Devereux names new director for Chesco facility

WEST WHITELAND » Carol Anne McNellis has been named executive director of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Pennsylvania’s Children & Adolescents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CIDDS) facility, 390 East Boot Road, West Whiteland. McNellis’ appointment was announced by Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Pennsylvania President and CEO Carl E. Clark II, and is effective Aug. 19. “I am very invested in Devereux’s mission, which is to change lives by unlocking and nurturing human potential for people living with emotional, behavioral and cognitive differences,” McNellis wrote in an emailed response to questions.

In her new position, McNellis will oversee the development and delivery of a wide variety of services that impact nearly 600 children and adolescents, including: residential, educational, community-based and foster care programs.

McNellis joined the Devereux Pennsylvania Children’s Intellectual and Development Disabilities Services (CIDDS) center in 1989 as the coordinator of behavior management services.

“When I started at Devereux Pennsylvania CIDDS in 1989, the field of behavioral psychology was just recognizing the importance of functional behavior assessment, function-based treatment, and data-based progress monitoring for this clinical group,” McNellis said. “Now, there is consensus scientific support for all of these practices across multiple clinical populations and across multiple settings.”

McNellis has served as the facility’s clinical director since 2003, where she supervised a team of 21 psychologists, board certified behavior analysts and clinicians, and served as the primary clinical supervisor for the center’s doctoral interns.

“As clinical director, I was also responsible for the development and implementation of evidencebased clinical program models,” McNellis said.

According to a press release, McNellis developed and opened a short-term, intensive residential program for children with autism and severe behavior problems, as well as opened the Devereux Pennsylvania Autism Assessment Center.

“Carol Anne’s expertise and knowledge of children’s behavioral health needs are second to none, and she has been instrumental in the development of innovative pro-

grams and services geared to support and treat the evolving needs of the individuals we serve every day,” Clark said in the release.

McNellis succeeds Melanie Beidler, who has been promoted to Devereux’s operations vice president of children’s services.

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health is “one of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations providing services, insight and leadership in the evolving field of behavior healthcare,” according to the release.

Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Pennsylvania provides service through 90 locations in northeast and southeast Pennsylvania to more than 3,800 children and adults.

The Devereux Pennsylvania Children’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services (CIDDS) center serves children, adolescents and young adults — from birth to age 21 — with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral and emotional disorders.

“The youth we serve often have histories of unsuccessful treatment with outpatient or in-home behavioral health services, and need more comprehensive and intensive behavioral health services and support,” McNellis said. “We offer treatment that can be delivered 24-hours-a-day, sevendays-a-week with on-campus teams of psychiatrists, clinicians, nurses, direct support staff, educators and social service coordinators.”

For more information about Devereux visit website, www.devereux.org.

Carol Anne McNellis