NORTHAMPTON — Since Jennifer Bogin founded the Fields Center in 2020, she has been the wizard behind the scenes of the neurodiversity-affirming community hub. She has been CEO and led human resources, while also refilling the water bubbler regularly.
“I would drive to Big Y, load up my car with all the barrels of water, bring them in, pick them up, put them on top,” she said. “But now I don’t have to do that.”
The lessening of her administrative duties follows a partnership announced last month, when the Fields Center officially teamed up with another Northampton pillar in care: Cutchins Programs for Children & Families. Included in that partnership is someone who will fill the bubbler.
More importantly, the collaboration brings together the center’s expertise in neurodiversity with Cutchins’ mental health, trauma-informed, and other clinical services. Bogin, who remains its director and now serves as Cutchins’ vice president of neurodiversity services, said the partnership allows the center to expand its reach while freeing her from many of the demands of running a small business.
“Running the business kept me from doing what I really love, which is working with families and children and youth, and so this has allowed me to let go of some of those,” Bogin said.
Located at 881 North King St., the Fields Center serves about 100 people annually through several programs, including social connection groups for young children, youth and adults, and offers families ways to navigate neurodivergent loved ones and behavioral support in schools.
Cutchins CEO Tina Champagne said she was “thrilled” when Bogin reached out to partner.
“Having known Jenn and respected her impactful work for many years, I knew this partnership was a natural fit. We both recognized that joining forces would not only elevate the Fields Center to new heights, but would also bridge a critical service gap at Cutchins Programs. Historically, families navigating an autism diagnosis have faced immense challenges accessing integrated, interdisciplinary care. This acquisition changes that.”
The center’s work is rooted in meeting people where they are, Bogin said, whether a family is navigating a new autism diagnosis, waiting for an evaluation or looking for help finding services.
The center also works with children in schools who might otherwise require out-of-district placements. Its clinicians and technicians provide direct support and consultation in districts including Northampton, Easthampton, Amherst, Wilbraham and Frontier.
“We support the kiddos that would likely have to go to a costly and outside-their-community setting,” Bogin said. “We believe children should be in their homes, and having intensive needs shouldn’t keep a child from participating in their community.”
On a stop by the center, Bogin led a tour and invited those who tagged along to take off their shoes. One stop was the center’s sensory room, which has strands of light hanging over a seat, bean bag chairs and a swing in the middle of the room. Toys were spread out on the floor, which is wall-to-wall plush rubber mat.
Autistic and other neurodivergent people can have different sensory needs, Bogin said, and the space allows participants to explore sights, sounds and movement. What is calming for one person may be stimulating for another, she said.
Rather than teaching what Bogin called “social skills,” the Fields Center offers social connection groups built around shared interests such as Dungeons & Dragons, Legos and video games.
“We don’t value one person’s way of socializing over another person’s way,” she said. “We find common interests, and we help people and support people with what they need… and then they build those skills the way they want to.”
The partnership with Cutchins was an ideal pairing, Bogin said, in part because Cutchins has been expanding its services. Amanda Harrison, Cutchins’ vice president of community services, said the agency has traditionally provided outpatient mental health services for children, including therapy and medication management, while increasingly adding body-based interventions.
The Children’s Clinic recently expanded onto a new floor and added services, including occupational therapy and neuropsychological assessments. The goal, Harrison said, is to create a more comprehensive source of care for children’s mental health needs.
“We have never had a specific specialization in neurodiversity,” she said. “So now it’s like this mutually beneficial relationship.”
Families can now be connected more directly to services across the organization, she said. The tighter collaboration means clinicians can address a broader range of needs without relying as heavily on referrals to outside specialists.
“We can meet an entire spectrum of needs all under the same agency,” Harrison said.
Bogin’s personal experience also helped shape the Fields Center’s mission. Her brother, who has autism and significant behavioral and mental health needs, spent years struggling to find appropriate support, she said.
Her family was well-resourced and had experience. Her father was a developmental pediatrician and her mother was a special educator. But they still struggled to navigate the system.
“If we’re struggling with this, what about families that have limited English proficiency?” Bogin said. “What about families that have trauma histories of their own? What about families that have to get food on the table? They’re not thinking about, ‘Oh, can I get therapy for my kid?'”
After years of support, Bogin said, her brother now works at Big Y.
“No one size fits all,” she said. “There’s not one intervention or one tool from a toolbox that’s going to actually support everybody.”
That belief is part of what drew her to Cutchins. Bogin said she had approached other organizations about a possible partnership but felt Cutchins’ culture and leadership made it the right fit.
Harrison said the arrangement adds infrastructure and resources to the Fields Center while expanding Cutchins’ ability to serve families.
“It felt so natural,” she said. “We want to stay committed to serving the children and youth of western Mass. in the ways that they need to be served, the highest quality of care.”
Bogin described the arrangement as “a win-win for all of us.”
Together, the organizations employ nearly 200 people and are also expanding training and consultation services for schools, businesses and other organizations. Those efforts could include training in neurodiversity, trauma-informed practices, sensory supports and work-life balance, as well as helping schools develop sensory rooms and connect students with clinicians.
Bogin said the larger organization may give providers more flexibility to tailor support to individual families.
“I think that our services are nimble enough, and we can individualize enough,” she said. “We have this opportunity to be creative, think outside the box, get people what they need, and get them tangible results right away.”
The Fields Center, meanwhile, remains open to anyone who feels connected to the neurodiversity community, Bogin said, and participants do not need a diagnosis to take part.
“No matter who you are or how neurodiversity impacts your life, you have a home here,” she said. “You don’t need a diagnosis. Anyone who feels connected to the community is welcome, from little ones all the way up.”
