- Mission [1]
- The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) was established in August 2007 as required by the Combating Autism Act
(CAA) of 2006 (P.L. 109-416) to coordinate all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning
autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The IACC is charged to: (1) develop and annually update a summary of advances in ASD research
related to causes, prevention, treatment, early screening, diagnosis or ruling out a diagnosis; intervention, and access to
services and supports for individuals with ASD; (2) monitor Federal activities with respect to ASD; (3) make recommendations
to the Secretary regarding any appropriate changes to such activities, including recommendations to the Director of NIH with
respect to the strategic plan; (4) make recommendations to the Secretary regarding public participation in decisions relating
to ASD; (5) develop and annually update a strategic plan for the conduct of, and support for ASD research, including proposed
budgetary requirements; and (6) submit to the Congress such strategic plan and any updates to such plan. The IACC successfully
finalized their first annual Strategic Plan for ASD Research in January 2009, and issued updated Strategic Plans in 2010 and
2011, which were delivered to Congress, the Secretary, and the Director of NIH. The IACC Strategic Plan is a product of the
collaborative effort between the IACC, scientists, advocacy, groups, and the public to identify needs and opportunities for
research investigating autism, as mandated by the CAA. The plan cites specific objectives and proposed budgetary requirements
for different areas of ASD research, including diagnosis, biology of ASD, risk factors, treatments, services, lifespan issues,
surveillance and research infrastructure. In 2009, the IACC established the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic
Plan Updating Process to plan activities leading toward the annual update of the plan required by the CAA. Among the activities
planned by the Subcommittee in FY11 was the third annual comprehensive analysis of the ASD research portfolios of major Federal
agencies and private organizations. In June 2011, the IACC released a formal report of the findings from the portfolio analysis
covering fiscal year 2009, which was published on the IACC website. The IACC’s annual research portfolio analysis continues
to help the IACC to identify funding gaps and opportunities in ASD research, which in turn informs the update of the IACC
Strategic Plan for ASD Research. The Committee also produced a summary of scientific advances made in the field in calendar
year 2010 to identify emerging discoveries that may be relevant to the update of the IACC Strategic Plan and provided the
Committee with a mid-year update on research advances that have been published in the first half of calendar year 2011. The
IACC Services Subcommittee sponsored 2 workshops in FY11, the first entitled, “Building a Seamless System of Quality Services
& Supports Across the Lifespan” in November 2010 and the second entitled, “Enhancing Supports for People with Autism and
Their Families: Community Integration and the Changing Delivery System” in September 2011. In May, the Services and Safety
subcommittees of the IACC held a special meeting on the topic of seclusion and restraint, inviting several speakers from government
agencies and private organizations. All of these workshops and meetings provided information that the committee used in planning
activities such as updates to the Strategic Plan and advisory letters to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. In addition,
the Committee continues to monitor Federal activities related to ASD through presentations at meetings of the full IACC and
the Subcommittees and provides access to meeting webcasts, podcasts, minutes, transcripts and materials on the IACC website.
All IACC meetings, including IACC conference calls and IACC-sponsored workshops, are open to the public.
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