46-1208d. Kansas autism task force; membership, powers and duties; reports and recommendations to LEPC.
46-1208d
46-1208d. Kansas autism task force; membership,powers and duties; reports and recommendations to LEPC.(a) There is hereby established the Kansas autism task force.The task force shall be made up of the following members:
(1) Four members appointed by the president of the senate. Of such members,one shall be a member of the Kansas senate;one shall be a psychiatrist;one shall be a member of thefaculty at the department of applied behavioral science at the university ofKansas with a specialization in thearea of autism; and oneshall be a behavioral analyst who has been certified by the behavioral analystcertification board with aspecialization in the area ofautism and shall have at least five years experience in providing earlyintensive intervention tochildren with autism in a private-practice setting;
(2) three members appointed by the minority leader of the senate. Of suchmembers, one shall be a member of the Kansas senate; one shall be a parent of achild with autism; and one shall be a special education teacher with aspecialization in the area of autism and shall have at least five yearsexperience in teaching children with autism;
(3) four members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.Of such members, one shall be a member of the Kansas house of representatives;one shall be a parent of a child with autism;one shall be a member of the faculty of the department of special education atan institution of higher education with a specialization in the area of autism;and one shall be a developmental pediatrician;
(4) three members appointed by the minority leader of the house ofrepresentatives. Of such members, one shall be a member of the Kansas house ofrepresentatives; one shall be a parent of a child with autism; and one shall bea clinical child psychologist with an expertise in the area of autism;
(5) four members appointed by the governor. Of such members, one shall be aparent of a child with autism; one shall be a speech language pathologist; oneshall be an occupational therapist; and one shall be a member of a board ofeducation of a school district;
(6) one member appointed by the parents of children with autism appointedpursuant to subsections (a)(2) through (5). Such member shall be a parent of achild with autism;
(7) one member appointed by the commissioner of insurance. Such member shallbe a representative of health insurance companies doing business in the stateof Kansas; and
(8) four members, which shall consist of one member appointed by the chiefadministrative officer of the Capper foundation easter seals located in Topeka,Kansas, the secretary of health and environment, the secretary of social andrehabilitation services and the commissioner of education, or such secretary'sor commissioner's designee, who shall serve only as non-voting ex officiomembers of the task force.
(b) One of the members appointed by the governor shall be designated by thegovernor to serve as chairperson of the task force. Members of the task forceshall be appointed within 30 days of the effective date of this act. The taskforce shall meet on call of the chairperson or on the request of 11 or moremembers of the task force. Eleven members of the task force shallconstitute a quorum.
(c) Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the task force shall be filledin the same manner as the original appointment.
(d) The staff of the office of the revisor of statutes, the legislativeresearch department and the division of legislative administrative servicesshall provide such assistance as may be requested by the task force andauthorized by the legislative coordinating council. Upon request of the taskforce, the department of education, the department of health and environmentand the department of social and rehabilitation services shall provide to thetask force any information and supporting documentation relating theretorequested by the task force.
(e) Except as provided by this subsection, members of the task forceattending meetings of such task force or subcommittee meetings thereof asauthorized by such task force, shall be paid amounts as provided in subsection(e) of K.S.A. 75-3223, and amendments thereto, upon vouchers approved by thechairperson of the task force or the chairperson's designee. No member of thetask force shall be paid an amount as provided in subsection (e) of K.S.A.75-3223, and amendments thereto, if such member receives an amount fromanother governmental or private entityfor the purpose for which such amount is payable under subsection(e) of K.S.A. 75-3223, and amendments thereto.
(f) The task force shall study and conduct hearings on the issues relatingto, the needs of andservices available for persons with autism including, but not limited to:
(1) The re-alignment of state agencies that provide services for childrenwith autism;
(2) the availability or accessibility of services for the screening,diagnosis and treatment ofchildren with autism and the availability or accessibility of services for theparents or guardians ofchildren with autism;
(3) the need to increase the number of qualified professionals andparaprofessionals who are able to provideevidence-based interventionand other services to childrenwith autism and incentiveswhich may be offered to meet that need;
(4) the benefits currently available for services provided tochildren with autism;
(5) study and discussion of an autism registry which would (A) provideaccurate numbers of children with autism, (B) improve the understanding of thespectrum of autism disorders and (C) allow for more complete epidemiologicsurveys of the autism disorder;
(6) the creation and design of a financial assistance program for childrenwith autism;
(7) the establishment of a hotline that the parents or guardians of childrenwith autism mayuse to locate services for children with autism;
(8) additional funding sources to support programs that provideevidence-based interventionor treatment of autism, including funding for thedevelopment of regional centersof excellence for the diagnosis and treatment of autism; and
(9) develop recommendations for the best practices for earlyevidence-based intervention for children with autism.
(g) The task force shall submit reports of the activities and recommendationsof the task forceto the legislative educational planning committee. A preliminary report shallbe submitted on orbefore November 15, 2007. The final report shall be submitted on or beforeNovember 15, 2008.Such reports shall include recommendations for legislative changes.
(h) As used in this section, "autism" means all disorders within the autismspectrumincluding, but not limited to, autism, Asperger's syndrome, pervasivedevelopment disorders and pervasive development disorder, not otherwisespecified.
(i) The provisions of this section shall expire on December 31, 2008.
History: L. 2007, ch. 182, § 1; July 1.