This article was contributed by Jennifer Mahan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at ASNC. It is the third of three parts wrapping up the NC General Assembly’s 2016 short session. IDD Caucus: Establishment of a bipartisan, bicameral IDD caucus: North Carolina is the fourth state in the United States to have an officially established…
2016 Legislative Wrap-Up: The Budget
This article was contributed by Jennifer Mahan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at ASNC. It is the first of three parts wrapping up the NC General Assembly’s 2016 short session. The NC House and Senate agreed on a budget adjustments bill for the second year of the state’s two-year budget, which allocates a total of…
Help Shape Crisis Services for Children
North Carolina will soon expand START crisis services to children and youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) and autism. Many of these children with complex mental health or behavioral needs have not been served by current crisis services due to a lack of space, and are held in emergency rooms or transferred to…
Speak Out on NC Budget Proposals
This article was contributed by Jennifer Mahan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at ASNC. On June 1, the NC Senate released its version of the budget adjustments bill for this year. Despite advocacy directed at the Senate to improve on what the NC House budget offered, the Senate includes no funding for federally required…
AmeriCarna LIVE Volunteer Uses Passion to Give Back
The Autism Society of North Carolina relies on volunteers to help carry out our mission. In honor of Volunteer Week, we share a story about one valued volunteer. When Larry Grossflam moved to North Carolina from New York in the fall of 2014, he began looking for volunteer opportunities. Through his employer, United Health Group,…
Have Your Say on Medicaid Reform in NC
North Carolina is undertaking plans to move forward with Medicaid Reform in our state. Last session, the legislature directed the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to come up with a plan that provides quality care and controls costs for the future. DHHS has created a draft plan outline for the next several years…
Focus on Successful Transitions at ASNC Conference
The Autism Society of North Carolina held its annual conference March 11-12 in Charlotte. We will be sharing information from conference presentations in upcoming blog posts. Dr. Laura Klinger, Executive Director of the UNC TEACCH Autism Program in Chapel Hill, opened the second day of ASNC’s 2016 conference with a presentation titled “Autism Grown Up:…
Guidance on Medicaid and EPSDT regarding Autism Treatment
This article was contributed by Jennifer Mahan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at ASNC. What is EPSDT? It stands for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT). EPSDT is a child health program in Medicaid to help the physical, developmental and mental health needs of children under the age of 21. The idea…
LifeLong Interventions: One Year of Changing Lives
This article was contributed by Whitney Luffman, MA LPA, BCBA, Lead Clinical LPA for the Triangle region. When we first met, I was unsure of John’s* language abilities, because he remained mostly silent. But I could see him watching others speak and could tell that he was receptively listening and taking in everything around him….