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Emerging Leadership cohort pitches after‑school therapy pilot for families who don’t qualify for Medicaid
Summary
A University of Miami Emerging Leadership Program cohort asked the Miami Lakes Education Advisory Board to consider a pilot after‑school program offering speech, occupational and behavioral therapies for middle‑income (ALICE) families; presenters proposed Bob Graham Education Center as a possible site and said funding would be pursued independently.
A group of graduates from the University of Miami Emerging Leadership Program presented a proposal to the Miami Lakes Education Advisory Board to pilot after‑school therapeutic services aimed at middle‑income families who do not qualify for Medicaid but still lack access to necessary therapies.
The presenters said the project would identify a pilot cohort of students at up to three schools — including Bob Graham Education Center — and offer services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and, where feasible, applied behavior analysis (ABA). They said the cohort is not seeking to become a service provider but rather to convene partners, pursue independent funding and support grant writing to establish the program.
“We had to come up with sort of like a need in the community that we wanted to address,” one presenter said, characterizing the target families as ALICE households — households above the poverty line but financially fragile.
Board members asked whether the program was already authorized and who would pay therapists for after‑hours work. Presenters clarified the plan is a proposal rather than an approved program and said they would explore independent funding; they also noted some therapy capacity might exist within the district and that training paraprofessionals could expand local ABA capacity.
The committee advised the presenters to begin by contacting school principals and the district’s ESE (Exceptional Student Education) office to confirm interest and operational details. The board identified Elizabeth Hernandez, assistant principal in charge of ESE at the district, as a point of contact and asked the presenters to supply their white paper and slides before the next advisory board meeting so members could pursue follow up with principals and district staff.
The board did not adopt any formal motion on the proposal during the meeting; members agreed to continue the conversation and requested additional materials and outreach prior to the next meeting.
