Kreider Services, a nonprofit dedicated to providing supports to people with disabilities to live, work, and fully participate in their communities, has received a $149,969 grant from the Telligen Community Initiative.

The grant, part of TCI’s Strengthening Families and Communities program, will expand fetal alcohol spectrum disorder services through Kreider’s Florissa Pediatric Development Center in Dixon, which provides specialized diagnostic and therapeutic care for children with developmental, behavioral, and emotional needs.

The grant will support training for medical and mental health care providers to recognize prenatal alcohol exposure, refer children for evaluation and services, and implement evidence-based parenting intervention for children impacted by PAE.

September is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Month.

“Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are common in the population but not commonly recognized or supported,” said Dr. Laura Gumbiner, a licensed clinical psychologist at Florissa. “This two-year project is so exciting because it will bring awareness to medical and mental health providers as well as access to services for families, regardless of diagnosis or financial resource.”

The funding is part of a record-setting year for TCI, which awarded more than $2.4 million in grants across Illinois and Oklahoma. Since 2014, TCI has supported a total of more than 450 projects working to address health disparities and improve community well-being in states served by TCI.

“We are proud to support Kreider Services and the vital work being done at Florissa to support children with FASDs and their families,” TCI Executive Director Matt McGarvey said. “Their commitment to early identification, evidence-based care, and community collaboration reflects the values the Strengthening Families and Communities program seeks to advance.”