NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7976
SPONSOR: De La Rosa TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to
directing the autism spectrum disorders advisory board to identify stra-
tegies and methods to improve outreach to minority group members
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To have the Autism advisory board make recommendations, improve
outreach, and identify strategies for minority group members including
African American, Latino and Asian Children. Create the autism and Afri-
can American, Latino and Asian children's advisory council
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1.4: Directs Autism advisory hoard to identify strategies and
methods of improving outreach and coordination of services associated
with autism spectrum disorders for minority group members including
African American, Latino and Asian Children
Section 2: States this bill shall take effect sixtieth day after it
shall have become a law.
JUSTIFICATION:
The need to create the autism and African American, Latino and Asian
Children's advisory council is clearly evident because of the statistics
provided below:
Clinicians are underdiagnosing autism in children from low-income minor-
ity families, setting back the potential of the children benefitting
from therapy.
The Child Center of New York in Flushing, Queens, found that applica-
tions for general counseling services have risen sharply in the past two
decades, from 250 in 1993 to 1,700 in 2012. But Most of these inquiries
are made by schools and not individual families. A study in 2011 titled
Autism and African American Community found that even though the rate of
diagnosis is similar throughout all racial groups, African American
children will receive a diagnosis later than White children will. This
will cause the children to be deprived from the services they need and
lead to more intensive therapies compared to if they had been diagnosed
earlier.
Autism in minority children is being written off as "troubled kids",
having lack of discipline at home or misdiagnosed with ADHD, mental
retardation or organic psychosis. Even when taken to a professional to
be diagnosed, some physicians will rely on stereotypes to guide their
diagnosis of a child rather than rely on science and will not attend to
the child's needs properly.
These factors are leading to the child being misdiagnosed. Low-income
minority families with low education have a harder time entering the
early intervention system causing them to not be able to properly care
for their children. Analyzing data collected in 2010 by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that children
from high-income families are roughly 81 percent more likely to receive
an autism diagnosis than those from low-income families.
Many minority families are not able to afford specialist that would help
treat their children and lack of transportation and even the lack of
flexible work schedules continue to impede access to services for their
children. These and many factors are issues that Autism and African
American, Latino and Asian children's advisory council will help resolve
through its collaboration with the NYS Office of Mental Health and the
creation of mandated five year plans on its work.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect sixtieth day after it shall have become a
Law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7976
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 23, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DE LA ROSA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to directing the
autism spectrum disorders advisory board to identify strategies and
methods to improve outreach to minority group members
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (c) of section 13.42 of the mental hygiene
2 law, as added by chapter 469 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (c) The board shall have the following tasks and duties:
5 (1) Study and review the effectiveness of supports and services
6 currently being provided to people diagnosed with autism spectrum disor-
7 ders;
8 (2) Identify legislative and regulatory activity which may be required
9 to improve existing service systems that support people diagnosed with
10 autism spectrum disorders;
11 (3) Identify methods of improving interagency coordination of services
12 and maximize the impact and effectiveness of services and agency func-
13 tions; [and]
14 (4) Identify strategies and methods of improving outreach and coordi-
15 nation of services associated with autism spectrum disorders for minori-
16 ty group members including, but not limited to, African American, Latino
17 and Asian children; and
18 (5) Such other matters as may be deemed appropriate by the members of
19 the board.
20 At the discretion of the chair, the board may consult with stakehold-
21 ers for the purpose of carrying out its tasks and duties in accordance
22 with this subdivision.
23 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
24 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10844-04-7
