Since 1962, Kindering Center has built a wide reputation for providing family-centered services for children who are disabled, medically fragile, or vulnerable because of abuse or neglect. Delegations from countries as varied as Latvia and China have visited the center, and therapists from Kindering Center have gone on individual missions elsewhere.

"We're a sought-after place to visit," said Mimi Siegel, executive director.

The Russian project turned out to be a bit more.

In the early months of 2003, a delegation of health workers from the city of Vladivostok was on a tour of the Puget Sound area organized by the Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation (FRAEC), a nonprofit group that fosters stronger economic ties between Russia and the United States, with a special focus on ties to the West Coast.

The Russians were hoping to get some ideas for setting up an early intervention center for children. On the last day of the tour, they came to Kindering Center and saw its multidisciplinary approach, which includes physical and occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, nutrition, child care, foster care, education and help for parents and other family members.

That turned out to be exactly the kind of program the Russians had been hoping to see, said Siegel.

A grant from FRAEC allowed Kindering Center to follow up by sending staff members to Vladivostok for a 10-day visit in December 2003. The Kindering Center team helped write a grant proposal and acted as mentors to the Russian group. A second group visited in July 2004.

The trip revealed some unexpected language hurdles, especially in the use of terms to describe various conditions. The Vladivostok institution, for example, is called the Children's Psychiatric Hospital, even though conditions being treated there are not considered psychiatric problems in this country.

The Russians had shown particular interest in autism and cerebral palsy.

"We were prepared to train them very specifically in autism, and that's a very specific set of interventions," Siegel said. It turned out, however, that the word "autism" was being used in Russia to cover all kinds of developmental disabilities. Likewise, "cerebral palsy" was a catchword applied to any motor impairment. The realization dawned only gradually, said Siegel.

Fortunately, the first team from Kindering Center had experience dealing with a wide variety of conditions and could adapt quickly. The second team knew what to expect by the time it arrived in 2004.

Using physical therapy and speech therapy with toddlers was a pioneering effort in Russia. One part of the effort was to raise awareness of early intervention within the community.

The Kindering delegation was able to help with conferences in both Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, a city of 700,000 to the north near the border of China. In both cases FRAEC-sponsored organizations were able to set up booths at public exhibition halls. The exhibition caught the interest of a Khabarovsk hospital, and now FRAEC is sponsoring a small grant that will allow Vladivostok staff members to pass on their knowledge.

Going overseas to help a project begin from scratch is more than a philanthropic effort. It was a good team-building effort for Kindering Center, said Siegel, but even more importantly it got the center to take a second look at how it carries out its mission.

"Sometimes just being in another place starting up makes you look at your service anew with fresh eyes," she said. For Kindering Center, that took the form of in-house innovation teams. Their basic task is to question the way things are done and see if there might be better ways.

Some pilot projects began last February. In one, instead of having 10 different teams available to evaluate children, Kindering Center is working with two teams, so the same people can concentrate on evaluations. The center is also looking at longer assessment periods -- perhaps up to a full month -- before making recommendations for treatment.

"There's another team trying to use certified occupational therapy assistants, employing them in the classroom where we never had them before," Siegel said.

This first "mini" pilots will last through the end of the school year. More comprehensive pilot programs will begin in the fall.

"We wouldn't be making any institutional changes until the year after that," said Siegel.

More than half of Kindering Center's budget comes from government programs, but corporate partners still play a role. Often it's the personal experience of a staff member that gets the ball rolling.

When former Mariner first baseman John Olerud was playing with the Seattle team, he and his wife, Kelly, turned to Kindering Center for help with their daughter Jordan. Kelly Olerud brought the center to the attention of the Mariners Wives program, said team spokeswoman Rebecca Hale. That resulted in creation of the book "Before the Bigs" in partnership with Fox Sports Net and Washington Mutual. The book, which tells how each of the 2004 Mariners made it to the big leagues, is sold at all Mariners Team Stores for $15, with proceeds benefiting Kindering Center.

Kindering Center also gets benefits from other groups helping the community. Volunteer groups from the Seattle Seahawks, The Boeing Co., Microsoft Corp. and other companies have helped with bulk mailing, repairing therapy equipment and other tasks. And on United Way's Day of Caring, volunteers turned up to lend a hand.

Kindering Center
16120 NE Eighth Street
Bellevue, Washington 98008
Phone 425-747-4004
Fax 425-747-1069
TTY 1-800-833-6388

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