Innovative Services Nw

About the Organization

Organization category

Other

Country / State

United States / Washington

Mission

Our core purpose at Strive Northwest is to support possibilities for everyone. We do this by delivering innovative programs that give opportunity for children and adults in our community to become more self-reliant through therapeutic, educational, and employment services.

Programs or services

Early Learning for ages 1-5 (primarily low income)
Early Intervention for children birth - 3 years
Outpatient Pediatric Therapy for ages birth - 20 years
Employment Services for adults with disabilities

Detailed programs

Pediatric Therapy - Since 1978, the Pediatric Therapy program at Strive Northwest has been serving the special needs of children in Clark County. We are one of the 18 designated Neurodevelopmental Centers (NDC) in Washington State and the only Clark County NDC. NDCs provide outreach, evaluation, coordinated treatment planning, and specialized therapy to children from birth through age 20 with special health care needs and are at increased risk for chronic physical, developmental, or behavioral conditions.
- Outpatient Therapy (the focus of this grant request)
Providing speech, occupational, physical, and specialty therapies for children from birth to age 20 in our therapy clinic. The majority of the children we serve are from low-income families on Medicaid.
- Early Intervention
Our therapists and Special Education Teachers travel to the family home or meet in a community setting to enhance cognitive, social, speech, and motor development through play and daily routines for children ages birth to three years.

Early Learning - The Early Learning program has been operating since 1995. providing quality preschool for all children from 12 months to five years of age, serving typically developing children as well as those with special needs. At our main location, 94% of children served were from low-income families, and 36% of children had special needs during fiscal year 2024-2025
-The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP)
Five of the nine classrooms at our main location host the ECEAP program for income-eligible children with risk factors such as family violence, homelessness, chemical dependency, CPS involvement, incarcerated parents, disabilities, or foster care. We utilize WA State complex needs grants to hire mental health therapists to train our staff as we have a special focus on socio-emotional skill building for children who have experienced trauma. We have a long history of serving children discharged from other child care settings due to challenges with behavior, development, or medical concerns.
-Early Learning at WSUV
Strive Northwest was awarded the contract to provide early learning services on the WSUV campus in October 2023.

Employment Services - For over 50 years, our dedicated staff of Job Developers and Employment Specialists have assisted individuals with disabilities in overcoming employment barriers. Our services are centered on matching each job seeker’s skills and abilities with employers’ needs.

Target Audience

interested funders

Geographic Focus

United States, Washington (USA), Clark County (WA)

Current projects

Funding Outpatient Pediatric Therapy
Putting a restoration on our 20-year-old roof
Replacing 500K worth of 20 year old HVAC equipment that climate controls our building

Organization goals

Providing opportunity for children and adults in our community to become more self-reliant through therapeutic, educational, and employment services.

Leadership

Dena Strong, (hired in 2016) President & CEO, dstrong@strivenw.org
Mel Partridge (hired in 2008), VP, mpartridge@strivenw.org
Beth Markell (hired in 2021), VP of Pediatric Therapy, emarkell@strivenw.org
Susan Veneruso, (hired in 2004) Chief Compliance Officer, sveneruso@strivenw.org

Funding Needs

Grant categories you're seeking

Capital Funding, Children, Community Services, Disabilities, Education, Health and Medical, Operating Support, Preschool

Funding needs

Access to speech, physical, and occupational therapy can dramatically improve a child's quality of life, reduce the need for more intensive support later on, and promote greater inclusion in school and social settings. These services not only help children reach their developmental potential but also provide crucial support for families navigating the challenges of raising a child with special needs. We serve children who have a variety of diagnoses including, but not limited to, developmental delays, genetic syndromes, cerebral palsy, autism, prematurity and traumatic brain injury.

Our Outpatient Pediatric Therapy Program is a vital and long-standing component of the mission for which our nonprofit was founded, serving those with disabilities. We provide speech, occupational, and physical therapy services to low-income children in Clark County at a critical time in their development. We also offer specialty therapies such as incontinence, feeding, and intensive physical therapies.

Unfortunately, the program loses more than $100k each year due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates (47% of billed fees) and the high cost of operating a clinic that is equipped to meet the complex needs of the children we serve. In fiscal year 24-25, 63% of the children we served had Medicaid as their primary insurance and 84% of whom were from low-income households.

Without our services available to the community, low-income children and those on Medicaid, may not receive services for years. This poses a risk of these individuals requiring ongoing state assistance or support that would not have been needed had they received quality care during their early developmental years.

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