About Us

C.R.E.W. Behavioral Services is an agency and a concept. We are a resource for your family.

It is a calling on my life to center myself in my passion to help children who present with emotional and mental deficits that may lead to mal-adaptive behaviors. I was part owner and worked at Residential Group Homes. While in the Air Force I attended Eastern Washington University to obtain the credentialing required to support my passion.

In 2014, I started C.R.E.W. Behavioral Services to specifically work with children who present with Autism. While working with several families, I asked them what concern or struggle they have in maintaining family and individual sanity. Many of the families I worked with stated a major stressor was no time to relax. Some families stated there weren’t any resources to take their child for a break. Family and friends were burnt out as well.

We soon opened a Respite Center to provide families with a much-needed break for their children, siblings, and parents. And as the years passed, we added other services to broaden and enhance support services to include adults as well.

Mission

C.R.E.W. is an acronym for Creating Right Environments to Win. Our efforts are geared to providing provisional, behavioral, and emotional support to families with loved ones who present with “special needs” or who may require specific resources to meet and manage their challenges. Our objective is to work with the family and other professionals to employ the “best fit” resources to meet your needs in one agency. 

Vision

Our vision is to create an all-inclusive support system for the family. The goal is to have caregiving services, respite services, speech therapy, and behavior therapy provided by one agency.  Some of our employees will be dual-qualified to meet those goals. Being able to create and maintain consistency in structure for our clients, will allow them the opportunity to experience better transitions and success.  

Our Owner

James McDonald, Counselor/Behaviorist established C.R.E.W. Behavioral Services in July of 2014 after retiring from the Air Force and working as a Suicide Prevention Manager and Sexual Assault Advocate as a civilian federal employee. McDonald is credentialed as a Licensed Assistant Behavior Analysis and Registered Counselor. He graduated with a degree in Applied Psychology and interned as a School Psychologist and a Social Worker in Spokane, Washington.

C.R.E.W. Behavioral Services currently has several contracts with the Division Disabilities Administration, some for more than 10 years. McDonald’s focus has always been children and families, but he has included all ages above 3 for over 5 years.

McDonald’s experiences include clinical work as a counselor at Psychiatric Center for Children at Providence Medical and being an owner of residential homes for children who present with developmental disabilities. In total, he has been working with families who have children with specific needs for over 20 years as a Counselor in the Spokane area McDonald works as a Counselor and Licensed Associate Behavior Analyst.

Our Administration Staff

C.R.E.W. is maintained by a talented administrative staff. Our director is Brittna Lee manages all the service programs and Penny Callahan is the office manager.

Director

Brittna Lee has been a caregiver for several years. She currently supervises all the caregivers as well as writes all the Personal Care Plans. Her duties includes the supervision of all employees and coordinating services with the case resource managers.

Brittna is passionate about the clients we serve. She was initially hired to work as a Community Engagement Advisor. She worked with clients remotely during COVID and then in their homes when COVID restrictions were lifted. While working as a C.R.E.W. advisor, she worked as an independent care provider supporting several families with their specific care needs.

C.R.E.W is fortunate to have Brittna and several other talented employees who can provide personal care to clients who present with challenging behaviors. Her ability to adapt to our clients with specific emotional, mental, and physical impairments is formidable and sets a strong model of leadership for our staff.

“Before coming to C.R.E.W. our Director Brittna Lee invested 12 years as an associate teacher for ECEAP, a state-funded program serving low-income children.

Her duties with ECEAP reinforced her confidence and commitment to provide quality personal service. Her experiences include preparing children for school, prevention screenings, and supporting families who have students with Individual Education Plans (IEP).

Brittna is determined to coordinate and link families with much-needed resources and services, based on individual needs. Her job is complete when families experience a positive change in their lives.

Brittna is committed to the details of service. She consistently adds the extra step to ensure “best practices” when fostering relationships with families and the professionals who serve our clients.”

Office Manager

Penny Callahan is an organizational marvel. Penny joined C.R.E.W. with more than 29 years of experience as administrative staff in the Home Care industry. Within the human resources department, she managed staff and client files for accuracy to support exceptional audit reviews. Operating 29 years in the Home Care industry, she has developed a strong working knowledge. She is competent in several areas. She aids the director and takes the lead as the human resources manager to track/monitor employee schedules. Penny coordinates all the details needed to support our employees, which is monumental in sustaining C.R.E.W. as a functioning licensed agency.

Penny manages state requirements in every area. She has developed an onboarding process and training system for our employees. Penny manages the Electronic Verification System, Health Care insurance, payroll and coordinates with the contracting and training staff at various agencies.

The team has more than 25 advisors and personal caregivers. Several employees are dual qualified to provide Persona Care, Respite, Community Engagement, and Specialized Habilitative Services for children and adults.

Penny Callahan is an organizational phenomenon. Penny has worked as an office manager for more than 18 years. She has assisted our director and taken lead as our human resources manager. Penny coordinates and all the details need to support our employees and keep the C.R.E.W. functioning as a licensed agency.

Penny manages state requirements in every area. She has developed an onboarding process and training system for our employees. Penny manages the Electronic Verification System, Health Care insurance, payroll and coordinates with the contracting and training staff at various agencies.

The team has more than 25 advisors and personal caregivers. Several employees are dual qualified to provide Persona Care, Respite, Community Engagement, and Specialized Habilitative Services for children and adults.