HHS Seeks Nominations for IACC Public Membership
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
The IACC is a federal advisory committee composed of federal officials and non-federal public members, including autistic self-advocates; family members of autistic individuals; representatives of autism research, service, and advocacy organizations; community professionals; and other public stakeholders. The committee is charged with:
- Developing a Strategic Plan for Autism Research, Services, and Policy and providing biennial updates;
- Providing annual updates on its Summary of Advances in Autism Research, a document that summarizes each year's top autism research advances;
- Providing advice and recommendations to the HHS Secretary regarding issues related to autism;
- Providing a forum for public discussion of issues related to autism;
- Facilitating the exchange of information on and coordination of autism activities among the member agencies and organizations.
As a federal advisory committee, the IACC provides advice that can be used to assist federal agencies in developing autism-related programs and in working collaboratively with private organizations. The committee does not have authority or appropriations to fund research or services activities, nor to implement federal programs.
On December 23, 2024, the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support (CARES) Act of 2024 was signed into law, reauthorizing and expanding the provisions of the Combating Autism Act of 2006. The new law reauthorizes the IACC to continue until September 30, 2029.
Under the Autism CARES Act of 2019, the IACC completed several important projects, such as updating the IACC Strategic Plan, publishing analyses of U.S. autism research funding, and collecting public comment on common co-occurring conditions to incorporate into a special report focused on co-occurring conditions that impact individuals with autism.
Members of the public are welcome to nominate individuals with personal and/or professional experience with autism to serve on the Committee. Nominations of individuals from all U.S. states and territories, and individuals representing a range of lived experience, community service perspectives, and/or professional expertise within the autism community are encouraged. Nominations of individuals with a variety of disability and support needs are encouraged; reasonable accommodation requests may accompany the nominations.
The Office of National Autism Coordination (ONAC) at the National Institutes of Health, which manages the IACC, will assist HHS in collecting public member nominations. Selections and appointments of public members will be made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
For more information on the IACC public member nomination process and requirements, please see the 2025 IACC Call for Nominations Announcement.
Contact
For additional information please contact the Office of National Autism Coordination via email at IACCPublicInquiries@mail.nih.gov.
The official Federal Register Notice is available in HTML or as a PDF (216 KB).
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The IACC is a Federal advisory committee that was created by Congress in an effort to accelerate progress in autism research and services. The IACC works to improve coordination and communication across the Federal government and work in partnership with the autism community. The Committee is composed of officials from many different Federal agencies involved in autism research and services, as well as adults on the autism spectrum, parents and family members of individuals on the autism spectrum, advocates, researchers, providers, and other public stakeholders. The documents and recommendations produced by the IACC reflect the views of a federal advisory body, but do not represent the views, official statements, policies or positions of the Federal government or its agencies.
