The Department of Mental Health’s Division of DD funds five regional autism projects that collectively provide services annually to approximately 2500 families statewide. Individuals are referred to their autism projects through their regional office.  The programs and services are designed to assist in skill development of individuals with ASD and provide needed training and support for families.

The first project was established in 1991 as a result of families in rural Missouri approaching legislators to ask for autism-specific family support.  They requested needed services so that their family members could remain at home and receive supports close to home. 

The five Missouri Autism Projects are overseen by the Missouri Advisory Committee on Autism and by Regional Parent Advisory Councils.

Missouri Autism Projects:  5 Regions   

The Autism Projects serves individuals with ASD in:

• Central Missouri- serves Kirksville, Hannibal, Rolla and Central Missouri Regional Offices
• East Missouri- St. Louis metropolitan area served by St. Louis Regional Office
  
• Northwest Missouri-Albany and Kansas City Regional Offices
• Southeast Missouri-Poplar Bluff and Sikeston Regional Offices
• Southwest Regional- Joplin and Springfield Regional Offices

 MORE INFO on Autism Projects:

Central Missouri Autism Project:  Provides autism supports and services in 49 counties served by the Central Missouri Regional Office, Kirksville Regional Office, Rolla Regional Office, and Hannibal Regional Office, through collaboration with Touchpoint Autism Center.  Touchpoint's main office for the Central Missouri Autism Project is located in Columbia, Missouri. 

Southeast Missouri Autism Project:  Provides autism supports and services in 19 counties served by the Sikeston Regional Office and Poplar Bluff Regional Office, through collaboration with Touchpoint Autism Center and other local providers. 

 The SE Autism Project also funds the Collaborative Autism Intervention Project.  CAIP facilitates the training of parents and students in methods of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a proven therapy that helps children with autism to learn social and behavioral skills.  Touchpoint's main office for the Southeast Missouri Autism Project is located in Cape Giradeau, Missouri.  

Southwest Missouri Autism Project:  Provides autism supports and services in 22 counties served by the Springfield Regional Office and Joplin Regional Office, through collaboration with Touchpoint Autism Center and other local agencies, including Burrell Autism Center, Ozark Center, and The Judevine Center for Autism.  Touchpoint's main office for the Southwest Missouri Autism Project is located in Springfield, Missouri.  

Northwest Missouri Autism Project:  Provides support and services to families of children and adults who have autism or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), and are clients of the Kansas City Regional Center, and who live in Bates, Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson (MO), Lafayette, Platte, or Ray counties. The project also provides services to families in 12 additional counties in rural northwestern Missouri.

 The project is consumer driven and monitored by a Parent Advisory Committee which oversees all project activities and expenditures. Funding is provided by the Department of Mental Health's Division of Developmental Disabilities, and through its Statewide Autism Committee coordinates the activities of the district advisory committees.

Eastern Missouri Autism Project:  Provides support and services in 3 counties (St. Charles, St. Louis, and Jefferson counties)  served by the St. Louis Regional Office.  



MISSOURI STATE STATUTE

Chapter 633 , Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Section 633.220                                                                                    August 28, 2011


Definitions--programs for persons with autism to be established--state to be divided into regions, regional projects, purchase of services--regional councils--advisory committee, duties--rulemaking authority.
633.220. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Autism", a lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life resulting from a neurological disorder that affects brain functioning which interferes with communication, learning, behavior, and social development;
(2) "Division", the division of developmental disabilities;
(3) "Family support", services and helping relationships for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing family caregiving. Family support may be any combination of services that enable individuals with autism to reside within their family homes and remain integrated within their communities. Family support services shall be:
(a) Based on individual and family needs;
(b) Identified by the family;
(c) Easily accessible to the family;
(d) Family-centered and culturally sensitive;
(e) Flexible and varied to meet the changing needs of the family members; and
(f) Provided in a timely manner contingent upon the availability of resources;
(4) "Service provider", a person or entity which provides and receives reimbursement for autism programs and services as specified in this section.

2. The division of developmental disabilities shall establish programs and services for persons with autism. These programs and services shall be established in conjunction with persons with autism and with families of persons with autism. The division shall establish such programs and services in conjunction with the regional parent advisory councils and with the Missouri parent advisory committee on autism. The programs and services shall be designed to enhance persons with autism spectrum disorders and families' abilities to meet needs they identify and shall:
(1) Develop skills for persons with autism through supports, services, and teaching;
(2) Teach families to provide behavioral supports to members with autism; and
(3) Provide needed family support.

3. The division director, with input from the Missouri parent advisory council on autism, shall divide the state into at least five regions and establish autism programs and services which are responsive to the needs of persons with autism and families consistent with contemporary and emerging best practices. The boundaries of such regions, to the extent practicable, shall be contiguous with relevant boundaries of political subdivisions and health service areas.

4. The regional projects may provide or purchase, but shall not be limited to the following services in addition to other contemporary and emerging based practices:
(1) Assessment;
(2) Advocacy training;
(3) Behavior management training and supports;
(4) Communication and language therapy;
(5) Consultation on individualized education and habilitation plans;
(6) Crisis intervention;
(7) Information and referral assistance;
(8) Life skills;
(9) Music therapy;
(10) Occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and consultation;
(11) Parent or caregiver training;
(12) Public education and information dissemination;
(13) Respite care; and
(14) Staff training.

5. Each regional project shall have a regional parent advisory council composed of persons with autism and persons that have family members with autism, including family members that are young children, school-age children, and adults, and who have met the division's eligibility requirements to be a client as defined under section 630.005. Members of a regional parent advisory council shall be Missouri residents. No member shall be a service provider, a member of a service provider's board of directors, or an employee of a service provider or the division.

6. The responsibilities of each regional parent advisory council shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Advocacy;
(2) Contract monitoring;
(3) Review of annual audits of projects by the department of mental health;
(4) Recommendation of services to be provided based on input from families;
(5) Recommendation of policy, budget, and service priorities;
(6) Monthly review of service delivery;
(7) Planning;
(8) Public education and awareness;
(9) Recommendation of service providers to the division for administration of the project; and
(10) Recommendation of contract cancellation.

7. The division shall establish the Missouri parent advisory committee on autism. The committee shall be appointed by the division director. A chair of the committee shall be selected by members of the committee. It shall be composed of:
(1) Two representatives and one alternate from each of the regional parent advisory committees established in subsection 3 of this section;
(2) One person with autism and his or her alternate.

8. The division director shall make every effort to appoint members nominated by the regional parent advisory councils. The membership should represent the cultural diversity of the state and represent persons with autism of all ages and capabilities.

9. The responsibilities of the Missouri parent advisory committee on autism shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Serve as a liaison with the regional parent advisory councils and provide current information to them and the persons and families they serve;
(2) Determine project outcomes for autism services;
(3) Plan and sponsor statewide activities;
(4) Recommend service providers to the division director in the event a regional parent advisory committee and the district administrator cannot reach consensus; and
(5) Provide an annual report to the Missouri commission on autism spectrum disorders, the governor, the director of the department of mental health, and director of the division of developmental disabilities.



MISSOURI CSR:  According to Code of State Regulations 9 CSR 45-3.060

Autism Project Services May Include:



• Assessment
• Advocacy training;
• Behavior management training and supports
• Communication and language therapy;
• Consultation on individualized education and habilitation plans;
• Crisis intervention;
• Information and referral assistance;
• Life skills;
• Music therapy;
• Occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and consultation;
• Parent or caregiver training;
• Public education and information dissemination;
• Respite care; and
• Staff training.

 Missouri Advisory Committee on Autism

The Missouri Advisory Committee on Autism is composed of two representatives and one alternate from each of the five parent advisory committees as set out in the Code of State Regulations 9 CSR 45-3.060. It includes one person with autism and one alternate, a person with autism, who are not members of a parent advisory committee. The committee is appointed by the division director from nominations by the local parent advisory committees.  Members serve three year terms  Members meet bi-monthly.

Missouri Advisory Committee Responsibilities

• Communication with the autism projects to provide up-to-date information to them and the families they serve
• Determining project outcomes for autism services
• Determining roles and responsibilities of the parent advisory committees
• Development of positive relationships with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and local school districts
• Establishing statewide policy
• Fostering unity with and among the projects to ensure joint support for legislative, budget and other issues
• Planning and sponsorship of statewide activities
• Provision of program recommendations to the division
• Recommendation of service providers to the division director in the event a parent advisory committee and district deputy director cannot reach consensus
• Recommendation of issues resolutions to the division director

 

Next Meeting:  January 20, 2012

Statewide Autism Advisory Committee for Missouri Autism Projects meeting 

Place:    Missouri Dept. of Mental Health

1706 E. Elm Street, Jefferson City

LINKS

 SB 157  signed into law - Missouri's Autism Projects now in statute!

DMH Autism Page

(contains FACT SHEET on Autism Projects)