Caring for Colorado Foundation Awards
$45,000 to CPCD Mental Health Program
CONTACT: Becca Bishop, Communications Manager
Phone: (719) 884-1414, E-mail: bbishop@cpcd.org
Colorado Springs, CO – August 2011 – The Caring for Colorado Foundation has awarded a $45,000 grant to Community Partnership for Child Development to support its Behavioral Health Program.
Increased need for behavioral health services among children in CPCD programs prompted a broad-range look at prevention, intervention and referral for young children. The funding from Caring for Colorado will help maintain and enhance this continuum of care.
“Our behavioral health efforts are designed to reach all children in our program who may be in stress-induced situations or who may be in a military family with multiple deployments or experiencing crisis,” explained CPCD Chief Executive Officer Noreen Landis-Tyson. “Especially now, families are suffering the added stress of the recession or deployments and the problems impact the children. With support, we can help.”
At the beginning of the 2010-11 school year, an assessment showed that 25% of the children in CPCD programs have behavioral health challenges, up from 15% three years ago. Left unaddressed, these issues put children at high risk for increased psychological problems, the development of some medical conditions, and school and career failure. Early intervention is the key.
The first therapeutic preschool in El Paso County was opened by CPCD in January 2010 to serve children with the most challenging behaviors. Successes in transitioning back to the normal classroom setting are being seen. Hopes are to emulate this program at another location in the future.
The Caring for Colorado Foundation puts dollars to work to build health care capacity, strengthen existing health care systems and link people to care. Targeted grants provide measurable health improvements for the people in Colorado. Visit www.caringforcolorado.org for more information.
About Community Partnership for Child Development:
CPCD is a nonprofit organization that provides free comprehensive early childhood development and family programs for families with children prenatal through age five. CPCD currently serves more than 1,900 children each year through Early Head Start, Head Start and the Colorado Preschool Program. CPCD serves children who are living in poverty, or are experiencing adverse circumstances that put them at risk for school failure.
