FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Children's Behavioral Health Center closed its Coatesville location after three years of nonsupport by County or State officials, but the services it provided are still available and can be delivered to Pennsylvania children who are disabled but who do not yet have Medical Assistance benefits -- without need for the approval of any government official or insurance company.  The evaluation is absolutely free to qualified Pennsylvania residents under the age of 21, regardless of family income.  Any child from Pennsylvania with a disability who does not yet have Medical Assistance benefits can receive an expert diagnostic evaluation and consultation with a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist with more than 30 years' experience in the field of children's mental health in about a month. 

Call 610-524-8706 or fax 610-524-8705 for information or Contact the CBHC staff by e-mail.

PERSONNEL UPDATE

In the IBC front office, a new Administrative Director has been hired.  Dana (pronounced "Danna") Kimbro is the Office Manager who coordinates hiring of new employees, oversees the delivery of BHRS in Pennsylvania and facilitates the expansion of our operations in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.  She is assisted by Aimee Kugel.  Stephanie Fulmer joins Nick Kossor and Jaclyn Kossor as our Administrative Assistants.

Our newest Behavior Specialist Consultants, Erin Dolan, Jessica Snell, Heather Lyman and Collette Anderson join Stephanie Ennis, Tiffany Arnold, Brandi Oaks, Pamela Zaranka, Raymond Tainan, Lauren Garland, Raquel Ferreira, Apryl Rowe and Denise Nuttall as they continue to serve children throughout the four-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region. Lauren Garland also provides oversight of Clinical Writing and provides diagnostic evaluation services as a Certified School Psychologist for children in need of Special Education services.   

Founder and Executive Director Steven Kossor has been invited to Arizona, Minnesota, Illinois, Delaware and Florida to help others implement his professionally-driven model of BHRS and continues give presentations about Medicaid funding for treating children with mental illness symptoms via his BHRS model at national conferences.  He continues to oversee the IBC Treatment Outcome Measurement Project, which is analyzing more than 6,000 treatment records collected between 2002 and 2010 showing that this BHRS treatment model continues to achieve successful outcomes, with between 75% and 85% of these treatment plans resulting in demonstrable benefit for children who had diagnoses including Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Significant, positive treatment outcomes were documented in regard to Physical Aggression, Communication deficits, Socialization deficits, Safety Awareness deficits and Compliance with Adult prompts in children between the ages of 2 and 17 in a 2008 study completed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in a 2010 study at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.  Comparable improvements in both African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian children were shown, and equal effectiveness was shown in boys and girls.  Two children, formerly diagnosed with Autism, improved to such an extent that they are no longer classified with that condition and are enrolled in mainstream educational programs.  The data and analyses can be seen here.

The Institute continues its role with The Network for Behavior Change  to provide staff with the initial 15-hour training sessions required of all TSS providers in Pennsylvania on a once-monthly basis, in order to attract and train the largest number of TSS providers possible.  We are also involved in developing more intensive training programs to address the needs of children with autistic spectrum disorders, and an ongoing effort to improve and standardize treatment plans so that treatment outcomes can be monitored and progress measured more effectively.  We have created professionally acclaimed training programs for TSS providers serving children with Autism spectrum disorders, and an overview of the EPSDT system (differentiating it from the "wraparound" philosophy of treatment), using PowerPoint technology.

All Behavior Specialists have Masters degrees, and are responsible for designing and monitoring the implementation of behavioral treatment programs, and for overseeing the delivery of services by Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS) providers.  At the Institute, TSS providers have Bachelors degrees, and deliver direct-care services to children in their homes and schools.   

The Institute has provided expert diagnostician and behavioral consultation services to schools located in Philadelphia and the surrounding region, and is available to assist other public and private schools with their student assessment needs, especially Charter schools.  We have enjoyed long-term contracts with the Chester County Family Academy Charter School and the Royer-Greaves School for Blind.

Selected staff of the Institute for Behavior Change have been authorized to deliver consulting Case Management services through OurCaseManager.pro    Click here for more information.