February 1, 2021 – The Abbott Fund is the first funder to support Easterseals’ newly established Black Child Fund, with a $250,000 grant to advance health equity by addressing racial disparities in healthcare among young Black children with autism and other disabilities.
The Easterseals Black Child Fund has been established to provide timely diagnosis and appropriate care to help address these longstanding disparities, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Abbott Fund’s support will help improve the early intervention, diagnosis and treatment of autism and other neurological conditions including developmental delays that can have long-term physical and behavioral impact.
Funding will benefit communities served by three Easterseals Affiliates: Easterseals Serving Chicagoland and Greater Rockford; Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley; and Easterseals Midwest in Missouri and Kansas.
Community outreach to advance free online access to The Ages & Stages Questionnaires screening tool that captures developmental progress in children between the ages of one month to 5 ½ years is among goals of the funding provided by the Abbott Fund.
Working with communities, churches, schools, and pediatricians, Easterseals will leverage the screening tool to help assure early identification of developmental delays among young Black children.
Additional support includes the establishment of family navigation services to streamline diagnostic approaches for a quicker introduction to therapy, as well as building capacity by training professionals to help patients locally.