Christie Committed to Funding Autism Services

In a reversal of the familiar cutting and slashing of programs over the course of the last several years, Governor Chris Christie's 2013 budget includes funding for critical programs and services for individuals with autism.

Christie reaffirmed his commitment to providing autism services Tuesday morning in a town hall meeting at the Somerset Hills Learning Institute in Bedminster, a private non-profit program that serves children, adolescents and adults with autism.

Christie vowed during Tuesday's meeting to find new and innovative ways to help New Jersey families impacted by autism while protecting services and programs from being cut.

One of his major initiatives is the creation of the Division of Child Integrated System of Care Services within the Department of Children and Families. For families just learning of a diagnosis, navigating the system of services can be daunting, not to mention confusing and frustrating. This division is specifically designed to handle the needs of people who have had to deal with several government agencies in order to obtain benefits and services for individuals with autism and other developmental disorders.  

Currently, services such as early intervention, special education, behavioral health support, disability, employment assistance and housing options involve six different agencies within the state government. By placing these critical services within one division, families dealing with the diagnosis of autism no longer have to waste valuable time trying to figure out what service each agency provides. 

In a state where one in 49 children, and one in 29 boys, are diagnosed with autism, this comes as good news to parents and caretakers who live with the disease everyday and must navigate their way through the labyrinth of bureaucracy in order to find out what services are available and what agency provides them. 

The budget provides additional funding for early childhood intervention, refers families whose child has been diagnosed with autism to a county case manager who will help them access services, provides transition services for those who age out of the special education system and enter adult day programming and maintains a confidential list of caregivers working in these programs who have been determined to have abused, neglected, or exploited an individual with a developmental disability.