Grant a Gift Autism Foundation
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability characterized by persistent impairments in social interaction and the presence of restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities. The prevalence of autism in the United States has increased in recent years from 1 in 68 to 1 in 54. ASD can be diagnosed as early as age 2, but most children are not diagnosed with ASD until after age 4. Early diagnosis coupled with prompt, evidence-based and effective intervention are critical to achieving the best possible prognosis for the child. Unfortunately, timely diagnosis and access to early intervention and evidence-based therapy are not always available in Nevada. Families with a child on the spectrum report feeling overwhelmed by their child’s diagnosis, socially isolated, and confused about how to begin treatment and access resources. To address this issue, GGAF offers individualized case management and family support services to residents of Nevada.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
TeenWORKS
TeenWORKS (Working on Occupational Readiness, Knowledge, and Skills) is a community-based vocational program, serving teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. In addition to learning pivotal vocational skills such as building a resume and interviewing, clients work at a variety of partnered community sites throughout their time in the program. With the support of a job coach, clients gain job readiness skills and are better equipped to successfully transition into an internship and other areas of adulthood. TeenWORKS Community includes weekly sessions at a community site, weekly job coach support, an assigned case worker, Parent Empowerment Training, and access to other family services provided by our Navigation Program.
Once vocational goals are reached, teens are encouraged to generalize their skills by transitioning to our internship program.
Where we work
External reviews
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Priority: Early Intervention and Targeted Treatment
GOAL 1: Provide individual treatment services
In partnership with the Ackerman Center, GGAF supports assessment and treatment through a multidisciplinary team approach that includes The Early Start Denver Model, Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy, and Speech-Language Pathology.
GOAL 2: Expand physical footprint
To provide new treatment options, GGAF must expand its physical footprint. This will require a long-term lease and updating office space for clinical providers.
GOAL 3: Recruit and hire specialists
To complete the multidisciplinary team, GGAF will support the recruitment and initial staffing for a geneticist, speech pathologist (specialized in feeding), social workers and clinically trained behavior analysts and support staff.
Priority: Awareness and Coordination
GOAL 1: Build community
GGAF will increase its presence through awareness events and strategic partnerships. Private funding supports resource fair sign-up fees and materials to operate the GGAF booth at awareness events.
GOAL 2: Provide family support and navigation
The Ackerman Center and GGAF receive hundreds of calls each week from families looking for services. Private funding will increase the capacity of GGAF to provide one-on-one services to anyone searching for community resources.
GOAL 3: Conduct parent empowerment training
GGAF empowers parents to take control of their child’s treatment plans through trainings and workshops focused on educating and empowering autism spectrum disorder (ASD) caregivers.
GOAL 4: Grow sibling support program
SIBS™ (Social Inclusion for Brothers and Sisters) is a social program designed for children and youth who are siblings of those diagnosed with ASD. Through the program, siblings build friendships while developing a more thorough understanding of autism.
GOAL 5: Provide diagnosis and treatment planning for adults with autism
Few diagnostic and treatment options exist for adults in our community. Private funding will support a therapist specialized in diagnosing and developing treatment plans for adults exhibiting the symptoms of autism.
Priority: Supports to Thrive
GOAL 1: Provide internships and job training
TeenWORKS (Working on Occupational Readiness, Knowledge, and Skills) is a clinic- or community-based vocational/life-preparatory transition program, serving teens and young adults on the autism spectrum. Participants gain job readiness skills and behavioral skills required for a successful transition into paid working positions and other areas of adulthood. They also receive access to practical financial literacy supports.
GOAL 2: Deliver entrepreneurship training
The Spark program was developed for individuals with ASD who have an interest in learning what it takes to start a business and consists of video lessons and interactive worksheets. After successful completion, clients can graduate to the Ignite program to launch their business idea.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
GGAF’s key strategy for delivering Early Intervention and Targeted Treatment to individuals with autism in Southern Nevada is to partner with the Ackerman Center. Our partnership with the Ackerman Center replicates other successful national models, including UC Davis Mind Institute and the Thompson Center for Autism at University of Missouri. Access to UNLV School of Medicine faculty and students spurs medical research on autism and builds the pipeline of highly-qualified autism care providers who are desperately needed in our community.
Additionally, we use our platform to advocate for policy changes at the local and state levels to make diagnosis and treatment available to more families. For example, our program director recently testified in front of the Nevada State Legislature on SB202, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to compile a report every six months on any barriers to treatments that people with autism and their families are experiencing. These achievements are possible because of our partnership with the UNLV School of Medicine and the education, patient care, and research this partnership provides.
Awareness and coordination are growth strategies for GGAF. In the past 10 months, we have hired two staff members dedicated to care coordination and case management. In that short period, they have established processes, increased outreach efforts, started new partnerships and served more clients. They have also helped establish care coordination at the Ackerman Center, so that all clients that contact our partnership receive excellent case management.
Our strategy for providing supports to thrive for individuals with autism is to engage community partners. Through those partnerships, we build employment pipelines for our clients and improve understanding and acceptance of autism in the workplace.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
GGAF’s capability in our three priority areas is detailed below.
Priority: Early Intervention and Targeted Treatment
Our ability to deliver medical care through our partnership with UNLV depends partly on the supply of clinicians and behavioral analysts practicing in Southern Nevada. Over 1,000 individuals are served annually at the Ackerman Center, which employs a clinical director, a medical director and a clinic manager. The clinical director oversees a speech-language pathologist, Board-Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, peer trainers and case managers. The medical director oversees a geneticist, a genetics counselor and a pediatric neurologist. Both directors also supervise residents and fellows. The clinic manager manages administrative staff and volunteers.
Priority: Awareness and Coordination
To provide care coordination to families who contact either the Ackerman Center or GGAF, we employ two staff members, one of which splits her time between the two organizations. The Ackerman Center also employs one case manager. Those three individuals handle about 50 cases each.
Priority: Supports to Thrive
To offer internships, job training and entrepreneurial experiences to individuals with autism, GGAF employs a program director, a program support assistant and contracted job coaches/behavior analysts.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Accomplishments: Early Intervention and Targeted Treatment
In the past several months and because of previous support from the Shear Family Foundation, we have hired a psychology post-doctoral intern who is scheduled to start at the end of July. As planned, the post-doctoral intern will support Dr. Julie Beasley, clinical director of the Ackerman Center. This support will allow Dr. Beasley to complete more diagnoses and better serve the population of adults with autism in Southern Nevada through an adult group at the Ackerman Center.
We have made strides in the hiring process for a nurse practitioner and hope to hire soon. A candidate pool of ten was narrowed to three, and an on-site interview was conducted for the top candidate. That interview resulted in a job offer, which the candidate declined. Afterwards, the search was re-opened. At the writing of this proposal, three additional candidates were receiving second interviews with Dr. Mario Gaspar de Alba and plans were in place to make the top candidate an offer within a week.
Accomplishments: Awareness and Coordination
In the past year, GGAF has doubled the number of clients receiving navigation services per month. We also created and implemented processes and procedures to provide comprehensive case management to all program clients. Additionally, we created a system to gather data to measure outcomes and progress in navigation and case management. Finally, we increased our capacity to better serve the Spanish-speaking population.
In this area we still need to strengthen community partnerships to provide quarterly training opportunities for families on education advocacy, special needs finance planning, navigating a new diagnosis and more. We have yet to provide monthly support groups and/or group counseling led by a licensed mental health professional. We also aim to increase the ability of our clients to access GGAF scholarship dollars for treatments outside of the Ackerman Center.
Accomplishments: Supports to Thrive
In the past year, GGAF has added new job site partners and graduated seven vocational program participants into meaningful paid work. We also received a second year of funding through the Community Development Block Grant Program to support the vocational program and secured a grant and partnership with NEXT for AUTISM. In addition, we assigned a case manager from the Navigation Team to each vocational program client. Finally, GGAF increased the number of Autism Treatment Assistance Program (ATAP) clients participating in the vocational program.
In this area we still need to implement a level system for job sites in the vocational program that differ in the skills required for participants. This will allow us to more appropriately place clients based on their current skill levels. We also aim to increase client numbers through referral pipelines and funding sources.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Grant a Gift Autism Foundation
Board of directorsas of 05/13/2020
Randy Gabe
Southwest Gas
Sarah Guindy
Bank of Nevada
Daniel Gerety
Gerety & Associates, CPAs
Tony Bonnici
Lotus Broadcasting
Randy Gabe
Southwest Gas
Amy Hooks
Spider Web Club
Brian Lauzon
Lauzon & Associates
Kate Lowenhar-Fisher
Dickenson Wright PLLC
Kathy Martin
The Virtuous Group
Sharry Quillin
Quillin Advertising
J. Christopher Stuhmer
Christopher Companies
Gary Ackerman
Gaudin Motor Company
Donna Curry
Subway
Sandy Findlay
Findlay Automotive Group
Peter Krauss
Arroweye Solutions
Hilliary Jeffries
Nevada HAND