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Budget Deal Gives $750G to Fund Research into Developmental Disabilities

By Nicholas Rizzi | March 31, 2014 12:58pm
 State Sen. Andrew Lanza and Assemblyman Michael Cusick announced a budget deal to save a Staten Island research center for developmental disabilities in this year's state budget.
State Sen. Andrew Lanza and Assemblyman Michael Cusick announced a budget deal to save a Staten Island research center for developmental disabilities in this year's state budget.
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DNAInfo/Nicholas Rizzi

WILLOWBROOK — A Staten Island research center working to learn more about developmental disabilities has been awarded $750,000 in city cash.

State Sen. Andrew Lanza and Assemblyman Michael Cusick announced the budget agreement to fund 24 workers at the Institute of Basic Research, which conducts studies on the causes, treatment and prevention of developmental disabilities, the lawmakers announced on Sunday.

"The research and services that the Institute for Basic Research provides to the developmentally disabled and autism community on Staten Island is critically important," Lanza said in a statement.

"This is why Assemblyman Cusick and I made continued funding for IBR a top priority and we are pleased to have been able to secure this funding in this year’s State Budget, allowing IBR to continue their important work."

In February, the politicians called on leaders in the state assembly and senate to secure the funding for the center — which relies largely on grants from the Research Foundation of Mental Hygiene.

The IBR started in 1967. Cusick said the center's research has been important to improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities.

"IBR is a one of a kind research institute specifically designed to study and evaluate the cause of developmental disabilities including Autism and Down syndrome," Cusick said in a statement.