THE LEND PROGRAM

 

LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) is an interdisciplinary leadership training program, funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the federal government at 43 universities around the country. VIUCEDD, Vermont LEND and The Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) LEND have developed a collaborative strategy to offer LEND training to four long-term trainees from the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) through a blended method of distance and in-person training.

 

Two LEND trainees on each of the main islands (St. Thomas and St. Croix) will participate as long-term LEND trainees starting in fall of 2016.  Residents of St. Thomas will be recruited to participate as trainees in the Vermont LEND Program. Residents of St. Croix will be recruited to participate as trainees in the WIHD LEND Program.

 

WIHD LEND:

 

The LEND Program at WIHD is a two-semester interdisciplinary leadership training program. Program trainees include graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from health and education disciplines, self-advocates, and family members of children and adults with disabilities who want to develop knowledge and skills to take a leadership role working with and on behalf of children with disabilities and other special health care needs and their families.

 

KEY FEATURES OF THE WIHD LEND PROGRAM:

 

• Stipended 320 hour program on Thursdays from early September to early May

• Based on core values of cultural competence, family-centered practice, life course perspective,interdisciplinary approach and evidence-based practice

• Comprehensive three-course curriculum in an active and collaborative learning environment: Overview of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities; Seminar in Evidence-based Methods; Interdisciplinary Leadership Seminar

• Opportunity to earn a fifteen credit certificate in “Children with Special Health Care Needs” from New York Medical College 

 

Many trainees complete the WIHD LEND program as a component of full-time graduate training at an affiliated university. Trainees from many disciplines participate: audiology; psychology; pediatric dentistry; family specialist (parent or sibling of a person with a disability); genetic counseling; health advocacy; health administration; law; medicine; nursing; nutrition; occupational therapy; public health; pediatrics (general); physical therapy; self-advocates; social work; special education; and speech language pathology.

 

VERMONT LEND:

 

The LEND Program at Vermont provides a two semesters of inter-professional leadership training that prepares leaders across the health and education professions to serve children with special health needs and their families. VT LEND is a competency based program aimed at inter-professional leadership training. The five competencies are cultural competence, family-centered care, inter-professional collaborative teaming, neurodevelopmental disabilities including autism, and leadership.

 

KEY FEATURES OF THE VERMONT LEND PROGRAM:

 

• 300 hour training including graduate level coursework

• Interdisciplinary clinical experiences

• Leadership and policy skill development

• The Vermont LEND seminars are part of the Certificate in Graduate Studies in the Interdisciplinary Study of Disability.

 

Trainees and Fellows from Vermont LEND participate in monthly Leadership Discussions covering a broad range of topics from specific clinical issues, family centered care and cultural competence, issues of access and underserved populations, poverty, to policy and leadership challenges. Trainees and fellows also participate in a faculty-led Leadership Group where mentorship and discussion on leadership are fostered.

 

For information about the St. Thomas LEND program please contact:

Karen Harris Brown, Ph.D., CCC-SLP at (340) 693-1173 or at Karen.Brown@uvi.edu

 

For information about the St. Croix LEND program please contact:

Kimberly Mills, Ph.D., BCBA-D at (340) 692-4265 or at Kimberly.Mills@uvi.edu