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Representative Silcox advances bill for autism screening pilot for foster children
Summary
Representative Silcox presented House Bill 943 to create a five-year pilot training DHS workers to screen foster children for autism, citing research she said links higher autism prevalence and more placements among children in foster care; the committee passed the bill by voice vote.
Representative Denise Silcox introduced House Bill 943 to the Children and Families Committee, saying the proposal mirrors an earlier autism bill and reflects five years of work by Dr. Michelle Zeanah to give Department of Human Services workers a short screening tool for foster children.
"I bring to you all this afternoon House Bill 943," Silcox said, describing a pilot that would begin in rural districts and expand toward the City of Atlanta. She said the effort would train DHS staff to screen every foster child and to begin interventions earlier.
Silcox cited research findings she said show foster children are about six times more likely to be autistic than the general population and said earlier diagnosis can reduce placement instability: "children that are not diagnosed early ... go through approximately 6.5 placements ... that is cut in half ... down to less than three, if they are ... properly diagnosed early." She argued screening could reduce trauma for children and lower state costs.
Committee members raised no recorded questions during the presentation, and a motion to "do pass" LC 481741S was made and seconded. Senator Brass seconded the motion; the committee approved the measure by voice vote.
The bill now moves to the next steps in the legislative process as directed by the committee.
