Bess Heisler Ginty | President and CEO of Kids for the Future
Bess Heisler Ginty, born and raised in Wynne, heads Kids for the Future, a family-owned and operated business in the Arkansas Delta. She is responsible for the company’s strategic plans; establishing and attaining patient care, safety, education and community service goals; improving systems; and ensuring the corporate cohesion of all facilities.
Ginty graduated cum laude from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and European studies and from George Mason University with a master’s degree in public policy. Before joining KFF in 2010, Ginty was a senior legislative adviser for U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright, D-Ala., and a legislative correspondent and assistant for U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. She is a 2014 40 Under 40 honoree.
Ginty is the president of the Alliance for Health Improvement and Arkansas Healthcare Alliance and board member of Empower Healthcare Solutions.
Tell us about Kids for the Future and its mission.
For more than 20 years, Kids for the Future has provided early intervention and therapeutic services to children and adolescents in the Arkansas Delta with developmental delays and emotional and behavioral health issues. Our nearly 500 employees serve 1,300 children at clinics in Forrest City, Helena-West Helena, Marianna, Marion, Parkin, West Memphis and Wynne.
In 2016, I launched a nonprofit, Kids for the Future Cares, to further our mission. To date, we’ve provided more than a thousand families with basic necessities, educational resources, transportation and other emergency services.
How does trauma impact a child’s development? What new strategies can help children who have suffered trauma?
The Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University defines toxic stress as “strong, frequent and/or prolonged adversity” like physical and emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver mental illness, caregiver incarceration and economic hardship. Toxic stress responses can disrupt children’s brain and organ development and enhance their risk for cognitive impairment into adulthood.
At Kids for the Future, we are committed to helping address these adverse childhood experiences. We strive to provide as safe an environment as possible, both at our clinics and in the homes of the families we serve. Regardless of an individual’s experiences, we remain focused on treating the whole child through evidence-based therapeutic, mental health and medical services.
Can you give some examples of how early intervention prevents more costly and severe problems in the future?
The majority of children we serve have multiple toxic stress factors. If left untreated, these experiences can permanently stunt their cognitive, physical and social development. With early diagnosis and intervention, we can tackle issues head on, saving thousands in long-term costs.
Take applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy and autism, for example. Kids for the Future is one of the only providers in the Delta to offer this evidence-based treatment in an integrated model. Studies show if we are able to diagnose and treat children by the age of 2 or 3 and enroll them in an ABA program, they can make significant improvements in learning, communication and reasoning. Often, by the time they’re 7, the signs of autism are nearly unrecognizable.
Mentors and caring adults can transform a child’s life. Did you have one, who was it, and what did you learn from that person?
Growing up, my sister and I were fortunate to have parents who were heavily involved in every aspect of our lives, from our academics to extracurricular activities. Whether at home or at Kids for the Future, they instilled in us the importance of giving back. While our family business has transformed over the last 20 years, the root of helping Delta children and families in need still remains. This value is something I hope to pass on to my daughter, too.
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