JoyBridge Kids is a growing leader in interdisciplinary autism care, serving children across Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. The team is committed to a clinician-first culture, with a service model grounded in compassion, teamwork, and creating joy while transforming lives. JoyBridge Kids is redefining autism care by embracing a unified approach, bringing together professionals across disciplines to collaborate under one roof and within one platform, ensuring seamless care coordination and support tailored to each learner’s needs.
The Leadership Team: Building A Strong Foundation
Building an organization committed to delivering exceptional care starts at the top with a strong, connected senior leadership team. As Mike Cairnes, CEO of JoyBridge, shared, “It starts at the top in building a cohesive senior leadership team–a team that is intellectually, emotionally connected.” Mike went on to emphasize that staff can recognize when their senior leadership team isn’t connected. That disconnect can impact every aspect of the organization, from communication to the quality of care and culture.
At JoyBridge, the leadership team all share a common vision and work together to infuse their values in everything they do.
A People-Focused Mission
Organizational culture can make or break a company. In a field where burnout and turnover are commonplace, creating a culture where people feel valued, supported, and connected is critical. At JoyBridge, building a strong culture starts with a clear mission: to put people first. “It’s not produced by a solitary or fun social idea,” explained Mike.
“Rather, it’s a series of values, processes, and events that elicit that connectedness and bring joy.”
CEO of JoyBridge
Achieving game-changing culture is about much more than free food and talking about values. It involves demonstrating those values in everything you do, from clinical care to business decisions.
The results speak for themselves: While industry turnover averages 77-103%, JoyBridge Kids defies these numbers. In the first two months of 2025, turnover amongst employees past their 90-day mark was just 2.88%!
This retention rate exemplifies the power of an unwavering commitment to supporting their team at every level.
Communication is Key
In reflecting on the actionable strategies JoyBridge employs to promote a clinician-first mindset, Mike noted, “We massively overcommunicate.” The team prioritizes open and honest communication with staff, clients, and stakeholders to foster a culture of transparency and trust. When new initiatives are introduced or processes change, the team ensures everyone is well-informed through proactive communication across multiple channels.
”The magic for us is we seek proactive feedback,” Mike highlighted, noting they actively seek feedback from their team. Encouraging bidirectional feedback not only demonstrates they value their team’s input, but it also allows them to pinpoint opportunities for improvement. One of the ways they do this is through “Joy Check-Ins"–brief meetings with each team member to gain informal feedback on how they’re feeling, what’s working well, and what additional support they need. This allows them to identify issues before they spiral out of control.
Another important piece of their communication strategy involves sharing the “why” behind the information, helping staff understand the purpose and impact of each change or decision. Explaining the why allows the team to recognize how new initiatives align with the practice’s mission and values. Overcommunicating is just one way JoyBridge illustrates a commitment to teamwork and growth.
Investing in Team Growth
As the ABA field grapples with a shortage of professionals, JoyBridge aims to counteract this through a keen focus on internal development. “We work really hard to build clinicians up and support them,” Mike explains. This starts with a comprehensive onboarding and training program. All RBTs go through in-house training that involves computer-based learning for half the day, followed by hands-on practice of the skills they learned during the second half of the day. “Setting them up for success is important, and that experience right out of the gate is what I think is the key for ultimate retention.”
JoyBridge also offers a structured fieldwork supervision program to grow behavior analysts internally. This has been an essential focus for the team as they recognize that the demand for BCBAs far surpasses the availability of certified analysts. They’ve found the best way to balance this is to grow their BCBAs internally.
Another vital focus of investing in their team’s growth is the business-focused training they offer clinical directors. The transition from a clinician to a clinical director comes with a great deal of additional responsibility. Many directors are propelled into this position without training on the business side of operations. As Mike explained, “Our clinical directors are typically BCBAs. None of them have gone to a business class, they've not gone to a finance class, they've not thought about HR, and now you've thrust them into a leadership role. And so we work really hard to build them up and support them.” Those clinicians who are ready for a leadership role are provided the business-focused training necessary for success in this role.
All Teams Under One Roof, Working in One System
Recognizing the diverse needs of the children they support, JoyBridge employs an interdisciplinary approach to care. In addition to ABA, many of their learners benefit from speech, occupational, and feeding therapy, which they can receive all in one location. By housing multiple therapy services under one roof, JoyBridge fosters an interdisciplinary model that promotes communication between specialists, ensuring that therapy goals are aligned across disciplines. This structure not only enhances outcomes for children but also allows clinicians to collaborate, learn from each other, and grow professionally within a well-supported system.
Beyond working under one roof, the team at JoyBridge also works out of a single system. Providers across disciplines use CentralReach’s multidisciplinary platform to support the delivery of ABA, speech, and occupational therapies. Therapists can share insights, collaborate in real-time, and holistically monitor progress across providers, breaking down siloes and improving communication. Utilizing a single system also enables the leadership team to better monitor key metrics of clinical and organizational success. The results are a truly connected care experience.
An interdisciplinary approach to care, where providers work collaboratively within the same system, reflects JoyBridge’s deep commitment to their core values of excellence, teamwork, growth, innovation, and passion.
JoyBridge Kids: Growing Stronger, Together
JoyBridge Kids continues to set the standard for compassionate, collaborative care by putting people first, including both their team and the families they serve. Through a unified, interdisciplinary model and a deep commitment to elevating the quality of care, they’ve built an organization where clinicians thrive and children excel. As JoyBridge grows to serve more children, their focus remains clear: empowering their team, supporting families, and helping every child reach their fullest potential—together.
About JoyBridge Kids
The mission at JoyBridge Kids is to joyfully create and deliver life transforming experiences for children with autism and their families. With a focus on best-in-class clinical quality, their passionate team fulfills our mission through excellent service provision and joyful, collaborative practices.
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