Parent company of a Delco child autism services provider lays off 94 employees and closes its two offices
ABA2Day's offices in Newtown Square and Crum Lynne will shut down in September.
Invo Healthcare, a child behavioral health services provider headquartered in Doylestown, told Pennsylvania regulators this month that it will lay off 94 workers as it closes its Delco subsidiary, ABA2Day Behavior Services, through mid-September.
Invo operates in 27 states and owns multiple subsidiaries that provide services in schools and therapy centers for children with intellectual disabilities, autism, and other behavioral health needs.
In 2019, Invo acquired ABA2Day, which specializes in a therapeutic approach known as applied behavioral analysis. In this commonly used technique, therapists and children with autism work together one-on-one to develop language and motor skills, and achieve other goals through positive reinforcement.
ABA2Day provided services for children from its Delaware County offices in Crum Lynne and Newtown Square.
In a letter dated June 20, Invo informed the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that the job loss will be permanent.
“Unfortunately, challenges faced through and following the pandemic have led us to a place where the quality we committed to would be at risk,” Invo wrote.
The closure of ABA2Day comes after a year and a half in which Invo made operational upgrades and capital investments to keep the home and center-based side of the business intact, a spokesperson for the company wrote in an email. They did not provide specifics about what the pandemic-related challenges were, but said that Invo will focus solely on providing services in schools moving forward.
“Invo remains fully committed to serving school districts across the country,” the company spokesperson said.
In addition to ABA2Day, Invo is shutting down subsidiaries throughout the country. It expects to close at least 23 offices and lay off nearly 1,000 employees nationally, Behavioral Health Business, an industry publication, reported.
The layoffs in Pennsylvania will take place through mid-September.
Invo did not disclose to The Inquirer how many Pennsylvania children were affected by the closure of ABA2Day. The company said it is working to transition many patients to other providers.