The Vanderbilt LEND is federally funded by Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Grant No. T73MC00050, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A five-year grant was awarded in July 1999, renewed in 2004, and renewed again in June 2011 (through 2016).

The purpose of the Vanderbilt LEND is to reduce and prevent NDRD (neurodevelopmental disabilities and related disabilities) in children and to increase access to family-centered, community-based, culturally competent, interdisciplinary services.