A new pilot project now being implemented through TRIAD, the autism institute at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC)(TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND), represents an important step toward closing long-standing gaps in how Tennessee serves its most vulnerable youth. For over 25 years, TRIAD has worked closely with the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) to support educators serving students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in schools, including those students with IDD engaging in complex and dangerous behavior.
This new pilot is built on that foundation of services and will bring in funding from another longtime TRIAD partner, the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging (TDDA). The pilot initiative brings together these and other state systems to provide school- and home-based support for students with IDD who are in state custody and engage in complex and dangerous behavior.
For years, the TRIAD behavior team has provided highly specialized support to children across Tennessee, from pre-K through high school, helping schools respond to serious behavioral challenges. While that TDOE-funded work has been and continues to be important and impactful, it has also faced a critical limitation.
“Our funding structure, for the TDOE school-based services, because of federal funding regulations, have allowed TRIAD behavior services to be delivered in schools, but not typically in homes as well,” said Pablo Juárez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, Co-Director of TRIAD. “As a result, support often stopped at the school doors, even when challenges continued or escalated at home. This new multi-system collaboration changes that.”
Through the TDDA funding, TRIAD is now able to serve more children and, for the first time, provide coordinated support both in schools and in homes, for those in state custody. John Staubitz, Director of Behavior Analysis for TRIAD, said, “The project focuses specifically on children in state custody, many of whom are frequently moved across communities and even across the state because of their complex behavioral and support needs. In some cases, dozens of students with significant needs are placed into a single school far from their home communities, and with that come challenges in receiving continuity of care or cross-system coordination.
Over the next 18 months, the pilot will serve a subset of these children with the goal of stabilizing behavior, reducing disruptions, and helping young people move toward the least restrictive environments possible. When able, that includes supporting reunification with biological families, backed by strong, consistent services in the home.
Juárez says what makes this effort especially meaningful is the level of collaboration involved. In addition to DOE and DDA, the pilot brings together partners from the Department of Children’s Services and TennCare. Historically, each of these agencies has operated within its own lane, which is often necessary because of regulations associated with specific funding streams. Where those lanes don’t overlap, children often fall through the cracks. This pilot represents a deliberate attempt by our state partners to bring everyone to the same table and address those gaps head-on.
“A decade ago, this kind of cross-system initiative would not have been possible,” said Juárez. “Today, it reflects an innovative approach by Tennessee departments to address a significant set of problems for youth with disabilities, as well as the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s strong reputation for identifying complex problems and delivering effective, trusted solutions. The eagerness of state agencies to invest in and partner on this work speaks volumes about that trust.”
While this pilot is just one effort, it marks an important shift in how systems can work together to better support children with the most complex needs. It also points toward a future of solving big problems not within isolated programs, but across systems, departments, and communities.
