Dr Gertrude A Barber Center Inc

Our programs for children focus on early detection and the development of individualized intervention and treatment plans to help children reach their greatest potential. Our autism services offer state-of-the-art interventions for children and support for their families. An acute partial hospitalization program in southwest erie began its eleventh year of providing intensive therapy for children with serious mental health challenges to prevent admission to a hospital or institution and reduce recurring crises. Other services such as trauma and grief counseling, social skills development, mobile therapy, and family-based therapies helped children and their families better manage challenging behaviors. Our intensive behavioral health services (ibhs) offers families additional options to provide therapies for their children in home and school settings. Additionally, our early intervention program provides specialized therapies such as physical and speech therapies and nutritional guidance to 361 children from birth to age three across multiple counties in northwestern pennsylvania. We utilize a family-centered approach to help infants and toddlers overcome challenges at an early age with the goal of reaching their developmental milestones and being prepared to enter school. The elizabeth lee black school (elbs) at the gertrude a. Barber center, inc. Serves 231 from preschool through age 21 with multiple challenges, including autism, cerebral palsy, and multiple disabilities. For the 19th year in a row, this approved private school, which serves students from 21 pennsylvania districts, was designated as a school of excellence by the national association of special education teachers. We also provide preschool classes for "typically developing" children who learn and grow alongside their peers with developmental disabilities. The elbs began providing two classrooms in the general mclane school district to serve its students with autism and behavioral health challenges. Utilizing our resources for therapies and other supports, our school maintains contracts with the erie school district to provide preschool for children eligible for early intervention. For 15 years we have participated in pennsylvania's pre-k counts program, receiving a grant to provide full-day preschool free charge to 40 students in erie and corry determined to be at risk for academic failure because of socioeconomic factors. Notable accomplishments of elbs include: the increased use of technology with ipads in every classroom for teachers and therapists to expand learning opportunities for students. Increased opportunities for greater awareness of the fine and performing arts, with experiences in play production, dance and music done in collaboration with organizations that include erie arts and culture, and the erie playhouse. Expanded options for learning and communication, including the integration of eye-gaze technology that enables students with limited physical abilities to communicate by directing their eye focus to choices on a computer screen. Partnered with accredited colleges and universities on research projects and provided experiences for students in the fields of special education, speech pathology, occupational/physical therapies and other fields.

Through a wide range of adult services in the erie, warren, pittsburgh, philadelphia and central pennsylvania regions, individuals have a continuum of choices and opportunities for building skills and achieving greater independence. We are committed to carrying out the employment first resolution enacted in pennsylvania to make integrated community employment the goal for all persons with disabilities. To help students prepare for employment after high school, the gertrude a. Barber center, inc. Partners with the office of vocational rehabilitation (ovr) to provide pre-employment transition services for youth in the warren region that offers job shadowing and other services to plan for future employment. The supported employment program identified job openings and coached adults for employment in competitive, market-based jobs in the private sector in northwest pa, pittsburgh, central and the philadelphia areas. Currently, in its program, 156 adults are at work in industries ranging from food service, manufacturing, childcare, retail and janitorial. Mobile work crews from small group employment services gain job skills while performing janitorial duties on the gertrude a. Barber center, inc. Campuses. Supported employment job coaches completed their fourth year with project search, a collaboration with other community partners that provides internships at a local hospital for a group of high school seniors. The gertrude a. Barber center, inc. Responded to a sweeping change in the state's intellectual disability waivers by providing more opportunities for adults to participate in recreational, volunteer and other activities of their choosing in the community. In pittsburgh, the in home & community supports program that opened in 2009 now services nearly 34 adults with outings designed to build skills and experience new activities in their community. Community participation supports has a variety of programs to meet the unique and challenging needs of individuals who present with different levels of need and complexity. The level of care each person requires helps determine the staff-to-individual ratio varying from 1:1 to 1:6. The community participation service offers individuals enhanced personalized services for gaining and maintaining essential life skills and building upon individual strengths. The program incorporates community activities as a major focus to help individuals become familiar with their own community, access community resources and enhance independence as well as expand life experiences. Ultimately, for those who wish to explore community integrated employment, cps opens community connections and relationships which foster employment opportunities. The community participation program that began in pittsburgh in 2009 continues to grow, offering various levels of assistance to develop daily living and social skills. Seniors benefit from a positive and social environment at the lakeside senior center in erie that offers enriching opportunities to retain daily living skills and establish strong relationships through a variety of meaningful activities. As seniors, they feel a great sense of self-worth with their community volunteering involvement. The in home & community supports program, known as club erie, has locations on the east and west side of the city to better accommodate adults. The community centered, consumer driven service is currently serving 65 adults. It is designed to provide individuals with disabilities opportunities to develop social, professional, and leisure skills through a variety of daily activities, while increasing their community awareness and knowledge of resources in the community. The program has a focus on promoting volunteerism, with adults performing 300 hours of volunteer service on average every month for a wide variety of non-profit and service organizations. Public transportation skills are also taught to enable individuals to access community resources independently to meet their goals. With these varied experiences, many individuals achieve a greater sense of self-worth and self-actualization and more fully understand their true potential.adults with intellectual disabilities in the warren forest county region continue to access the expanded opportunities relating to community participation and employment opportunities at the newly renovated bollinger campus of the gertrude a. Barber center, inc.for the fourth year, the gertrude a. Barber center, inc. Provided prevocational, community participation supports programs in central pennsylvania, serving 33 adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities in bedford and 34 adults in somerset, pa.

Our behavioral health service operates a forensic outpatient clinic to provide therapies and medication management for adults meeting requirements ordered through the judicial system. The gertrude a. Barber center, inc. Offers recreational summer camps to specifically meet the needs of children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, as well as a camp for children and teens with high functioning autism. The camps feature activities such as swimming and arts, in addition to daily outings in the community. These revenues and expenses are incurred for other program services in accordance with the gertrude a. Barber center, inc.'s mission and for administrative and indirect costs. Administrative and indirect costs are allocated to the programs described above.