Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Tully, Assemblywomen Swain and B.DeCroce
SYNOPSIS
Requires Commissioner of Health to establish public health campaign on autism spectrum disorders.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning autism spectrum disorders and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Health shall establish a public health campaign on autism spectrum disorders, which shall, at a minimum:
(1) disseminate information to the public on autism spectrum disorders, including basic information about autism spectrum disorders, statistics related to the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders in New Jersey, and services related to autism spectrum disorders that are offered by the State, any other government agency, or the private sector;
(2) encourage the public to access the New Jersey Department of Health website on autism; and
(3) encourage parents to be aware of the signs of autism spectrum disorders and to seek early treatment if they suspect their child is on the autism spectrum.
b. As used in this section, the term “autism spectrum disorders” means any one of the several conditions classified under pervasive developmental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM IV-TR) or the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), including: autistic disorder; Asperger’s disorder; childhood disintegrative disorder; pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified or unspecified pervasive developmental disorder; Fragile X syndrome, to the extent that the condition is comorbid with pervasive developmental disorder; Rett’s disorder, to the extent that the condition is comorbid with pervasive developmental disorder; autism spectrum disorder; and any equivalent conditions as classified under any version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification (ICD-CM) published on or after January 1, 2000.
2. The Department of Health shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to implement the provisions of section 1 of this act.
3. This act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Health to establish a public health campaign on autism spectrum disorders. Under this bill, the public awareness campaign will, at a minimum: (1) disseminate information to the public on autism spectrum disorders, including basic information about autism spectrum disorders, statistics related to the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders in New Jersey, and services related to autism spectrum disorders that are offered by the State and any other government agency, or the private sector; (2) encourage the public to access the New Jersey Department of Health website on autism; and (3) encourage parents to be aware of the signs of autism spectrum disorders and to seek early treatment if they suspect their child is on the autism spectrum.