Salaries for new state autism program questioned

CARSON CITY — Four organizations representing Nevada parents of autistic children said Wednesday they are concerned that a new initiative set to start Jan. 1 will fail because a state agency is proposing to pay an inadequate amount of money necessary to hire and train the professional staff for the early intervention program.

The applied behavioral analysis services to be offered through the state Medicaid program to 1,879 autistic children will provide one-on-one treatment performed by a group of professionals who will be certified as registered behavioral technicians. The treatments can involve as many as 30 to 40 hours a week for a younger autistic child.

But there are only 97 such technicians in Nevada now, and the parents are concerned that the rate of $29.50 to recruit and pay additional workers is inadequate to meet the projected demand with the new program.

Instead, the groups hiring and training the technicians have told state officials they need $40 an hour to prepare and supervise the new workforce.

Four Nevada autism groups, in a press release issued Wednesday, said that without an adequate rate, "our children will fail." Most states are in the $44 to $58 range, the parents groups said.

"The members of Families for Effective Autism Treatment urge the governor and his agencies to put our children first," the statement said. "Those who do not receive this early intervention are almost guaranteed to be institutionalized as adults with an average cost of $3.6 million over their lifetimes."

Sandoval made autism funding a top priority in his 2015-17 budget, increasing total spending on children with autism spectrum disorder to $73 million from $10 million in the previous budget. This new early intervention program was part of the budget approved by the 2015 Legislature. There are an estimated 6,000 children in Nevada diagnosed as autistic.

Since the federal government will pay two-thirds of the cost to the state Medicaid program for the services, it is foolish to set a reimbursement rate so low that the program will fail, the parents groups said.

The state Department of Health and Human Services plans to consider the reimbursement rates at a hearing on Oct. 19.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.