When a sick child can't go to school, a parent can't go to work. This ongoing loss of productivity adds "economic" and "financial" to the long list of challenges burdening families.

For Landy Randal of Dorchester, a single mother of five, asthma has not only caused her and her children sleepless nights, missed school days and long days at Children's, it has also created a financial hardship on her family. With the cost of health care quickly rising, Randal says she often struggles to pay the monthly cost of $240 in health insurance co-payments and asthma medicine for her two young children.

By keeping in close contact with families such as the Randals, CAI's clinical director Susan Sommer, is able to better assess the family’s needs, provide them with customized services and monitor results.

"Susan helps me with the boys whenever they are sick," Randal says. "I can call her anytime. With CAI, you are not alone."