Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Boston's SPARK Center struggling
Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley concentrates on legal issues affecting children’s health. Social service agencies in Massachusetts are suffering from budget cuts and reduced donations, including the SPARK Center. Staff at the SPARK Center, located at the old Boston Chronic Disease Hospital in Mattapan, work with about 100 children who are poor, some without parents or homes, who have chronic or terminal conditions. A recent article in The Boston Globe documents that the SPARK Center just learned it will see a reduction of 27% or $406,000 from its funding source.
These budget cuts may result in reduced hours and enrollment next fall. The Center has already had to cut back on staff hours and have eliminated art and music therapy. The Boston Medical Center is withdrawing financial support because of a reduction in state aid. The Center’s private donor support has been cut by 50% and foundation grant funding has also declined.
The SPARK Center, (formerly the Children's AIDS Program) is a model childcare program offering comprehensive, integrated, state-of-the-art services for children and families whose lives are affected by medical, emotional and/or behavioral challenges The program serves Boston's highest-risk children: those living with complicated medical conditions (including HIV/AIDS, failure-to-thrive, and neuro-developmental problems like cerebral palsy); as well as children who are involved with the Department of Social Services due to family and social concerns (including child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and adult substance abuse).
For 20 years the program helped children and families with HIV/AIDS and was called the Children’s AIDS Program. It provided educational, medical, and mental health services for young children who had also lost a parent to AIDS. When it changed its name to SPARK (Supporting Parents and Resilient Kids) the services were expanded to include chronic conditions such as metabolic problems, asthma, neurological disorders, diabetes, cerebral palsy, and growth issues.
The mission of the SPARK Center says, "SPARK makes long-term investments in fragile children—helping them to believe in themselves, make healthy choices, cope with emotional problems, achieve in school, and gain success as adults." The staff work out of a building that looks like a house providing for 100 children year-round services: day care, medical help, meals, counseling, therapies, and transportation. The children range from newborns to age 24. For younger children, there’s a full-time preschool program, and for those 6 to 18 (most of them HIV-positive) an after school and summer program. For HIV-positive people ages 18 to 24, and for those who have lost one or both parents to AIDS, SPARK offers job training, peer support, and counseling.
The SPARK Center is a collaboration between Boston Medical Center and the Boston University School of Medicine, the Mass. Dept. of Early Education and Care, and several additional state and federal funders.
Staff at SPARK also treat teens infected with HIV through sex or drugs. The virus in youths is treated as a chronic disease, and they are on medication for the rest of their lives. The teens and the children who have special needs like being on ventilators or feeding tubes, and their families depend on SPARK to help. Without the staff and services available at SPARK, they may not be able to afford staying on medication or may end up in emergency rooms or hospitals instead of being at home.
