[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4160 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4160
To establish a Global Autism Assistance Program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 2021
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. Bass, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Meuser) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Global Autism Assistance Program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global Autism Act''.
SEC. 2. GLOBAL AUTISM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment and Purpose.--The Administrator for the United
States Agency for International Development shall establish and
administer a health and education grant program, to be known as the
Global Autism Assistance Program, to--
(1) support activities under subsection (c)(2) by
nongovernmental organizations and other service providers,
including advocacy groups, focused on autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) in developing countries; and
(2) establish a program, to be known as the Train the
Trainers Program, under subsection (d) to train health and
education professionals working with children with ASD in
developing countries.
(b) Designation of Eligible Regions.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in
consultation with research, advocacy, and service organizations for
individuals with ASD, shall designate not fewer than two regions in
developing countries that are determined to--
(1) require assistance in addressing the needs of people
with ASD, their families, and systems that serve them;
(2) have sufficient familiarity with issues related to ASD
to make effective use of the Global Autism Assistance Program.
(c) Selection of Implementing NGO.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
designation of eligible regions pursuant to subsection (b), the
Administrator shall select and award a grant under this section
to a nongovernmental organization with experience in ASD-
related issues to implement the Global Autism Assistance
Program through selection and awarding of grants to local
service providers and advocacy groups focused on ASD.
(2) Activities.--A local service provider or advocacy group
that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use such grant to
carry out any of the following activities (including, as
appropriate, the translation into local languages of relevant
English-language publications):
(A) Education and outreach to the public.--Use
public service announcements and other public media to
help the public become more aware of the signs of ASD
so that children with ASD can be diagnosed and access
evidence-based interventions earlier.
(B) Support to families.--Development of resources
for families, such as online web resource centers in
local languages, dissemination of materials to parents
of newly diagnosed children, such as information
contained in the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's publication entitled ``Learn the Signs,
Act Early'', or other suitable alternatives, and
dissemination of educational aids and guides to help
parents with their children's development.
(C) Support to educational institutions.--Funding
for schools or other educational institutions, focusing
on teachers of the youngest students, and including the
distribution of equipment or of the materials referred
to in subparagraph (B).
(D) Support to clinics and medical centers.--
Provision of funding to clinics and medical centers
with proven records in addressing ASD to assist with
operating expenses, including personnel, equipment
supplies, and facilities, development of assessment
testing for ASD, and acquisition of specialized
equipment, such as augmentative communication devices.
(3) Applications for grants.--
(A) Submission of applications.--To be eligible to
receive a grant from the implementing nongovernmental
organization, a local service provider or advocacy
group shall submit to such implementing nongovernmental
organization an application at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as such
implementing nongovernmental organization may require.
(B) Establishment of screening board.--
(i) In general.--The implementing
nongovernmental organization responsible for
implementing the Global Autism Assistance
Program shall establish a screening board to be
known as the Project Advisory Board to review
for content and appropriateness applications
from local service providers or advocacy groups
submitted in accordance with subparagraph (A).
(ii) Membership.--The members of the
Project Advisory Board shall be appointed by
the implementing nongovernmental organization,
in consultation with the Administrator, and in
accordance with the following provisions:
(I) Each member shall serve for a
term of one year and each member may
serve as many as three consecutive
terms.
(II) A member of the Project
Advisory Board may continue to serve
after the expiration of the term of
such member until such time as a
successor is appointed.
(III) Membership of the Project
Advisory Board shall include at least
seven voting members who are members of
autism advocacy groups, adults with
ASD, professionals working with ASD, or
otherwise associated with the autism
community. Among the voting members of
the Board shall be at least two parents
from different families of individuals
with ASD, one medical professional
working with ASD, one teacher of
individuals with ASD, and one
individual who has ASD. Efforts shall
be made to include on the Project
Advisory Board individuals with
experience working in the developing
world.
(IV) Membership of the Project
Advisory Board shall include non-voting
members as determined appropriate by
the Administrator.
(V) Membership of the Project
Advisory Board shall be chosen so as to
ensure objectivity and balance and to
reduce the potential for conflicts of
interest.
(4) Support and assistance.--The implementing
nongovernmental organization shall provide, contract for, and
coordinate technical assistance in support of its mission in
meeting the goals and purposes of this Act.
(d) Train the Trainers.--The implementing nongovernmental
organization, acting on behalf of the Administrator, in consultation
with the Project Advisory Board, shall establish a program, to be known
as the Train the Trainers Program, to--
(1) identify health and education professionals to receive
specialized training for teaching and working with youth with
ASD, including training conducted in or workshops at locations
within one of the regions designated pursuant to subsection
(b);
(2) conduct training through biomedical conferences in at
least two of the regions designated pursuant to subsection (b),
including bringing medical and psychological specialists from
the United States to train and educate parents, health
professionals, caregivers, community health workers, and others
who serve people with ASD, including training related to--
(A) biomedical interventions that can improve the
health and wellbeing of people with ASD;
(B) how nutrition, various metabolic issues and
other variables can impact behavior; and
(C) various evidence-based habilitative and other
therapies including but not limited to--
(i) applied behavior analysis and other
evidence-based early intensive behavior
interventions;
(ii) occupational therapy; and
(iii) speech language pathology;
(D) other evidence-based interventions and
strategies that are effective at improving the health
and well-being for people with ASD; and
(E) other evidence-based practices as determined by
the grantee and based on local needs; and
(3) conduct post-workshop follow-up technical support and
assistance.
(e) Funding.--To carry out this section, the Administrator shall
allocate amounts that have been appropriated or otherwise made
available to the United States Agency for International Development.
(f) Annual Report.--The Administrator shall submit to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate on an annual basis a report on
activities carried out under this section during the prior calendar
year.
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