HB404 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Jack Williams

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Mental Health Dept., duties, provision of applied behavior analysis services, autistic children, appropriation for program

Summary

HB404 would create a Department of Mental Health–run ABA program for children birth to 9 with autism, cap services at $40,000 per child annually, and provide $3 million in funding with schools referring diagnosed children to the program.

What This Bill Does

If passed, the bill would require the Department of Mental Health to establish and operate an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program that provides services to eligible children with autism aged birth to 9. It would limit ABA services to $40,000 per child per year. It would appropriate $3,000,000 from the Education Trust Fund for FY 2018 to fund the program. It would also require the State Department of Education and the Department of Early Childhood Education to identify children diagnosed with autism and refer them to the Department of Mental Health for ABA services, for those not already covered by public or private insurance.

Who It Affects

• Children birth to 9 years old diagnosed with autism who would receive ABA intervention services through the DMH program (subject to the $40,000 annual cap and insurance status).
• Families of these children, who may rely on DMH-provided ABA services if insurance does not cover ABA.
• Department of Mental Health, which would establish, administer, and fund the ABA program.
• State Department of Education and Department of Early Childhood Education, which would identify autistic children and refer them to DMH for ABA services.

Key Provisions

• DMH shall establish, administer, and operate an ABA program providing ABA intervention services to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder from birth to 9 years old.
• Each child may receive ABA intervention services up to an annual cap of $40,000.
• The bill appropriates $3,000,000 from the Education Trust Fund for FY 2018 to DMH to establish and operate the ABA program.
• DOE and the Department of Early Childhood Education must identify autism-diagnosed children and refer them to DMH for ABA services.
• DMH shall provide annual reports to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the ABA program.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Mental Health Department