each of the minimum grant amounts demstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

2 (3) by a percentage equal to the percentage increase 

3 in the total amount appropriated under subsection 

4 (i) to carry out this section between the preceding 

5 fiscal year and the fiscal year involved. 

6 ‘‘(f) CARRYOVER.—Any amount paid to a protection 

7 and advocacy system that serves a State or the American 

8 Indian consortium for a fiscal year under this section that 

9 remains unobligated at the end of such fiscal year shall 

10 remain available to such system for obligation during the 

11 next fiscal year for the purposes for which such amount 

12 was originally provided. 

13 ‘‘(g) DIRECT PAYMENT.—Notwithstanding any other 

14 provision of law, the Secretary shall pay directly to any 

15 protection and advocacy system that complies with the 

16 provisions of this section, the total amount of the grant 

17 for such system, unless the system provides otherwise for 

18 such payment. 

19 ‘‘(h) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each protection and advo20 cacy system that receives a payment under this section 

21 shall submit an annual report to the Secretary concerning 

22 the services provided to emerging populations of individ23 uals with disabilities by such system. 

24 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

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1 $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may 

2 be necessary for each the fiscal years 2009 through 2013. 

3 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) AMERICAN INDIAN CONSORTIUM.—The 

5 term ‘American Indian consortium’ has the meaning 

6 given the term in section 102 of the Developmental 

7 Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 

8 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002). 

9 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.— 

10 The term ‘protection and advocacy system’ means a 

11 protection and advocacy system established under 

12 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist13 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

14 15043). 

15 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’, unless other16 wise specified, means the several States of the 

17 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com18 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

19 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common20 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

21 ‘‘(k) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

22 reserve 2 percent of appropriated funds to make a grant 

23 to an eligible national organization for providing training 

24 and technical assistance to protection and advocacy sys25 tems. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 399OO. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER 

2 FOR AUTISM TREATMENT, INTERVENTION, 

3 AND SERVICES. 

4 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER

5 FOR AUTISM TREATMENTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND SERV6 ICES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall 

8 award a grant to a national nonprofit organization 

9 for the establishment and maintenance of a national 

10 technical assistance center. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—An organization shall be el12 igible to receive a grant under paragraph (1) if the 

13 organization— 

14 ‘‘(A) has demonstrated knowledge and ex15 pertise in serving children with autism and 

16 adults with autism and their families; 

17 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated knowledge of how 

18 to translate research to practice, and present 

19 information in a way that is easily accessible 

20 and understandable to the family members of 

21 individuals with autism; 

22 ‘‘(C) has demonstrated capacity of training 

23 educators, health care providers, family mem24 bers, and others to support the needs of individ25 uals with autism or other developmental disabil26 ities; 

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1 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated capacity of dis2 seminating information throughout the United 

3 States; and 

4 ‘‘(E) has demonstrated capacity to estab5 lish and maintain a website through which to 

6 disseminate information in an easily accessible 

7 manner. 

8 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The national technical 

9 assistance center established under this section 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) gather and disseminate information 

12 on evidence-based treatments, interventions, 

13 and services for children with autism and adults 

14 with autism, including best practices in deliv15 ering such treatments, interventions, and serv16 ices, and make this information available to 

17 State agencies with responsibilities under sec18 tion 399BB(c)(2), local communities, and indi19 viduals; 

20 ‘‘(B) gather and disseminate information 

21 on activities of the Interagency Autism Coordi22 nating Committee and the Task Force; 

23 ‘‘(C) provide analysis of activities funded 

24 under this Act, including— 

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1 ‘‘(i) the effectiveness of State and 

2 community-based models for delivering 

3 comprehensive services to individuals with 

4 autism; 

5 ‘‘(ii) identification and dissemination 

6 of best practices emerging from States, 

7 community-based organizations, nonprofit 

8 providers, and local governments receiving 

9 demonstration grants under this subpart; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the State-by-State availability of 

11 and gaps in services for individuals with 

12 autism, including information on services 

13 or service gaps in rural areas; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) levels of funding and funding 

15 sources of services for individuals with au16 tism in States; 

17 ‘‘(D) provide technical assistance to States 

18 and organizations funded under this subpart; 

19 ‘‘(E) gather and disseminate information 

20 about autism; 

21 ‘‘(F) establish and maintain a website 

22 through which to disseminate the information 

23 gathered under this section in an easily acces24 sible manner; and 

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1 ‘‘(G) gather and disseminate other infor2 mation as determined appropriate by the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 

7 2012.’’. 

Æ 

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