CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Foundation has announced they will be giving a $1 million grant to MetroHealth in order to help improve outcomes for autism patients in Northeast Ohio.
The goal of the funding is to support a three-year pilot between MetroHealth, Autism Speaks and Autism Resources that will build a model of coordinated medical, behavioral and social transition planning that can be scaled and replicated in other locations across the country.
The money will go toward helping improve the outcomes for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while they transition into adulthood.
MetroHealth says that an estimated 50,000 adolescents with ASD exit high school each year in the United States.
“We refer to this as “stepping off the service cliff,” said Melissa Armstrong-Brine, PhD, a clinical psychologist who directs MetroHealth’s Autism Assessment Clinic. “Transition services and supports are critical for young people with ASD to be successful and participate to the fullest extent possible in the broader community. Transition planning should start early.”
The grant will also include care continuity for physical and mental health, as well as stimulate meaningful opportunities in work and life and build expertise and capacity for a comprehensive, community-centered transition pathway
“The foundation and its donors have supported services for ASD young people for decades,” said Dale Anglin, Vice President for Program at the Cleveland Foundation. “However, some of the hardest phone calls we’ve received in recent years have come from parents of young people who are about to or have already aged out of school systems and have not had access to quality transition services. We have been searching for a way to support these young people and their families and the partnership among these entities allows us to do that at scale."
The grant from the Cleveland Foundation will launch the program while MetroHealth works to secure additional philanthropic funds. The program is expected to cost $2.6 million over three years and will help approximately 700 individuals.
“One of the greatest challenges we see for teens and young adults on the spectrum is that they lack the tools and resources to help them reach their full potential. Unprepared to take on an unprepared world, too many of these young adults continue to live with their parents long into adulthood, and remain un- or underemployed,” said Keith Wargo, President & CEO at Autism Speaks. “We are thrilled to partner with MetroHealth and the Cleveland Foundation to better support the autistic community as they navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood; together, we will ensure that these individuals have access to resources that can guide them in finding purpose and forging a path forward.”
