For Immediate Release
Easterseals Receives $450,000 in Grants for Mental and Behavioral Health Support
The Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center awards Easterseals Southern California with two grants that support mental and behavioral health services.
LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2023
Easterseals Southern California (ESSC) was recently awarded two grants from the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center (ELARC) that support mental and behavioral health services for people with developmental disabilities.
These grants include $200,000 to go toward “Coordination of Equitable Mental Health Care” and $250,000 for “Behavioral & Transit Safety Training.” ESSC is thrilled to provide the services and trainings to ensure the Eastern Los Angeles community is a safer and more accessible place for people with mental health and behavioral challenges.
Coordination of Equitable Mental Health Care Grant - $200,000
The goal of this project is to establish partnerships with behavioral health providers and organizations that are interested in serving people with neurodevelopmental disorders.
This will help ELARC consumers gain timely access to appropriate behavioral health and mental health care. ESSC will also provide trainings to behavioral health providers so they can better treat individuals with developmental disabilities.
“People with developmental disabilities also experience mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety, and it is our goal to ensure all people have access to appropriate mental health services,” said Dr. Rick Gutierrez, BCBA, Vice President Clinical Strategy & Operations at Easterseals.
ESSC plans to hire additional staff to assist with these services and expand future programming to all parts of Southern California.
Behavioral & Transit Safety Training Grant - $250,000
The goal for this project is to train providers and drivers on how to properly transport individuals with severe challenging behaviors (both ambulatory and non-ambulatory) during transit. Currently, if a participant engages in problem behaviors in a vehicle, they will no longer be transported.
“This impacts the participants’ lives significantly because it prohibits them from accessing services and the community, like doctor’s visits, haircuts, leisure activities, therapy, etc.,” said Dr. Joyce C. Tu., BCBA-D, Vice President of Clinical Transformations. “If more providers and drivers can transport participants, then we can really elevate their quality of life.”
ESSC plans to develop an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)-based curriculum and training program on how to support and manage severe challenging behaviors during transit. This will also include training and behavior consultation services to ELARC’s transportation service providers.
Both of these grants will provide Easterseals’ participants and the Eastern Los Angeles community more access to the services they need to thrive in their communities.
“Congratulations and thank you to Dr. Rick Gutierrez and Dr. Joyce Tu for their leadership,” said Dr. Paula Pompa-Craven, Psy.D., Chief Clinical Officer. “These grants are so important to expanding much-needed services and supports for people with autism, intellectual or developmental disabilities, and behavioral health diagnoses.”
