Committee Has Not Met Since 2019, Each Panel Member’s Terms Has Expired
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is the organization that oversees the nation’s efforts to manage the autism epidemic. Authorized by congress, the IACC is responsible for providing autism policy advice to the secretary of health and human services (HHS). Shockingly, this committee has failed to meet since July 2019. Additionally, every member of the IACC saw their term expire that following September, making the committee defunct. Nominations for new IACC members were accepted between late fall 2019 and early winter 2020. However, that effort did not lead to a new sitting committee. The National Institute of Mental Health’s Office of Autism Research Coordination is tasked with managing the IACC and was hopeful that the new committee would be assembled by fall 2020. Since that never occurred, the committee is now facing even more delays due to the changeover of the new administration. Susan Daniels, the current director of the NIMH Office of Autism Research Coordination, is optimistic that new members will be appointed in 2021 and that IACC meetings will resume later this year. She believes that the pandemic derailed the assembly of the new IACC. Meanwhile, the autism community has been silently waiting for this organization to get their affairs in order while the autism epidemic continues.
