Waisman in Partnership with Forest County Potawatomi Community Receives Grant to Help Break Down Barriers for Indigenous Populations Accessing Autism Services

Lily Wagner, PhD, BCBA
Lily Wagner, PhD, BCBA

The Community Impact Grant Program, which is a part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program, recently awarded the Forest County Potawatomi Community and academic partner Lily Wagner, PhD, BCBA, director of the Waisman Center’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic and clinical psychologist, a $500,000 grant to start developing strategies to improve access to early autism diagnosis and intervention for indigenous populations. This award is part of $3.5 million in funding that the Community Impact Grant Program is using to support community-led approaches to addressing critical community needs.

The initiative, Investigating Strategies to Remove Barriers that Exclude Indigenous Populations from Early Diagnosis and Intervention of Autism Spectrum, aims to help create equitable access to autism related programs, resources, and services for Indigenous children with autism. Wagner and the Waisman Center will be working closely with the Forest Country Potawatomi Community to implement evidence-based strategies to help promote early detection, intervention, and improved autonomy of underserved Native American children with autism.

The Community Impact Grant program provides funding and support for community partnership initiatives aimed at addressing health inequities and improving health for Wisconsin’s rural, urban, and tribal communities.

Link to the full story: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2025/wisconsin-partnership-program-announces-3-5-million-in-funding-to-nine-wisconsin-community-organizations/