The intellectual and developmental disability software giant CentralReach has acquired the company SILAS.
The deal, announced on Feb. 8, beefed up Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based CentralReach’s offering for educational settings. The SILAS platform included products related to screening, tracking and curricula related to social-emotional learning (SEL), applied behavior analysis (ABA), executive functioning and transitional-vocational efforts.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SILAS helps professionals assess and customize care for students, which is delivered through digital interactions and animated video lessons. Since 2020, the company has tripled in size and works with over 40 school districts in New Jersey, according to a news release.
“The positive outcomes of their interactive, animation-first approach to social skill acquisition are truly impressive. Unlocking the power of SEL for this generation of children will have exponential impacts on our society as a whole,” CentralReach Chris Sullens said in the release.
CentralReach offers practice management, revenue cycle management, clinical products, staff development and data analytics tools. It is used by about 175,000 professionals in the autism therapy and IDD spaces across the world.
“I’m honored to work alongside [SILAS Founder Chris Dudick] and his team to accelerate their mission and increase their impact by expanding their reach in education, to embed their curricula into the market-leading offerings we have for ABA pproviders,and to add SEL and executive functioning curricula into our caregiver training products for families with a child diagnosed with autism and broader IDDs,” Sullens continued.
Federal funding may be increasing for schools across the U.S. The Biden administration included SEL initiatives with 13.6% more funding than the previous year in its proposed federal fiscal year 2024 budget.
The funding comes at a time when officials at all levels are grappling with a huge surge of demand for school districts to address student behavioral health and other social-emotional needs. Public schools, which are often points of significant gravity in communities, are seen as an ideal hub to help children in need.
While especially true for mental health issues, schools also provide an obvious place to provide both public and private autism therapy services.
There is also significant interest on the part of entrepreneurs and investors to do business with school districts, especially virtual mental health providers. Recent examples include:
— Talkspace’s deal with the Baltimore County School District, the 22nd largest district in the U.S.
— The startup Hazel Health raised $85 million since its founding in 2021, including a $51.5 million round at the end of 2022.
— Clayful, another tech-focused startup, raised a $7 million seed round and disclosed it had partnerships with over 50 schools.
