The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center has announced the renewal of its Leadership Training Program in Neurodevelopmental Disorders (LEND) for $ 3.1 million over the next five years.

Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA / MCHB), the LEND program aims to provide interdisciplinary, university-level training to improve the health and well-being of children and youth. with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families. The LEND program prepares trainees from various disciplines and professional backgrounds to take on leadership roles in their respective fields, serve as systems change agents, conduct field research, and provide responsive and exceptional interdisciplinary clinical services. .

The LEND program consists of two separate training programs. The Advanced Leadership Fellowship Program, an intensive nine-month program that trains interdisciplinary cohorts of fellows with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to effect systems change, make policy recommendations, and develop and support services based on evidence and design new training methods. The Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Leadership Program trains clinicians at the master’s or doctoral level in a range of clinical disciplines to provide evidence-based, family-centered and culturally competent care to children and their families, and assume leadership roles in their work. Training is provided in affiliated programs within UMass Medical School and the Graduate School of Nursing, as well as the clinical training sites of Tufts Medical Center and Franciscan Children’s.

Carol Curtin, PhD, professor of family medicine and community health, and LEND program director and principal investigator, said, “We are delighted to be reimbursed for another five years and are proud of our LEND graduates who are at the table locally, regionally and nationally and are part of the conversations and critical efforts to improve services and supports for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families. We look forward to continuing to develop exemplary leaders and clinicians in the years to come. “

For more information on the Shriver Center LEND program, visit: https://shriver.umassmed.edu/programs/lend/