As child care costs climb and public programs strain, the Child Development Institute (CDI) has emerged as a lifeline helping Los Angeles’ youngest children get a strong start.
The Reseda-based nonprofit is marking its 30th year providing direct support and services to thousands of children and families in the San Fernando Valley and beyond each year.
CDI provides therapeutic and early-intervention services (including speech and mental-health support); free early learning centers and developmental screenings; and professional training for organizations, parents and caregivers.
“We are small but mighty in what we provide,” said Tessa Graham, president and chief executive of CDI. “Last year we trained over 3,500 professionals and parents and caregivers. We pay attention to what are the needs of young children and families in our community and how to be a voice for those in need.”
Graham said CDI and other Southern California nonprofits fill community gaps the private sector doesn’t address.
“I feel like we’re living in a climate where people might forget the important work of nonprofits,” she said. “Funding has been cut for so many organizations, especially government funding, there’s increased competition for private donations.”
Federal budget cuts
As a nonprofit in the San Fernando Valley, fundraising has been particularly challenging since the pandemic and recent Los Angeles County wildfires. Potential changes to Medicaid funding have added to the uncertainty.
“We don’t know whether or not funding will be lost for children with special needs,” said Graham. “Those are the kinds of things we’re paying attention to and what I’m concerned about as a nonprofit organization.”
A recent analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned that proposed 2025 government budget cuts would remove Medicaid coverage or raise costs for people with disabilities, which includes many children served by nonprofit clinics and therapists. The result could be lost reimbursements, longer waitlists and reductions in available services.
Rising labor costs are also a concern for nonprofits like CDI.
“Most of our staff are wanting to get paid more,” said Graham. “A lot of professionals in the field are shying away from working for nonprofits and wanting to go work in the private sector because they make more money. And you have a whole slew of the population who now don’t have access because those professionals are leaving the field.”
Amid pay pressures and a thinning talent pipeline, Graham said the best response is collective action.
“We have to pull together if we want to be effective,” said Graham. “And the one thing that I really appreciate about working in the San Fernando Valley is we’re all in it together.”
