Penfield Children’s Center in Milwaukee has received two grants, totaling more than $400,000 to address mental health concerns in Milwaukee-area children.
The first grant is a three-year, $324,000 grant from the Russell J. and Betty Jane Shaw Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the second is a one-year, $100,000 grant from the Faye McBeath Foundation.
Both grants will benefit the Behavior Clinic, a partnership between Penfield Children’s Center and Marquette University that offers quality pediatric mental health services for children under age six in Milwaukee’s most underserved communities.
“The Behavior Clinic is a cornerstone program at Penfield, providing key behavioral services to our comprehensive model of early childhood intervention,” said Chris Holmes, president and chief executive officer of Penfield Children’s Center. “The investment made by these two premier Milwaukee institutions is a testament to their community leadership, and that of the Behavior Clinic, which has seen its enrollment grow from 25 children in 2003 to nearly 300 in 2011.”
These grants will allow Penfield Children’s Center to expand services for Milwaukee-area children suffering from behavioral issues through direct service, training and research.
The Russell J. and Betty Jane Shaw Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation grant will allow Penfield Children’s Center to address pressing questions on how to best serve the growing Latino population in the Milwaukee area, many of whom struggle with language and cultural barriers, poverty, and other stressors and anxieties, factors that put Latino children at a heightened risk for behavioral problems.
“Having witnessed the growth and impact of the Behavior Clinic, we are honored to invest in this meaningful program that is transforming lives every day,” said Jeanne Fenceroy, Senior Program Officer at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
Over the last decade, the Latino population has experienced significant growth in Milwaukee County, with a 53.7 percent increase to 126,000 in 2010. Within the same period of time, the number of Milwaukee County Latino individuals living in poverty has risen from 25.6 percent to 35.7 percent.
Penfield Children’s Center will conduct a multiyear project: “Resolving Significant Mental Health Concerns in Young Latino Children Through a Parent and Child Therapy Program: A Three-Year Study.” The outcome of this project will contribute to the dearth of information on parent and child therapy programs for diverse communities and allow Penfield Children’s Center to better assist Latino families struggling with child behavioral and developmental issues in the Milwaukee area.
The Faye McBeath Foundation grant will allow Penfield Children’s Center to expand the resources of the Behavior Clinic.
“We know from the work being done at Penfield that these services will have a lasting impact on children throughout our community,” said Scott Gelzer, executive director at the Faye McBeath Foundation. “Our priority is to give the Behavior Clinic partnership between Penfield and Marquette the resources it needs to ensure its sustainability as a vital resource affecting marked change in this community.”
The grant from the Faye McBeath Foundation will allow Penfield Children’s Center to serve approximately 50 percent more children than in 2011.
