Gov. Nixon Announces Funding for New Autism Clinic at Truman State University in Kirksville

Press Release

Gov. Jay Nixon today joined Truman State University President Troy Paino as well as educators, advocates, treatment providers and families to announce $5.5 million in state funding for a new Inter-Professional Autism Clinic at the former Greenwood Elementary School. The clinic will provide comprehensive autism services that are currently lacking in Kirksville and the surrounding Northeast Missouri area.

"Access to applied behavioral analysis is vital to helping children with autism live up to their God-given potential," Gov. Nixon said. "Not only will this new autism center provide much-needed assessment and intervention services for children with autism spectrum disorders, it will also help meet the growing demand for trained professionals who can deliver these life-changing services. I thank the General Assembly for answering my call for this needed investment and Dr. Paino and his team at Truman for their continued commitment to academic excellence and to the health and wellbeing of this region."

Greenwood, purchased by Truman in 1999, will be renovated to provide in-depth, interdisciplinary assessment and intervention for children with autism spectrum and other neuro-developmental disorders. The comprehensive health services clinic will be staffed with licensed professionals, in addition to supervised graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in health related, academic programs. The clinic will also provide a working lab environment for students to engage in hands-on, high-impact learning experiences in programs that lead to jobs and help meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in these fields.

The comprehensive health clinic will house student health services, mental health/counseling services, disability services, the new Mental Health Counseling program and the new Inter-Professional Autism Clinic. Greenwood School is a 24,000 square foot facility that contains 10 classrooms, an office suite and a gymnasium. The renovation would be designed to retain historic features of the building, while meeting current safety and accessibility standards.

Individuals with autism in the northeast corner of the state often drive a minimum of 90 minutes to obtain diagnostic and intervention services and the wait time for available services is often a year or more.

The Fiscal Year 2017 budget includes $1 million for the project that will be used for planning and design work. An additional $4.5 million is included in House Bill 2017. The renovation phase is estimated to begin in the summer of 2017 and the clinic is projected to be open by the fall of 2018.

The Fiscal Year 2017 budget follows the Governor's recommendation for historic investments in services for Missourians with developmental disabilities, including $5 million to expand the Thompson Center for Autism, in Columbia and $500,000 to expand services at the Mercy Kids Autism Center in St. Louis and St. Charles counties.

In 2010, Gov. Nixon spearheaded the bipartisan effort to pass the law mandating the coverage of autism diagnosis and treatment. For the first time, insurance companies were required to cover one of the most highly effective types of therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA. While effective, the cost of ABA can exceed tens of thousands of dollars a year, making insurance coverage necessary for most families.

This project also builds on Gov. Nixon's successful efforts to increase the number of Missourians pursuing degrees in high-demand health care fields through programs such as Caring for Missourians and the Innovation Campus initiative.

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