HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 110 Offered January 9, 2008 Prefiled January 8, 2008 Directing the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study autism education and training available to law-enforcement and judicial personnel. Report. ---------- Patron-- Englin ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

WHEREAS, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental disorders that begin at birth or within the first two-and-one-half years of life, and

WHEREAS, ASDs, as characterized by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), cause "varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior"; and

WHEREAS, ASDs range from severe (autistic disorder) "through pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), to a much milder form, Asperger syndrome"; and

WHEREAS, ASDs are increasingly prevalent, with the CDC reporting rates for ASDs as "between 1 in 500 (2/1,000) to 1 in 166 children (6/1,000)"; and

WHEREAS, law-enforcement officers, public safety personnel, first responders, judges, magistrates, Commonwealth's attorneys, public defenders, and various personnel involved in the legal system may not be aware of the impacts of ASDs or of the best ways to assist individuals with ASDs; and

WHEREAS, providing education and training to such persons will result in less disruptive, more meaningful interactions for all persons involved, and better and more equitable services for persons with autism; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission be directed to study education and training available to law-enforcement and judicial personnel.

In conducting its study, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall (i) identify current autism educational and training opportunities available to or provided to law-enforcement and judicial personnel, including law-enforcement officers, public safety personnel, first responders, judges, magistrates, Commonwealth's attorneys, public defenders, and other personnel involved in the legal system; (ii) identify best practices regarding autism education and training for law-enforcement and judicial personnel, and other models for providing autism education for law-enforcement and judicial personnel; (iii) identify areas for improvement in the autism educational and training opportunities available to or provided to law-enforcement and judicial personnel, and (iv) make recommendations for how the range of autism educational and training opportunities available to or provided to law-enforcement and judicial personnel can be improved.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission for this study, upon request.

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall complete its review by November 30, 2008, and the Chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2009 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.