Funded Projects

Problem:

To meet the increasing demand, strong interdisciplinary leaders in maternal and child health (MCH) are needed to develop policies and a coordinated system of care, provide clinical services and conduct research in evidence-based practices to promote quality care for children with ASD and other DD.

Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1: Interdisciplinary Leadership Training to meet the MCH workforce development needs for training of health professionals and family leaders working with children with ASD and other DD and their families Objective 1: To train annually a minimum of 24 long-term trainees or fellows from 10 or more disciplines representing an increasingly racially/ethnically diverse group (125 total in 5 years) to achieve MCH leadership competencies by participating in a didactic and experiential mentored training curriculum. Objective 2: To train annually a minimum of 18 medium-term trainees (90 in 5 years) to achieve competencies in one or more of the five program areas (annually at least 8 trainees will receive 150-299 hours of mentored training). Objective 3: Annually, a minimum of 500 university-matriculated students (2500 in 5 years) will participate in courses, lectures or independent study programs taught by WI LEND faculty on topics related to Title V, including topics related to serving children with ASD and other DD. Goal 2: To build capacity for model services for CSHCN, LEND faculty, staff and trainees will work with community partners to provide direct services, continuing education, and disseminate research findings. Objective 1: Each year, LEND staff and trainees will provide services in at least five center-based clinics at Waisman Center providing diagnostic and intervention services to children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Objective 2: Each year, LEND faculty, staff and trainees will conduct 2 community training and/or continuing education face-to-face or distance-learning events (10 in 5 years) on emerging topics based on professional development and community needs assessments. Objective 3: Each year, LEND faculty, staff and trainees will disseminate 50 or more peer-reviewed journal articles, adding to the knowledge base for evidence-based assessment and intervention for children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Goal 3: To build capacity for model services for CSHCN, LEND faculty, staff and trainees will work with community partners to provide community education, policy and advocacy, and disseminate resources. Objective 1: Each year, LEND faculty, staff and trainees will develop and disseminate 40 or more of the following types of professional and community education: presentations and posters at conferences; on-line curricula or seminars, courses or lectures;educational materials for families and professionals. Objective 2: Each year, LEND faculty, staff and trainees will engage with over 25 community partners by providing technical assistance, consultation, serving on advisory boards, and collaborating with community training, service and research projects. Objective 3: To promote and sustain the work of the Nall Medical Home Autism Initiative and the Community of Practice on ASD and otherDD, each year LEND staff and trainees will conduct 3 events engaging statewide and regional stakeholders in activities to improve services for children with ASD and other DD.

Methodology:

The WI LEND curriculum is organized into five program areas: 1) Leadership Development, 2) Core Knowledge of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, 3) Clinical and Community Practice, 4) Research and 5) Public Health Systems. Trainees develop competencies in the 12 MCH Leadership competency areas, 4 LEND-specific competency areas, as well as discipline-specific competencies, by engaging in didactic, experiential and clinical training activities mentored by LEND faculty. Training sites include clinics and research at Waisman Center, and in the community with partners including state Title V and related agencies, UW Hospitals and Clinics, schools and mentor families. Each MCH trainee completes an Individualized Leadership Training Plan (ILTP) which delineates the activities in which the trainee will participate to achieve the required competencies.

Coordination:

In addition to UW academic department partners, WI LEND works closely with the WI state CSHCN program (Title V) and other MCH programs to provide community education and models of best practices in assessment, intervention and service coordination. As part of the Waisman Center Clinics, WI LEND trainees and faculty provide direct services to over 2500 children per year through clinics operated in collaboration with the UWHealth American Family Childrens Hospital and Dane County contracts.

Evaluation:

Quantitative and qualitative measures are utilized to answer two primary questions. Did the program deliver the proposed inputs and achieve outputs? Did those outputs make a difference in improving services for children with ASD and other DD and their families? The evaluation plan includes measures for each grant objective. Performance measure data collection is conducted in cooperation with MCHB and AUCD. Progress reports are completed annually.