Jennifer Hall-Lande, on behalf of ICI, has received a $50,000 Hennepin-University Partnership Fall 2018 Mixer grant for a new project, scheduled to begin January 1, 2019, supporting healthy development and enhancing early intervention outcomes for Hennepin County children. Known as “Building Healthy Children and Strong Families: Increasing Access to Early Screening and Early Intervention,” the one-year project — co-directed by Hall-Lande and Karen Adamson, a Child Well Being Area Manager for Hennepin County — will study screening rates in Minnesota’s largest county and follow up for early intervention services. “Hennepin County and the University of Minnesota both want to empower families and improve health, well-being, and educational outcomes for all children,” says ICI’s Hall-Lande. The project will connect autism resources and early intervention research from the University with the county’s best practices. “This project provides valuable data to evaluate progress on screening rates and early intervention access for Hennepin County children,” adds Hall-Lande. “We hope to increase access and improve lives of children and families.”

The project will evaluate family perspectives on early screening and intervention in Hennepin County, including cultural and contextual factors that affect access, and learn why families may or may not pursue early screening and early intervention. Finally, the project will determine the impact of the parent-to-parent navigator model on family engagement and participation in early screening and intervention follow-up, developing a parent-to-parent community support model for future use.