Mental Retardation

Vocational Habilitation Program
Everyone who wants to deserves to be given a chance to make a contribution to our society. But for the mentally handicapped, even getting a chance to do so is often easier said than done. That’s where WES Health Centers comes in – its Vocational Habilitation Program (VHP) provides employment training to individuals 18 years of age or older whose primary disability is mental retardation. The VHP is a work activity center, which incorporates a realistic work atmosphere. In this supported environment, individuals are paid piece rates and/or hourly rates based on wages commensurate with wages in similar work places. With trainers working alongside, the participants perform a variety of services for other businesses on a contractual basis, such as sorting, collating, labeling, food service and industrial subassembly. Training emphasizes skill development for competitive employment – a goal that many participants are able to achieve after having been exposed to the demands of an actual work environment. In the absence of remunerative work opportunities, structured groups and activities are facilitated. These groups and activities emphasize enhancement in the areas of physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and vocational skills development and promote increased job readiness skills as well as increased independence in the home and community. The sense of achievement these individuals experience is but one reason WES Health Centers is proud to have this program in its spectrum of services.

WESWorks
WESWorks—“where employment starts for individuals with special needs”—is an innovative WES Health Centers job training program that places adults with developmental disabilities in the competitive job market. As with the VHP, services are available to individuals 18 years of age or older whose primary disability is mental retardation, but the participants in this program are trained in community-based settings—usually for positions that relate to an individual’s career aspirations—and they eventually earn competitive wages (equal to those of their non-disabled counterparts). Job development services include job readiness training, individual on-the-job training, travel training, and follow-up evaluation after job placement. This program is sometimes the next step for men and women who have excelled in the VHP.

In-Home and Community Habilitation & Respite Services
Our In-Home program services both adults and children with mental retardation. For adults with disabilities, every achievement—even those other adults take for granted—is a cause for celebration. Conversely, every failure is a bitter pill to swallow—especially if the root cause is the absence of critical resources.

With this in mind, WES Health Centers embraced the In-Home and Community Habilitation & Respite Services program (one of several in the city). This undertaking is designed to assist adults with disabilities in acquiring, maintaining, and improving skills that will increase their self-sufficiency at home.

More specifically, the goals of the program are to provide outcome-based support systems that are tailored to the individuals’ needs and interests; to supply needs assessment and planning; to offer life and community skills training; and to grant access to community activities and supports. The services also promote individuals’ independence and active participation in their communities, and provide periods of respite to the families with which the adults may live.

In-Home and Community Habilitation & Respite Services is staffed by a program director and habilitation support specialists.