Innovative Programs for Marginalized Children
Using 3D animation and innovative conversational AI to deliver psychoeducational assessments, IEP accommodations, whole-family therapy, and other forms of behavioral support to struggling families, curaJOY’s latest programs are geared towards helping rural, BIPOC, and other groups of marginalized children with learning differences bridge the gap in education and healthcare.
More information is available at https://curajoy.org//communities/
curaJOY’s recent announcement highlights sobering statistics about mental health among young children. As much as 50% of mental illnesses appear in children before age 14, but these often go unnoticed or undiagnosed due to a lack of awareness, says the organization. Additional studies from UNICEF show that there are around 240 million children living with disabilities worldwide, with over half of them currently not receiving formal education; this number jumps to a staggering 90% in developing countries.
curaJOY acknowledges that mitigating the social determinants of health is an important first step in addressing the inequities that bar marginalized communities from accessing healthcare. Low-income families, members of certain racial groups, and LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to encounter difficulties while receiving treatment, which can perpetuate generational trauma and exacerbate mental illnesses. As such, the areas of research in curaJOY’s current project include decreasing the wait time for behavior interventions, alongside heightening the accuracy of machine learning to aid clinicians with functional behavior analysis, user engagement in hybrid in-app and real-world gamification models, and the correlation between behaviors, mood, and medication use.
With digital initiatives, such as their MyCuraJOY behavioral health app, curaJOY aims to create an integrated system of care that is accessible to marginalized communities, with the long-term goals of diagnosing learning differences early, reducing crime, unemployment, and substance abuse, increasing high school graduation rates and physical health, and alleviating the strain caused by a critical shortage of mental healthcare workers. MyCuraJOY is the first behavioral health care app to be available in Chinese, and the program will also help users streamline the completion of IDEA-mandated and insurance-funded health benefits.
curaJOY’s current project adds to its initiatives to improve the lives of families around the world, regardless of their background. For its multi-faceted approach that presents cloud-based solutions to social disparities, curaJOY has qualified for the AWS Health Equity Initiative and will be receiving substantial financial support for its programs.
Organizations interested in forming research partnerships with curaJOY can learn more by visiting https://curajoy.org//communities/
