Welcome!

Program logo with brown capitalized text that reads MCH LEND HAWAII. Between the MCH and LEND is a dark green taro plant with a small bud growing off the main root.

Hawaiʻi Maternal & Child Health Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program

The Hawaiʻi MCH LEND Program is a leadership education program for current and aspiring leaders who want to improve the care, support, and services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Developmental Disabilities and their family members

About Us

In Hawaiʻi and throughout the Pacific Region, health care needs are reported in early intervention, identification, & diagnosis, primary & specialized services, care coordination, education, system navigation, and access to resources and programs for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Developmental Disabilities and their family members. Persistent and worsening health and educational professional shortages, especially in rural and underserved communities of Hawaiʻi, have further limited access to even basic services and resources.

Leadership is essential to address these needs and to develop programs and systems based on principles of person- and family-centeredness, cultural humility and responsiveness, comprehensiveness, and coordinated care.

Funded under the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, the Hawaiʻi MCH LEND Program is one of 60 LEND programs across the country, Puerto Rico, and Pacific Basin jurisdictions that provides current and future leaders with the knowledge and skills to improve the supports and services for infants, children, and adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Our Program at a Glance

Our program is a two-semester, interdisciplinary leadership training program for individuals interested in assuming leadership roles in Hawaiʻi. LEND trainees include master’s and doctoral candidates, post-master’s and post-doctoral fellows, community professionals, self-advocates, and family advocates who are family members of children with disabilities. Most trainees are eligible to receive a stipend for their participation in the program.

Program Activities

The Hawaiʻi MCH LEND Program curriculum covers a variety of leadership topics and is delivered through a range of activities such as interactive seminars and activities, community excursions (site visits to various programs and organizations), following legislation, and more. You can learn more about our training program, curriculum, and teaching methods here.

Here are some photos from our recent program activities!

Trainees and faculty members at the 23rd Annual Day at the Capitol Event on March 2, 2023. Trainees accompanied self-advocates to appointments with their legislators and learned about the issues that were the most important to them.
Trainees worked together to create a timeline of the important events of the Disability Justice Movement. They examined changing policies, social movements, and attitudes that contribute to the current understanding of disability as an expression of human diversity that includes everyone.
ʻĀina-based learning experiences are rooted in teaching and learning through ʻāina, which include the land, ocean, air, and all living things. These learning experiences help us to learn about Native Hawaiian culture, values, and beliefs, which can help to inform and improve care and service delivery.
Trainees learned about varying sensory needs and tools for sensory processing issues. This lesson also included a do it yourself (DIY) sensory station where we made our own stress balls with balloons and water marbles (or rice) and observed how using them made us feel.

Click on the button below to learn more about our training program and curriculum!

Learn More

Mailing Address
Hawaiʻi MCH LEND Program
1319 Punahou St, Rm 745
Honolulu, Hawaii, 96826

Social Media
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/himchlend

Instagram:
https://instagram.com/himchlend

Contact Information
If you have any questions about our program, please give us a call or send us an email at:

Phone: (808) 369-1240
Email: mchlend@hawaii.edu