Governor Joe Manchin visited Marshall's campus to sign a bill, the first of its kind, to aid families of children with autism Tuesday.
Senate Bill 1009 awards a tax deduction of up to $2,000 per year for families of children with autism when they contribute to a trust fund established for when the children become adults. It will goes into effect in 2011.
"We talk about the financial challenges the country is going through, and it's easy to make excuses why you can't do something," Manchin said. "But with that, I think that it shows the true commitment and leadership of our people when you find the priorities and you set your priorities. And that has been done."
The cost for the first year of the program is estimated to be $42,000, and the state is expected to lose $30,000 per year due to the deductions, said Matt Turner, press secretary for the office of the governor.
"For every dollar of tax break that we give in this program, at the end of the day, when the child starts accessing the money, the state gets the money all back," said Delegate Mark Hunt, who introduced the bill and also has an autistic child himself. "About 300 children a year are being born in West Virginia with autism, and it's going to be a mammoth, mammoth budget burden in 20 years to take care of these folks."
Autism in West Virginia affects 1 out of every 94 children in West Virginia, compared to the national average of 1 in 150.
"This is not a rare condition," said Barbara Becker-Cottrill, director of the West Virginia Autism Training Center within the Marshall University College of Education and Human services. She said the center serves about 1,450 children across the state.
West Virginia is the first state to set up a trust fund for children with autism. When it established the training center in 1983, it was also the first in the country.
"It is the first of its kind in the nation, and that says a great deal about the state of West Virginia, the leadership of our great state, and the benefits that all of us recognize that the center provide for West Virginians and children with autism and their families," Marshall University President Stephen Kopp said.
Kim Farley, mother of an autistic child and president of the Autism Society of America's West Virginia chapter, said these developments have been immeasurably helpful to the families in the state.
"It's good to know that we will have the money we put into the fund that no one can really touch," Farley said. "The families are faced with not only emotional crises but also trouble being able to access services. It takes more than a mom, more than a dad. It takes a system to help our kids."
Farley also said the bill was helpful because it encouraged parents to save money so their children could have more independent lives when they became adults.
"All people with autism want to do is belong, just like we do," she said.
Farley said her son Seth, 14, had showed her this when he stood up and said, "I'm not an autistic. I used to be, but I'm not anymore. I'm just a redneck with an accent."
"What he was trying to say was 'I want to belong because I'm Seth, not because I'm Seth with autism,'" she said. "He couldn't say it with those words, but he gave me an impression of what he wanted."
Another parent, Wally Aman, said he was also thankful for the bill.
"Raising an autistic child is very, very expensive," he said. "Insurance doesn't cover anything, so anything we can get to help out is a blessing."
But Farley said the bill was still only a fraction of what needs to be provided to families with autistic children. She hopes, however, the bill will draw attention to their needs.
"We have a responsibility, I believe," Manchin said. "And if you can balance that, and you can put compassion first, and there's a way to do it. We've found a way to do it."
Shea Anderson can be contacted at anderson84@marshall.edu.
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