Penfield Children's Center was founded on the philosophy that children with special needs should be reached as early as possible to give them the best head start with their early developmental needs.
"It's a holistic, wrap-around model of care," says Jason Parry, Vice President of Development and Communications at Penfield Children's Center. "Our kids aren't just coming here for PT and OT, they are in our early education programs." Penfield has over 60 agencies referring children with early development needs to the center, and 90 % of the families they serve are at or below the federal poverty level. This translates into hundreds of children each year getting the care they need that their families may not have been able to afford on their own.
A very integral part of Penfield's care is given through their Behavior Health Clinic. A partnership formed 10 years ago with Marquette University, the Behavior Clinic works directly with children and their families in their own homes. Through the partnership with Marquette, they accumulate and share the research from these cases on a national level. The work being done right here in Milwaukee with infants and children with mental health issues is being modeled and duplicated around the country.
Penfield is a non-profit that has to raise money each year to operate. Thanks to a challenge grant from the Weiss Family Foundation, every dollar contributed to Penfield Children's Center's Behavior Clinic will be matched up to $5,000 between now and August 31, 2013. Info on how you donate found here.
Learn more about Penfield Children's Center services or how you could become a part of this growing organization online at penfieldchildren.org.