U.S. Rep. Chris Smith announced today that Rutgers University’s Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities (The Boggs Center) will receive a federal designation and funding to boost its system of care for children with disabilities and their families.

     Last year, Smith secured a provision in the Fiscal Year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act (PL 114-113) boosting resources for LEND programs and directing HRSA to designate new programs in states, like New Jersey, that do not have one, yet have high incidence rates of autism.

     Today, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) confirmed that The Boggs Center will indeed join the university network of Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) programs for 5 years and receive roughly $441,000 annually (subject to appropriations). Smith also recent wrote to HRSA urging this designation.  

     “The Boggs Center is a proven resource for individuals with autism and their families across our state,” said Smith, founder and co-chairman of the Coalition for Autism Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) and the author of three major laws on autism, including most recently the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act (the Autism CARES Act/ Public Law 113-157). “This investment is long-overdue and sorely needed. The designation and funding will allow The Boggs Center to recruit additional personnel to better address the needs of children and adults with developmental disabilities—including and especially the aging out generation.”

     In the most recent CDC study, New Jersey has the highest rate of autism in the nation—1 in every 45 children has ASD, whereas 1 in every 68 children has ASD nationally.

     “With the highest reported prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the nation, New Jersey has long been in desperate need of additional personnel in a variety of health and allied health professions with the requisite knowledge and skills to address the complex needs of children with autism and their families,” said Deborah M. Spitalnik, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Executive Director, The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. 

     “As envisioned in the Autism CARES Act and the Fiscal Year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act,, the funding awarded to establish a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program will enable The Boggs Center to improve the lives of children, young adults, and their families living with autism in New Jersey, through interdisciplinary clinical leadership training to develop the next generation of health leaders and advocates,” Dr. Spitalnik continued.

     LEND programs provide advanced training to students and fellows from at least 12 disciplines in the identification, assessment, and treatment of children and youth with a wide range of developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The network is currently made up of 43 programs that are making significant strides toward improved screening and diagnosis of autism among younger children and helping to train healthcare professionals who treat a number of different developmental and intellectual disabilities.

     This announcement will expand the LEND network to 49 programs—bringing us closer to our goal of allowing LENDs to meet the pressing needs of the autism community in every state.

     "Every year 50,000 youths with autism enter into adulthood and communities unprepared to support them,” Smith said. "The LEND network is uniquely positioned to assist transitioning adolescents and encourage independent living, equal opportunity, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency.”