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

Our program is for current and aspiring leaders dedicated to transforming support systems and services for keiki with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities and their family members in Hawai’i

Interested in joining our program?
We are now accepting applications for our Fall 2025 to Spring 2026 trainee cohort!
Visit https://manoa.hawaii.edu/mchlend/application to learn more and apply.

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 in Hawaiʻi limit access to even basic services and resources.

Community leaders are essential to address these needs and to develop programs and systems based on principles of person- and family-centeredness, 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

Interdisciplinary, community-based leadership training program

Blend of face-to-face and virtual training sessions

Training is scheduled on all Fridays throughout the academic year (except for holidays). Plus, two Saturday sessions and 1 Thursday session will be scheduled.

Attendance and participation is required and essential to the collective growth, synergy, and learning experience of our learning and leadership community.

Paid opportunity! Most trainees are eligible to receive a stipend for their participation in our program.

Additional travel stipends are provided to trainees located on the Neighbor Islands to attend in-person training sessions on Oʻahu

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 in-person and virtual activities, community-based learning, 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 of our program activities!

Trainees and faculty members at the 23rd Annual Day at the Capitol Event on March 2, 2023. Trainees supported self-advocates in meetings with their legislators to share 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.
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

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