Los Gatos Weekly-Times EMQ moving to acquire Giarretto Institute Deal aims to create a complete network for sex abuse victims By Jeff Kearns Eastfield Ming Quong has entered into an agreement to take over the San Jose-based Giarretto Institute, one of the leading treatment facilities for sexually abused children, which will create a complete network of services to abuse victims and their families. EMQ, which also provides services to victims of sexual abuse, made the first move to take over Giarretto in August. EMQ chief operating officer Rick Williams says that Giar-retto was having cash-flow problems. "We've always considered the Giarretto program to be one of the best around, so when we heard they were having financial problems, we went ahead and reached out to them," Williams said. "We want to do anything we can to keep those services available to the community. ... They're internationally known. " Williams says that EMQ will acquire Giarretto's assets and liabilities. Giarretto's annual revenues were about $4 million last year, while EMQ's were more than $16 million. Giarretto's main office is on E. Gish Road in San Jose, but it also operates a facility in Solano County. Dr. Hank Giarretto, a psychologist, started the institute in 1978. EMQ will keep its name, and incorporate Giarretto as one of its programs. EMQ will add Giarretto's approximately 1,200 clients to its own client base of 3,600. EMQ Child and Family Services will absorb three Giarretto programs for child abuse treatment, training programs for police and other officials who work with children, and the foster family program. Both organizations are nonprofit and serve children between ages 5 and 18. "The fit between our two organizations is extraordinary," EMQ CEO Jerry Doyle said. "This is an opportunity we could not pass up." Officials at Giarretto were out of town for the holidays and could not be reached for comment. The institute has been a pioneer in treating children and families coping with the effects of childhood sexual and physical abuse, and has helped start 150 programs around the world that are based on the Giarretto model. The institute also has placed about 135 children in foster homes in seven Northern California counties. It acquired two foster family agencies in 1995, which it operates in Santa Clara and Solano counties. Giarretto's 25 staff members will become employees of EMQ, bringing the total number of employees and contract staff to about 325. The boards of directors of both organizations must approve the acquisition, which is expected to happen sometime in mid-January. State regulators in the Office of Health Care Planning and the state Attorney General's office will then have to sign off on the transfer. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.