Lead Agency for Traumatic Brain and Spinal Injuries

A Lead Agency is a state agency that is designated with the primary authority and responsibility for coordinating traumatic brain injury services.

The federal Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Act of 1996 asks states to designate a state agency to serve as the Lead Agency in order to be eligible for HHS grant funding from the Administration for Community Living TBI State Grant Program as funded by Congress.

While a designated Lead Agency usually does not provide all the services that individuals with brain injury may receive from state government, the agency may advise the state to help coordinate the system of service delivery.

In 2003, the Department of Community Health, the previous Lead Agency in Georgia, approached the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission to request that the Commission assume the role of Lead Agency for TBI Services in Georgia. The Commission voted unanimously to assume this role. In 2018 the Commission received Governor Deal's designation as the state lead agency for traumatic brain injury.

The Commission understands that being the Lead Agency in Georgia will help it to:

• Fulfill its responsibility to advise the legislature regarding policy for Georgians that have sustained a traumatic brain injury and improve coordination of state services. This responsibility is delineated in the Commissions' originating statute and in its mission statement.

Yes; while the federal legislation asks states to designate a Lead Agency for TBI, the Commission expanded its role to cover spinal cord injury (SCI) to reflect its overall mission to assist both people with TBI and people with SCI.