The future of children is now.

The authors watched one community program for seven years. The program acted like a smart broker. It matched kids with delays and mental-health needs to the right services.

Instead of each agency guarding its turf, one team put the child first. They tracked what each family needed and filled the gaps.

The model stayed alive for the full seven years. Kids kept getting speech, behavior, and mental-health help without falling through cracks.

No numbers are given, but the authors call the setup a success.

Hostyn et al. (2010) extends this idea. They show that twenty years later, community clinics still help autistic kids with behavior problems. They even measured gains in symptoms and family stress.

Johnson et al. (2009) is a successor model. They swapped the lone broker for a university-community partnership. The goal is the same: bend evidence-based care to fit real-world clinics.

Massey et al. (2024) echo the client-first theme. They let parents co-design therapy tools, proving the spirit of "family before agency" is still alive.

You do not need a new clinic to fix service gaps. You need one coordinator who shops the system for the family. Ask your county or school who plays that broker role. If no one does, script a one-page referral map that lists who pays for what. Hand it to parents at intake so they leave with a next step, not a dead end.