Families caring for children with autism know it can be difficult to find a perfect fit when it comes to education. But New York state is putting some money toward assistance. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced funding Monday for a center that assists families who have kids with autism.

One parent discussed just how important this support is.

Finding a way for his son to thrive in an educational setting. Kevin Kollar said that's what brought his family to the Anderson Center for Autism.

“You know, literally within the first six months of being there, the school basically kind of taught him how to sort of work with an educational environment of his peers," Kollar said.

Families from around New York and the entire nation enroll kids here to see them reach their full potential. But the center’s growth is also increasing the need for a specialized workforce.

That need for training and workforce development is what brought Hochul to tour the facility alongside local lawmakers. A $3 million state grant toward building up the workforce was announced.

“The skills that are required here are very specialized. So you need to come here and have the training on site and work with the patients or the students who are here right now and learn the skills they need to either work here or to work elsewhere,” Hochul said.

Anderson center CEO Patrick Paul said the funds are critical for training not just their own staff, but workers they host from all over the world.

“To make sure that everyone has the skillset to support individuals with autism or other neurodivergent individuals because they can support people who don't just have autism, but with other conditions can help them to also be as independent as possible,” Paul said.

Kollar is thrilled to see the investment in the center. He said it’ll go a long way toward helping families and kids with autism in the very near future.

“And just our ability to see how he grew as a parent really made me feel the strength of the partnership here and what it meant for our family. So it was remarkable,” he said.

The state funds will go toward rebuilding Anderson’s historic 11,000-square-foot carriage house, which plays host to its workforce training.