RECREATION & SOCIALIZATION
SERVICE COORDINATION
GUARDIANSHIP
IN-HOME RESPITE
RESIDENTIAL HABILITATION
Click the links above for more information regarding our family and community programs.>
Whereas our site based programs offer a wide range of supports to individuals who live in AHRC's residences or attend our schools and day programs, community based services brings supports to the individual in the family home or in the community where they live.
RECREATION AND SOCIALIZATION
DESCRIPTION
For the past 25 years, our Community Activities Program has taken AHRC outside the walls of our facilities and into the communities of individuals and their families throughout Orange County. Through the Community Activities Program, we offer the county's only continuous, year around, integrated series of recreation and socialization opportunities for people of all ages who have developmental disabilities. Many have first come to know AHRC through the Community Activities Program, which has helped to break down the remaining barriers to full inclusion into life in the mainstream. Our goal is to educate individuals and their families about recreation and social opportunities that are available, to help people access the resources, make friends, and have as much fun as possible!
ON-GOING AND SEASONAL OPPORTUNITIES
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DAY AND WEEKEND RESPITE TRIPS AND VACATIONS
Respite trips and vacations give families a break, while providing the individual an opportunity to join a small group of peers and venture to exciting and interesting sights under the watchful eye of experienced AHRC staff. Respite trips, open to individuals over the age of 15, can comprise day trips or weekend overnight trips. Vacations comprise several days. Trips are planned according to the participants' ages, abilities, needs, and interests. Here are some adventures individuals have enjoyed: 
- Niagara Falls
- Lake George
- Hershey Park
- Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
- Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory
- Las Vegas
- Boston
- Disney World
- Caribbean Cruise
TRANSPORTATION
For short excursions and respite trips, individuals who want to participate in Community Activities events are responsible for transportation to and from designated central meeting locations. Our own experienced staff will then transport to and from the designated meeting location.
COST
Many activities are either free to participants, or available for a small fee. Respite trips operate on a sliding fee scale. Vacations are paid by the individual participant.
WHY COME HERE?
The Community Activities Coordinator has built the program on open communication and active partnership. People free to say what they like and don't like about any of the activities. Some of the best -- and most adventuresome - ideas for trips have come from parents! Indeed, the way the program has evolved over the years into the success it is today, is a direct outcome of communication and partnership between our staff and individuals and their families.
FIND OUT MORE!
Every month, AHRC publishes a Newsletter that contains, in addition to our program news, the Community Activities Calendar of Events. Call the Coordinator and get on the mailing list!
Henry F. Cox Center:
28 Bull Road, Campbell Hall, NY 10916
Phone: 845-427-2077, Fax: 845-427-2087
Coordinator of the Community Activities Program: Beth Delacruz
SERVICE COORDINATION
DESCRIPTION
Service Coordination offers assistance to individuals and their families as they navigate the often complicated system of community and service systems in order to find and obtain the help they need. Our coordinators act as liaison and advocates as they help individuals to obtain medical and dental services, day and residential programs, respite, social services entitlements, food stamps, recreation, holiday baskets and toys, clothes. Service coordinators work with the individual, his or her family, and others involved in the individual's care to create an Individual Service Plan (ISP) unique to the individual and based on his or her own abilities, needs, goals, and interests. The plan is reviewed at least twice a year and revised as needed.
AHRC provides three types of service coordination, which refer both to the individuals served and to the funding source for each type of service. There is no charge to the individual or family for service coordination, only the requirement that the individual meet the eligibility standards of the program. The three types of service coordination are:
MEDICAID SERVICE COORDINATION
Available to individuals of all ages who have a diagnosis of developmental disability that was documented before the age of 22 and have, or are eligible for, Medicaid. Family education and training is also available through Medicaid service coordination.
EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICE COORDINATION
For children from birth to 3 years. Eligibility is determined after evaluation of the child to determine if there are developmental delays, whether long-term or temporary. Our staff find the services or therapies the child needs in the areas of speech, hearing or vision, physical delays, or cognitive difficulties and advocates for them. Service coordination is required under the Early Intervention Program operated by the New York State Department of Health.
FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES
This type of service coordination is limited to individuals with developmental disabilities who are not eligible for Medicaid, who live at home with their families, and whose primary language is Spanish. The families often have limited knowledge of educational and medical systems in this country. The service coordinator, who is bilingual and sensitive to cultural differences, may accompany individuals to medical and other appointments to act as interpreter. This type of service coordination may be intense or it may be periodic through the year, as determined by the individual's needs and the family situation.
WHY COME HERE?
- AHRC's service coordinators are very familiar with the variety of developmental delays and disabilities that may be experienced by an individual of any age and the profound impact those delays or disabilities can have on the family.
- We serve all of Orange County through our offices in Middletown and Newburgh.
- Spanish bilingual and bicultural service coordinators assist in communicating
with English speaking agencies and service providers and navigate sensitive
issues of cultural diversity.
- Our coordinators maintain education and training requirements of New York State in order to provide high quality and effective service coordination to individuals and families.
- We believe in, and operate by, a person-centered philosophy that helps the individual to exercise personal choice and realize goals that are right for him or her.
FIND OUT MORE!
357 Mount Hope Road, Middletown
Phone: 845-342-0443, Fax: 845-342-6874
Assistant Director for Service Coordination: Sandy Schwartz
GUARDIANSHIP
DESCRIPTION
Legal guardianship allows a person, usually a parent or other family member, to make decisions on behalf of another person over the age of 18, the age at which all individuals are deemed legally competent, regardless of any limiting condition the person may have.
AHRC provides guardianship under the auspices of NYSARC, our parent corporation, to individuals who have no immediate family available. Guardianship responsibility is exercised through the Guardianship Committee of AHRC's Board of Directors. AHRC provides only what is termed "guardianship of the person", which permits the Guardianship Committee to make decisions on behalf of the guardian for program and service plans, and to consent for medical treatment when recommended by a physician.
AHRC may also act as stand-by or alternate to a primary guardian. Then, upon the death or incapacity of the primary guardian, AHRC will assume primary guardianship. The Guardianship Committee, in addition to making decisions about care and treatment, also makes sure the guardian receives birthday and holiday gifts, regularly visits with him or her, ensures that appropriate burial arrangements are made, and works cooperatively with trustees or guardians of property.
FIND OUT MORE!
Henry F. Cox Center:
28 Bull Road, Campbell Hall, NY 10916
Phone: 845-342-0443, Fax: 845-342-6874
Guardianship Coordinator: Sandy Schwartz
IN-HOME RESPITE
DESCRIPTION
Respite is a family service. For families of young children, it is babysitting; for families of teen or adult children, it is companionship. For brief periods of time, typically 2-3 hours, our Respite Providers go to private homes to care for a child with a developmental disability and siblings. Respite allows parents (or other primary care givers) to take a break from continuous care.
COST
There is no cost to the family for the service, and preference is given to families in greatest need. AHRC's Respite service is funded by a modest grant from the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
WHY COME HERE?
The family gets to choose their respite provider. The person may be someone already working at AHRC or someone the child and family already know - a friend, neighbor, relative. It's the family's choice.
FIND OUT MORE!
Orange County AHRC:
249 Broadway, Newburgh, NY 12550
Phone: 845-561-0670
RESIDENTIAL HABILITATION
DESCRIPTION
Residential Habilitation also occurs in the family home, but, unlike respite, residential habilitation employs a written plan of service that follows a weekly schedule. The plan is developed with the greatest possible degree of participation on the part of the individual receiving the service and his or her family.
The residential habilitation plan is unique to the individual and identifies goals that the individual works on with the assistance of staff. Goals may focus on improving personal care skills, homemaking skills, appropriate social behavior, communication, accessing community resources, safety practices, and pursuing personal interests, to give some typical choices.
COST
None, provided the individual is enrolled in the Medicaid Waiver and approved to receive residential habilitation services under waiver guidelines.
WHY COME HERE?
Staff hired as residential habilitation facilitators may be either someone already employed by AHRC or someone recommended by the individual or his/her family. As with respite services, it's their choice.
FIND OUT MORE!
Orange County AHRC:
249 Broadway, Newburgh, NY 12550
Phone: 845-561-0670