Community Options, Inc.

5th Annual iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism!

2011-08-23T16:06:00.000-04:00

Check out our video from the 5th Annual iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism!

5th Annual iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism from jessica on Vimeo.

Congrats to our Nashville Office!

2011-07-28T09:51:00.003-04:00

Nearly 50 companies among South's best

NASHVILLE, TN – Business Leader will honor the South's top small businesses, including several from Nashville, at an awards ceremony today.

Nearly 50 companies will be honored at the Top 300 Small Businesses of the South ceremony. The event will be held at Brentwood Country Club, 5123 Club Drive, in Brentwood, at 6 p.m.

This year’s event will have a new twist as businesses from nine Southern markets will be ranked against one another. The events will feature a countdown of businesses from number 300 down to the top 10. The top 10 later will be revealed on a special wsradio.com program.

The companies are ranked based on a combination of factors, including percentage of sales generated in their local market, revenue growth, businesses achievements and civic contributions. This past spring, Business Leader asked companies and individuals across the South to nominate the best small businesses in their region.

Events to honor the other selected Southern companies will be held in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Memphis, Miami, Tampa, Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte.

Winners in the Nashville market include:

Cardiac Systems of Tennessee
Bacon MD Laser and Skincare
Budd, Melone & Co. Financial Consulting Group (Nashville)
SageGuard Financial Group LLC
12 Point Signworks
Allstate
Ann Hoke & Associates
BLF Marketing
Business Partners Network, LLC
Cambridge Mortgage Systems
Crown Carpet of Belle Meade
Edward Jones
Elite Properties, LLC
Halo Realty, LLC
Hiller Plumbing, Heating and Cooling
Ignite Wellness
Keller Williams Realty – Harrison Homes for You
Periodontal Care Center
RE/MAX Choice Properties
Rodelle’s Salon Suites
Shannon Insurance Group, Inc.
STAR Physical Therapy
SyMed Development Inc.
The TMA Group
Visionary Eye Clinic
Wang Vision Institute
Warranty Title Insurance Co.
Wood Financial Group, LLC
Prime Colorants Inc.
20/20 Research
Reliant Realty Auction Division
Art Clem Enterprises, Inc.
Guidant Partners
Equilibrium Medspa
Elaborate Images
Community Options, Inc.
Electric Service Credit Union
LPS Integration, Inc.
Deane, Smith Media Innovations
Kraft Healthcare Consulting
United Data Technologies
KaTom Restaurant Supply
Sherrill Pest Control
Liberty Tax Service
USr Healthcare

National Nonprofit Appoints New Jersey Real Estate Expert to Board of Directors

2011-07-24T10:33:00.002-04:00

Community Options, a national nonprofit organization with the mission to develop homes and employment for people with disabilities recently appointed a new member to its National Board of Directors.

Kathryn Godby Oram of Godby Realtors recently accepted a Trustee position on Community Options’ Board of Directors. Oram is a resident of Mendham, New Jersey, a mother of six children and a residential and commercial real estate expert in Morris and Somerset Counties.

“As a contributing member of Community Options’ board, Kathryn will have a greater opportunity to help the organization shape the housing and employment future for people with disabilities in addition to promoting quality expansion within our organization,” says, Robert Stack President and CEO of Community Options.

“Kathryn’s experience and insight will assist the board to guide Community Options towards a successful path in the upcoming decade and we are grateful for her service,” Stack added.

Oram will serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors and during her tenure will also be a part of the fundraising committee. Oram has previous experience working with the organization as she served as the Chair of the Annual Spring Event that took place at Grounds For Sculpture, honoring Senator Joseph Kyrillos.

“I am honored to become a Trustee on the Community Options’ board. I have had wonderful experiences working with the organization on a volunteer level and I am excited for what is to come in this new capacity,” says Kathryn Oram.

How to Use Facebook for Fundraising

2011-07-14T17:52:00.004-04:00

Accessing new avenues and methods for fundraising is the challenge posed to every development director for a nonprofit organization. Finding creative ways to solicit donations, membership, giving opportunities or just to spread the word about your organization can take up all 40 hours of the work-week (that is actually more like 60+ hours).

The proliferation of Facebook has presented an amazing networking and fundraising opportunity for the nonprofit world. This is particularly true because the demographic for the Facebook user has steadily increased in the 30+ crowd, those most likely to make a donation online or to donate annually to charitable causes. Facebook has created some specific avenues for fundraising, most notably in their “Causes” application. This section allows nonprofits to include their mission among a categorized list of causes to which members can donate. It is worth checking out the guidelines and including your organization if your needs fit the parameters of the application.

Most nonprofits are already present in the Facebook scene and use the network to keep “friends” updated on their activity and to provide a place for friends of friends and others to learn more about the organization. However, the expectation that support for your organization will spread based on basic connections alone may be overly optimistic. More specific strategies may be necessary to use this social networking site for your fundraising and outreach needs.

First and foremost, using Facebook to spread the word about your mission and the work you do should be your baseline goal. Approaching the connections that this social network provides as an opportunity to make your organization known and commonly understood to be performing important work should be the primary goal of your outreach. Establishing a strong network of friends and those that “like” what you are doing will lay the groundwork for any future fundraising or support campaigns.

Next, when you do decide to begin a nonprofit fundraising campaign through your Facebook connections make certain that it is specific. Being clear about why you are raising the money (is it for a project, a program, research, general support etc) and indicating both the goal amount and updates on how close you are to reaching that goal will go a long way in engendering support. In particular, a matching campaign through a grant with a donor that requires you to raise a certain amount privately creates a clear situation in which your Facebook friends can see how their donation can help you reach your goal.

Additionally, do not be afraid to ask your Facebook friends to help you reach your goal. Even if they cannot give individually, ask them to donate their status message or include a wall post that shares their support for your cause with their friend network. The more personalized your requests for support the more likely they are to receive responses. Several reminders and thank you’s for their assistance will ensure that you will receive as much support as possible. At the minimum these posts will raise awareness about your cause and this familiarity will increase the likelihood of a contribution either presently or in the future.

Finally, understand that although Facebook has become a ubiquitous part of our society and even our social interactions, it is not the solution for your fundraising or networking needs. Keep the concept of simply raising awareness about your organization as your main focus for Facebook. If you use it for fundraising as a secondary goal you can use this social network in a way that maximizes its’ potential rather than maxing out your existing connections.

This guest blog is brought to you Nonprofit Software.

About Nonprofit Software

Nonprofit Software helps nonprofit organizations make smart and cost-effective decisions regarding their software purchases. We understand that there are many considerations outside of software, so we developed this resource to take the guesswork out of nonprofit software, with everything from nonprofit volunteer management tips to donation management software advice.

Senator Gordon visits Northern New Jersey Group Homes

2011-06-17T14:57:00.002-04:00

Community Options, a national nonprofit organization with the mission to develop homes and employment for people with disabilities, is proud to have Senator Bob Gordon tour two of their northern New Jersey group homes today.
Since 1989, Community Options has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities and today, the organization operates over two hundred homes and seven social enterprises across the United States.

Institutional closure and emancipation of people with disabilities is a top priority for the organization. This week, one of Community Options’ social enterprises, Vaseful Flowers and Gifts became the supplier of white carnations that will be delivered to Legislator’s District Offices statewide. The deliveries will be made on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 and all carnations will be tagged with a very clear message, “Close Vineland Developmental Center.”

“We are honored that Senator Gordon is touring two of our Northern New Jersey group homes today,” says, Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “It has always been our experience that when we are able to give tours of our homes and show the quality of life that people with disabilities are experiencing as a result of living in the community, it speaks for itself,” he added.

Senator Joseph Kyrillos to receive Award of National Significance

2011-05-09T09:51:00.002-04:00

Community Options is a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989. Each year, the organization gives out the highly regarded and distinguished Betty Pendler Award.

Betty Pendler was a tireless advocate for persons with disabilities. She was committed to people with disabilities, their families, and those who serve them. She was a person of commitment, good will, new ideas and new approaches to service. Betty was a powerful and enlightened advocate.

To continue to honor her memory, Community Options awards the Betty Pendler Award to someone that exemplifies the mission of the organization. Someone who is unwavering in their commitment to ensuring persons with disabilities live their best lives in communities of their choice.

This year, and at their annual spring event at Grounds For Sculpture, Community Options will honor Senator Joseph Kyrillos with the Betty Pendler Award.

Senator Joseph Kyrillos began serving New Jersey's 13th Legislative District in 1988 when he was elected to the General Assembly. After spending two terms in the Assembly he was elected to the Senate where he has served since 1993.

Today, under the order of Governor Chris Christie, a closure plan has been put into place to close the Vineland Developmental Center. This closure will emancipate over 400 women who have been relegated to live in this facility for most of their lives. A developmental center has not closed in the State of New Jersey since 1998.

Senator Kyrillos not only believes in community-based living for people with disabilities, but he is working along side of providers like Community Options to ensure that this closure stays on track. Senator Kyrillos understands that community living is far better than institutional living and that it is morally wrong to institutionalize a person who has done absolutely nothing wrong against society.

"Senator Kyrillos is a great Senator and more importantly, a humble, ethical man who cares about others,” says Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options.

You can see Senator Kyrillos receive the Betty Pendler Award on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 7:00pm at Grounds For Sculpture. The organization will also have American Idol’s Scott MacIntyre as the entertainment for the event. Tickets can be purchased online at www.coispring.eventbrite.com or by calling Angelique Rajski at 609-951-9900.

For more information about Community Options, please visit them at www.comop.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/communityoptions.

American Idol Finalist, Scott MacIntyre to Perform at Annual Fundraiser

2011-04-21T10:25:00.003-04:00

Community Options, a national nonprofit organization that develops homes and employment for people with disabilities is proud to announce that American Idol Finalist, Scott MacIntyre will be performing at their upcoming Spring 2011 event at Grounds For Sculpture on May 20, 2011.

As the first blind finalist on “American Idol,” MacIntyre was called “an inspiration to the entire world through your commitment, through your talent” by former judge Paula Abdul. Visually impaired since birth, he started playing piano by ear at age three, began classical lessons at six, and subsequently learned to play organ, guitar, bass and drums. MacIntyre has appeared on Regis and Kelly, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Today Show, Canada AM, Larry King Live, Hour of Power, Access Hollywood, among others and has been profiled on CNN, Headline News, FOX International, Global TV, Sky News Europe, TV Guide, TBN, and local news affiliates across the country. In 2010, MacIntyre was honored by Dr. Robert and Arvella Schuller with the annual award for “promoting positive values in the media” at the Crystal Cathedral in California. Past honorees include Dr. Phil McGraw, John Tesh, Kathy Ireland, Twila Paris, and Roger Williams.

"People with disabilities have unlimited creative potential just like everyone else; sometimes all it takes is the right organization to lend a helping hand. Community Options is that organization and provides the tools they need in order to be successful," says, Scott MacIntyre.

MacIntyre’s contagious spirit of optimism and heartfelt stories take his audience on an emotional journey of love and yearning, hardship and hope, from someone who deeply understands the challenge of overcoming enormous adversity. Having always forged ahead when the world said to give up, Scott MacIntyre continues to be an inspiration to all who hear his music and story.

“Having Scott perform at our annual spring fundraiser is a tremendous honor. Scott is relevant to our cause and we are very grateful that he is helping us to advance our mission of developing homes and employment for people with disabilities,” says, Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options, Inc.

You can see Scott perform at Grounds For Sculpture on Friday, May 20, 2011 starting at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased online through Community Options Eventbrite site by clicking here.

Congratulations on One Year of Service!

2011-03-16T09:55:00.003-04:00

One of Community Options most important assets are our dedicated employees. We have very strong professional employees on the front lines and all the way to the board room. This is a reason why our organization has been so successful and it is our pleasure to recognize our great employees on their annual anniversary's!

Today, we congratulate, Joanne Asta, Assistant Executive Director for Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Here is what her supervisor, Diane D'Orazio had to say about Joanne:

"Joanne Asta has been providing oversight to our Northern Ocean County and Monmouth county homes for one year as well as providing support and supervision to the managers of those houses. She has acclimated well to the position and has become an important part of our administrative team. Joanne is a true team player, is easy to work with, and truly has the mission of the agency at heart."

Keep up the great work, Joanne!!!!!

Community Options, Inc. Receives Support from CVS Caremark Charitable Trust

2011-03-09T14:23:00.001-05:00

Donation to Community Options, Inc. is part of CVS Caremark Charitable Trust’s $3.3 million in 72 grants supporting causes including children with disabilities and those who are uninsured

Community Options, Inc. announced today that it has received a $25,000 grant from the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, the private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation, whose mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in CVS Caremark communities. Community Options, Inc. was one of 72 organizations selected from a pool of 660 applicants to receive an individual or multi-year grant for 2010.

Community Options is a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989. The funds awarded through the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust will be used to fund their School to Employment Program (STEP) for youth with disabilities.“

The School to Employment Program is revolutionizing the way in which youth with disabilities are transitioning from school to work,” says Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “We are very grateful that the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust had the vision to fund the STEP as the skills acquired are vital for setting a strong foundation for being an adult in the workforce,” he added.“

In today’s challenging economy, it’s more important than ever to support organizations that truly make a difference in the lives of children and families,” said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President, CVS Caremark Charitable Trust. “The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust is pleased to recognize Community Options, Inc. for truly making an impact in the communities we serve through their School to Employment Program (STEP) and we look forward to working with them in the year ahead.”

The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust’s grant to Community Options, Inc. is part of $3.3 million in grants awarded to more than 70 nonprofit organizations across the country in 2010. A number of these grants align with CVS Caremark All Kids Can, the company’s signature philanthropic program focused on supporting children with disabilities by raising awareness about inclusion, creating greater opportunities for physical activity and play, and providing access to medical rehabilitation and related services.

Other CVS Caremark Charitable Trust grants provide support for medical services for the uninsured, grants to pharmacy schools, scholarships for the children of CVS Caremark colleagues and funding for community organizations for which CVS Caremark colleagues act as volunteers.

About Community Options, Inc.

Since 1989, Community Options has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities. Community Options operates in 37 cities across 10 states supporting thousands of people with disabilities and their families with the help of over 2,500 employees. For more information, please visit www.comop.org.

About the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust

The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation created by CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS). CVS Caremark is the largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives in CVS Caremark communities. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's Web site at http://investor.cvs.com, or through the Web site's press room at www.cvs.com/pressroom.

Governor Christie Town Hall Meeting - Hillsborough

2011-03-02T13:09:00.005-05:00

Today, at the municipal building in Hillsborough, NJ, Governor Christie conducted another town hall meeting to engage with the public. I was greeted with some pretty long lines as evidenced by this picture.

The line went fast as the doors opened and we were all seated. It was exciting to be there and the Governor had not even arrived yet. I think at these types of functions you have your typical crowds. The folks that have a vested interest in being there and who want to engage the Governor and then you have the folks that just want to be disrespectful. I was fortunate to sit right in front of one of the disrespectful attendees who happened to bring his toddler child with him. Go figure.

And then it started.

Governor Christie came out with First Lady, Mary Pat Christie and started to settle in. As he did, you could feel the energy in the room settle as well. Governor Christie has a great sense of humor and made a great introduction touching on collective bargaining, pension and health benefits. There was applause from the audience at the appropriate times and Christie gracefully made his way to the question and answer part of the town hall.

He answered tough questions from the audience. Questions relative to funding for women's health care services, cost of living adjustments, sending his children to private school as opposed to public schools, small business ownership and casino development.

My favorite line of the town hall was when he said, "Every student that steps into a classroom in New Jersey is my responsibility." I like that he makes districts in places like Newark and Camden his business where he did not have a plethora of constituent support. As he said "I think 25 people voted for me in Newark and 17 in Camden." It doesn't matter though, he will continue to support those schools and children because as he said, "I don't want future Governor's to be sitting in classrooms that are failing."

Overall, a very impressive town hall held by Governor Christie and I look forward to attending more of them in the future!

Special Edition of the Choices Newsletter - Cupid's Chase

2011-02-25T09:53:00.004-05:00

Please click here to view a Special Edition Choices Newsletter all about the success of the Cupid's Chase 5K Run!

Photo Video of the Cupid's Chase 5K Run - 2011

2011-02-18T23:45:00.000-05:00

Untitled from jessica on Vimeo.

Vaseful on the Today Show!

2011-02-11T14:22:00.002-05:00

Click play to watch Vaseful Flowers and Gifts being featured on the Today Show!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Teenager does Mitzvah for Local Charities

2011-02-09T21:57:00.004-05:00

For one Northern New Jersey teenager, the transition from childhood to adulthood through his upcoming Bar Mitzvah is filled with good deeds. The meaning of the word Mitzvah refers to a moral deed performed as a religious duty. As such, the term Mitzvah has also come to express an act of human kindness. (Wikipedia).

In addition to studying for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah, Robbie Kresch has decided that he will raise money for two charities that are important to him by running in five, 5K races. One of those 5K races is the upcoming Cupid’s Chase 5K Run taking place on Saturday, February 12, 2011. The Cupid’s Chase is a national 5K taking place in 24 cities across 10 states on the same day and same time. Cupid’s Chase is hosted by national nonprofit, Community Options that supports people with disabilities.

“Health and fitness are really important to my family and me,” says Kresch. “My Dad loved to exercise-running, cycling, and tennis were three of his favorite things to do,” he added.

Kresch is asking for donations in any amount to support his efforts to raise money for Purrs N’ Pups Animal Rescue Team as well as Hearts and Crafts Counseling. Kresch is donating to Purrs N’ Pups because of his love for animals and because he got his dog from them. Kresch chose Hearts and Crafts because they helped him, his sister and his mother when his father passed away.

To date, Kresch has raised over $5,000 for his charities of choice and continues to schedule himself for upcoming 5K’s in the area. So far, he has run two, 5K’s and his third will be the Cupid’s Chase on February 12, 2011. Kresch has run both races with a time of under twenty-seven minutes.

Come out on Saturday, February 12, 2011 to the Cupid’s Chase in Glen Rock, NJ, to cheer on Kresch as he continues to raise money for his charities of choice and fulfill his goal of five, 5K’s. To you, Robbie Kresch, Community Options says, “Mazel Tov!”

Community Options rings Opening Bell at the NASDAQ

2011-02-01T17:54:00.001-05:00

Nonprofits celebrate their accomplishments in many different ways. Community Options, a national nonprofit that supports people with disabilities has been working diligently on their annual 5K Run, Cupid’s Chase, since March of 2010. People like Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey as the national Honorary Chairperson and corporations like Withum Smith + Brown, Gunlocke Furniture, Dani Leather, Haldeman Ford and the Bloomberg Foundation have already made this upcoming event a great success. All of these corporations and the many more sponsors of the Cupid’s Chase have an individual and organizational commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Community Options has worked tirelessly to garner the support of major corporations across the country for the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run and the mission of supporting people with disabilities.

“I encourage corporations across the United States to become involved with the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run that supports an important cause – community housing and employment for people with disabilities,” says Mary Pat Christie. “Community Options is a fantastic cause to align with to increase your corporate social responsibility efforts,” she added.

As a result of this hard work, Community Options, alongside it’s corporate partners, Withum Smith + Brown, Gunlocke Furniture, Dani Leather and even Senator Joe Kyrillos of New Jersey’s 13th Legislative District will be ringing the Opening Bell at the NASDAQ on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 just in time for the upcoming national Cupid’s Chase 5K Run on Saturday, February 12, 2011.

“Ringing the Opening Bell at the NASDAQ is the symbolic culmination of the work the organization has done this year to prepare for our largest annual fundraiser,” says Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “We are very lucky to have the corporate partners we have and the support of the First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Pat Christie, all of which have made this upcoming event already a great success,” he added.

The group will be ringing the Opening Bell at the NASDAQ to celebrate the finest of corporate social responsibility and couldn’t think of a better way to thank their corporate partners than to invite them to ring the bell with the organization. All of the proceeds from the upcoming Cupid’s Chase and the over $100,000 raised over the past year to support the run, will go directly to support people with disabilities the organization supports.

Connecticut Woman Commits to a Cause on her Wedding Day

2011-01-30T21:14:00.005-05:00

On the day of their wedding, most brides are worried about seating arrangements, crying while walking down the aisle or getting their hair just right. This is not the case for Kate O'Keefe, a Connecticut resident and Legislative Aide to the Senate Republican Caucus in the Connecticut General Assembly. On the day of her wedding, February 12, 2011, O'Keefe will be running the Cupid's Chase 5K in Hartford.

Last week, O'Keefe received a notification via email for the Cupid's Chase 5K coming up in the Hartford area and knew that she needed to run. O'Keefe started running in high school to train for soccer. Her father ran marathons and she always trained with him but it wasn't until this past summer when she fell in love with running. O'Keefe describes that she wanted a new challenge for herself on a physical level so she signed up for the half marathon in New York and trained all summer and fall. O'Keefe received a lot of support from her family and her fiance, Kenny. Kenny is the first person O'Keefe looks for at the finish line and he is always cheering her on behind the camera lense.

"Kenny and I have been together over 4 years," says O'Keefe. "We got engaged on February 13, 2009, so this weekend has so much significance for us," she added. O'Keefe's father is a judge and he is marrying the couple at a small ceremony of family and friends later that night on February 12th after the race. O'Keefe's mother is her Matron of Honor and Kenny's son is his Best Man. "It's truly an intimate family affair with the people who are most important to us and our lives and we could not be more excited," said O'Keefe.

Running for a cause is highly important for O'Keefe, which is why she chose the Cupid's Chase 5K Run hosted by Community Options. Community Options is a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989. The organization operates in 37 cities across 10 states supporting thousands of people.

"I like to run for a cause because I get so much out of just the act of running that if I can do that and even just touch one person or help them in some way just by my entry fee then that is important," said O'Keefe. "I'll run pretty much any race, but the one's that help those less fortunate are the ones that really have an impact," she added.

O'Keefe says that running has given her so much personally by building self-confidence and allowing her to become more physically fit and even says that running is like her free therapy. O'Keefe indicates that she has found a stronger, cooler version of herself that she didn't even know existed as a result of running.

O'Keefe plans to make the Cupid's Chase an annual event that she participates in, but next year she will come across the finish line as Kate McAvoy. McAvoy, O'Keefe's fiance, is the owner of a restaurant chain in Connecticut called the Wood N Tap.

To join O'Keefe at the Cupid's Chase 5K Run, please visit the Cupid's Chase website to register or learn how to become a volunteer.

Real Work for Real Pay in San Antonio

2011-01-13T16:21:00.005-05:00

Jennifer and Ruben lived with their mother in San Antonio where they grew up. They are brother and sister and they are persons with developmental disabilities. When Ruben approached his mid twenties, as most men do, he decided that he wanted to move away from Mom and live a more independent life. As a person with significant disabilities, he had very little options. He wanted to be independent, he wanted to be his own person and he wanted a job to earn money as all good Texans do.

His mother was being compensated by the state of Texas to assist Ruben to adequately access the community. He wanted desperately to be on his own. About three years ago, Rubin contacted Community Options. Community Options is a non-profit organization that has been doing business in Texas for the last 15 years. The mission of Community Options is to develop housing and employment for persons with disabilities.

Community Options has offices in San Antonio, Amarillo, Dallas, Corpus Christie and El Paso. Ruben contacted the case manager to express his interest in living more independently.

Staff at Community Options worked diligently with Reuben to develop a paradigm in which he could both live independently as possible, but receive support to ensure health safety and well being.

After extensive work and due diligence, staff and Reuben were able to locate a home on the south side of San Antonio. He now resides there with three other men and they have a great life.

However, staff and Reuben were still not satisfied. They knew that there was more to life and that Reuben needed a job. About eight months ago Reuben worked with the Community Options Director of Employment, Wendy Mahan. Her job is to find jobs and develop supports to enable people with developmental disabilities to remain employed. Wendy used her business advisory network and was able to secure a meaningful job for Reuben at the Burger King. Here, Reuben is responsible for restocking supplies and making sure that the restraint is kept in great shape.

Reuben filled with great joy and success at his placement decided that he would talk to his sister, Jennifer about the possibility of her working in a similar industry. She contacted Community Options and was able to secure similar housing on the northern eastern side of San Antonio. Jennifer lives in a lovely home with three other women. She affectionately refers to them as “my sisters.” They do basically what any other family does together. They plan meals and outings. They go shopping for bargains on the weekends and enjoy the community. Jennifer can do this because she contacted the Director of Employment and Ms. Mahan landed a job for Jennifer at Wendy’s. Here Jennifer has similar job responsibly as her brother and she has aspirations to be more involved with kitchen activities.

All in all, both brother and sister are doing well because of the help of Community Options. A year ago they rarely spoke, now the two of them are very close and enjoy each other’s company.

Community Options is a great non-profit and is constantly doing good to help its consumers. On February 12 Community Options of San Antonio will have a 5k race at Brackenridge Park. The race starts at 10 and the registration is at 8. It is called Cupid’s Chase and it is really exciting. Community Options runs this race simultaneously in 24 cities in 10 states. Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey (Governor Christie’s wife) is the national Chair and she is challenging Texans to run in this race.

Local Artist Supports National Cause

2011-01-03T12:41:00.006-05:00

Wayne Lerman, a local Artist and Architect recently became involved with Community Options to support the Cupid's Chase 5K Run! Lerman will be donating a piece of his fabulous artwork for a silent auction and party taking place on Thursday, February 10, 2011 at the Gunlocke Showroom in Manhattan.

As an architect who designs buildings, Lerman has always considered himself an artist.

"The expression of the art form is the primary expressive form in my buildings utilizing geometry, shapes, color, texture, and contradiction. It is these elements which I believe make interesting structures which have expression and meaning," stated Lerman. "In my art, I try to express color, form, and textures."

Lerman's work does not grow from a visible form but develops in how he develops the relationship, color, and texture in a composition that creates visual excitement.

Since Lerman deals with realism every day, abstract expression for him is a way to get out of the box without limitations of budget, function, and rules which are elements in the creation of architecture.

Lerman is new to the world of a painter but believes there is a feeling he can create in how his clients view his art or his buildings. It is a stimulation which he hopes makes one energized and free to think of what they imagine.

Lerman is a graduate of Pratt Institute School of Architecture. He has had classes in art, jewelry, and sculpture at Summit Art Center. He is currently at the Guild of Creative Art under James Kent. Lerman's work was recently displayed at the Middletown Abstract Art Exhibition and Cask 591 located in West Long Branch.

If you are interested in bidding on Lerman's work at the silent auction or supporting Community Options, please click here!

Choices Newsletter!!!! Read it today!

2010-12-22T16:47:00.004-05:00

Read the Choices Newsletter today!!!

Community Options Holiday Party!!!

2010-12-17T03:00:00.002-05:00

Please click below to view the video from our Holiday Party, Thursday, December 16, 2010! Happy Holidays!!!

Community Options, Inc. Holiday Party, December 16, 2010 from Steve Guberman on Vimeo.

Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey, Encourages Corporations to be Socially Responsible

2010-12-10T16:12:00.002-05:00

Community Options, a national nonprofit organization that supports people with disabilities, has long worked to connect with corporations across the country to mutually support each other. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming more and more prominent among the public and private sectors and is the dotted line that is connecting these two worlds together for the greater good.

Recently, Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey became the Honorary National Chairperson of the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run hosted by Community Options. The run takes place on February 12, 2011 in 24 cities across 10 states on the same day and at the same time.

“I encourage corporations across the United States to become involved with the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run that supports an important cause – community housing and employment for people with disabilities,” says Mary Pat Christie. “Community Options is a fantastic cause to align with to increase your corporate social responsibility efforts,” she added.

Although the term “CSR” - for Corporate Social Responsibility - started in the early 1970s, it is a term that is beginning to gain wider traction and broader, inherent meaning. Highly debated and criticized as a way to distract from the fundamental economic role of business, CSR is proving to achieve the opposite. The purpose of CSR is to help organizations achieve both their business missions and social missions.

A majority of the world would equate being involved with a nonprofit organization with the act of giving money. This is not always the case.

“When a corporation signs on to help our organization, that could look like so many things,” says Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “Some corporations want to volunteer for a day so they will paint the inside of a group home, some corporations wish to be outside during a beautiful spring day so they do all of the spring cleanup for a group home. A person’s time is very valuable to us,” he added.

To become involved with Community Options or the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run, please visit them at www.comop.org or call 609-951-9900. You can also find the organization on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

2010-12-03T12:24:00.002-05:00

Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities! Please read this statement made by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State:

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I join with friends and colleagues around the world to recognize December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Advancing opportunities and promoting the rights of disabled people has been a lifelong commitment, and I am honored to continue advocating on behalf of people with disabilities on the international stage.

The United States is proud to be a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to support its full and effective implementation. We are also invested in including disability rights as a core focus of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This global undertaking to eradicate extreme poverty and inequality offers hope to millions of people across the developing world, but much remains to be done for people with disabilities, particularly disabled women and girls. We cannot hope to achieve the Millennium Development Goals when those with disabilities are denied the opportunity to lead empowered and autonomous lives by violence or the fear of violence. Disabled people deserve equal access and opportunity within society.

In honor of this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the State Department is hosting events focused on the issues of HIV/AIDS and disability, and violence against women and girls with disabilities. These events will bring together experts with experience in disability rights, civil society, and government to help raise awareness and understanding of how to tackle these challenging issues. Our Special Advisor for International Disability Rights Judith Heumann is leading efforts at the United States Department of State to ensure disability inclusion and non-discrimination are central to all of our policies and practices, in Washington and around the globe. Together, we can help 650 million people living with disabilities today enjoy their full human rights, and achieve the vision of equality and inclusion set forth in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

How to Win in Local Markets- When You're Not Local

2010-12-03T11:07:00.003-05:00

The following is an interview by Robert Stack as told to Harper Willis of BNET- CBS Interactive Business Network.

We have perhaps the toughest business pitch of any company out there: We have to convince families that we can take care of a disabled loved one in perpetuity — for his or her entire life.

Most families are reluctant to outsource the care of relatives to strangers. If they’re going to do it, they’d much rather rely on local organizations that they already know and trust. So, when I first tried to expand my nonprofit Community Options into new states, local communities and funders blew us off, assuming that we were just out to make a buck.

Several years ago, we discovered two key ways to allay these fears and build trust in new markets: hiring locals and befriending our competition. In the process, we’ve grown from operating in just a few cities to operating in 30 cities in 10 states.

The local connection

I recently met with an executive at the Amarillo Area Foundation about starting a care house in Amarillo, Texas. After I finished my pitch about why they should fund us, the executive leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed and asked, “Are you from Amarillo?”

I’m not, but the woman sitting next to me — the executive director of the project — is from the nearby town of Happy. The executive uncrossed his arms and said, “Ok, let’s talk.” And we were eventually able to get funding.

Hiring local caregivers also helps us earn the trust of communities and build awareness about our organization. Most of our marketing is done through word of mouth, so it helps if families know the caretakers who work in our houses. We need our staff to be able to carry on conversations about local politics and sports teams with families and members. We are trying to build a sub-community, not impose our own corporate culture on the lives of the locals.

Plus, having executives who know the area helps us choose the best location for our houses. We need people who know the local building inspectors so we can get handicap accessibility and bathroom modifications approved. A lot of our business is about politics, and we need insiders to help us do our job — not to mention help us navigate the complex web of funders in every region.

The competition is our ally

I’ve long known that one of the biggest mistakes we could make when trying to break into a new community is to treat the competition as our enemies. We aren’t selling jeans — we are trying to persuade families that they can entrust us with the wellbeing of their loved ones. If we come across as a cutthroat organization trying to destroy local organizations and steal jobs, we’ll alienate the people we are trying to serve.

Beyond protecting our image, there is a more fundamental reason why I treat our competitors with respect: Although there are many organizations with similar functions to ours, there aren’t nearly enough.

Nearly 2 percent of all Americans have a severe disability. Right now, my organization cares for 1,400 individuals. In New Jersey alone there are 3,000 people with disabilities living in large institutions, plus 8,000 others who are on a waiting list for a place to live comfortably.

Of course, not everyone knows those statistics. Before we enter a new state, we have to make the case for why it needs another organization like ours. We try to point out how we are different from — not better than — the local competition. Many states we enter are already facing lawsuits because of a dearth of services for people with disabilities. As a result, they welcome an organization like ours. We try to target those states, rather than ones that are closer to meeting the needs of the community.

We’re growing

I started off with the goal of making a difference in the life of just one person. Over the last 15 years we’ve grown from $9 million in revenue to $72 million in revenue. Although I don’t measure the success of my company in dollar figures, this kind of growth is definitely a sign that we’re on the right track.

For the third year, Community Options is hosting the Cupid’s Chase 5k run, a fundraiser for people with disabilities. It’s held simultaneously in 24 cities across the U.S.

– As told to Harper Willis

Verizon Fios - Photo I.D.

2010-11-17T14:35:00.001-05:00

Recently, Robert Stack, President and CEO was featured on Verizon Fios' Photo I.D. show.

Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey, to Chair 5K Run for National Nonprofit

2010-11-16T10:17:00.002-05:00

Community Options is a nationally based nonprofit with the mission of developing housing and employment for people with disabilities since 1989. This year, the board of trustees of Community Options designed their major fund raiser to promote awareness of the organization’s cause as well as raise much-needed money for programming. Community Options will hold the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run and has recruited Mary Pat Christie to be the national Chair.

The Cupid’s Chase 5K Run is the largest simultaneous national run held by any nonprofit in the country. Held in 24 locations on the same day and same time, Community Options will gain the support of over 14,000 people across the country on February 12, 2011 when the run is set to take place. Each city has a local chairperson and this year, Community Options has the honor of having the First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Pat Christie as the Honorary National Chair of all 24 5K’s taking place across the country.

The First Lady will work with Community Options to ensure a successful 5K and that awareness is raised about the excellent work the organization is doing to improve the lives of people with disabilities across the country. The Cupid’s Chase 5K Run will take place in Manhattan, Syracuse, Binghamton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Glen Rock, Stone Harbor, Columbia, Bowling Green, Paducah, Nashville, Chattanooga, Cookeville, Hartford, El Paso, Amarillo, Dallas, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Chicago, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Las Cruces.

“We are both honored and humbled that the First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Pat Christie, has agreed to Chair the Community Options' Cupid’s Chase,” said Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “We hope to promote greater corporate social responsibility among businesses across the country while raising awareness of our cause and contributing to an overall greater sense of self-worth,”he added.

For more information about Community Options and the Cupid’s Chase 5K Run, please visit them at www.comop.org or www.comop.org/cupidschase. Follow the organization on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter at COINATIONAL.

OPM Hosts Disability Employment Training Workshop

2010-10-26T15:41:00.000-04:00

The disability employment training workshop gave agencies the information and resources they need to develop strong plans for hiring more individuals with disabilities

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, October 26, 2010, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hosted a Disability Employment Training. This event was open to all Federal employees and discussed the hiring of individuals with disabilities and how to meet the goals outlined in President Obama’s Executive Order (E.O.) 13548. Topics discussed at this training included an overview of the E.O., how to effectively use the Schedule A hiring authority, reasonable accommodation guidance, the disability register, and improving return to work outcomes.

“The U.S. Government should be a model employer of persons with disabilities,” said U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry. “I am committed to a diverse and talented workforce, and that includes improving the Federal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.”

E.O. 13548 was issued on July 26, 2010 and mandated that OPM work with the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Office of Management and Budget to design model recruitment and hiring strategies so that agencies may increase the number of individuals with disabilities they employ. Each agency must create its own plan for increasing opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The E.O. also encourages the increased use of the Schedule A excepted service hiring authority for persons with disabilities as well as internships, fellowships, and training and mentoring programs.

Individuals with disabilities currently make up just over five percent of the Federal workforce and individuals with targeted disabilities make up less than one percent of the Federal workforce. Through efforts like today’s training, the Federal Government is committed to increasing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

“This is a win-win for everyone,” said OPM Deputy Director Christine Griffin. “Employment opportunities are increased for people with disabilities and the Federal government hires highly talented and skilled individuals.”

Top 10 Ways Hiring Disabled Workers Can Motivate All

2010-10-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Inspiring and motivating your team involves more than one-on-one giving and rewarding tangible forms of recognition. It is also about making a difference and giving back in ways that have meaning for your workforce and customers. You can reinvent your corporate culture by living the beliefs and values that are common to the community in which your company is present.

The harsh reality is one out of five Americans lives with a disability, and 70 percent of Americans with disabilities are unemployed. Consider the following 10 points, sparked from my conversation with Robert Stack, chief executive of Community Options, Inc., www.comop.org, on how we can be more inclusive of disabled Americans in the workplace.

1. Americans with disabilities represent an untapped resource. They want to be working no matter their disabilities—whether it’s blindness, hearing impairment, a muscular ailment, autism, etc. Consider a physically or mentally challenged person as your next hire because he or she may provide a unique talent and ability that makes a difference in your organization.

2. Reap hidden ROI. Tapping individuals with special needs for employment will become a visible marker and spill over into attracting clients that similarly care about and respect all individuals.

3. Hiring challenged individuals motivates and impacts all employees. Many people have family members or friends with some form of disability, or knows someone who has a loved one with a disability. Being a disabled-worker-friendly company will thus increase loyalty and morale across the entire company.

4. Raises brand awareness. While you should never do it for publicity reasons, hiring people with special needs, and offering training and development to cultivate their growth, is a positive and inclusive way to enhance your corporate brand similar to other corporate social responsibility initiatives.

5. Improve customer awareness. Having individuals with disabilities aboard your company increases awareness of the typical physical challenges they experience and might help you innovate new solutions for products and services.

6. Break stereotypes. Companies that make the step in hiring people with disabilities help team members understand workplace and personal differences, appreciate their blessings, and let go of incorrect and negative perceptions.

7. Find the perfect employee for the job. Many disabled workers are gifted with talents that will actually lend themselves to existing positions in your company. Asperger syndrome is an autism disorder that gives some people incredible ability to process details, which is an excellent trait for computer programmers, social media posting and monitoring, and researchers, etc.

8. Find the perfect job for the employee. Robert Stack shared a poignant story of an autistic person who was unable to read but was eager to work. He was the perfect candidate for shredding confidential papers when a company was challenged in finding someone who met the strict requirements for the job.

9. Elevate workplace principles. By allowing such individuals to be a part of your workplace, you are going to learn and demonstrate caring, kindness, greater courtesy, and respect, and make your company a friendlier and more service-oriented organization with which to do business.

10. Begin your outreach. Finding talented and skilled people with disabilities for your organization is a process. Robert Stack invites companies to get more information at its Web site, www.comop.org.

Incentive columnist Roy Saunderson is author of Giving the Recognition Way and president of the Recognition Management Institute, www.realrecognition.com, which consults companies on improving employee motivation that leads to increased productivity and profit. He can be reached at roysaunderson@realrecognition.com. Also, tune in every Tuesday to his radio show, Real Recognition Radio.

Obama Signs Rosa's Law

2010-10-06T16:13:00.002-04:00

(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama on Tuesday signed legislation, called Rosa's Law, requiring the federal government to use the term “intellectual disability” instead of “mental retardation” and “individual with an intellectual disability” instead of “mentally retarded” in health, education, and labor policy.

Rosa’s Law is named for Rosa Marcellino, a young Maryland girl with an intellectual disability whose brother Nick convinced his state legislature to change the official phrase to "individual with an intellectual disability."

"We're not allowed to use the words at my house, it would be just like saying a curse word," said Nick in testimony to Maryland legislators. "We're also not allowed to use other words that are hurtful to minorities or people who are different."

The change will be not be immediate, but instead will be made gradually over the next several years.

An Exhibit Full of Hope

2010-10-05T21:26:00.007-04:00

Whenever you see Steven, you’ll see him carrying paper and a pencil. Steven
remembers watching his father paint a picture of a wagon. The wagon was green and white. He states that his father was a cool Vincent Van Gogh. Steven says, “my art work keeps me out of trouble and makes me feel good.” Specifically, Steven likes working with colored pencils and he enjoys drawing monsters, holiday pictures, and cars. Steven likes writing on the back of his pictures “The End” when he is finished.

Steven is a man supported by Community Options in his home in Southern New Jersey. For years, Steven lived at the New Lisbon Developmental Center. Community Options was able to successfully move Steven into his own home in the community.

In honor of his work, there will be an exhibit held at the Moorestown Daily Plan It on October 27, 2010 at Noon and all are welcome to attend.

If you are interested in seeing Steven's work, please attend his Exhibit on October 27, 2010. For more information, please call the Moorestown Daily Plan It at 609-265-7749.

Women with Disabilities, Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Aided through Funds by the U.S. Department of Justice

2010-10-05T20:57:00.004-04:00

Community Options, Inc. a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989, recently became funded by the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women to educate and advocate for women with disabilities who are survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

NAVAAS (Never a Victim, Always a Survivor) will begin working immediately to outreach to state-run institutions and facilities to start the education process about the program and all that it will offer. In partnership with The Genesis House, Community Options will also work to reexamine policies and procedures that will benefit women with disabilities, provide appropriate services and referrals and collaborate and create risk-reduction training and educational outreach to women with disabilities.

The grant will primarily be carried out in Cookeville, Tennessee and will work closely with The Clover Bottom Developmental Center, an 87-year old facility that was originally established to house “feeble-minded persons.”

As many as 83% of women with disabilities are survivors of domestic violence or
sexual assault according to the National Crime Victimization Survey. People with disabilities were victims of 47,000 rapes in 2006 and the rate of violent crime
against people with disabilities was 1.5 times higher than for those without disabilities. People with disabilities are more than two times more likely to be sexually assaulted and women with a cognitive disability were more likely to be victimized than women with other types of disabilities.

NAVAAS can provide personnel training, technical assistance, advocacy, interventions, educational presentations, referrals, support groups and assistance with strategic planning.

“Being awarded this grant to assist women with disabilities who are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault is vital to our work as we continue to emancipate women with disabilities from institutions,” says Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “At the alarming rates that violence occurs against women with disabilities only proves how the work of this grant will transform the lives of so many women.”

For more information about NAVAAS, please contact Robin Gray, Executive Director of Community Options of Cookeville at 931-372-0955 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 931-372-0955 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or robin.gray@comop.org.

National Disability Advocate Authors Book on The Facts of Life

2010-10-04T14:06:00.003-04:00

Community Options, Inc. a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989 recently held its annual iMatter Conference at the W Hotel in Dallas. The organization had the pleasure of having Leslie Walker-Hirsch as a presenter.

Leslie Walker-Hirsch is an educational consultant who specializes in social and sexual development for individuals with intellectual disabilities. She is an advocate, lecturer and the co-creator of the CIRCLES curriculum series, a multi-media teaching series for improving social competence and judgment that is designed especially to address the learning styles of youth and adults with cognitive disabilities. The CIRCLES series is in its fifth iteration.

Her book, The Facts of Life…and More, released in 2007, is currently available from Paul H. Brookes, Baltimore, MD or from your retail bookseller. This book was voted “Winner Best Special Needs Titles” by Exceptional Parent Magazine in 2007.

Her other publications include: Down Syndrome: Visions for the 21st Century,
Chapter 22 “Building Relationships/Social and Sexual Development”, A Guide to
Consent, Chapter 4 “Consent to Sexual Activity”, as well as many articles in journals
and newsletters.

She is the founder, former and current chairperson of the American Association on
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), formerly American Association
on Mental Retardation (AAMR), Special Interest Group on Social and Sexual Concerns, former President of the General Division and Fellow in the AAIDD formerly AAMR), member of the National Clinical Advisory Board of the National Down Syndrome Society, serves on the Proctor and Gamble panel of experts for the 8th
grade and is a member of the Board of Directors of Alta Mira Specialized Family
Services. She has trained professionals in her unique strategies across the US and
internationally. She teaches in the Graduate College of Education at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Leslie Walker-Hirsch has a Master’s Degree in Special Education and Administration.
She consults to schools, agencies and states to assist individuals with intellectual
disabilities, their families and the professionals who support them on issues related to developing social competence and sexual safety.

For more information, please visit www.lesliewalker-hirsch.com.

And so it Begins!!!!! 5th Annual Advocacy Conference....

2010-09-27T19:24:00.006-04:00

We kicked off our 5th Annual iMatter Conference last night at the W Hotel in Dallas! Jeff Brady of Brady Media and former evening News Anchor of WFAA Channel 8 delivered some opening remarks to all of the participants to get everyone settled in.

People from across the country had the opportunity to catch up and spend some good time together on the Wet Deck of the W, which overlooks the entire Dallas skyline and is breathtaking!

This morning, we were fortunate enough to have Judy Woodruff, Broadcast Journalist of the PBS Newshour to deliver our opening keynote to the participants of the conference. Mrs. Woodruff spoke about her own experiences of being a parent of a child with a significant disability. Mrs. Woodruff touched on so many important aspects of disability advocacy and to highlight one piece of what she discussed, she said that "everyone has the ability to give" and that "we have to continue to be advocates and do all that we can to ensure that people with disabilities have every opportunity to achieve their God given talents."

Our morning keynote was followed by Dr.Daniel Baker, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Transition, Supported Employment, and Positive Behavioral Supports from the Elizabeth Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities to discuss Employment and Wellness.

Dr. Colleen Wieck, Executive Director of the Minnesota Council on Developmental Disabilities conducted a breakout session on Investigating Employment Outcomes for Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum.

We were also very fortunate to have Samuel Bagenstos, Principle Deputy Assistant Attorney General discuss the Department of Justice's efforts in enforcing the Olmstead lawsuits across the country and the status of each state that continues to operate institutions to warehouse people with disabilities.

Our closing session was comprised of Lon and Jackie Pinkowitz of FuturAge along with Lisa Smith of Community Options to discuss our implementation of the Precision Care Software across the country.

Great day! So much information and knowledge shared. Looking forward to tomorrow. Laura Shumaker, Author of a Regular Guy: Growing up with Autism!

HGTV Host and WNBA Champion to Speak at Advocacy Conference for People with Disabilities

2010-09-22T16:42:00.003-04:00

Healthcare professional discusses 'Parenthood's' handling of Asperger's syndrome - Los Angeles Times

2010-09-22T16:36:00.004-04:00

More than two decades ago, Dustin Hoffman won an Oscar for his portrayal of an autistic adult in the 1988 film "Rain Man." This year, Claire Danes snagged an Emmy for her role in "Temple Grandin," an HBO movie that chronicled the remarkable life of an autistic woman who graduated from college and became an expert in the humane handling of livestock. Movies and TV shows can be a powerful force in shaping attitudes about mental health disorders, but do Hollywood-crafted tales tell the whole story?

The NBC TV series "Parenthood" (10 p.m. Tuesdays) returns this season with a continuing story thread about how the Braverman family deals with their son, Max, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Lauren Presti, director of a program at Trellis Services Inc., which treats children with autism and related communication disorders, discussed how "real" the series is on the Baltimore Sun's Picture of Health blog. Presti says, in part:

" 'Parenthood' also gives its audience an insight into the family dynamic. We could see how the entire family responded to Max's diagnosis and struggled as a whole in adjusting work and school schedules as well as daily home routines. In my own experience, I have had parents like Max's mother who completely break down in intake or call to express their frustrations with the different therapies, diets, schools, etc. they are juggling for the benefit of their child. The frustration in the mother and even the father made the depiction incredibly true in my perspective."

To read more of this article and other links related to it, please visit the Los Angeles Times.

Picture Caption - Minka Kelly as Gaby, left, and Max Burkholder as Max Braverman, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, in NBC's "Parenthood." (Justin Lubin / NBC)

First Lady Mary Pat Christie Highlights Importance of Skills Training to Empower People with Disabilities to Succeed in the Workforce

2010-09-17T15:35:00.003-04:00

From the Governor's Office:

Trenton, NJ – New Jersey First Lady Mary Pat Christie got a first-hand look at job training activities for people with disabilities today during a tour of Morristown’s The Daily Plan It, one of several organizations operated by Community Options Inc. Mrs. Christie’s visit is part of her ongoing commitment to recognize groups and agencies that encourage and inspire people to have pride in themselves and their state.

“No matter who you are, furthering your education and receiving new skills is critical to feeling confident in the workforce. This center provides people living with disabilities the skills they need to truly be empowered through employment,” said Mrs. Christie. “I commend Community Options Inc. for the good work they are doing everyday to help incorporate these individuals into the workforce, and strengthening their participation in our larger New Jersey community.”

The Daily Plan It is a professional conference and copy center where space is made available to small business owners to develop and operate entrepreneurial businesses that train and employ people with disabilities. The employees provide the entire infrastructure of the business from phone reception and copying to mail delivery and cleaning.

“I feel very fortunate that we are able to have First Lady Christie to our Morristown Daily Plan It,” said Robert Stack, founder and CEO of Community Options. “The Daily Plan It is at the essence of what we do – social inclusion – where a person’s disability does not define who they are or what they are capable of doing”.

After the tour, Mrs. Christie participated in a roundtable meeting with agency officials to further discuss training models for people with disabilities.

Incorporated in 1989, Community Options, Inc. helps develop residential and employment supports for people with severe disabilities, utilizing technology and training. Today, Community Options has grown to encompass 24 offices in nine states, including three offices in New Jersey. The organization is renowned for providing quality, cost effective administration that encourages individual choice and flexibility.

First Lady of New Jersey Mary Pat Christie, to Tour Social Enterprise for People with Disabilities

2010-09-16T13:58:00.000-04:00

Community Options, Inc. a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989, will be welcoming the First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Pat Christie to tour one of its Daily Plan It’s on Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10:00am. The Daily Plan It is a complete conference and copy center where space is made available to small business owners and people with disabilities provide the entire infrastructure and concierge of the business.

The Daily Plan It is only one of the ways that Community Options combats a sheltered workshop setting for people with disabilities. The organization owns and operates five other social enterprises across New Jersey that allow people with disabilities to gain a relevant and portable skill set to move on to more competitive employment.

First Lady Christie will be joining leaders of the organization for a tour of the Morristown Daily Plan It as well as the facilitation of a round table discussion about replicable models of employment for people with disabilities and decreasing the wait list for employment and day services in New Jersey.

Robert Stack, founder and CEO of Community Options is an expert on national disability policy and has dedicated his entire career to emancipating people with disabilities out of state run institutions to provide them with a better quality of life in the community. Stack develops small, two to three person homes in eighteen out of twenty-one counties in New Jersey. Stack’s social enterprise models are the most replicable and practical business systems in the United States that offer a stepping stone for people with disabilities who have a desire to learn a skill set and earn a paycheck.

“I feel very fortunate that we are able to have First Lady Christie to our Morristown Daily Plan It,” says Stack. “The Daily Plan It is at the essence of what we do – social inclusion – where a person’s disability does not define who they are or what they are capable of doing,” added Stack.

The First Lady of New Jersey, has successfully combined her roles as wife and mother with a business career and community service. Born in Paoli, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Christie is the 9th of 10 children. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, and she earned a master’s degree in business administration and finance from Seton Hall University. Mrs. Christie currently is senior vice president in the high yield corporate bond department at Cantor Fitzgerald. FShe participates in her daughters’ Girls Scout and Brownie troops and serves as a team mom for various baseball and soccer teams. Mrs. Christie is involved in her church, St Joseph’s in Mendham, and contributes to the family liturgy, confirmation class activities, and soup kitchen outreach.

There is a press pass required for this event for security purposes. Press will be allowed to enter the building located 150-152 Speedwell Avenue in Morristown at 9:45am to set up for the tour beginning at 10:00am. The roundtable is not open to the press.To obtain a press pass, please contact Jessica Guberman at jessica.guberman@comop.org or 973-390-0357. For more information about Community Options, please visit them on their website at www.comop.org.

Award-Winning Television New Anchor to Deliver Opening Remarks at Advocacy Conference for People with Disabilities

2010-09-12T16:55:00.001-04:00

Community Options, Inc. a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment for people with disabilities since 1989, will be holding its 5th Annual iMatter Conference on September 27, 2010- September 30, 2010.

The “Advocacy – Connect. Share. Live,” national conference will be taking place at the W Hotel in Dallas. The conference will be the culmination of a years worth of work by parent groups the organization has assembled across the country to increase access and resources for children with disabilities.

Jeff L. Brady is an award-winning TV News Anchor and Reporter who spent 18 years in broadcast journalism, working in newsrooms across the southwest. Most recently, he anchored the 5pm news at WFAA-TV in Dallas-Ft Worth. Throughout his time with Channel 8 he consistently led rating victories and shepherded a large audience to ABC World News with Charles Gibson.

In 2009 Jeff retired from WFAA-TV and the news industry to launch Brady Media Group, a Media Strategy and Content Development agency in Dallas, Texas. BMG offers several core services: (CRITIQUE) evaluating your current brand messaging and media, (CREATION) developing new digital content or soliciting targeted media coverage, and (COACHING) teaching your team the necessary skills to leverage your enhanced brand and unique media for maximum reach.

Jeff teaches and mentors other fellow journalists including those at the prominent Poynter Institute for Media in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is also a highly sought speaker and coach for executives and networking organizations throughout North Texas.
Jeff graduated from Texas A&M University in 1986. While there he was Company Commander in the Corps of Cadets. He served on the Ross Volunteers. Jeff was also a staff writer for the Battalion.

Before becoming a journalist, Jeff served as a U.S. Marine Captain on active duty in the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War. He now lives in Dallas with his wife Wesley and their three children.

“As a journalist, I learned more than once about personal strength, stamina and integrity from special needs children and their families. They are, more often than not, leaders and role models in every city and state across America. I believe that civic governments and municipalities should make every effort to enhance people with disabilities opportunities and access, which educates us all,” says Brady.

Brady will be speaking on Sunday, September 26, 2010 at 6:30pm at the W Hotel in Dallas.

Please visit the conference website for registration information!

Judy Woodruff to Deliver Keynote Advocating for People with Disabilities

2010-09-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

The “Advocacy – Connect. Share. Live,” national conference will be taking place at the W Hotel in Dallas. The conference will be the culmination of a years worth of work by parent groups the organization has assembled across the country to increase access and resources for children with disabilities. The conference keynotes are made up of award-winning journalists, celebrities and state and federal officials who are true advocates for people with disabilities.

The opening keynote of the conference is Judy Woodruff. For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, anchoring the weekday political program, "Inside Politics." Woodruff also played a central role in the network's political coverage and other major news stories. At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS' awardwinning weekly documentary series, "Frontline with Judy Woodruff."

“As the mother of a son with physical disabilities -- I appreciate the mission of Community Options, to help individuals like Jeff find a place to live as normally as possible, and a job that allows him to be a contributing member of society, which is what he and so many others like him, want,” says Woodruff.

The organization is thrilled to offer to conference participants the knowledge and wisdom of Woodruff who has been an advocate for people with disabilities for decades. Robert Stack, President and CEO has been a loyal follower of Woodruff since the inception of Community Options. “The parents, staff and people with disabilities we support are so lucky to be hearing and learning from this icon. She is an inspiration to me and a role model for all of us,” says Stack.

Woodruff will be delivering her keynote on Monday, September 27, 2010 at 9:15 at the W Hotel in Dallas. To receive a press pass for this event, please contact Jessica Guberman at jessica.guberman@comop.org.

For more information about Community Options and the conference, please visit them at www.comop.org or www.comop.org/conference. Follow the organization on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter at COINATIONAL.

Dana Marlowe - Accessibility Advocate to Present at National Advocacy Conference

2010-09-10T16:25:00.002-04:00

Dana Marlowe’s voracious passion for equal access for all has made her an advocate for people with disabilities for as long as she can remember. It was that passion that put her on the path to start her academic career studying sign language interpreting at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. As her focus on communication and interest in technology to help people with disabilities grew, she continued on with degrees in Technical Communications from the Rochester Institute of Technology and lastly a Masters in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin.

She is currently the Principal Partner and co-founder of the company, Accessibility Partners LLC, an accessibility and information technology consulting firm headquartered in Maryland. She has gained national and international recognition for her support of disability rights in society and the workplace, where she works to break down attitudinal barriers. She strives to make technology more usable and accessible to all and in doing so partners with Federal Agencies and Fortune 500 businesses. She has won the Rising Star award from “Government Computer News” and “Federal Computer Week”, appeared on the cover of, “Washington Technology”, and has been featured in a Tech Biz Now column. She recently received an award in December 2009 as one of the top 35 professionals in Maryland by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Prior to Accessibility Partners, Ms. Marlowe was the Senior Vice President at TecAccess, LLC, where she created corporate partnerships with corporations and through those efforts generated over five million dollars of revenue annually. Dana has an impressive record in business management, marketing, and communications as it relates to accessible technology and disability in both government and private industry. She has served on numerous committees and performed national speaking engagements with such agencies as the Federal Communications Commission (Consumer Advisory Committee 2004-2005), Interagency Disability Educational Awareness Showcase (IDEAS) Advisory Board (2005), National Organization of Disability, and DC Metro Business Leadership Network board (2008-2009).

Most recently, Dana has been invited to present to countries throughout South America, Europe, and Africa on topics ranging from disability employment and assistive technology, to the business case for accessible technology. In the past few years, she was the keynote speaker at the International Information and Communication Technology and Accessibility Conference in Africa, as well as the keynote at the Conference on Assistive Technologies for the Vision and Hearing-Impaired in Spain.

Dana has also written several articles that have appeared in such diverse publications as Professional Woman´s Magazine, “The Chicago Tribune”, Teen Ink, Sign News, and Deaf Women United.

With over fifteen years dedicated in the accessibility industry, Dana is known for her stewardship in advocating for all aspects of disability rights. She lives in Maryland, with her husband, toddler, and one very sweet Labrador Retriever who is actually the real boss of the house.

For more information about the conference and to register please click here.

Hot off the Press! The Summer 2010 Choices Newsletter

2010-09-10T16:17:00.005-04:00

Please click here to read Community Options latest Summer 2010 Choices Newsletter. Information about our upcoming Advocacy conference, the iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism, a San Antonio Fashion Show Fundraiser and employee appreciation in Syracuse are all featured!

For more information about our upcoming conference, please visit our website.

Jeff Brady, CEO of Brady Media Group and Award-Winning TV News Anchor and Reporter to Deliver Opening Keynote

2010-09-08T21:56:00.003-04:00

Jeff L. Brady is an award-winning TV News Anchor and Reporter who spent 18 years in broadcast journalism, working in newsrooms across the southwest will be delivering the opening keynote at Community Options national Advocacy Conference on September 26, 2010. Most recently, he anchored the 5pm news at WFAA-TV in Dallas-Ft Worth. Throughout his time with Channel 8 he consistently led rating victories and shepherded a large audience to ABC World News with Charles Gibson.

In 2009 Jeff retired from WFAA-TV and the news industry to launch Brady Media Group, a Media Strategy and Content Development agency in Dallas, Texas. BMG offers several core services: (CRITIQUE) evaluating your current brand messaging and media, (CREATION) developing new digital content or soliciting targeted media coverage, and (COACHING) teaching your team the necessary skills to leverage your enhanced brand and unique media for maximum reach.

Jeff teaches and mentors other fellow journalists including those at the prominent Poynter Institute for Media in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is also a highly-sought speaker and coach for executives and networking organizations throughout North Texas.
Jeff graduated from Texas A&M University in 1986. While there he was Company Commander in the Corps of Cadets. He served on the Ross Volunteers. Jeff was also a staff writer for the Battalion.

Before becoming a journalist, Jeff served as a U.S. Marine Captain on active duty in the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War. He now lives in Dallas with his wife Wesley and their three children.

Judy Woodruff to Deliver Keynote Advocating for People with Disabilities

2010-09-08T21:52:00.001-04:00

Community Options, Inc. will be holding its 5th Annual iMatter Conference on September 27, 2010- September 30, 2010.

The “Advocacy – Connect. Share. Live,” national conference will be taking place at the W Hotel in Dallas. The conference will be the culmination of a years worth of work by parent groups the organization has assembled across the country to increase access and resources for children with disabilities. The conference keynotes are made up of award-winning journalists, celebrities and state and federal officials who are true advocates for people with disabilities.

The opening keynote of the conference is Judy Woodruff. For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, anchoring the weekday political program, "Inside Politics." Woodruff also played a central role in the network's political coverage and other major news stories. At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS' awardwinning weekly documentary series, "Frontline with Judy Woodruff."

“As the mother of a son with physical disabilities -- I appreciate the mission of Community Options, to help individuals like Jeff find a place to live as normally as possible, and a job that allows him to be a contributing member of society, which is what he and so many others like him, want,” says Woodruff.

The organization is thrilled to offer to conference participants the knowledge and wisdom of Woodruff who has been an advocate for people with disabilities for decades. Robert Stack, President and CEO has been a loyal follower of Woodruff since the inception of Community Options. “The parents, staff and people with disabilities we support are so lucky to be hearing and learning from this icon. She is an inspiration to me and a role model for all of us,” says Stack.

Woodruff will be delivering her keynote on Monday, September 27, 2010 at 9:15 at the W Hotel in Dallas. To receive a press pass for this event, please contact Jessica Guberman at jessica.guberman@comop.org.

Global Autism Advocate to Keynote National Conference

2010-08-31T12:06:00.002-04:00

Community Options, Inc. a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment supports for people with disabilities since 1989, will be holding its 5th Annual iMatter Conference September 27-September 30th at the W Hotel in Dallas.

Laura Shumaker will be delivering a keynote on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 9:00am. Shumaker will focus her keynote on the advocacy work of caregivers. "Parents nor their children enter the world of disability by choice. But it is the choice of Caregivers, and every day we must show them our gratitude,” says Shumaker.

Shumaker is the author of A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism and is a City Bright for the San Francisco Chronicle. She has contributed to several anthologies, including Voices of Autism, A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs, Writin’ on Empty, and the forthcoming Gravity Pulls You In. She is a regular contributor to NPR Perspectives and a columnist for 5 Minutes for Special Needs. Laura’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Contra Costa Times, Literary Mama, the East Bay Monthly, The Autism Advocate and on CNN.COM.

The “Advocacy- Connect. Share. Live” conference will be the culmination of a years worth of work by parent groups Community Options has assembled across the country to increase access and resources for children with disabilities.

“Laura offers a unique and refreshing perspective that will challenge everyone who hears her speak. She is such a strong writer and I am on the edge of my seat to hear her live,” says Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options.

Gov. Chris Christie approves N.J. law removing offensive references to people with disabilities

2010-08-23T23:14:00.002-04:00

Photo Credit- AARON HOUSTON/For The Star-Ledger

Governor Chris Christie signs a bill that will remove the word "retarded" from the official state lexicon on mentally disabled people.

Written by Susan K. Livio with the Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today made it illegal for state laws or rules to identify anyone with a developmental or intellectual disability as "mentally retarded" by signing legislation sought by people who have felt belittled by the term.

Mental retardation was once a medical diagnostic term, but society turned it into something derogatory, said Tom Baffuto, executive director of the Arc of New Jersey. The nonprofit was founded as the Association for Retarded Citizens until people complained and it changed the name nearly 20 years ago.

Elizabeth Shea, the Arc’s assistant executive director, said the law’s passage is one step in the direction of ridding the hurtful terms from every day conversation.

"We’d like New Jersey to get to a place where you can’t use the ‘R’ word with it being inflammatory,’’ she said.
stephen-sweeney-disabled.jpgAARON HOUSTON/For The Star-LedgerSenator Stephen Sweeney speaks after Governor Chris Christie signed a bill that will remove the word "retarded" from the official state lexicon on mentally disabled people.
Christie said he regretted people had to wait so long to get the bill passed, and said he was proud to have signed it. "This is making sure each citizen in our state is treated with the respect they deserve ... It’s their government, too,’’ he said.

The 81-page bill includes the citations in state law and regulations that have to be changed, including: "mentally retarded," "physically handicapped," "feeble-minded,’’ and "physically or mentally defective." The law also applies to language involving people with mental illness, such as "the insane," the "mentally deficient," and "the mentally ill."

"Words matter - it’s that simple,’’ said Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), one of the bill’s sponsors and the father of a daughter with a developmental disability. "We have a community of productive, hard-working citizens...The ‘R’ word should mean respect."

The legislation (S1982) passed in June.

Samuel Jenkins of Elizabeth, who works for the New Jersey Self-Advocacy Project, said the there is a movement to pass a federal law. He’s also participating in a training session with new employees working with people who have developmental disabilities about the impact of hurtful language.

"I am not afraid," Jenkins said. "I will not back down from this challenge."

2010 iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism

2010-08-18T12:27:00.001-04:00

Please enjoy the 4th Annual iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism video. The camp took place on Saturday, August 14, 2010 and was a great success. We had over 400 people in attendance and the children had a great time learning how to surf on this beautiful day!

4th Annual iMatter Surf Camp from jessica on Vimeo.

Media Advisory

2010-08-09T14:48:00.002-04:00

Media Advisory
**Press Pass Required**

Sports, Health, Children, Autism
On-Site Interviews with Children, Families, Organization, Photo Opps

Date
Saturday, August 14, 2010

Event
iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism

Time
Open to the press with a pass at 11am. Event ends at 4pm.

Location
Cupsogue Beach, Westhampton, New York
(Entrance through far end of the parking lot – cut in Dune- Set up there)

Press Pass
To obtain a press pass, please contact Jessica at 973-390-0357 or jessica.guberman@comop.org.

The iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism is hosted by Community Options, a national nonprofit organization that supports people with disabilities. The iMatter Surf Camp is the largest aquatically therapeutic event in the country for children with Autism.

www.comop.org/surf_camp

20th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act

2010-07-26T18:49:00.010-04:00

Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options was invited to attend the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act today at The White House. Here are some photos from the event as well as President Obama's speech from the celebration that took place on the South Lawn:

The White House

Robert Stack and Elizabeth Dole

Robert Stack and Governor Thornburgh

Patti Labelle performing at The White House

From the Newswire:

On Monday, July 26, President Obama will hold an event at the White House to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The President is expected to deliver remarks at the event. Invited guests include Cabinet officials, Members of Congress, grassroots leaders and Americans living with disabilities. The President’s remarks will be open press.

The event will include performances by Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Patti LaBelle and Marlee Matlin, and remarks by Marca Bristo, President of Access Living, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes. Robert David Hall will introduce the President.

It was just over twenty years ago that Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options, Inc. founded his organization. For years, Stack had spent working at the state level on the institutional side of the human service field. Knowing there was a better and more inclusive way that people with disabilities could live, Stack started Community Options.

The organization is known today as the fastest growing national nonprofit that develops housing and employment supports for people with disabilities. With offices in thirty-two cities in nine states supporting thousands of people with disabilities with the help of over 2,500 employees, Stack has turned his dreams into reality.

“It is an honor to be invited to The White House to celebrate such tremendous accomplishments,” Stack said. “Advocates in our field have made great advances over the past twenty years and there is much more work left to do,” he added.

Nonprofit CEO to Commemorate 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

2010-07-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

On Monday, July 26, President Obama will hold an event at the White House to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The President is expected to deliver remarks at the event. Invited guests include Cabinet officials, Members of Congress, grassroots leaders and Americans living with disabilities. The President’s remarks will be open press.

The event will include performances by Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Patti LaBelle and Marlee Matlin, and remarks by Marca Bristo, President of Access Living, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes. Robert David Hall will introduce the President.

It was just over twenty years ago that Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options, Inc. founded his organization. For years, Stack had spent working at the state level on the institutional side of the human service field. Knowing there was a better and more inclusive way that people with disabilities could live, Stack started Community Options.

The organization is known today as the fastest growing national nonprofit that develops housing and employment supports for people with disabilities. With offices in thirty-two cities in nine states supporting thousands of people with disabilities with the help of over 2,500 employees, Stack has turned his dreams into reality.

“It is an honor to be invited to The White House to celebrate such tremendous accomplishments,” Stack said. “Advocates in our field have made great made advances over the past twenty years and there is much more work left to do,” he added.

The celebration will take place on The White House South Lawn on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 5:30pm. Pre-Set 4:30 PM, Final Gather 5:00 PM, North Doors of the Palm Room. Reporters should enter through the North West gate on Pennsylvania Ave. Press who do not have a White House hard pass should send their full name, outlet, date of birth and Social Security number to media_affairs@who.eop.gov no later than Monday, July 26 at noon.

Daniel Vance - Nationally Syndicated Column

2010-07-19T09:24:00.003-04:00

Daniel Vance, Columnist, recently wrote a column about David Shunkey and his entrepreneurial business, David's Peanut Butter Puppy Bites as featured in the Wall Street Journal!

By Daniel J. Vance

I hear dogs love them.

David Shunkey of Albuquerque, New Mexico, makes Peanut Butter Puppy Bites, which are crisp canine treats shaped to resemble dog bones. Like any upstart business owner would, Shunkey has been getting his small business off the ground, looking for markets, and refining his recipe. The only difference is this businessman has autism.

A National Institutes of Health website defines autism as causing “severe and pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others.” Its severity ranges over a wide spectrum.

“David is nonverbal,” said Heather Gooch, who is program manager of supportive employment with Community Options in Albuquerque. She spoke for Shunkey with his permission. “He knows sign language and can understand more than he can sign. We also read his facial expressions and body language, and he uses different sounds to communicate. He has a speech language pathologist on his team and they have developed a communication dictionary to document his sound and hand movements. So if there is someone new working with him, they know how to communicate with him.”

Community Options has an on-site job coach helping Shunkey with marketing, baking, and selling. His dog treats are all natural, and include whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour, corn meal, rolled oats, eggs, safflower oil, vanilla, and peanut butter.

“Currently, David bakes four to five dozen once or twice a week out of his kitchen at home,” said Gooch. “We're looking to get a commercial kitchen for him. So far, five businesses have taken on his biscuits.” He has the potential to bake up to 75 dozen per week. He sells them for five dollars a dozen to dog groomers, vets, and pet shops.

In his 50s, Shunkey grew up in an institution that had one staff member for every 30 clients, which unfortunately led to his developing some behavioral issues. Now he lives in a group home. Community Options has support staff for Shunkey and a therapist doing site analysis to make sure the kitchen stays safe.

Gooch said, “David really gets involved in the baking process.” With help, he has been pursuing FDA approval to market his baked goods to humans. Of course, if receiving this approval, his new food item likely wouldn't resemble dog treats and would have a different name. Gooch said FDA approval could come within three months.

Contact danieljvance.com. [Blue Valley Sod and Palmer Bus Service make this column possible.]

People with Disabilities and Business Ownership

2010-07-14T21:01:00.002-04:00

Please click here to read an article from the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday, July 15, 2010 about people with disabilities and business ownership. The piece is written by Sarah Needleman.

Community Options supports David in our New Mexico location and we are very proud of this piece and David's entrepreneurial spirit to continue to be a business owner!!!

National nonprofit receives Housing and Urban Development grant to construct NJ’s first Green group home for people with disabilities

2010-07-13T14:11:00.003-04:00

In January 2010, Community Options, a national nonprofit organization that develops homes and employment for people with disabilities announced that they would be working in partnership with Hopewell Township to develop the first green, sustainable group home for people with disabilities in New Jersey.

Recently, this project was deemed worthy of a grant through the Housing and Urban Development body that funds affordable housing projects across the country. The grant will permit the development of a group home for four persons with developmental disabilities. The home will be of a one-story design and will provide supportive services to assist the residents to live independently.

Plans call for the construction of this home to be LEED for Homes certified. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides standards for environmentally sustainable construction Project architecture and construction is being managed by Princeton Design Guild (PDG). Environmentally friendly from start to finish, additional project details call for the disassembly of an existing large barn, relocation and renovation of a smaller barn, dismantling of the original farm house and construction of a new sustainable Community Options home.

“Being awarded this grant to construct a sustainable group home in New Jersey for persons with disabilities is beyond my wildest dreams,” says, Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. “Our organization has been working for years to become more environmentally correct and this is one of amazing things we are able to do because of our vision; our vision has become a reality,” he added.

Picture Caption - Artist Rendering of the home to be constructed

2010-07-10T16:38:00.001-04:00

Four years ago, Community Options, a national nonprofit organization that has been developing supports for people with developmental disabilities since 1989, started the iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism. The first one-day, free camp was held at Cupsogue Beach in Westhampton, New York. The first camp had 22 children participate. The camp was so successful that each subsequent year the camp has been held, it has significantly grown. In 2009, the camp had over 300 people participate from all over the country.

The camp is one day and free and the organization provides lunch to all that participate. This year, registration will begin at 9:30am following a brief prayer service and song performance in loving memory of Kristen Bednar; the camps lead volunteer who passed tragically in a snowmobile accident in January. Following the service, children will be paired up with their volunteers for the day and start surfing. The children are assigned a one-to-one volunteer who they surf tandem with all day. With a quick break for lunch, the children are always eager to get back in the water and surf until the day wraps up between 4pm-5pm.

The camp has become so popular that businesses all across the country have jumped on board to become sponsors. This year, the camp has received support from thirteen businesses.

Sponsors are:

Cancos Tile
O'Brien Drywall Unlimited, Inc.
Birch Lane Elementary School
Global Surf Industries
LIParentSource.com
Carolina Pad
Boogie Wipes
Episencial
Care4Hire
Fourth Wall Events
Converge Coworking
Fifth Room Creative
Dynamic Drape and Decor

“We are so proud of the iMatter Surf Camp and what it has become,” says, Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options. Stack indicates that the camp has taken on a life of its own and that people are incredibly pleased with the day they are offered to have their children positively included in their community and with their peers.

“Global Surf Industries is very proud to be able to support iMatter Surf Camp. Our company mantra is life is better when you surf and you can see the personification of this every time we attend one of these events,” says Ed Gerbino of Global Surf Industries.

Global Surf Industries has become an in-kind sponsor to the camp by donating foam boards to Community Options that the children can use at the camp.

Another in-kind sponsor of the camp is Cancos Tile. Cancos has been involved with the camp since its inception and they provide the hundreds of the very popular t-shirts that are made every year.

“We couldn't be more proud than to be sponsoring the surf camp. It is a tremendous day for us to be able to give a little back to the community and help out in a special way for this cause,” says Mark Valva, President of Cancos. Valva says the expressions and feelings that are created as a result of the camp makes it even more of a spectacular day.

Kim Walls, CEO of Episencial, a Los Angeles-based company has sent thousands of organic sunscreen samples for all the participants of the surf camp. Walls said, “At Episencial we believe in the developmental benefits of touch and play. Our all natural formulas are designed to enhance these experiences, helping to create healthy grooming rituals that serve children throughout their lives.”

Some of the sponsors utilize the camp as a way for their employees to volunteer in the community and there are volunteers that have been involved with the camp since it started. Jeff Guberman, President of Fourth Wall Events and Dynamic Drape and Décor says,” We are thrilled to help Community Options with the iMatter Surf Camp. We believe that helping the community is an important responsibility of any business. When you see the look of happiness on the faces of the children, you know that it is all worth it.”

One sponsor company is thrilled to be a sponsor of the event because of what the message of the organization is. “"Here at Little Busy Bodies, Inc, we believe that all people should have the opportunity to excel and be the best person they can be. Community Options camps bolster self-confidence and empower people with disabilities to be all that they can be in their day-to-day lives; we are proud to support such strong ideals,” says, Julie Pickens, CEO of Little Busy Bodies, Inc.

The iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism will be taking place on Saturday, August 14, 2010 from 9:30am-4:00pm at Cupsogue Beach in Westhampton, NY.

For more information about the camp, please visit the website or you can fan the camp on Facebook. There is a press pass required for this event and to obtain a press pass, please contact Jessica Guberman at jessica.guberman@comop.org or 973-390-0357.

Petty Cash Gets Serious

2010-07-06T16:49:00.001-04:00

This is an article that Robert Stack, President and CEO was interviewed for with American Express - Inside Edge related to Petty Cash. It was written by Karen Bannan.

Community Options has 2,500 employees who work with thousands of developmentally disabled people. In many cases, employees live alongside their charges in group homes managed by the Mount Olive, N.J.-based nonprofit. As part of that care, it’s not unusual for an employee to run to the supermarket for milk or pay a pizza delivery person, both of which require cash.

That’s why every one of Community Options’ more than 150 group homes has a petty cash account, a locked box with anywhere from $200 to $1,000 inside. It’s important for the three or four employees who co-manage each facility to have access to cash, explains Robert Stack, the organization’s president and CEO. “A local ice cream store is going to want paper money.”

While petty cash might be a forgotten concept at larger companies, for mid-size enterprises such as Community Options, it’s still a key part of running the business. To protect what could be large sums of money from being lost or stolen, companies need to have strict policies in place.

Added together, Community Options’ petty cash accounts total more than six figures, which is why the company uses multiple policies and practices to protect it, including requiring receipts for purchases, adhering to a strict accounting process and performing several types of audits.

Such restrictions make for extra work, but it’s worth it. Business owners may be reticent to police employees, but failing to do so can have serious consequences, says Alan Carsrud, a professor who holds the Loretta Rogers Chair of Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University in Toronto. “Any entrepreneur always has to be thinking, ‘What happens if we don’t take care of business and we end up on the front page of our local paper? What will the headline read?’ ”

Petty cash problems typically start out as simple mistakes but can quickly spiral into something much more dangerous, says James Ratley, president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, an Austin, Texas, group that specializes in anti-fraud training and education.

“Companies can definitely fall prey to internal fraud, and it happens more often than you would think,” Ratley says. “They believe the word ‘petty’ in the phrase ‘petty cash.’ They have no idea how much money is at stake or how long this kind of theft can continue if left unchecked.”

To read this entire article, click here.

Can moms of children with autism have it all?

2010-06-23T21:36:00.003-04:00

In a survey of 326 families, researchers at Washington State University Vancouver found that moms experience the brunt of workplace ramifications that come with the added responsibility of parenting a child with autism.

Half of moms said they work fewer hours and 3 out of 5 reported turning down a job offer because of their child’s unique needs. What’s more, 1 in 4 autism moms said they had taken a leave of absence or declined a promotion. As a result, 60 percent reported recently experiencing financial difficulties.

To read the complete study by lead author, Dana Lee Baker, please click here.

Ari Ne’eman to become the first person with autism to serve on the National Council on Disability

2010-06-23T21:29:00.003-04:00

Written by: Michelle Diament of Disability Scoop

After months of delay, the Senate unanimously confirmed Ari Ne’eman on Tuesday to become the first person with autism to serve on the National Council on Disability.

In December President Barack Obama nominated eight new members to the National Council on Disability, which makes recommendations to the president and Congress on disability issues. Early this year, all of the nominations were confirmed except that of Ne’eman, who has autism and is the founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.

The reason: one or more members of the Senate placed an anonymous hold on the nomination, preventing the full Senate from considering it.

To continue reading Michelle's piece on Ne'eman, please click here.

Education Week- States Seek Federal Waivers to cut Special Education

2010-06-23T21:13:00.007-04:00

Written by: Christina A. Samuels

Excerpt:

At least three states have asked for permission to cut back on the money they provide districts for special education, under a built-in escape clause in the federal special education law that is aimed at financially struggling states.

Iowa and Kansas have both been granted a waiver, which under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act can be given out in “exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of a state.”

South Carolina has requested a waiver, but the U.S. Department of Education has asked the state for more information before making a decision. Both the waiver requests and the department’s responses were reported earlier this year by the blog IDEA Money Watch, a project of the Washington area Advocacy Institute, which supports parents of children with disabilities.

To continue reading this article, please click here.

From The New York Times - States struggle on how to educate people with severe disabilities

2010-06-23T21:08:00.002-04:00

Written by: Sharon Otterman

Excerpt:

Once predominantly isolated in institutions, severely disabled students have been guaranteed a free, appropriate public education like all children since the passage of federal legislation in 1975. In the years since, school districts across the country have struggled to find a balance between instruction in functional skills and academics while providing basic custodial care.

Donovan is part of a fraction of a fraction, classified as having “multiple disabilities,” a broad category under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act that refers to children who have at least two disabilities and severe educational needs.

There are 132,000 such students in the United States, out of more than 6.5 million now receiving some kind of special education service at an estimated cost of $74 billion a year.

To read this article in its entirety please click here.

FamilyWeb2.org has Launched!

2010-06-23T14:06:00.002-04:00

The Family Web 2.0 project brought to you by Community Options is funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, who awarded Community Options with a one million dollar grant in September of 2009. Since then, Community Options has convened family support groups in 12 cities across the country.

Each month, these family groups (comprised of parents and relatives of individuals with disabilities) meet to discuss topics related to their experiences with children with disabilities. Additionally, they read and rate resources related on these topics, specifically on Advocacy, Inclusion, and Education. The rated resources are then posted on the Family Web website, www.familyweb2.org, to function as a “consumer reports” for individuals (especially parents) who are looking for reliable information on disabilities and the perspectives of people who have been in their position.

“We are incredibly excited to launch the website,” says Devi Hensch, Director of Program Development. “It’s a great way for parents of children with disabilities to network, share experiences and support one another.”

The Family Web website also features videos of real-life experiences of people with disabilities as well as disability experts’ views on current related issues. The website has a message board, links to Community Options’ Twitter and Facebook accounts, and information about the upcoming Community Options’ iMatter National Conference.

For more information on the Family Web 2.0 project please visit www.familyweb2.org or contact Devi Hensch at (609) 951-9900.

Stephanie's Day - Dallas

2010-06-21T23:00:00.003-04:00

Stephanie's Day is presented by the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Charities in partnership with the Autism Treatment Center. Community Options of Dallas recently had the opportunity to participate in Stephanie's Day and we hope to continue to be a part of the event every year!

The event is named in honor of Stephanie Mauldin, the daughter of former CBS 11 and TXA 21 President and General Manager Steve Mauldin. Stephanie, now 20 years old, was diagnosed with autism when she was two. Mr. Mauldin, who is President and General Manager of KCBS and KCAL television in Los Angeles, plans to expand the event to Southern California.

To read more about Stephanie's Day, click here.

Getting New Jersey Back to Work

2010-06-20T00:08:00.004-04:00

Written By: COI Blogger

Community Options, a NJ-based, national nonprofit organization that develops homes and employment for people with disabilities recently held a Career Day to get New Jersey’s unemployed, back to work.

In New Jersey, Community Options operates over seventy group homes, over twenty, non-traditional day programs and six social enterprises that support people with disabilities. The organization operates as far north as Fair Lawn, as far west as Hopatcong, as far south as Smithville and everywhere in between.

With over 2,500 employees already, the organization continues to grow at a healthy rate and having a Career Day to promote the good work and opportunities the organization has, was a great way to get New Jersey’s unemployed back to work. From a talent management perspective, there are diverse job openings within the organization due to the rate of growth it is experiencing. If candidates want to work directly with people the organization supports, there are jobs for that within direct care and supported employment. If a candidate wants to work in our development, human resource, fiscal or training departments, there are jobs available for that as well.

The organization has found that due to the recession, candidates have found the need to reinvent themselves and start a different career path. Community Options has hired many people as a result of the recession who have found a love for not only human service work, but also the nonprofit sector in general.

Working for a nonprofit organization isn’t what it used to be. Nonprofits like Community Options are using technology and implementing models of best practices that are synonymous with that of large corporations. It is imperative from an operational and executive standpoint that the organization stays harmonized with current business trends that have emerged and that will continue to materialize.

Eileen Johnson, Recruiter with Community Options says, “It was communicated to me on Career Day that Community Options stood out from other organizations for the fact that we are growing and for what we stand for.” Johnson also indicated that people want to work for a human service organization that is doing good work as it aligns with their own personal professional beliefs.

The organization, as it continues to grow, plans to have more Career Days in the future that will link good talent with appropriate job opportunities.

Photo Caption- Eileen Johnson, Recruiter of Community Options, Inc.

Inclusion for All

2010-06-16T22:46:00.003-04:00

Family Web 2.0 Video
Inclusion for All - The Fight for Institutional Closure

Community Options’ Family Web offers parents tangible resources on the topics of education, inclusion, and advocacy. These materials were gathered by Community Options staff and family committee chairpersons, and were reviewed and rated during family group meetings. Our goal is for parents to find these “Consumer Reports” helpful in determining the most appropriate resources for their particular situation.

Our Consumer Reports were created with the help of Family Web’s family groups. Our groups were established at 12 locations in 9 states across the nation. Each group has the support of a Community Options representative and a Family Committee Chairperson, who is the parent or guardian of an individual with a disability. Groups meet monthly to evaluate and discuss free resources that are available on the Internet. In an attempt to adequately focus on specific issues, Family Web groups focused on three topics: Advocacy, Education, and Inclusion/Community Living.

For more information on a family group near you contact Devi Hensch at devi.hensch@comop.org or your local group’s Family Committee Chairperson.

Princeton Packet Business Profile

2010-06-16T16:53:00.003-04:00

By Michelle Walbaum of the Princeton Packet

After the bus dropped him off, Bernard Krawkosky walked down the street and tried to place his key in an apartment that was not his own.

Hearing the rattle of the key, retired homemaker Edith Chedick opened the door. Krawkosky, who is blind and mentally handicapped, couldn’t understand why this was not his apartment. So Chedick led him down to the bus stop and showed him how the bus had dropped him off at the wrong stop. She then helped him find his way back to the right apartment.

“They have lunch once a month now,” said Robert Stack, CEO of Community Options, a nonprofit company based in Princeton that helps developmentally disabled people find housing and jobs in communities around the nation. Krawkosky’s experience illustrates how living among the general population helps mentally handicapped people form friendships and connections—one of the most important aspects of the human experience, he said.

“There’s a direct relationship between the severity of your disability and your level of loneliness,” he said. “We try to develop friendships among people with developmental disabilities and the general community, and as you know, there’s a direct relationship between longevity of life and the number of friends you have.”

The company manages 70 homes for the developmentally disabled in New Jersey. Each unit houses two to four people, he said. Many of the residents are also given jobs, which range from fast food careers to working in the florist shop Vaseful in downtown Princeton—a small business that, along with others in different regions of the state and country, are owned by Community Options.
“We believe people that can work, should and will work,” Stack said. “Community Options has a variety of entrepreneurial businesses where people with disabilities can work.”

Adults are not the only focus however, he said. Reaching teens with developmental disabilities is especially important, as many of them are unsure of what to do after they matriculate high school.

“Community Options has developed an employment program, where we provide unpaid internships with places like Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and other facilities like that. We have students go there and try our different jobs as interns. We coach them on the job and it’s out long term goal that after they graduate, they’ll be hired by that facility,” he explained.

Community Options started out of Stack’s home in Bordentown 21 years ago, and has grown to be the fifth largest nonprofit in the state, supporting 1,500 people, he added.

Stack has been around the disabled since he was 13, when he was studying for priesthood at a seminary. Volunteer work was part of the program.

“I worked at a home for children with disabilities and it stuck with me,” he said. “So after college and graduate school I decided to make it my life mission.”

He started the company with the aim of empowering people with developmental disabilities--helping them live their own independent lives. Many in New Jersey end up in institutions, where many aspects of their lives are controlled, he explained. They are told what time they have to go to bed, what time they eat meals, what time they have to shower.

In contrast, the community living style of CO participants is much less rigid. They can cook their own food, for instance.

“The simple act of being able to cook is wonderful,” he said. In addition, participants have access to all the small things communities have to offer; a trip to the movies, a walk in the park, swimming pools.

And instead of living with hundreds of other people, as in an institution, CO participants receive a smaller, more manageable living situation.

“People thrive in smaller environments,” he said.

However, the group homes that Community Options offers are not available to many of the developmentally disabled.

“New Jersey is one of the most antiquated, backward states as far as supporting people with developmental disabilities,” he said. “We have the second largest number of people with developmental disabilities in institutions. The first largest is Texas, but Texas has over 26 million people. We have 8.5 million people.”

He wishes the state would make this issue a priority. But while he waits, he knows that the company he started is making a small difference at least.

“I love the fact that day by day, inch by inch, we are changing and improving the lives of others. That’s what I live for. I realize that there are thousands of people on waiting lists, and if I can get one more person out of the institution, then something positive has happened,” he said.

Zach Anner could be Oprah's Next Replacement

2010-06-16T16:46:00.003-04:00

From Disability's Scoop, Michelle Diament

A Texas man with cerebral palsy is turning into the latest online sensation as the top vote-getter in Oprah’s Search For The Next TV Star, with support from the likes of musician John Mayer.

Zach Anner entered Oprah’s contest with a humorous video pitching his idea for a travel show. In the audition tape he uploaded to Oprah.com, Anner tells viewers that he has “the sexiest of the palsies” and wants to “make a travel show for people who never thought they could travel and inspire people to go on an adventure.”

The video went viral, garnering praise from Mayer and plugs on sites like Digg and Reddit, bringing Anner’s vote tally to over 2.6 million. The next most popular video has fewer than 1.5 million votes.

Humbled, Anner took to the Web again on Sunday to post a thank you video, declaring, “I don’t know what happened, but the Internet is crazy and I love it.”

Anner specifically called out Mayer for his role in boosting the video’s popularity. Mayer returned the favor, posting his own video praising Anner’s humor and offering to write and perform a theme song for his travel show.

Public voting for the Oprah search is ongoing. The final winner — who will receive their own show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network — will be selected from the winners of the online vote and those picked from a series of open casting calls across the country.

A Texas man with cerebral palsy is turning into the latest online sensation as the top vote-getter in Oprah’s Search For The Next TV Star, with support from the likes of musician John Mayer.

Zach Anner entered Oprah’s contest with a humorous video pitching his idea for a travel show. In the audition tape he uploaded to Oprah.com, Anner tells viewers that he has “the sexiest of the palsies” and wants to “make a travel show for people who never thought they could travel and inspire people to go on an adventure.”

The video went viral, garnering praise from Mayer and plugs on sites like Digg and Reddit, bringing Anner’s vote tally to over 2.6 million. The next most popular video has fewer than 1.5 million votes.

Humbled, Anner took to the Web again on Sunday to post a thank you video, declaring, “I don’t know what happened, but the Internet is crazy and I love it.”

Anner specifically called out Mayer for his role in boosting the video’s popularity. Mayer returned the favor, posting his own video praising Anner’s humor and offering to write and perform a theme song for his travel show.

To watch Zach's video, please click here.

Creating Safer Schools and Ending Restraint Use

2010-06-16T16:37:00.001-04:00

By Ruby Moore and Eric Jacobson 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On Wednesday, Georgia’s State Board of Education will hold a public hearing on a provision that would limit the dangerous practices of restraint and seclusion in our public schools. Restraint and seclusion is neither therapeutic nor educational.

Currently, students in Georgia schools can be restrained or secluded for any reason, in any way, at any time. We applaud the Department of Education and the State Board of Education for their leadership and courage to move toward ending these harmful practices.

While this is progress, the proposed rule, as it currently stands, must be strengthened to prevent the tragic deaths of any more schoolchildren.

Seeking to free all students from restraint and seclusion, several organizations have formed a coalition to introduce the “Safe Schools Initiative.”

Together, Georgia Advocacy Office, Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University, Institute on Human Development and Disability at the University of Georgia, and Parent to Parent of Georgia are working to shift the culture of Georgia public schools so that all students can receive an appropriate education in a safe environment that fosters learning.

One key safeguard is conspicuously absent from the proposed rule: There are no provisions for reporting incidents of restraint, beyond informing parents. In the past, parents did not have to be told, either.

This rule does not apply only to children with behavioral issues or children with developmental disabilities; it affects the lives of all our children who are in the educational system.

Oversight, data collection and analysis are pivotal in identifying schools that need additional support to appropriately maintain a safe educational environment. This information can be used to offer training to schools needing improvement and as an incentive for schools supporting students well without resorting to restraint.

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last year, the use of seclusion and restraints led to the death of 13-year-old Jonathan King, who hung himself in 2004 after being put into a seclusion room at his Gainesville school. The Kings had no idea their child was being locked in a small room for hours on end on a regular basis. In another recent case, a 9-year-old student weighing just 82 pounds was locked in a plywood box and placed along a wall in, of all places, his principal’s office.

To continue reading this article, please click here.

Kids choked, stripped, beaten at facilities

2010-06-16T08:04:00.003-04:00

250 cases of abuse include a staff-provoked fight among 7 girls

By TERRI LANGFORD and EMILY RAMSHAW
HOUSTON CHRONICLE and TEXAS TRIBUNE

Workers at a center for distressed children provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight of biting and bruising as staffers laughed, cheered and promised the winners a precious prize: after-school snacks.

Four of the girls were injured, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle and The Texas Tribune. State officials learned of the incident at Daystar Residential Inc. in Manvel the day after it occurred, when a Daystar employee doing health checks found bite marks, scrapes and bruises on the girls' bodies.

The fight was one of more than 250 incidents of confirmed abuse and mistreatment in residential treatment centers during the past two years, based on the Chronicle/Tribune review of state records.

But unlike last year's scandal at the Corpus Christi State School, where staffers were found to have forced mentally disabled adults to fight one another, there were no impassioned calls for reform. No criminal indictments sought against the perpetrators. And no lawmakers publicly grilling a state agency about how it could have happened.

Instead, the two staffers at Daystar, a child residential treatment center located 30 minutes south of Houston, were quietly fired after the fight in 2008.

To this day, the names of the pair — a dorm supervisor and another female worker — are kept secret by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, even though the center, contracted by the state to provide care, has received $16 million in taxpayer money since 2006.

“Why I'm outraged is, the department hid this from us,” said state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs. “This is another example of us having to find out about systemic failures through the press, as opposed to proactively from the department. … We could've fixed this problem last session when we were addressing a very similar issue.”

Choking, punching

Residential treatment center records reviewed by the Chronicle and Tribune show state investigators confirmed hundreds of violations from mid-2008 through April of this year — at least 250 of them involving abuse, neglect and mistreatment. All of those centers remain in operation today.

Workers choked and punched kids to get them to behave. Children who were supposed to be supervised attempted suicide. Kids were threatened with corporal punishment and forced to strip down to their underwear so they wouldn't run away. In some cases, residents engaged in sexual acts with peers, with staff members and, in one case, with a staffer's relative.

In the past five years, six facilities — three of them in the Houston area — have been shut down or denied a license, but none of those was still operating between 2008 and the present, the time frame in which data was reviewed by the Chronicle and Tribune.

One was closed because of a child's death and others because of a failure to maintain standards or repeated deficiencies.

In the staged fight at Daystar in April 2008, state inspection records show the two employees gathered the seven “developmentally delayed” girls, ranging in age from 12 to 17, and forced them to fight.

DFPS investigated, confirmed the abuse, and cited Daystar over several deficiencies — but didn't put the facility on suspension or probation.

Daystar attorney John Carsey said the state's conclusions are “misleading and frankly incorrect.” He says the company fired two female employees who failed to intervene in a shoving match between two girls — not seven — that resulted in some hair-pulling and nothing more.

“Nobody got hurt,” said Carsey, who declined to provide copies of the company's internal investigation.

DFPS stands by its findings.

“We are very disappointed in Daystar's characterization of this very serious incident and their criticism of our investigation,” said Sasha Rasco, DFPS' assistant commissioner of child care licensing. “These employees staged a fight between these children and cheered as the fight occurred. A medical examination found four of the girls were injured.”

DFPS did not revisit the fight at Daystar — or report it up the chain — in early 2009, when police stumbled onto cell phone videos of workers at the Corpus Christi State School forcing profoundly disabled residents to fight each other.

“Nobody ever came up from (DFPS) and told us,” said Jay Kimbrough, who was Gov. Rick Perry's chief of staff when the Corpus Christi fight club news broke. “And ‘fight club' was a magic phrase, a defined term at that point.”

The Corpus Christi fights, staged the same spring the Daystar incident occurred, brought inflamed criticism from those in the disability community, prompted Perry to place a moratorium on state school admissions, and led to the conviction of six workers on charges of injury to a disabled person.

The state poured money into the Department of Aging and Disability Services, which oversees state schools, to install security cameras and other safety measures.

DFPS “should've stepped up and said, ‘This is bad, this is evil, and we are holding everyone accountable,' ” said Jeff Garrison-Tate, whose nonprofit Community Now works for people with disabilities. “You think, ‘How could it get worse than the Corpus Christi fight club?' Only in Texas could it get worse.”
Troubled children

Since 2006, residential treatment centers have received more than $300 million to care for the most troubled or disabled children taken into foster care. Children placed at a residential treatment center are there because basic care for them is not enough. They are likely to bear deeper emotional scars, and some, in social worker parlance, “act out, sexually.”

Others have turned to alcoholism or drug addiction. Some struggle with depression or developmental disabilities.

“Each child in one of these facilities is troubled, typically with serious emotional disturbance and/or mental health issues,” said DFPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins. “These centers are designed to provide treatment for them.”

The state contracts with about 80 residential treatment centers, nearly half of them in the Houston area.

The state workers at the Corpus Christi State School were arrested and later convicted of felonies. DFPS officials say they referred the Daystar matter to local law enforcement. But both the Manvel Police Department and the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office say they never received any notification.

DFPS refused to release the report it filed with law enforcement and said it couldn't prove notification was sent; the agency deletes all faxed records after 30 days.

Drugs, sexual contact

The Chronicle/Tribune review of state inspection reports and other records revealed dozens of incidents of serious abuse and neglect, including physical beatings and failing to report attempted suicides and allegations of sexual assault.

Unmonitored youth escaped, stole vehicles, and started fires. Staff failed to report sexual contact among young kids and provided others with alcohol and illegal drugs.

Workers punished kids with dangerous physical restraints or long periods of confinement — sometimes without their clothes. Among the incidents:

• At the Brookhaven facility in McLennan County, a child who was supposed to be monitored at all times left the room and attempted to hang himself with his shoelaces. A second child swallowed 30 psychotropic pills. Within months of those incidents, a staffer choked a child and struck him with a milk crate.

• At Houston's Serenity residential treatment center, staffers forced residents to strip down to their boxers and take off their shoes to prevent them from running away.

• At the Avalon Center in Eddy, staff didn't intervene when a young girl ran into the highway and yelled for oncoming traffic to hit her.

• A staffer slammed a door on a resident's head at the Guardian Angels residential treatment center in Houston.

DFPS insists that disciplinary actions do not have to take the form of license suspensions to improve care. In the incidents above, Crimmins said three firings resulted and center policies were changed.

DFPS officials do say, however, there should have been a more elaborate investigation into the Daystar incident.

“We should have conducted more follow-up, with interviews of the children and other Daystar employees to make sure that this was an isolated incident and to make sure that there was nothing in the prior performance of the two employees that might have indicated problems,” Crimmins said.
‘Not a perfect system'

The fired Daystar employees' names were added to Texas' abuse/neglect registry, which means they shouldn't be hired to work in direct care again.

“We believe this operation acted appropriately in response to this incident,” Crimmins said. “It is not a perfect system, but our goal is constant improvement and to make these operations as safe as possible.”

Rose, who chairs the House Human Services Committee, said he intends to make some safeguards mandatory, including a requirement that a surprise inspection be done within 30 days of an abuse incident.

“My office, our committee, will work to move the department in this direction immediately,” Rose said. “Unless we're made aware of the problems, we're left responding to them, as opposed to fixing them. Here, clearly, the department did a poor job of reporting systemic failure to the Legislature.”

To continue to follow Langford and Ramshaw as they continue to uncover these horrific findings, please click here.

Vaseful at the Holiday Lookbook Event in NYC!

2010-06-11T15:14:00.017-04:00

Yesterday, Vaseful participated in the Holiday Lookbook event hosted by Shiraz Events, a premiere NYC event planning company. The event took place at the Metropolitan Pavilion. This was a press and media event only and we had the opportunity to market Vaseful as a brand, a business with a social purpose, and the response from high level editors was phenomenal.

Jenn Falik, Style and Beauty Expert was the Guest Host of the event. Jenn has shared her tips through television appearances on The View, The Today Show, The Rachael Ray Show, E! News and Tyra Banks.

Attached are pictures from the event and below are the media outlets that we personally met with for short and long lead pieces! Special thanks to Melissa Alancourt, Vaseful's Florist for making the most beautiful arrangements that everyone loved and to Patrick Hannon for helping with the set up of the event, all of the Vaseful Employees and Kathryn Sampson and Brian O'Leary in our Creative Services Department for their collateral design work for this event.

We met with:
Bride Magazine
Shape Magazine
Mommy Factor
The Associated Press
The NY Post
Womens, Inc.
NJ Savvy Magazine
Parent Guide
Travel Magazine
Fashion Guide
NY Bridal Examiner
Globetrotter TV
Shop.com
Style, Beauty and Music
Multicultural Marketing News
Bayer Healthcare
Fit Kit
Danielle Does NYC
NJ Monthly
Boho Magazine
Shine Magazine
Real Simple
Better TV
Momentum TV
That girl at the Party
Soap Opera Weekly
Family Circle

Spotlight on Steve Verba - Region Director of Southern New Jersey

2010-06-08T10:21:00.011-04:00

Steve Verba has been with Community Options for over two years and in his time with the company, he has been promoted and works to advocate for people with disabilities moving from developmental centers and running The Daily Plan It.

We recently conducted a question and answer session with Steve and this is what he had to say!

What do you like most about your job?

The aspect of my job which I enjoy most is probably the fact that each and everyday is different than the last. One day I will get to spend a day in the office fulfilling administrative duties, and the next I will be at the Beachwood Municipal building with my wonderful staff and clients planting flowers. It is a very hands on position, yet at the same time has a lot of administrative responsibilities attached to it. It is a great balance for me, and makes each day enjoyable. I also have a varied set of responsibilities. I get to practice my business prowess with helping to run the Daily Plan-It, I get to work on my customer service skills when I interact with parents and guardians, I get to attend meetings with the Division of Developmental Disabilities and learn about funding streams. It is an extremely diverse role that I have, and that helps to keep things interesting.

What are some challenges about your job?

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges that I face is changing the mindset of the community at large in regards to people with disabilities and deinstitutionalization. It is difficult when trying to secure a volunteer or program site and we are turned down because of closed-mindedness. However, it is also extremely rewarding when you are able to change someone's opinions and show them the truth.

You are based in one of our Daily Plan It's so you have direct contact with the
small business community that we have service agreements with - what is
that like?

It truly is a remarkable experience. We are able to deliver a great business product in our office space at a relatively low cost. The Daily Plan-It has benefited from these economic times because many people are now trying to start their own businesses due to the reduced rates of hiring and they need affordable, quality office space, which we are more than happy to provide. I have met lawyers, psychologists, software consultants, magazine designers, real estate agents, and many more professionals who have all utilized our product. It has been a productive
networking experience to say the least.

You were the first employee of Community Options to participate in the program at
KEAN university for your masters degree. what has that been like and how
would you encourage others to participate?

Honestly, this has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. All of the courses have been insightful, engaging, and relevant to my career in Community Options and as a human rights activist. I have met some brilliant people from all walks of life and the professors that I have worked with have been wonderful. While some of the courses do require a good deal of reading and writing, and the ensuing balancing act between work and school can be a lot to handle, I have learned a great deal about the world, as well as myself. I would highly recommend this Master's program to anyone who is interested in making their world a better place and who love to learn. I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity, and want to once again publicly thank Community Options for making it a possibility.

Keep up the great work Steve!

Photo Caption- Steve with his Ocean County Option Quest program planting flowers at the Beachwood Municipal Complex.

$5 million settlement in alleged abuse of autistic students - Philadelphia Inquirer

2010-06-06T22:02:00.003-04:00

By Tom Infield
Inquirer Staff Writer

Parents who alleged that their autistic children had been tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape in a Scranton-area schoolroom have agreed to settle a federal civil-rights suit for $5 million.

Plaintiffs' attorneys said the settlement reached Thursday appeared to be the largest ever in Pennsylvania involving the abuse of children in a special-education classroom.

A report issued last year by the U.S. Government Accountability Office said such cases were on the rise nationally. A bill in Congress would set standards for when and how children could be restrained in schools for their own safety or the safety of others.

The allegations in the Scranton-area case went beyond restraint.

The parents of seven children at the Clarks Summit Elementary School in the Abington Heights School District contended that teacher Susan Comerford Wzorek slapped children, pulled them by the hair, and deliberately stepped on the insoles of their feet.

In one instance, an attorney said Friday, the teacher pulled a child across the room by a cast on his broken arm.

To read this entire article please continue on to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Photo from the Scranton Times - Caption - Teacher Susan Comerford Wzorek pleaded no contest.

Princeton Design Guild Founder Receives Award

2010-06-06T21:58:00.001-04:00

In 1991, The New York Times named Eddie C. Moore the “Embattled advocate for the disabled.” Moore's mantra was that what people with disabilities need should always outweigh bureaucratic constraints. Eddie Moore headed the Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities.

During his tenure (1981-1988) he phased the institutional population of persons with disabilities from 8,100 to 4,700 people.

His untimely death at 41 coupled with his public resignation resulted in him remaining a hero in which he left a legacy in the human service field as it relates specifically to people with disabilities. Moore dramatically increased public awareness of the aptitudes and potential of people with disabilities.

In Moore's honor, Robert Stack, Founder, President and CEO of Community Options, a national nonprofit that develops housing and employment for people with disabilities and long-time friend of Moore in tandem with his board, created the Eddie C. Moore award in 1997 to recognize a public servant that has done exemplary service to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

On Saturday, May 22, 2010, the second recipient of the Eddie C. Moore Award was given to Kevin Wilkes, AIA, Founder and Managing Director of Princeton Design Guild. Kevin has worked with Community Options for many years as a contractor on a majority of the properties that are owned by the organization. Kevin and his team work tirelessly to ensure that from design to installation, every single aspect of each building is not only ADA compliant but flawless in design and sustainability.

The most recent project Wilkes has completed is Just Add Water, a cafe-style teashop and corporate training facility in Hillsborough that will be run by Community Options as their sixth social enterprise in the state of New Jersey. Wilkes made exceptional allowances in the space ensuring that every person with a disability working there would have complete accessibility to anything they would need and move freely around to be successful in their new jobs. Wilkes consistently demonstrates and advocates for the needs of people with disabilities to ensure their success.

Wilkes is a long-time resident of Princeton and also serves as a Borough Councilman and Princeton Police Commissioner. He is an advocate with local municipalities to develop affordable housing for persons with disabilities.

Study Finds, Autism Does Not Predict Divorce

2010-06-05T18:53:00.002-04:00

Check out Michelle Diament's post on a study where it was found that Autism does not predict divorce.

Excerpt:

Parents of children with autism are no more likely to divorce than parents of typically developing children, a first-of-its-kind study indicates.

For years, rumors persisted about divorce rates as high as 80 percent among parents of children with autism. But on Wednesday researchers unveiled the results of the largest study ever conducted examining the issue and said those exorbitant numbers are simply unfounded.

Instead, results show that among children with autism, 64 percent have married parents compared to 65 percent of children who don’t have autism.

To read more, please visit Disability Scoop!

Pick up Laura Shumaker's Book

2010-06-05T18:44:00.005-04:00

"A Regular Guy: Growing up with Autism, A Family's Story Love and Acceptance"

You can read the first three chapters on Shumaker's site or you can purchase the book on Amazon.com or with Barnes and Noble. The book is also available for your kindle.

A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism is a memoir about life with an autistic son, Matthew, written from his mother s perspective. It answers the many questions that people have about autism through the story of Matthew's life spanning from babyhood to young adulthood. A Regular Guy illustrates the many ways in which family, friends and strangers are touched by Matthew's desperate desire to be a regular guy, and how his brutal honesty and social awkwardness bring out the best and worst in people in touching and humorous ways. In turn, A Regular Guy leads readers to love and accept Matthew, quirks and all, and inspires them to understand and tolerate the differences in others.

Briefs filed in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey to support the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision

2010-05-27T22:46:00.001-04:00

Briefs Allege Failure to Comply with the ADA

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced it has filed briefs in three separate cases in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey as part of its continuing effort to enforce civil rights laws that require states to end discrimination against and unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities. The department’s filings support two private lawsuits seeking relief in Florida and New Jersey, as well as a proposed statewide class action settlement in Illinois.

The briefs allege that the three states are failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a decision that has often been called the Brown v. Board of Education of the disability rights movement. Last year, President Obama issued a proclamation launching the “Year of Community Living,” and has directed the Administration to redouble enforcement efforts.

“As the Supreme Court determined in the landmark Olmstead decision, unjustified institutionalization violates the rights of individuals with disabilities and stigmatizes them as unworthy of participation in community life,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Florida, Illinois and New Jersey can provide community-based services to people with disabilities, and the law requires them to do so to prevent unnecessary institutionalization.”

The department filed a brief as amicus curiae, or a “friend of the court,” to support a motion by New Jersey residents with disabilities for summary judgment against the state on their claims brought under the ADA. According to the brief, New Jersey is failing to serve individuals with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. New Jersey’s placement from institutions to community-based settings has slowed to a trickle, with new admissions largely being placed in institutions. Thousands of individuals continue to be institutionalized despite meeting ADA and Olmstead criteria for community placement, the brief states.

In Florida, the department filed a statement of interest to support Michele Haddad’s lawsuit against the state for violations of the ADA’s integration mandate as set forth in Olmstead. Haddad’s lawsuit alleges that Florida fails to provide community-based services to Medicaid-eligible individuals with spinal cord injuries who are at risk of institutionalization. Instead, the state will fund those services only after an individual relinquishes his or her ties to the community and enters a nursing home. Haddad has successfully resided in the community since 2007, but is at risk of entry into a nursing home due to changes in her caregiver situation. Haddad, who has been on the waiting list for services for two years, notified the state of her increased need for services, but was told that community services would only be available if she was willing to enter a nursing home for 60 days. The United States’ filing supports Haddad’s complaint and declaration for a preliminary injunction against Florida.

In the Northern District of Illinois, the department filed a statement of interest in support of a proposed settlement, embodied in a consent decree, between the state of Illinois and a group of individuals with mental illness living in large, privately-run institutions. The lawsuit alleges that the state of Illinois relies on these facilities, called Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs), to provide long-term care services while failing to offer services in community-based settings, in violation of Olmstead. According to the statement, the United States supports the preliminary approval of the consent decree because it advances the important public interest in community integration.

The full and fair enforcement of the ADA and its mandate to integrate individuals with disabilities is a major priority of the Civil Rights Division. The ADA protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination by public entities. People interested in finding out more about the ADA can call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY), or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov, where all relevant case filings can be found.

The Betty Pendler Award

2010-05-27T10:41:00.004-04:00

The Betty Pendler Award is an annual award presented to Community Options employees or others whose dedication and work exemplify Community Options’ mission!

Jessica Guberman, Ph.D., Executive Director of Community Options Enterprises / National Public Relations was presented with the prestigious Betty Pendler Award at the annual Community Options Board of Directors meeting held May 22, 2010 at the soon to be opened Just Add Water.

Just Add Water is a social enterprise that Jessica has been preparing to open in mid June. As you can see from the photos below the renovations are absolutely beautiful. I would also note that Jessica personally set up the room for the meeting (with flowers from Vaseful, of course)! This rolling-up-her-sleeves approach to management is one of the many reasons she is so respected by her staff as well as the obvious choice for this award!

Mayor Ron Jones of Beachwood promotes community inclusion and civic responsibility

2010-05-14T19:32:00.006-04:00

Option Quest is a Community Options day program that supports people with disabilities in community-based volunteer activities. On a day when the staff were just doing their job and helping to facilitate an activity for the people supported in the program, someone took notice. Mayor Ronald Jones of Beachwood witnessed an interaction with an Option Quest Specialist and a person supported and was completely impressed by what he saw and how loving and caring this staff person was.

As a result of witnessing this interaction, Mayor Jones invited the entire Option Quest program to assist in the planting of all of the annual flowers at the Beachwood Municipal Complex.

"What I witnessed between the staff and the person she was helping was amazing and inspired me to invite the entire group to Beachwood to assist with planting annual flowers," says, Mayor Jones. "More communities should get involved with organizations like Community Options to support people with disabilities," he added.

"We are so grateful for this opportunity to be involved with the community of Beachwood and that someone like Mayor Jones has taken notice of the high caliber of day programming our organization offers," says, Robert Stack, President and CEO of Community Options.

Option Quest was one of the first day programs that Community Options started as it gives people with disabilities an incredible opportunity to become fully integrated in their community.

"We hope that we can continue to work with the Beachwood community on other volunteer projects that may become available," says, Steven Verba, Region Director of Community Options.

"This is the beginning of a great partnership," says, Natalie Pico, Option Quest Coordinator for Community Options.

Feds sue over treatment of disabled in Arkansas

2010-05-11T20:38:00.003-04:00

Chuck Bartels of the The Associated Press has reported that the federal government accused Arkansas in a lawsuit last Thursday of leaving people with severe mental or physical disabilities with no choice but to go into state institutions.

The Justice Department lawsuit accused Arkansas of a "systemic failure" that places people in institutions when the state should pursue less restrictive avenues for their care.

"The state gives individuals with developmental disabilities the draconian choice of receiving services in segregated institutions or receiving no services at all," the lawsuit states.

The federal government accused the state of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees people with developmental disabilities the right to live in the most appropriate setting for their needs.

The state has six centers for the developmentally disabled that, in all, care for about 1,100 people.

To continue reading this article, please click here.

Image Caption - A scene from Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace (1972)

Robert Stack on New York Talk Radio

2010-05-11T20:36:00.001-04:00

Please click here to listen to Robert Stack's interview on New York Talk Radio!

Governor Christie signs legislation to create a registry of abusive caregivers

2010-05-06T23:07:00.005-04:00

Gov. Chris Christie recently signed legislation creating an internal registry of caregivers who neglect or exploit developmentally disabled people under their care.

“Abuse at the hands of a caregiver is a reprehensible action,” Christie said in a statement. “The legislation that I am signing today is an important tool to help safeguard those with developmental disabilities from harmful caregivers taking advantage of their position. Equally important, this new law will prevent these custodians from gaining re-employment or continuing participation in human services funded programs.”

“This registry will help root out abusive caregivers who may currently be flying under the radar,” Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) said in a statement.

The new law goes into effect in 180 days.

Lawmakers have raised concerns over care received by disabled residents since Tara O’Leary starved to death in November 2008 while living in a state-licensed foster home.

To read the entire article by Claire Heininger/Staff Writer and Chris Megerian/Staff Writer for NJ,com, please click here!

Robert Stack's Interview with CBS Money Watch

2010-05-06T00:11:00.004-04:00

Robert Stack, President and CEO recently had the opportunity to interview with Amy Levin-Epstein of CBS Money Watch about pay negotiations and what employees can do to get the job!

Excerpt by Amy Levin-Epstein

Get a Lifestyle Upgrade

Time: The biggest quality-of-life builder is time — either free or flexible. “In the 21st Century, in this economy, time is becoming worth more than money,” says Robert Stack, CEO of Community Options, a Princeton, N.J.-based nonprofit that supports people with disabilities. “If you can give people more quality time to spend with their family or have a flexible schedule, you're going to get better quality work and people who are more eager to accomplish the goals delegated to them.” So consider requesting extra vacation days, or even a four-day week.

Click here to continue reading entire article!

A Major Shift for NYC Schools and Kids with Disabilities

2010-05-01T08:19:00.003-04:00

Moving kids with disabilities into mainstream schools in NYC was supposed to take off in 2003, so why are we talking about it now? Because now is when it is happening!

Jennifer Medina of The New York Times released the story on April 28, 2010.

This fall, more than 250 schools will be asked to accept more students with disabilities rather than send them to schools that have specific programs for special education, as has been the case for decades. By September 2011, principals at each of the system’s 1,500 schools will be expected to enroll all but the most severely disabled students; those students will continue to be served by schools tailored exclusively to them.

Special education enrollment in New York amounts to 177,000 students, or 17 percent of the system’s total, up from about 13 percent seven years ago. The city’s annual cost for special education is about $4.8 billion annually, with $1.2 billion of that going to send students to private schools.

A Community for just People with Disabilities outside of an Institution?

2010-05-01T08:10:00.003-04:00

A sub-division that creates another division between people with disabilities and the rest of the world-

Follow this story on Disability Scoop by: Shaun Heasley

A debate is brewing in Florida between families who want to establish retirement-style communities for adults with developmental disabilities.

Groups across the state want to develop new neighborhoods specifically for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

But critics of the plans say they would amount to institutions and that people with developmental disabilities need to live in the greater community.

When will people realize that your quality of life is directly related to the relationships you have with your peers? For people with disabilities, their relationships are enhanced when these relationships are cultivated with their non-disabled peers.

Follow this story with the Miami-Dade as well.

Spotlight on Courtney Eidel, Senior Human Resources Director

2010-04-30T21:51:00.004-04:00

This week we had the opportunity to meet with Courtney Eidel, Senior Human Resources Director of Community Options. Courtney is a seasoned human resources professional who has been a breath of fresh air to the organization.

Here is the Q and A with Courtney:

Q - In your new position as Senior Human Resource Director for Community Options, what attracted you to the position and had you worked for a nonprofit previously?

A- The mission of COI is what initially attracted me to the organization. Having a family member and Godson with autism, I have a personal interest in the services that COI offers. My previous experience in the non-profit sector was with the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, which provides allograft tissue and devices to the surgical community.

Q - Community Options has over 2,000 employees. This is a large workforce. How have you positioned the Human Resources Department to effectively manage the workforce?

A- We have recently restructured the department to provide better consultative services to our management staff and employee population. The regions are divided by RVP and are assigned a specific Generalist and Coordinator to respond to topics such as policy inquiries, employee relations and leadership development. By having a specific point of contact, managers will receive more timely and consistent responses from a Generalist who understands their business needs. The benefits functions have also been restructured to handle the increase in our employee population.

Q - What are some of the things you are currently working on?

A- The most recent HR initiative was the implementation of a new performance management system. The purpose is to gain more consistency in evaluating and rewarding performance. Other initiatives include the roll out of a wellness program, the launch of formal safety meetings, hosting a job fair at Rider University and making updates to our policies and procedures manual. We are also streamlining our processes and HRIS system, Ceridian, to provide faster and more comprehensive services. We are making a lot of positive changes in the department and I am thrilled to be a part of it all.

Q - What advice can you give to executive and program management to boost and sustain workforce morale? What are some good strategies?

A- Everyone is motivated differently. Some employees are motivated by recognition, increased responsibility, autonomy and a sense of purpose. It is imperative for managers to learn what motivates each of their employees and respond accordingly. Managers should also proactively provide direction and feedback and whenever possible, link the employees’ contributions to the success of the organization. This creates an environment of accountability and ownership. I encourage the managers to reach out to their Generalist for guidance in this area as well.

Q - What are two of your short and long term goals for Community Options Human Resource Department?

A- Our short-term goals include expanding upon the metrics we established to analyze and respond to the needs of our workforce. This includes items such as employee sustainability and the ROI of our recruitment sources. Long term, in conjunction with the goals of the Executive Management team and we will focus on talent management.

Courtney indicated that she looks forward to working on these initiatives with management and the HR staff and couldn’t be happier with her decision to join Community Options.

Disabilities at Work Radio Partners with Community Options

2010-04-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

Recently, Community Options and Disabilities at Work Radio teamed up to support each other through various efforts.

Disabilities At Work (DAW) is a national initiative aimed at raising awareness of the issues facing people with disabilities and rewarding businesses that support them. DAW launched an Internet radio talk show on April 14 on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel. The show airs every Wednesday at Noon (EST). DAW Internet Radio focuses on broad areas of interest to people with disabilities, their advocates and their employers.

President and CEO of Community Options, Robert Stack, will be featured on two segments of Disabilities at Work this summer. Disabilities at Work Radio is also a proud sponsor of Community Options 5th Annual Conference "Advocacy - Connect. Share. Live." The conference is taking place at the W Dallas September 27-30th, 2010 with Judy Woodruff as one of the keynote speakers.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Disabilities at Work Radio," says, Stack. "Having a national radio show entirely dedicated to the employment of people with disabilities in the competitive workforce along with best practices is a phenomenal resource for our country," he added.

People with disabilities, their families, service providers and other supporters comprise the largest minority group in the country and control more than $200 billion dollars in discretionary spending – an amount that exceeds that of the highly coveted teen market. DAW converts this latent consumer power into a focused ongoing campaign that rewards businesses that support people with disabilities.

DAW Radio spotlights businesses that support people with disabilities through philanthropy, or that go ‘beyond compliance’ in finding and hiring people with disabilities. The show features corporate VIPs, successful service providers, educators, people with disabilities who have interesting stories, authors, researchers, government officials, elected representatives, and celebrities who have reasons to be involved.

“We are pleased and excited to be able to raise awareness for the issues facing people with disabilities,” said Dana Egreczky, president of Disabilities At Work. “Producing the Internet Radio Show brings this important project to the next level.”

Spotlight on Karen Hensley, Regional Vice President of Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky

2010-04-23T15:39:00.000-04:00

There are so many incredibly talented people working with Community Options across the United States, we felt it would be great for everyone to get to know them better through question and answer sessions that will be posted on our blog.

Our first Q and A is with Karen Hensley, Regional Vice President for Community Options in Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky.

Q: How long have you been working for Community Options?

A: I have been with Community Options for 9 years.

Q: What did you do prior to working with Community Options?

A: I was the COO for Easter Seals of Tennessee and have worked in the non-profit world with people with disabilities for 22 years (WOW!!!.....where has the time gone).

Q: What are the most challenging parts of your job?

A: The most challenging part of my job is balancing the ever changing funding sources in each state especially in these economic times.

Q: With budget cuts taking place all across the country, how do you see this effecting your operations in South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee?

A: All of our Executive Directors along with myself have become better forecasters and predictors of the changing economic environment. As always, we operate creatively and efficiently, and this has forced us to improve those skills even more. We are consolidating homes per the state's funding source revisions, thus downsizing staff where possible. Our Executive Directors are also working very closely with the funding sources regarding expansion through institutional referrals and community transitions.

Q: How do you balance work/life - what are some of your hobbies outside of work?

A: Yard work, softball and pool time along with a good book are all great equalizers!

Thanks, Karen for everything you do! Please stay tuned for other spotlights on the wonderful employees of Community Options!

Photo Caption - Karen, center, featured with administrative staff from the Cookeville Tennessee operation.

Fox's Glee puts down syndrome in the spotlight

2010-04-23T12:31:00.000-04:00

By Michelle Diament
Disability Scoop
April 12, 2010

An excerpt from Michelle Diament's piece on Disability Scoop, please click on Disability Scoop to read the article in its entirety.

The hit show “Glee” returns Tuesday for a nine-episode run on Fox this spring and so too does the show’s inclusion of characters with disabilities.

Last fall, actress Lauren Potter, 19, who has Down syndrome, debuted on the show as Becky Jackson, the school’s newest cheerleader, or Cheerio. Now, Potter is back for two more episodes — “The Power of Madonna,” airing April 20, and “Home,” airing April 27.

The experience mirrors real life for Potter in many ways. The bubbly teen tried out to be a cheerleader at her Riverside, Calif. high school, but didn’t make the squad. Then, after graduating last year, Potter beat out 13 other girls for the role on Glee. Nowadays, Potter splits her time between acting and attending a life skills program.

Continue reading this article by clicking here - Disability Scoop!

Health Reform for Americans with Disabilities - Issued by The White House

2010-04-22T12:33:00.000-04:00

The Affordable Care Act Gives Americans with Disabilities Greater Control Over Their Own Health Care span>

Greater Choices for Americans with Disabilities

Expands the Medicaid Program

• Expands the Medicaid program to more Americans, including people with disabilities.

New Options for Long-Term Supports and Services

• Provides a new, voluntary, self-insured insurance program (CLASS Act) that helps families pay for the costs of long-term supports and services if a loved one develops a disability.

Creates new options for states to provide home and community based services in Medicaid, enabling more people with disabilities to access long-term services in the setting they choose.

Extends the Money Follows the Person program and makes improvements to the Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) option.

Eliminates Insurance Company Discrimination

• This year, prohibits insurance companies from denying children coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Going forward, the Act will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage or charging more to any person based on their medical history, including genetic information.
• This year, provides access to affordable insurance for uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions through a temporary, subsidized high-risk pool, which will help protect them from medical bankruptcy. This high risk pool is a stop-gap measure that will serve as a bridge to a reformed health insurance marketplace.

More Affordable Choices and Competition

• Creates state-based health insurance Exchanges to provide families with the same private insurance choices that the President and Members of Congress will have, including multi-state plans to foster competition and increase consumer choice.

One-Stop Shopping

Provides standardized, easy-to-understand information through the Exchange on different health insurance plans so Americans can easily compare health plans to choose the quality, affordable option that is right for them.

Insurance Security

• Ensures that families always have guaranteed choices of quality, affordable health insurance whether they lose their job, switch jobs, move, or get sick, through creation of Exchanges.

Makes Health Care Accessible to Everyone

Provides access to health insurance through Exchanges to those without job-based coverage and provides premium tax credits to those who can’t afford coverage, significantly increasing access to a choice of health insurance plans for individuals with disabilities. This will enable individuals to keep their jobs rather than giving up employment in order to receive Medicaid benefits.

Lowering Costs by Rewarding Quality and Cutting Waste

Insurance Industry Reforms that Save Money

This year, eliminates all lifetime limits on how much insurance companies cover if beneficiaries get sick and bans insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. The Act also restricts the use of annual limits in all new plans and existing employer plans this year, until 2014 when all annual limits are prohibited.

Going forward, plans in the new Health Insurance Exchanges and all new plans will have a cap on what insurance companies can require beneficiaries to pay in out-of-pocket expenses, such as co-pays and deductibles.

Supports States starting in plan year 2011 in requiring health insurance companies to submit justification for requested premium increases, and insurance companies with excessive or unjustified premium exchanges may not be able to participate in the new Exchanges.

Cracks down on excessive insurance overhead starting in 2011 by applying standards to how much insurance companies can spend on non-medical costs, such as bureaucracy, executive salaries, and marketing, and provides consumers a rebate if non-medical costs are too high.

Assuring Accessible, Quality, Affordable Health Care for People with Disabilities

Preventive Care for Better Health

This year, requires new plans to cover prevention and wellness benefits at no charge to American families by exempting these benefits from deductibles and other cost-sharing requirements.

Invests in prevention and public health to encourage innovations in health care that prevent illness and disease before they require more costly treatment. People with disabilities are less likely to receive preventive care and are more likely to be diagnosed with screenable cancers at a later stage.

Improves access to medical diagnostic equipment so people with disabilities can receive routine preventive care.

Addresses Health Disparities

Moves toward eliminating disparities by improving data collection on health disparities for individuals with disabilities and improving training of health providers.

Improve Care for Chronic Disease

Invests in innovations such as medical homes and care coordination demonstrations in Medicare and Medicaid to prevent disabilities from occurring and progressing and to assist one in every 10 Americans who experience a major limitation in activity because of a chronic condition.

Those who were supposed to take care, accused of abuse and neglect

2010-04-21T16:49:00.000-04:00

Star Ledger
By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
April 18, 2010

Excerpt:

What Grimes didn’t write was that O’Leary was losing weight rapidly and living in a room that reeked of urine. The next month, a concerned relative was shocked when Grimes brought O’Leary to a nearby diner for a visit. O’Leary was dirty and thin, and her shoes were on the wrong feet, according to the family.

In fact, she was starving to death. By the time she was rushed to the hospital that September, she was severely underweight. She had bedsores and brittle nails, according to medical records, and her hair was falling out. She died in November 2008, weighing about 48 pounds at 28 years old.

Please read this article in its entirety "Caretakers at Bloomsbury facility for disabled adults accused of abuse, neglect after 2 residents die"

America and the institutional bias

2010-04-19T14:07:00.000-04:00

Written by:
Robert Stack
President and CEO
Community Options

Happy Birthday Justin or should I say Artyom now? You remember, the adopted boy who came from a Russian institution only to be returned because the family in Tennessee couldn’t handle him. Well, he just celebrated his 8th birthday in a Russian hospital.

The truth of the matter is that an 8 year-old boy going to an institution, or coming from one is not news. If he were placed in an institution in the Clover Bottom institution in Tennessee, or the Broome institution in New York or any of the seven institutions in New Jersey or the 13 facilities in Texas, no one would have blinked an eye. This is because we still keep over 50,000 people with disabilities locked away in horrific facilities throughout hundreds of institutions in 38 states.

This shameful relic of failed past federal and state public policy is our answer to American parents if they feel they can no longer care for their child with a disability. The practice became acceptable during the last part of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century and is still the last resort today.

Leaders, policy makers and advocates have gradually realized that this is wrong. Many states like Minnesota, most of the New England states and now even Michigan have either ruled this out as an option. (Michigan is closing their last facility this summer). In 1965 there were over 100,000 children and adults with autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and even epilepsy living in large, horrific congregate and very costly facilities. Today that number has been cut in half.

Most Americans were horrified at what happened to this 8-year-old boy. Honestly, the only reason it became news was that he had to go back to Russia. I spent a day at an institution in Russia for children and adults with developmental disabilities. It was indubitably the most daunting experience I had in Russia. The children and adults slept in a large building with nothing to do. The conditions were dank; the setting was so far away from the rest of the Russian community. There were accounts of abuse, neglect and unmentionable sights of positive treatment of the people with disabilities that lived there. However, other than a different language, it was literally no different than the exact same kind of treatment that is experienced daily by the thousands of children and adults with disabilities in the United States.

Once in a while there is a news story that erupts about the horrific conditions in a U.S. institution, then it goes away. Recently in Corpus Christi there was a brief story about staff that would provoke people with disabilities to beat each other. The staff would bet on who would win and one of the staff even used her cell phone to tape this fight club. There are the usual deaths without cause, the pregnancies of blind/deaf girls who can’t walk. I was in an institution with an elected official and witnessed a girl bound in rags by her hands and feet. She was also naked.

In most states, the average cost to keep a person in an institution is about $630 per day (around $230,000 per year). These institutions are financed through Medicaid.

Over my lifetime I have seen Presidents decide that something was fundamentally wrong with how children with disabilities are treated in our country. President Kennedy had a sister. He created the “President’s Committee on Mental Retardation” to heighten the awareness of people with disabilities. President Reagan knew that things should be solved on a local level, so in 1981 he signed the Omnibus Reconciliation Act to give more say to states on how to allocate resources to persons with disabilities resulting in 50,000 people being moved to small homes and foster care settings. President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act to increase the abilities of persons with disabilities to live and work more in the community.

There has been significant litigation in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and in Tennessee; there were three lawsuits. The process has been very slow and very costly. The process to close an institution through legal channels is more costly than making the decision to just shut one down. In Tennessee for example, the lawsuits for institutional closure has gone on for over a decade, costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

There are cottage industries of advocates that migrate from state to state based on the efficacy of a lawsuit vies a vie settlement. However, with the serious recession and the loss of revenue to states and the Governor of Tennessee showing marked leadership mandates the Nashville institution be closed before the end of the year. This decision was seemingly arrived at through financial considerations, which is that community living is far less than institutional care.

In many states, the reason that institutions have yet to be closed is lack of leadership and essentially resistance to change.

This resistance is based on job loss and fear of what might happen without an institution to fall back on. Most unions are opposed to institutional closure. They do not want their rank and file to lose their jobs.

The truth is that in states like Minnesota, other branches of state government do in fact hire state workers employed by these institutions. The unions still continue to resist and it seems to take site visits by the United States Department of Justice followed by lawsuits to expedite closure. A few years ago, the state of New Jersey was issued a 27-page letter from the Department of Justice citing hundreds of incidents of abuse and neglect at two of their seven institutions. Horrific accounts of beatings and neglect witnessed by government officials demanding reformation and closure were highlighted. New Jersey settled.

Many of these institutions are utilized for other things, such as prisons or other more relevant and revenue generating venues. For example, the Western Center institution in Pittsburgh was sold to a developer and turned into condos. De-institutionalization has and will continue to be the answer.

It is a fact that persons with disabilities flourish in the community. The majority of people with disabilities now live in small community settings. Many of them have jobs, earn wages and become viable members of their communities. Today, parents are given so many additional options to prevent unnecessary options such as institutions. However, because the economic scales rest in the service provision of institutions, they are told to wait. Today there are over 250,000 families who remain on waiting lists to have their child given community programs. They cannot just send their child to Russia. However, years and years of waiting exacerbate an already bad situation and they wind up looking to an institution as the only viable means of compensating for an already bad situation.

If the President and his Secretary of Health and Human Services created an incentive plan to place people from these horrific institutions; if the federal government pushed states through positive programs to place the remaining people to not have to celebrate their 8th or 48th for that matter birthday in an institution, it would save literally over one billion dollars per year.

People with disabilities would experience their constitutional rights for life and liberty. It is time for us to acknowledge the fact that the way we treated people with disabilities for the last 100 years didn’t work. We now know what does work. It is not sending them to Russia, or a domestic institution. It is giving them the supports they need in small community based homes locally where they can live and benefit from all this country has to offer.

Please watch the below video on institutional closure:

iPad Great Device for Kids with Disabilities

2010-04-15T16:49:00.000-04:00

This is a great article by Dakshana Bascaramurty of Globe and Mail Update. Parents and educators of kids with developmental disabilities offer high praise for the new Apple iPad. They say it can serve as an assisted communication device, can help kids focus on routine tasks, and is a great help at easing student anxiety.

My 9 News and Autism Report

2010-04-15T16:42:00.000-04:00

One in every 94 children in New Jersey has been diagnosed with Autism. It's a disability with no known cause or cure. But there is hope. My9 News Takes On the problem which affects everyone. Please watch the below video:

What is Right is Not Always Popular

2010-04-10T22:44:00.000-04:00

Opinion Editorial
By: Robert Stack
President and CEO of Community Options

Seventeen years ago I was an executive assistant and was told to take the then Junior Assemblyman, now a member of Congress, Rodney Frelinghuysen to the Vineland Developmental Center for a tour. His assistant shrieked in horror to see a naked woman (hand, feet and neck) bound to a bed in rags.

Naively I said, “This is your fault”. He said, “What do you mean?” I said, “The legislature never appropriates enough money to take care of these folks in a good environment and the staff don’t know what to do.” Subsequently some of the administrative staff was let go from this facility after an investigation.

That was the Vineland Developmental Center “East Campus”. It was not called that in the sixties or the early seventies. The Vineland Developmental Center use to be called “The Vineland Developmental Center for Feeble Minded Women of Child Bearing Age”. The campus in those days was not called East and West. They were called the “Main Campus” and “The Colony”. Not only were persons with disabilities segregated by sex in those days, but by race as well.

Since then I have devoted all my time advocating that New Jersey needs to move appropriate persons with disabilities into the community to enable institutional staff to deal with people that needed more intensive care. Governor Florio closed the Johnstone Training and Research Center. Governor Whitman closed the North Princeton Developmental Center.

New Jersey still remains the second largest institutionally populated state in the country, second only to Texas. There are 17 states without any developmental centers. Michigan will close their last one this summer. The reasons they are closing are because they are morally wrong and too costly.

The NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities supports over 25,000 people with a budget of $1.3 billion. More than a half a billion is allocated for the 2,800 people living in the 7 institutions. Governor Whitman told me that closing the institution with public perception for fear of change, job loss and not to mention the shear logistics was one of the most difficult things she had done in her career. No Governor, with the exception of Chris Christie had the fortitude or the vision to make such a difficult but morally correct decision to close the Vineland Developmental Center as he announced yesterday. Sure it will save money, but it will also help transfer some of the people out of facilities who should have left years ago. His decision portrays a man that says when you have lemons such as huge deficits, make lemonade.

Commissioner Velez should be commended on making this overdue recommendation to close the Vineland Developmental Center. The physical plant at the Vineland Developmental Center is in need of so much repair and the employees can be moved to other facilities to reduce overtime and tend to those who need services more. The existing buildings can be used for a detention facility or even a community college or sold to a developer. It is the right thing to do. It is the best thing to do.

This decision is the reflection of a man who is not afraid to stand up and do what is right. It will be a sacrifice. It will be difficult. However, it is a decision that should have been made a long time ago.

Photo Caption: Robert Stack working with employees at the Princeton Daily Plan It

Photo Credit: Kathryn Sampson

Ed Department To Step Up Enforcement Of Disability Rights

2010-04-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

Michelle Diament of Disability Scoop recently wrote about how the federal government is cracking down on civil rights violations when it comes to students with disabilities and other minority groups.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that the Office for Civil Rights has not been as vigilant as it should have been in combating gender and racial discrimination and protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities and that this was going to change.

Just one of the reasons we like Governor Otter - Way to Go Idaho!

2010-04-09T19:30:00.000-04:00

Otter eliminates words like "retarded" from code

By SIMMI AUJLA
AP/Idaho Statesman

BOISE, Idaho — Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed into law Tuesday a measure that nixes the words "retarded," "lunatic" and the like from Idaho code, saying they are just as hurtful to people with disabilities as racial slurs are to minorities.

The new law replaces outdated language in 73 different laws - including those addressing health and welfare, education and corrections - with more accepted phrases such as "intellectually disabled."

Disability rights advocates said the revisions send a message to regular Idahoans that their government doesn't tolerate disrespect, since words like retarded are used, especially among teenagers, to insult others or describe distaste. Officials in several other states, including Washington and Oregon, have enacted similar laws.

On Tuesday, Otter compared words like retarded to racial slurs Americans used during World War II to describe Japanese people.

"We refer to people as Asians now, as Japanese," he said. "During the Second World War, we always used the most derogatory terms that were possible at that point. It suggested the anger in our society at Pearl Harbor."

Some of the laws with questionable language have been on the books for decades, such as a section of a 1908 law defining people who can't sign a contract for themselves, calling them "idiots."

Others are much more recent, like a section that refers to students enrolled in special needs classes with the term "mental retardation." That law went into effect in 1990.

Bill sponsor Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise, said he didn't realize how pervasive the slang word retarded is until he mentioned the bill in a talk last year about his work as a state lawmaker to junior high students at a charter school in Garden City.

As he began to describe his plans to change code to treat people with disabilities more respectfully, the students interrupted him.

"Oh, you mean 'retard,' like 'you're retarded,'" they responded before giggling, he said. "It was pretty spontaneous. I was surprised."

The term mental retardation is still used by the American Psychiatric Association in its diagnostic manual, a guidebook used by lawyers and doctors to determine if a person is disabled. The group plans to cut the phrase in its next edition.

Disability rights advocates aren't sure how the medical diagnostic terms retarded and lunatic became pejorative in popular culture.

"We often take words and language and twist them to have a different meaning," said Marilyn Sword, executive director of the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities. "I think people say it without thinking and don't realize it has the impact that it does."

On Tuesday, Otter also signed a measure that gives grandparents more custodial rights over children whose parents have dropped out of the picture. Since the end of the 2010 legislative session, he has approved a budget for Idaho public schools that slashes total spending for the first time in Idaho history, as well as reduced funds for the state parks agency, which he wants to become less reliant on taxpayer money.

Photo Credit - Bing Images

Adults and Attention-Deficit Disorder - And you though it was just for kids!

2010-04-07T10:48:00.001-04:00

The Wall Street Journal's Melinda Beck has put together this organized and credible piece on Adults being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Disorder. Check out the checklist screening below.

The symptoms of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder seem to describe half the people in New York City: restlessness, impatience, impulsivity, procrastination, chronic lateness, and difficulty getting organized, focusing and finishing tasks.

How do you know you have ADHD, which experts compare to having a mind like a pinball, with thoughts flitting in multiple directions. Maybe you're just overcaffeinated and overworked? And if you do have it, will there be a stigma? Should you try medication? Will it work?

Parents of children with suspected ADHD face a myriad of similar questions. But the concerns can be just as troubling for adults, whose ADHD often goes unrecognized.

An estimated 8% of U.S. children have ADHD, which is also known as ADD, for attention-deficit disorder, and some 50% of them outgrow it, according to government data. About 4.4% of U.S. adults—some 10 million people—also have ADHD and less than one-quarter of them are aware of it.

That's because while ADHD always starts in childhood, according to official diagnostic criteria, many adults with the disorder went unnoticed when they were young. And it's only been since the 1980s that therapists even recognized the disorder could persist in adults.

Even now, getting an accurate diagnosis is tricky. Some experts think that too many adults—and children—are being put on medications for ADHD, often by doctors with little experience with the disorder. Others think that many more people could benefit from ADHD drugs and behavioral therapy.

Complicating the picture further, ADHD frequently goes hand in hand with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, and it can be difficult to untangle which came first. "It's very common for someone to be treated for depression or anxiety for years, and have the therapist not notice the ADHD," says Mary Solanto, director of the AD/HD Center at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. But adults whose ADHD is left untreated face a high incidence of substance abuse, automobile accidents, difficultly staying employed and maintaining relationships.

That said, some adults with ADHD are highly intelligent, energetic, charismatic and creative, and are able to focus intently on a narrow range of topics that interest them. David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue Airways, and Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko's, have spoken out about how the disorder helped them come up with innovative ideas for their corporations, despite their having done poorly in school.

"It's amazing how successful some people are able to be despite these symptoms, and some people are totally paralyzed—there's a whole spectrum of outcomes," says Ivan K. Goldberg, a psychiatrist in New York City who co-developed a commonly used screening test.

Generally, ADHD can make life very difficult. It's thought to be an imbalance in neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that relay signals in the brain, particularly in the frontal cortex that governs planning and impulse control. Children with the disorder, particularly boys, are likely to be hyperactive, with an intense need to move constantly, which can interfere with learning. (Girls tend to be talkative and dreamy, but they are often overlooked because they aren't as disruptive.)

Adults more typically have trouble with paying attention, focusing and prioritizing. Managing time and money are particularly difficult.

"What it really is is a disturbance of the executive functions of the brain -- it's the inability to plan things, to initiate them at the appropriate time, not to skip any of the steps and to terminate them at the appropriate time," says Dr. Goldberg. "An awful lot of these people are very bright but they can't keep it together. They keep screwing things up."

"It's extremely hard for me to sit my butt in a chair. I get fidgety. I want to get up," says Linda Hensens, 46, a medical transcriptionist in Clayton, N.C., who discovered she has ADHD when a bariatric surgeon asked about her working habits. "I'll think of the wash that needs to be done and clothes that need to be folded and dusting that needs to be done and, Oh my god, I promised my nephew I'd make a cheese cake, and I've got Easter dinner to plan. My mind is going like that all the time."

Some people with ADHD are able to compensate for their distractibility, at least for a while. Some excel in school early on but run into problems once they get to college or get a job where they have to stay organized on their own.

"I see adults with ADHD who are in medical and law school or running companies, and at some point, they hit a ceiling. Their coping mechanisms aren't effective anymore," says Peter Jaksa, a clinical psychologist who works with ADHD patients in Chicago.

Dr. Jaksa says he recognized the symptoms of ADHD in himself long after graduate school when he was working with underachieving kids. "Once you know what it is, things make sense that didn't make sense previously," he says, such as his pattern of writing every paper in college the night before it was due, with a six-pack of Dr. Pepper and a bottle of No-Doz.

"We see people from all of the professions who have managed to succeed despite the limitations, but they have often done it at significant cost," says Dr. Solanto. "They don't have time to enjoy life. They don't get their work done in the course of a day. They have to stay late after hours, or they are doing without sleep, frantically trying to meet deadlines. It ultimately takes a toll on their wellbeing and a toll on the people around them."

While that sounds like many people who are simply driven or trying to do too much in an uncertain economy, experts say it may be ADHD when it interferes with the basics of life. "The magic word is impairment," says Dr. Jaksa. "Everyone gets distracted. Who's not late occasionally? But if you are chronically late, you lose your job and maybe your friends as well."

"I was a textbook case," says Ali Bauman, a 38-year-old writer in Chicago. "I had a messy bedroom and a string of minor car accidents that I could never explain. I couldn't keep the house clean, pay bills, get things done on time. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it, I just wasn't capable of doing it."

As with other psychiatric conditions, there is no blood test or brain scan that can diagnose ADHD. Experts say people who suspect they have it should have a thorough evaluation, ideally with a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in the disorder, looking at how they functioned in early childhood, in school and social settings and personal relationships. A screening test can help determine if you should see a mental-health professional, but shouldn't be used for diagnosis.

Once ADHD is diagnosed, most experts recommend treatment with both medication and behavioral therapy.

As counterintuitive as it may seem to give stimulants to people who can't sit down, drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and Vyvanse increase neurotransmitters in parts of the brain that help people focus and control impulses. "They wake up the parts of the brain that are sluggish, so they regulate the brain at a more normal level," Dr. Jaksa says.

There are some concerns that stimulant medications can be abused by people who don't need them. Dr. Goldberg notes that drugs for ADHD can make anybody focus better. But for people with true ADHD, they bring significantly more mental clarity. "My brain felt like it was screwed on more tightly. Everything came into focus. I could be active and do things with my life," Ms. Bauman says.

There also have been concerns that such medications could make some people with ADHD lose their creative edge. But, says Dr. Jaksa, "In my experience, that only happens when the dosage is too high, or it's not the right medicine." He also recommends at least 30 minutes a day of vigorous exercise, which can also increase neurotransmitters.

While medication can help ADHD sufferers focus better, behavioral therapy can teach them what to focus on, how to schedule their lives and set priorities.

Dr. Solanto developed a 12-week program to help people with ADHD learn to manage time, break down daunting tasks into manageable steps and keep themselves organized. One mantra of the program is: "If it's not in the planner, it doesn't exist," says Dr. Solanto. In a study of 88 patients published last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry, they found that those who participated in the program improved significantly more than those who received more standard supportive therapy.

ADHD coaching services provide some of the same lessons, for anywhere from $60 to $300 an hour. "People contact me when they're sick of themselves. They keep repeating the same patterns and can't get a grip on how to change it," says Nancy Ratey, a Boston-based coach who has ADHD herself. She designs individual strategies to help clients meet their responsibilities, which could run the gamut from hiring an administrative assistant to programming their cellphones to ring every hour to make sure they are staying on schedule. "There's nothing worse than an ADHD boss," who keeps saying "this is urgent," "no, this is urgent," she says.

Many ADHD sufferers learn their own tricks to stay organized.

"I buy socks in only one color so I don't confuse them," says Ms. Bauman. "I use one purse a week and my keys stay in there." And because she gets overwhelmed wandering around the grocery store, Ms. Bauman says she's begun ordering groceries online to save time.

Besides learning such organizing skills, many people with ADHD say the biggest challenge is learning not to let the disorder erode their self-confidence, and not to blame themselves for shortcomings.

"There's a huge incidence of depression with ADHD because you are continually failing in the eyes of others, not reaching your potential. People recognize you are smart, and you can't find your niche," says Rob Cahill, 38, an ADHD sufferer who works in social service agency in New York.

Still, Mr. Cahill says that understanding his disorder has helped him empathize with the social-service clients he serves. "The ADHD is a gift in some ways, it's just sometimes hard to recognize."

Photo Credit - Bing Images

Choices Spring 2010 Newsletter - Check it out!

2010-04-06T16:31:00.000-04:00

Civil Rights Chief Highly Critical of Warehousing People with Disabilities....

2010-04-06T11:29:00.000-04:00

Justice Department's civil rights chief says fewer people with mental disabilities should be 'warehoused' by state.
By Corrie MacLaggan AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

The U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights chief said Friday that an agreement with Texas on fixing state institutions for people with mental disabilities "falls short" on moving people out of the facilities.

"There are just so many people who are being warehoused in these institutions, and I think that's a tragedy," Thomas Perez , assistant attorney general for civil rights , said in an interview in Austin. He was in town to speak at a National Conference of State Legislatures redistricting law seminar.

Last June, the Justice Department and Texas entered into an agreement to improve health care and speed up investigations of abuse and neglect at the 13 facilities now known as state supported living centers. It was the culmination of a federal investigation that began in 2005 at the Lubbock facility after reports of abuse and neglect and later expanded to the other institutions.

Perez, an appointee of President Barack Obama, took office in October — months after the Texas deal was signed. It's not clear whether his objections — which signal a departure from what the Obama administration said at the time the deal was announced — could affect Texas. He said he inherited the agreement and needs "to respect that on a certain level." But now, he said, he'd like to implement far more aggressive agreements with states.

"The paradigm prior to our arrival was: 'Let's just make sure that the facilities are safe,'" he said. "The new paradigm is: 'Question No. 1 — What is your plan for moving eligible people into communities? Step two ... What is your plan for ensuring that the facilities are safe?"

Texas' philosophy, one state official said, "may be a little different."

"In Texas, we support choice," said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Commission , referring to the options of living in institutions or smaller group homes or enrolling in state programs that help people with disabilities live at home.

Still, the state is committed to ensuring that the population of the institutions continues to decline, said Cecilia Fedorov , a spokeswoman of the Department of Aging and Disability Services. About 4,300 now live in the institutions, down from 5,428 in 2000.

Texas allows people who want to leave state supported living centers to skip over a waiting list for home-based programs, and last year the Legislature expanded the number of spots in home-based programs available to living center residents.

"We need to be doing everything we can to make successful transitions for people who wish to move," Fedorov said.

Perez said that an ideal agreement would have specific numbers of people that the state should move out and timelines of when that should happen.

The Texas agreement requires the state to identify people who want to move out of the institutions, help them make that transition, and make sure their needs are met in their new setting, Fedorov said. But there are no specific numbers on how many people should move out.

Without those specifics, said state Rep. Elliott Naishtat , D-Austin, a member of the House Committee on Human Services, "what we're dealing with is wishful thinking at best."

At the time the agreement was signed, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder praised it.

"The Justice Department is committed to protecting the fundamental rights of all our citizens," Holder said in a June 2009 press release. "This agreement reflects that principle by protecting the civil rights of some of Texas's most vulnerable residents."

In the 1990s, Texas closed two state institutions as part of a lawsuit settlement. Later, the state considered closing more, but after heated hearings, decided not to.

Susan Payne of College Station, whose sister, Diane Ward , lives at Denton State Supported Living Center, said she finds it "very offensive" that Perez would say people are being "warehoused."

"Family members of people who live at the state supported living centers are very, very aware of the options in the community, and the families have chosen this as the best setting," Payne said.

But Perez said that moving people out of institutions is long overdue.

"It's a heck of a lot easier to have everybody in one setting," he said. "But ease should never trump what is right, and what is constitutional."

World Autism Awareness Day....Every 1 out of 110 Children are Diagnosed with Autism

2010-04-02T01:54:00.000-04:00

From Executive Healthcare
By: Jodie Humphries

2 April 2010 will mark the third annual celebration of World Autism Awareness Day - a day to increase and develop world knowledge of autism, by bringing together autism organizations from around the world. The aim is to give a voice to the millions of individuals worldwide who are undiagnosed, misunderstood and looking for help.

In December of 2007, the United Nations passed a resolution declaring 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day. The resolution was introduced by Nassir Abdulaziz al -Nasser, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations. According to a press release by the Representative of Qatar, "member States should break the 'barrier of shame' of people suffering from autism and raise international awareness of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of the brain disorder, which was estimated to affect 35 million people worldwide."

The focus of many of today's autism organizations is to help raise awareness of autism and the other pervasive developmental disorders.

There are several benefits to raising awareness about autism. The more people that know about autism, the more likely that research funds will be dedicated to understanding this developmental disorder. As more research is conducted, breakthroughs in autism treatment are more likely, suite101.com reports.

Autism reports

Raising autism awareness is an even more important task now that one in 110 children in the United States are on the autism spectrum. At no other point in recent history has the need for autism awareness been so important. ASDs are reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, yet are on average four to five times more likely to occur in boys than in girls.

Prior to the 2009 revision, the autism prevalence rate was at one in 150 children. This represents a significant jump in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses in the four years that passed between the 2002 and the 2006 study results. There are many ways to promote autism awareness with the first step being an accurate look at how autism affects children in the United States.

If four million children are born in the US every year, approximately 36,500 children will eventually be diagnosed with an ASD. Assuming the prevalence rate has been constant over the past two decades, we can estimate that about 730,000 individuals between the ages of 0 to 21 have an ASD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

Around the world, people will be joining together to bring awareness to autism, a often undetected disorder.

Problems Remain in Texas Run Institutions....But Are we Surprised?

2010-03-31T23:58:00.000-04:00

Disturbing findings in wake of 'fight club'

From the Houston Chronicle

Written by: Terri Langford

Photo Credit - Bing

Criminal fingerprint checks show at least 36 employees continued to work on the state payroll while caring for the mentally disabled — despite being arrested for felonies ranging from indecent exposure, to aggravated assault, child rape and murder.

Of those 36 with arrests, 17 had felony convictions and the remaining 19 still face trial, according to Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services records released to the Houston Chronicle Monday.

The release of the records, first requested six weeks ago, came on the eve of a House committee meeting Tuesday in which lawmakers will discuss for the first time what improvements have been made regarding care at the facilities in the wake of last year's shocking “fight club” incident in Corpus Christi.

While that's less than one percent of the 11,785 DADS employees who were fingerprinted and work at 13 State-Supported Living Centers, formerly known as state schools, the newest reform shows how pre-employment criminal background screens failed to alert the state to employees with criminal records.

Current pre-employment screening only checks for convictions in Texas. The fingerprint checks linked employees to convictions and arrests outside of Texas. Of the 17 with convictions, 13 have been terminated or resigned. The other four are still in “process” according to the agency, which released the numbers without comment.

“Of course it still matters. That amount of people has control over a handful of residents who are unable to communicate abuse or neglect or ward off that type of aggression,” said Beth Mitchell, senior managing attorney for Advocacy Inc., a group that has fought for better care of the mentally disabled in Texas. “You don't want someone like that corrupting other staff. That's what we saw in Corpus Christi. It only took one staff to corrupt a group of staff in the fight club.”

Cell phone fight videos

The incident, at what has now been renamed Corpus Christi State-Supported Living Center, was discovered by police a year ago when a lost cell phone had videos of mentally disabled residents fighting. Voices of the residents' state caretakers could be heard encouraging the residents to fight one another. Since then, four former DADS workers have been convicted as a result.

The fingerprint checks and another new reform, random drug testing — which snared 23 DADS employees who tested positive for drug use — are the only significant progress seen in the year since the cell phone video surfaced and since DADS entered into a settlement late last year with the U.S. Department of Justice.

A “baseline” report on the Corpus Christi facility, the first of 13 to be conducted on each center as part of that DOJ agreement, shows little has been done since the fight club scandal put Texas' care of the mentally disabled in the spotlight.

While the March 10 monitoring report of Corpus Christi State-Supported Living Center revealed “a number of good practices in place,” it also noted “a number of the areas in which there is a need for improvement.”

For example, in the past year, the state has yet to establish a “zero tolerance” of abuse at Corpus Christi, there are no full-time psychiatrists on staff in the Corpus facility and no standard diagnostic procedure in place for residents with psychiatric problems.

“It's pretty clear from the report that they're really far behind in meeting the criteria of the DOJ settlement,” Mitchell said.

Also, the DADS staff in Corpus has not come up with better ways to monitor the physical and nutritional needs of their residents and are not able to pinpoint those residents who are at-risk of abuse.

“The Facility is at the very beginning stages of implementing the process of screening individuals to determine if they fall into an at-risk category,” the report stated.

Documentation problems

In many areas, the monitors noted the Corpus Christi facility failed to keep proper documentation on residents. Dental care records were missing, as was proof that staff reviewed some residents' medication and allergies. The current forms being used at the Corpus Christi center failed to document residents' vocational strengths, needs or preferences.

A spokeswoman for state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, the chair of the House Committee on Human Services, said Rose would not be making any comments about the report until Tuesday's meeting. Calls to other members, including state Rep. Abel Herrero, the committee's vice chair, were not returned.

Social Media Proves to be a Lifeline for People with Disabilities

2010-03-31T23:53:00.000-04:00

Social Networks a Lifeline for the Chronically Ill

From the New York Times
Written by: Claire Cain Miller

Photo Credit - Bing

A former model who is now chronically ill and struggles just to shower says the people she has met online have become her family. A quadriplegic man uses the Web to share tips on which places have the best wheelchair access, and a woman with multiple sclerosis says her regular Friday night online chats are her lifeline.

Amy Tenderich, who has diabetes, writes a blog and manages the social network Diabetic Connect from home in Millbrae, Calif.

For many people, social networks are a place for idle chatter about what they made for dinner or sharing cute pictures of their pets. But for people living with chronic diseases or disabilities, they play a more vital role.

“It’s really literally saved my life, just to be able to connect with other people,” said Sean Fogerty, 50, who has multiple sclerosis, is recovering from brain cancer and spends an hour and a half each night talking with other patients online.

People fighting chronic illnesses are less likely than others to have Internet access, but once online they are more likely to blog or participate in online discussions about health problems, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.

“If they can break free from the anchors holding them down, people living with chronic disease who go online are finding resources that are more useful than the rest of the population,” said Susannah Fox, associate director of digital strategy at Pew and author of the report.

They are gathering on big patient networking sites like PatientsLikeMe, HealthCentral, Inspire, CureTogether and Alliance Health Networks, and on small sites started by patients on networks like Ning and Wetpaint.

Sherri Connell, 46, modeled and performed in musicals until, at age 27, she learned she had multiple sclerosis and Lyme disease. She began posting her journal entries online for friends and family to read. Soon, people from all over the world were reading her Web site and telling her they had similar health problems.

In 2008, she and her husband started a social network using Ning called My Invisible Disabilities Community. It now has 2,300 members who write about living with lupus, forthcoming operations or medical bills, for example.

“People have good and bad days, and they don’t know a good day’s going to come Wednesday at 5 o’clock when a live support group is meeting,” Ms. Connell said. “The Internet is a great outlet for people to be honest.”

Not surprisingly, according to Pew, Internet users with chronic illnesses are more likely than healthy people to use the Web to look for information on specific diseases, drugs, health insurance, alternative or experimental treatments and depression, anxiety or stress.

But for them, the social aspects of the Web take on heightened importance. Particularly if they are homebound, they also look to the Web for their social lives, discussing topics unrelated to their illnesses. Some schedule times to eat dinner or watch a movie while chatting online.

John Linna, a pastor in Neenah, Wis., did not know what a blog was when his son suggested he start one after discovering he needed to stay home on a ventilator.

“That day my little world began to expand,” he wrote in a post last year about blogging. “Soon I had a little neighborhood. It was like stopping in for coffee every day just to see how things were going.”

When Mr. Linna died earlier this year, people all over the Web who had never met him in person mourned the loss.

Others use the Web to find practical tips about living with their disease or disability that doctors and family members, having not lived with it themselves, cannot provide.

On Diabetic Connect, a diabetes social network with 140,000 members, people share recipes like low-sugar banana pudding, review products like an insulin pump belt and have discussions like a recent one started by a patient with a new diagnosis. “I don’t like to talk to my family and friends about this,” she wrote. “Honestly I feel helpless. I really just need some advice and people to talk to who might have been experiencing the same things.”

Amy Tenderich is the community manager for Diabetic Connect and writes a blog called Diabetes Mine. “There’s no doctor in the world, unless they’ve actually lived with this thing, that can get into that nitty-gritty,” she said. “I’ve walked away from dinner parties with tears in my eyes because people just don’t understand.”

Patients often use social networks to interact with people without worrying about the stigma of physical disabilities, said Susan Smedema, an assistant professor of rehabilitation counseling at Florida State University who studies the psychosocial aspects of disability.

From her home in Maine, Susan Fultz plays online games at Pogo.com and commiserates with people who are frustrated that they do not have a diagnosis for their symptoms.

“There’s no worry of being judged or criticized, and that is something that I know a lot of us don’t get in our daily lives,” said Ms. Fultz, who has Lyme disease and psoriatic arthritis.

Those with chronic diseases or disabilities, like all Internet users, have to be wary about sharing private health information online, particularly with anonymous users.

Research has also shown that emotions can be contagious, said Paul Albert, digital services librarian at Weill Cornell Medical Library in New York who has researched how social networks meet the needs of patients with chronic diseases.

“If you hang out on a message board where people are very negative, you can easily adopt a negative attitude about your disease,” he said. “On the other hand, if people are hopeful, you might be better off.”

Some people also worry that patients might exchange erroneous medical information on the Web, he said. Yet most patient social networks make clear that the information on the site should not substitute for medical advice, and the Pew study found that just 2 percent of adults living with chronic diseases report being harmed by following medical advice found on the Internet.

Instead, the sites are used to share information from the front lines, said Lily Vadakin, 45, who has multiple sclerosis and works as a site administrator for Disaboom, a social network for people with disabilities. For instance, she has discussed with other patients how to combat fatigue by working at home and taking vitamin supplements.

“That’s what the community can give you — a real-life perspective,” she said.

Feds Fail to Hire and Support Workers with Disabilities

2010-03-31T23:47:00.001-04:00

From the Federal Times
Written by: Stephen Losey
Photo Credit - Bing

The federal government is not doing enough to attract, retain and accommodate employees with disabilities, according to a survey released today.

More than one-third of managers aren't familiar with special Schedule A hiring authorities that allow them to hire people with disabilities noncompetitively, according to the survey of 513 federal managers and hiring officials. And 58 percent of managers surveyed aren't familiar with an executive order from 2000 that ordered federal agencies to increase employment opportunities for disabled people.

The survey was conducted online earlier this year by the Telework Exchange, a public-private partnership that promotes expanded federal telework, and the Federal Managers Association.

More than two out of every five federal managers have not received the right training to effectively manage or retain employees with disabilities, according to the survey. Necessary training could include how to use hiring flexibilities, recruitment strategies, and how accommodations such as teleworking can help disabled employees be productive.

But while 71 percent of those surveyed said their agencies are committed to hiring people with disabilities, the survey concluded that "feds are not prepared."

The government needs to make sure managers are really committed to hiring people with disabilities, better monitor agency progress, better train and educate hiring and program managers, and offer improved physical and technical accommodations, the survey said.

"Accommodations alone will not enable Americans with disabilities to reach their full potential in the federal workforce," the survey said.

The percentage of the federal workforce with targeted disabilities — deafness, blindness, missing limbs, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorders, mental retardation, mental illness and limb or spine distortions — dropped from 0.96 percent in fiscal 1998 to 0.92 percent in fiscal 2007, according to a report issued last year by the government's National Council on Disability. The number of those employees declined by more than 14 percent over that period, from 28,035 to 23,993.

And 60 percent more people with disabilities leave the federal government as are hired each year, the council said last year. In fiscal 2006, the government hired almost 1,300 new employees with disabilities, but almost 2,100 employees with disabilities left that year.

About 12 percent of Americans who are between 16 and 64 years of age have disabilities, according to the Census Bureau.

Tribeca Retail Club Event

2010-03-28T20:22:00.000-04:00

Please view these pictures from the Tribeca Retail Club event that Vaseful Flowers and Gifts sponsored on Friday evening. It was a great night and great way to get Vaseful's name and product in front of a large group of people.

Vaseful, a Community Options Enterprise is a unique floral business which provides employment for people with disabilities in an integrated setting.

Community Options is a national nonprofit organization that has been developing homes and employment supports for people with disabilities since 1989. Vaseful is a highly successful floral business with a storefront base in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Don’t be fooled by the location; Vaseful has worldwide delivering capability and is also a favored vendor by brides and grooms in the tri-state area for their upcoming weddings through their “Weddings by Vaseful.” Vaseful was recently given the opportunity to promote its social enterprise through The Tribeca Retail Designer Club event taking place on March 26, 2010 in New York City.

“The Tribeca Retail Club is proud to have Vaseful as one of the official sponsors of our nightlife and shopping event. We are excited at the opportunity to expose the Vaseful service and products to the attendees of our event,” says, Laura Littleton, President of Laura Little Productions and organizer of the event.

Vaseful is only one of the 7 entrepreneurial businesses that Community Options operates. The organization operates four Daily Plan It’s which are business incubators that support the small business community while providing vocational skills training for people with disabilities.

“We are thrilled to be a part of the Tribeca Retail Designer Club event,” says, Morgan Hunter,
Marketing Director of Community Options Enterprises. “This type of exposure is what gets our name out there and allows people to know about the great work Vaseful is doing and how imperative social enterprises are for vocational skills training for people with disabilities.” She added.

Community Options, Inc.

5th Annual iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism!

Congrats to our Nashville Office!

National Nonprofit Appoints New Jersey Real Estate Expert to Board of Directors

How to Use Facebook for Fundraising

Senator Gordon visits Northern New Jersey Group Homes

Senator Joseph Kyrillos to receive Award of National Significance

American Idol Finalist, Scott MacIntyre to Perform at Annual Fundraiser

Congratulations on One Year of Service!

Community Options, Inc. Receives Support from CVS Caremark Charitable Trust

Governor Christie Town Hall Meeting - Hillsborough

Special Edition of the Choices Newsletter - Cupid's Chase

Photo Video of the Cupid's Chase 5K Run - 2011

Vaseful on the Today Show!

Teenager does Mitzvah for Local Charities

Community Options rings Opening Bell at the NASDAQ

Connecticut Woman Commits to a Cause on her Wedding Day

Real Work for Real Pay in San Antonio

Local Artist Supports National Cause

Choices Newsletter!!!! Read it today!

Community Options Holiday Party!!!

Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey, Encourages Corporations to be Socially Responsible

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

How to Win in Local Markets- When You're Not Local

Verizon Fios - Photo I.D.

Mary Pat Christie, First Lady of New Jersey, to Chair 5K Run for National Nonprofit

OPM Hosts Disability Employment Training Workshop

Top 10 Ways Hiring Disabled Workers Can Motivate All

Obama Signs Rosa's Law

An Exhibit Full of Hope

Women with Disabilities, Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Aided through Funds by the U.S. Department of Justice

National Disability Advocate Authors Book on The Facts of Life

And so it Begins!!!!! 5th Annual Advocacy Conference....

HGTV Host and WNBA Champion to Speak at Advocacy Conference for People with Disabilities

Healthcare professional discusses 'Parenthood's' handling of Asperger's syndrome - Los Angeles Times

First Lady Mary Pat Christie Highlights Importance of Skills Training to Empower People with Disabilities to Succeed in the Workforce

First Lady of New Jersey Mary Pat Christie, to Tour Social Enterprise for People with Disabilities

Award-Winning Television New Anchor to Deliver Opening Remarks at Advocacy Conference for People with Disabilities

Judy Woodruff to Deliver Keynote Advocating for People with Disabilities

Dana Marlowe - Accessibility Advocate to Present at National Advocacy Conference

Hot off the Press! The Summer 2010 Choices Newsletter

Jeff Brady, CEO of Brady Media Group and Award-Winning TV News Anchor and Reporter to Deliver Opening Keynote

Judy Woodruff to Deliver Keynote Advocating for People with Disabilities

Global Autism Advocate to Keynote National Conference

Gov. Chris Christie approves N.J. law removing offensive references to people with disabilities

2010 iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism

**Media Advisory**

20th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Nonprofit CEO to Commemorate 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Daniel Vance - Nationally Syndicated Column

People with Disabilities and Business Ownership

National nonprofit receives Housing and Urban Development grant to construct NJ’s first Green group home for people with disabilities

Petty Cash Gets Serious

Can moms of children with autism have it all?

Ari Ne’eman to become the first person with autism to serve on the National Council on Disability

Education Week- States Seek Federal Waivers to cut Special Education

From The New York Times - States struggle on how to educate people with severe disabilities

FamilyWeb2.org has Launched!

Stephanie's Day - Dallas

Getting New Jersey Back to Work

Inclusion for All

Princeton Packet Business Profile

Zach Anner could be Oprah's Next Replacement

Creating Safer Schools and Ending Restraint Use

Kids choked, stripped, beaten at facilities

Vaseful at the Holiday Lookbook Event in NYC!

Spotlight on Steve Verba - Region Director of Southern New Jersey

$5 million settlement in alleged abuse of autistic students - Philadelphia Inquirer

Princeton Design Guild Founder Receives Award

Study Finds, Autism Does Not Predict Divorce

Pick up Laura Shumaker's Book

Briefs filed in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey to support the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision

The Betty Pendler Award

Mayor Ron Jones of Beachwood promotes community inclusion and civic responsibility

Feds sue over treatment of disabled in Arkansas

Robert Stack on New York Talk Radio

Governor Christie signs legislation to create a registry of abusive caregivers

Robert Stack's Interview with CBS Money Watch

A Major Shift for NYC Schools and Kids with Disabilities

A Community for just People with Disabilities outside of an Institution?

Media Advisory