IACC Full Committee Meeting
Full Meeting Videos
Event Information
| Topic | Topic Description |
|---|---|
| Dates: |
Wednesday, October 13, 2021; 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET Thursday, October 14, 2021; 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET |
| Cost: | The event is free and open to the public. |
| Public Comments: | The IACC welcomes public comment from members of the autism community. In particular, the committee invites comments about issues the public would like to see highlighted when the IACC updates the IACC Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Submission, Deadlines and Guidelines. |
| Disability Accommodations: | Closed Captioning will be available through the NIH VideoCast. Individuals who require special accommodations (e.g., sign language or interpreting services, etc.) should submit a request to Rebecca Martin at Rebecca.martin@nih.gov or 301-435-0886 at least 7 business days prior to the event. |
Agenda
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | |
| 1:15 | |
| 1:55 |
Break
|
| 2:00 | |
| 2:55 |
Break
|
| 3:00 | |
| 3:15 |
|
| 5:00 |
| Time | Event | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. |
| ||||||
| 1:55 |
Break
|
||||||
| 2:00 |
|
||||||
| 2:55 |
Break
|
||||||
| 3:00 |
|
||||||
| 4:40 |
Break
|
||||||
| 4:45 |
Round Robin Updates
|
||||||
| 4:55 |
Schedule is subject to change. For more information on upcoming events, please see https://iacc.hhs.gov/meetings/iacc-meetings/
Next IACC Full Committee Meeting:
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - Virtual
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Minutes
- October Meeting Minutes (PDF 468 KB)
Speakers
Taryn Mackenzie Williams, M.A.
Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor
Taryn Mackenzie Williams, M.A. is the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). In this position, she advises the Secretary of Labor on how the Department’s policies and programs impact the employment of people with disabilities and leads ODEP. Previously, Ms. Williams was the managing director for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at American Progress, which works on progressive policies focused on a broad range of anti-poverty strategies. Before joining American Progress, she worked at ODEP on a variety of issues related to education, workforce policy, Social Security, Medicaid, and civil rights. In her role as director of youth policy, Ms. Williams led agency efforts to coordinate education and employment policy in support of improved labor force outcomes for disabled youth. From 2014 through 2016, Williams served as ODEP’s chief of staff. She also undertook detail assignments as associate director for public engagement and liaison to the disability community at the White House from 2014 through 2015 and as a policy adviser on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions from 2012 through 2013. Prior to joining the federal government, Ms. Williams worked as the research coordinator for leadership programs at the Institute for Educational Leadership and as the director of programs at the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues headquartered in Chicago. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Brown University and a master’s degree in education with a concentration in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University.
James Cusack, Ph.D.
Chief Executive, Autistica
Dr. James Cusack became the Chief Executive of Autistica in 2020 and is the first openly autistic CEO of a major charity. He first joined Autistica in September 2015 as the Director of Science following a career in autism research at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Cusack has also worked directly with families affected by autism. He also has experience in clinical, educational and social care settings. He has sat on a number of advisory panels discussing the role of research in autism, and was vocal in the production of the report, A Future Made Together. Dr. Cusack was part of a core stakeholder group which successfully campaigned for Scotland’s first ever autism strategy.
Kristie Brackens, M.S., M.P.A.
Senior Policy Advisor, Law Enforcement and Adjudications; Director, Public Safety Partnership (PSP), Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice
Ms. Kristie Brackens has been with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) since 2007. She joined Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice as a Senior Policy Advisor on Law Enforcement in July 2014. She is also the Director of the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP), where she oversees their day-to-day operations. As Director of PSP, she works with various DOJ components to coordinate the delivery of training and technical assistance. She also coordinates the delivery of DOJ programmatic and federal law enforcement resources to support cities with high rates of violent crime to enhance local jurisdictions capacity to better address drug, gang, and gun crime to improve public safety. Previously, she worked as a Juvenile Justice Specialist within the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) State and Community Development Division; where she worked on the former Attorney General Eric Holder’s Defending Childhood Initiative as the initiative’s Team Lead. During her time at OJJDP, she worked extensively on issues of reentry, juvenile justice systems improvement, youth violence, children’s exposure to violence, and addressing racial/ethnic disparities within the juvenile justice system. Additionally, she served as the DOJ Liaison to Memphis in support of the Whitehouse Strong Cities Strong Communities Initiative and National Forum on Youth Violence during the Obama Administration. Ms. Brackens is a 2018 graduate of the Department of Justice Leadership Achievement Excellence Program. She holds a Master Public Administration and Master of Science degree in Justice Studies, and Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies (magna cum laude).
Joy Paluska
Program Manager, Missing Children Division, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC); NCMEC Data, Resources, & Outreach Related to Children on the Autism Spectrum
Ms. Joy Paluska joined the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2019 as a Program Manager in the Missing Children Division. In this role, she supports the Disaster Preparedness and Response Program and other special projects related to children on the autism spectrum, children of color, and Indigenous children. Between 2010-2018, Ms. Paluska served as a civil servant within the Executive Office of the President. Prior to that she worked in disaster recovery with both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Red Cross. Ms. Paluska began her career at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and following that worked as an attorney for Legal Aid and in private practice in her home state of Illinois. Ms. Paluska is a graduate of the University of Iowa and the City University of New York School of Law at Queens College.
Lindsay Shea, Dr.P.H.
Associate Professor; Director, Policy and Analytics Center, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University
Dr. Lindsay Shea is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Policy and Analytics Center at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University. Dr. Shea is the Interim Leader of the Life Course Outcomes Research Program and holds an appointment in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. She leads utilizes big data approaches to produce impactful research that informs policies and programs for autistic individuals and their caregivers. She led the first statewide administrative census of autistic individuals in the US and employs an embedded research approach to partner with policymakers to inform research questions and implement research findings based on community needs. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctoral degree in Health Policy from Drexel University.
Jessica Rast, M.P.H.
Research Associate, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University
Ms. Jessica Rast is a researcher at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute of Drexel University. She works in the Life Course Outcomes Program Area examining questions about the lives, experiences, and services of autistic people. In her role, she catalogues and analyzes existing national data sources to present a national picture of experiences across life domains and the life span. Her current topical focuses include health, health care, and models of health service provision, including examining ways primary care can facilitate mental health care in autistic children and adults. She is particularly interested in connecting data to those who can use it to inform decisions, programs, and policies.
Teal Benevides, Ph.D., M.S., OTR/L
Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Augusta University
Dr. Teal Benevides is an occupational therapist, researcher, wife, and mother. She serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Augusta University (AU), and maintains a joint appointment in the Institute of Public and Preventive Health, also at AU. Dr. Benevides is committed to fostering access to services and supports for individuals on the autism spectrum, and working to achieve better health outcomes and participation in meaningful life activities in alignment with priorities identified by autistic people. In her current work, Dr. Benevides aims to address the most pressing medical and mental health priorities faced by the autism community in collaboration with autistic partners. An extension of this work aims to understand and reduce racial/ethnic disparities in care for individuals on the autism spectrum. Dr. Benevides serves as a Deputy Editor for the journal Autism in Adulthood and as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Stephen Shore, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Special Education, Adelphi University
As a child, Dr. Stephen Shore was diagnosed with "Atypical Development and strong autistic tendencies." He was considered "too sick" for outpatient treatment and was recommended for institutionalization. He was nonspeaking until 4. Now, with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Dr. Shore is now a full-time professor at Adelphi University and adjunct at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His work focuses on aligning best practice in supporting autistic people to lead fulfilling and productive lives. In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Dr. Shore is an internationally renowned educator, consultant and author on lifespan issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, and self-advocacy. His most recent book College for Students with Disabilities combines personal stories and research for promoting success in higher education. He is a current board member of Autism Speaks, the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), president emeritus of the Asperger/Autism Network (AANE), and advisory board member of the Autism Society. He also serves on the advisory boards of AANE, and other autism related organizations.
Materials
- National Autism Coordinator Update (PDF - 331 KB)
- 2020 Summary of Advances Nominations (PDF - 350 KB)
- 2021 Summary of Advances Nominations (PDF - 128 KB)
- July 2021 IACC Meeting Minutes (PDF 384 KB)
- Presidential Proclamation on National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2021
- U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment
- Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2021
Wednesday, October 20, 2021; 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET - 20 Years of Driving Change and Creating Opportunity
- Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2021
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
- National Center of Missing and Exploited Children
- Autism and Wandering
- Missing Children on the Autism Spectrum A Summary of Data iIntaked between 2011-2020
Wednesday, October 26, 2021; 10:00 a.m. ET
- Federal Agency Updates (PDF - 205 KB)
Slides
- Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (PDF - 5 MB)
- Thursday, October 14, 2021 (PDF - 9 MB)
Public Comments
- Oral and Written Public Comments (PDF - 1 MB)
- Supplementary Public Comments on the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) (PDF - 377 KB)
Transcripts
- Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (PDF – 527 KB)
- Thursday, October 14, 2021 (PDF – 578 KB)
