This episode features Alison Singer, president of Autism Science Foundation, and Craig Snyder of IKON Consulting, discussing why the Autism CARES Act should be reformed before it is re-authorized. This federal legislation sunsets on September 30, 2024 and efforts are underway to continue it with another budget authorization. But the CARES Act has glaring shortcomings: it has turned away from the most important questions in autism; it has sidelined the most severely affected part of the autism population; it serves the needs of entrenched interests rather than the urgent needs of the American people.
Please listen to Alison and Craig discuss:
• The history of the act, which started as The Combating Autism Act
• The problems with the IACC, the Interagency Coordinating Committee created by the Act
• The failure of the CARES Act to effect meaningful change, all while autism rates continue to climb and supports and services become more difficult to obtain
• How the CARES Act should explicitly require efforts to address profound autism; why the NIH needs an Office of Autism Research, not an IACC
What our community can do to help reform the CARES Act, and more
Link:NCSA Letter re CARES Act Reauthorization. Includes link to ASF white paper: https://www.ncsautism.org/blog//ncsa-submits-concerns-about-the-autism-cares-act-reauthorization-now-is-the-time-for-bold-action