White Plains CitizeNetReporter - White Plains Lesli Cattan Honored With a "Zella" for Service to Disabled.

Anonymous writes "Lesli Cattan, of White Plains, has been recognized with the Zella Bronfman Butler Award, which annually honors professionals for their compassionate commitment to enriching the lives of children and adults with physical, developmental and learning disabilities.

The Director of Outpatient Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities at Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), Ms. Cattan received her “Zella” yesterday in New York City. The cash award, created jointly by the J.E. & Z.B. Butler Foundation and UJA-Federation, is in tribute to Zella Bronfman Butler who devoted her life to expanding services that encourage individuals with disabilities to fulfill their potential.

“Lesli is dedicated to helping clients achieve independent, rewarding lives,” says Linda Breton, WJCS Assistant Executive Director. “Her efforts have already enhanced the lives of hundreds of disabled individuals and their families. I have no doubt that her commitment and leadership will shape the quality of services for thousands of people in the future.”

At WJCS, Ms. Cattan was instrumental in establishing outpatient mental health services for people with special needs who also experience significant emotional difficulties. As a result, WJCS is the only mental health agency in Westchester which provides both specialized clinical services for people of all ages who have co-occurring psychiatric and developmental disabilities and support and education for their families.

She also created an array of social, recreational and communal services for people with developmental disabilities including Havorah, Moving Forward and Family Advocacy.

In addition, Ms. Cattan designed a manual to train staff in community-based organizations to accommodate special needs children in their mainstream programs, which will be implemented by organizations throughout Westchester and the affiliated organizations in the UJA-Federation network. She also has helped bring together the county’s service delivery systems for mental health and mental retardation/developmental disabilities. Under her leadership, a cross-system team of professionals produced a training curriculum for staff serving young people with both serious emotional disturbances and developmental disabilities. The team’s work is likely to become a national model as it is disseminated through Westchester’s SAMHSA-funded system of care activities.

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