Seattle Children's Home Receives $150,000 Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE -- Seattle Children's Home (SCH) has been awarded $150,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their continuing support of SCH's Pediatric Assessment Center (PAC). The PAC evaluations are provided by a multidisciplinary team to develop a holistic understanding of the child's development, in order to provide improved therapeutic treatment and criteria for educational programming.

"We are honored with the continued support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is a significant investment in our Continuum of Care, which is our commitment to the most severely disturbed children," said David Cousineau, president of the Seattle Children's Home.  "Because of this investment, and the other gifts from our Board and community, the children in the Continuum will get well, stay well and enter adulthood successfully."

All children who are referred to Seattle Children's Home receive a comprehensive assessment to determine their mental, emotional and psycho-social status. Of the hundreds of children served, there are some for whom additional assessments are needed to get a clear picture of their challenges. These children, characterized by a lack of response to mental health intervention, clinical concerns about developmental or neurological features, or both, as determined by a clinical team of professionals culminating with the Medical Director of Seattle Children's Home. These children are then referred to PAC.

 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States Public Health Service now identifies the lack of integrated physical and behavioral health services for children as a national priority, and one that requires an innovative response. Therefore, this project not only establishes a vital and unique new service for the emotionally disturbed children in King County, but also develops and evaluates a model for service that can be replicated to improve the well being of children throughout the country.

Seattle Children's Home partners with the University of Washington's Center on Human Development and Disability to establish the PAC as a model center for the integrated assessment of physical and behavioral health needs. The UW School of Public Health will evaluate the project and document systems for replication.  The National Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children, of which Seattle Children's Home is a member, will provide a strategic vehicle for disseminating project information and fostering project replication.

Seattle Children's Home was founded in 1884 as Washington's first children's charity. It has evolved from an orphanage to a comprehensive mental health facility, serving 1,700 children and young adults each year in 12 different programs. These programs are located on the main campus on Queen Anne, as well as two community based transitional living programs, a residential program in Mountlake Terrace for developmentally delayed, outpatient services and mobile outreach to homeless youth.

On the Internet:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, www.gatesfoundation.org
Seattle Children's Home, www.seattlechildrenshome.org