NCSA Letter Supporting Reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act — February 2019
Letter | February 14, 2019
To: Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Mike Enzi, Representative Chris Smith, Representative Mike Doyle
Re: NCSA Support for Reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act of 2019 (S. 427 / H.R. 1058)
February 14, 2019
Senator Bob Menendez
528 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Mike Enzi 379A Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Representative Chris Smith 2373 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Representative Mike Doyle 306 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Re: NCSA support for the reauthorization of The Autism Collaboration, Accountability,
Research, Education, and Support ("CARES") Act Dear Senators Menendez and Enzi and Representatives Smith and Doyle:
The National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) joins Autism Speaks and Autism Society of America in supporting the reauthorization of The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research,
Education, and Support Act of 2019 ("Act"), which has been introduced in the Senate as S 427 and in the House of Representatives as H.R. 1058. The Act would continue the activities authorized under the Autism CARES Act of 2014, placing a new emphasis on improving lifespan services and reducing disparities. Over the past 30 years, our country has experienced a staggering, if inexplicable, increase in serious neurodevelopmental disorders that fall under the umbrella of autism. Based on California developmental services data, the population of adults with developmental disability-type autism will nearly quintuple over the next 20 years. And our country is woefully unprepared to meet their needs. Though we may wish otherwise, we cannot alter the fact that these individuals will have limited means to care for themselves or earn a living,
and will depend in large part on public programs for long-term supports and services. The Act will serve as a precursor to needed system reform to properly and humanely address the needs of this unprecedented population of disabled adults with severe cognitive and functional limitations. It is our hope that the groundwork laid by CARES research and reporting on lifespan needs will help enable the crafting of legislation to open the floodgates to the wide array of programs, services and residential options that will be needed for many decades to come to support this vulnerable population. NCSA Support for CARES 2019 p 1 PO Box 26853 San Jose, CA 95159 info@ncsautism.org ncsautism.orgThe steep increase in autism, now affecting nearly 2% of our children, represents one of our country's greatest public health and social services challenges. We thank you for your continued attention to America's escalating autism crisis. It is urgent that, now 30 years into this crisis we finally identify causes of autism, find therapeutics to improve the well-being of individuals disabled by autism, and provide adequate long-term supports for those too disabled to care for themselves. This is why we strongly support your legislation. NCSA represents the needs of growing population of individuals with autism and related disorders who cannot speak for themselves, and their families and caregivers. We support your efforts to address the needs of this community and hope that as new policy takes shape that we can be included in background discussions, to ensure the voiceless have a voice in the issues that affect them most deeply. We thank you for your support of CARES and look forward to working with you on system reforms that respond to the growing and acute community needs. Very truly yours,
NCSA Support for CARES 2019 p 2 Jill Escher President
