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State Representative Kim Norton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9249
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HHS BILL CONTAINS PROVISIONS TO HELP FAMILIES AND CHILDREN DEALING WITH AUTISM & DISABILITIES
(ST. PAUL) —Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the conference committee report of HF 2294, the Omnibus Health and Human Services Finance bill. The bill contains many important provisions, including several provisions that support families and children dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Rep. Kim Norton (DFL – Rochester) is known as a long-time advocate and lead on disability and, in particular, autism issues in the legislature, and authored several of the provisions in the bill.
“Recent research has shown that one in 88 children receive an ASD diagnosis by age 8, compared with about one in 110 just two years earlier," said Norton. “The myriad of issues these individuals and their families face is huge and we must provide strong policy to support them in areas such as insurance, therapy, schooling, housing, and employment.”
HF 2294 contains a provision authored by Rep. Norton that reforms foster care options for people with autism who are currently receiving home and community-based services. The state will work with counties on pilot autism-specific group homes, provided by persons specifically trained to meet the needs of this special population. Rep. Norton, together with Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R – Lake Elmo), worked to include language directing the Dept. of Human Services to explore creative residential models aimed at providing a better integration of services for children diagnosed with autism in the hope of combining that knowledge and the results of the pilot project toward continued reforms in the coming years.
“Some children with severe-end autism need an environment that is different from that of other children,” said Norton. “Foster care providers across this state do a great job caring for children with autism, but it’s important to have providers who have special training and skills to provide a sensory-sensitive environment to support the special needs of these children.”
Additionally, Rep Norton worked with Rep. Abler (R – Anoka) to include language for two additional studies on autism in the bill. The first is a U of M study on the high incidence of autism/ASD in the Somali community in Minnesota and the second study is on autism therapy effectiveness so insurance reforms can be addressed in a future session.
Finally, the conference committee report reverses the 20 percent wage cut to Personal Care Attendants (PCA) who provide care to a disabled relative that was enacted in last year’s budget. This cut is restored only for this fiscal year and would still go into effect in the next biennium.
“I’m very pleased that we were able to reverse this cut at least for this year,” said Norton. “This was one of the most controversial and damaging cuts in last year’s budget. I’m hopeful that if the budget picture continues to improve, we can reverse this cut in future bienniums and also address the dental needs for the severely disabled that were cut last year, but were unable to be addressed due to budget constraints this year.
“This bill contains a lot of good for many of our most vulnerable citizens in Minnesota and is an example of what can get done when we truly work together and leave the controversial and partisan provisions aside. I look forward to Governor Dayton’s signature and using this bill as a model of bipartisanship for the last few days of the session.”
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