KidsPeace, a mental health service provider that works with the Allentown School District and offers residential and outpatient treatment programs at its Lehigh County sites, signed an affiliation agreement with another nonprofit to help streamline back office functions and expand access to capital funding.
The agreement with Inperium will make KidsPeace operations more efficient, while keeping patient care in the hands of KidsPeace staff, Director of Communications and Engagement Bob Martin told The Morning Call.
KidsPeace operates school-based mental health clinics in five ASD schools: Allen High, Harrison Morton Middle, South Mountain Middle, Central STREAM Academy and Ramos Elementary.
“While there are no announced plans to expand the program, we believe the school-based model helps kids navigate their mental and behavioral health challenges and we would be open to expanding the program if circumstances warrant,” Martin said in an email.
“We have a strong commitment to helping our hospital and residential program clients continue their education while in our care; our education programming works in partnership with the child’s home school district to help them maintain their educational progress while receiving treatment with KidsPeace,” he added.
KidsPeace serves about 8,000 clients across seven states. Its Lehigh County sites include the Orchard Hills Campus in Orefield that houses in-patient crisis stabilization at KidsPeace Children’s Hospital and a residential treatment program. Outpatient and community programs are offered at the Green Street clinic in Allentown and the Family Center on the KidsPeace Broadway campus in Fountain Hill.
“KidsPeace has been a leader in calling attention to the challenges facing mental health providers — rising costs, staffing shortages, and reimbursement rates that have not kept pace with the needs of the children and families we serve,” KidsPeace President and CEO Michael Slack said in a news release. “These realities affect our ability to staff our programs and invest in needed technological advancements. Through our affiliation with Inperium, we will be better positioned to meet those challenges and devote more resources to serving more kids who need KidsPeace’s programs.”
Inperium supports other nonprofits by providing expertise and capital. Its affiliated organizations, which number more than 30 across 20 states, continue to control their own operations.
“Inperium was built to support mission-driven organizations by giving them the enterprise-level infrastructure, capital resources, and operational strength needed to thrive over the long term,” Ryan Dewey Smith, founding executive chairman and CEO of Inperium, said in a news release. “KidsPeace has a remarkable legacy of service to children and families. This affiliation is about protecting that legacy, strengthening its future, and ensuring its teams have the support they need to continue delivering high-quality care.”