Federal Autism Activities: Funding for Research Has Increased, but Agencies Need to Resolve Surveillance Challenges
GAO-06-700
Published: Jul 19, 2006. Publicly Released: Aug 04, 2006.
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Highlights
Autism is a developmental disorder involving communication and social impairment. It has no known cause or cure, and its prevalence is unknown. The Children's Health Act of 2000 required the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS agencies to conduct activities related to autism research, surveillance, and coordination. This report provides information on (1) the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) autism activities and these agencies' funding of autism activities, (2) programs that federal agencies have under way to support services for people with autism and concerns related to providing services, and (3) coordination of federal autism activities.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | To ensure continued progress toward the development of accurate and comparable data on autism characteristics and prevalence and to provide the information the Congress required on CDC's surveillance activities, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education should work together to promptly identify options for overcoming challenges to CDC's ability to use education records for surveillance of autism. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The agency disagreed with the recommendation. On October 4, 2006, the Secretary of Education reported that it does not believe GAO's recommendation reflects an accurate understanding of the important privacy protections established by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the confidentiality requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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| Department of Health and Human Services | To ensure continued progress toward the development of accurate and comparable data on autism characteristics and prevalence and to provide the information the Congress required on CDC's surveillance activities, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education should work together to promptly identify options for overcoming challenges to CDC's ability to use education records for surveillance of autism. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The agency disagreed with the recommendation. On October 4, 2006, the Secretary of Education reported that it does not believe GAO's recommendation reflects an accurate understanding of the important privacy protections established by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the confidentiality requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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