About Us

This pilot program is in its early stages, currently seeking to build relationships with local partners in northern Illinois, understand community needs, and co-create a service delivery model. It is guided by the following values and objectives:

• Collaboration, Curiosity, and Humility: This program recognizes local providers and organizations as experts on their community, and families as experts on their children. It believes that collaboration is essential to best support families facing access barriers to early childhood specialized psychological services in rural and underserved areas.

• Evidence-Based, Trauma-Informed Practice: This program is led by Alicia Samp, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois with extensive clinical training and experience working with children and families. Read more about Dr. Samp’s qualifications and potential service offerings.

• Passion for Rural and Underserved Communities: Dr. Samp was raised in rural Midwest farming community, and her research on rural-urban disparities in foster care was recently published by the Journal of Rural Mental Health.

• Sustainability: Prior to becoming a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Samp had a multinational career as a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and held several volunteer leadership roles in the non-profit sector, during which she collaborated across disciplines and built organizational capacity by training and empowering others. Her diverse professional background helps her bring a unique blend of clinical, financial, and administrative expertise to program development. Dr. Samp is in the process of becoming credentialed with Medicaid and is offering pro-bono services during the pilot phase of this program while exploring initial proof of concept and establishing a sustainable service delivery model.