News Releases
January 10, 2017
The USC University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was awarded $880,000 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with funding from the California Department of Public Health and the United States Department of Agriculture. The grant will support the Champions for Change - Healthy Communities Initiative, which aims to reduce the prevalence of obesity among low-income Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education eligible populations by providing nutrition education, physical activity promotion, and working to create healthier environments for low-income individuals and families where they live, learn, work, play, pray, and shop. This effort will be supported by Dr. Larry Yin, MD, Co-Director, Alexis Deavenport-Saman, DrPH, Alicia Hausler Flewelling, MPH, Anet Piridzhanyan, MS, RD and Kinnari Jhaveri, MBA, of USC UCEDD at CHLA.
January 3, 2017
Dr. Dean Coffey's SC CTSI proposal, The Impact of Evidence-Based Parent Training on Pediatric Health Services Utilization, will be funded for one year starting in February. This proposal was an interdisciplinary and collaborative effort with Dr. Coffey's co-investigators, Joyce Javier, MD, and Melissa Carson, PsyD; and his mentors, Incredible Years Developer Carolyn Webster-Stratton, PhD; USC Director of Biostatistics Resources, Wendy Mack, PhD; and CHLA Mental Health Clinic Director Brad Hudson, PsyD. The entire Division is excited to see Drs. Coffey, Javier and Carson pursue this line of research within the Division of General Pediatrics and in collaboration with the USC UCEDD and AltaMed.
December 2, 2016
Dr. Cecily Betz, PhD, Director of Research at the USC UCEDD, served as Chair of the Task Force that worked for over a year to develop the Society of Pediatric Nurses' position statement titled 'Transition of Pediatric Patients into Adult Care'. "This position statement, the first of its kind issued by a national/international pediatric nursing organization, is designed to provide guidance to pediatric and child health nurses nationwide who provide care to children, adolescents and emerging adults, including those with disabilities and special health care needs in a variety of clinical and community-based settings. It will serve to influence the development of HCT [health care transition] services provided by advanced practice and registered pediatric and child health nurses", said Dr. Betz. The task force is now gathering and developing resources that will assist nurses with the implementation of the health care transition services outlined in this position statement.
September 9, 2016
Dr. Marian Williams, PhD, Co-Director of Training at the USC UCEDD, was selected for the ZERO TO THREE DC:0-5™ Expert Faculty roster. She is one of the 15 Expert Faculty who will represent ZERO TO THREE in providing the official DC:0-5™ Training throughout the US and internationally. In this role, Dr. Williams will excited about our working together to educate other mental health professionals about infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders through the use of DC:0-5™. "This is an outstanding recognition of Marian’s expertise as a clinician and educator!”, said Dr. Larry Yin, Director of the USC UCEDD.
May 16, 2016
Dr. Marie Kanne Poulsen, PhD was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown as Chairperson of the California Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention, effective immediately. "This is a great honor, and those who have worked with Dr. Poulsen over the years have long known of her leadership in Early Intervention and Infant Mental Health, and how deserving she is of this appointment." said Dr. Robert Jacobs, Head of the Division of General Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
March 11, 2016
The USC UCEDD hosted it's first annual community education conference at The California Endowment in Downtown Los Angeles. This one-of-a-kind conference offered 18 sessions focusing on the needs of transitional age youth (ages 14-25) with co-occurring developmental disabilities and mental health issues. Over 180 participants from across the state of California attended the event. One participant said: "I loved this conference. The topic was excellent. This demographic represents an underserved population on so many levels and it was wonderful to see this intersection of needs addressed. The keynote speaker [Dr. Dan Siegel] was fantastic. The variety of disciplines represented in the audience was also great for learning about what other service providers are doing."
February 19, 2016
Governor Jerry Brown has named Larry Yin, MD, MSPH, to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. The State Council on Developmental Disabilities is a federally funded, independent state agency that connects individuals with developmental disabilities to the services and supports they require. Dr. Yin is medical director of the Boone Fetter Clinic and of the USC University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at CHLA. He is also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Executive Council on Children with Disabilities. In addition to his clinical work involving children with autism and other developmental disorders, Dr. Yin is engaged in research into issues of access to care, obesity prevention and racial/ethnic health disparities for children with these conditions.
July 6, 2015
The USC UCEDD was a partner at the 6th International Conference on Disabilities in Tel Aviv, Israel. Beit Issie Shapiro is a world-renowned Israeli organization that serves as an international model for providing comprehensive services to children with severe developmental disabilities and their families. It has been recognized for its effectiveness by the United Nations. This international conference takes place every 4 years. Dr. Ernie Katz and Dr. Robert Jacobs of the USC UCEDD are members of the international steering committee for this conference. Ten faculty members and and 5 CHLA staff attended the conference. Pat Levitt, PhD, Simms/Mann Chair and Director of the Developmental Neurogenetics Program, Institute for the Developing Mind at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles delivered a keynote address titled "Neurodevelopmental Disorder Heterogeneity, Brain Development and Plasticity Over the Lifespan".
