Program areas at Northeast Arc
Residential services - Northeast Arc has been providing residential services for over 40 years. Residential services are provided to 121 people in 26 homes, located across more than 10 communities on the north shore and in burlington, ma. Services are also provided to 15 people in shared living placements, 22 people in independent living settings, and 5 people in remote supports. Residential services provided include supervised living, supported living, specialty services and supports, deaf services, intensive medical services, training and consultation, nursing case management and specialized health coordination. The unifying theme across residential services is supporting people in being engaged members of their communities and having choice and control in their own lives. Residential services helps individuals reach these goals while providing a safe and well-supported environment.
Family services - Northeast Arc provides a variety of services designed to support families of children and adults with disabilities. These services, supporting close to 1,000 people, consist of technical assistance, education, autism aba specialty services, recreation, and three specific resource and support centers. The following programs are included in family services: autism support center, adult autism support center, family resource center, guided personal supports, assistive technology center, autism aba specialty services, recreation, individualized living options, and advocacy.the autism support center (Northeast regional) - provides referrals, support groups and training to parents, individuals, and professionals.the adult autism support center (Northeast regional) - provides referrals, group activities, educational workshops, and support groups for adults with asd.the family resource center (north shore area) - provides information and/or referrals to facilitate access to resources provided by Northeast Arc and the greater community to provide the best possible outcome for the individual and their family. The goal is to help families identify what is needed to maintain the integrity of their family, to decrease or alleviate stress and to participate fully in their communities.guided personal supports - helps individuals acquire skills in different aspects of their lives to be more independent and live their best life. Includes in home supports, autism coaching, college navigation, and agency with choice, and assistive technology.assistive technology center - provides technology resources and a space to test and borrow some of the newest smart home and disability specific applications and devices on the market. The center also provides in-home support and assessment to ensure the correct technology solutions are being utilized. Autism aba services - provides an intensive program of evaluation, in-home therapies, and parent training for children and young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Aba services employ one-to-one intervention techniques to enhance development in the areas that are most challenging for individuals with the asd diagnosis: social interaction, communication, and play. Programs include building blocks (0-3 in home), building bridges (3+ in home), the learning center (3 6 in center), and spotlight (3 22 in community groups).recreation - provides a wide range of year-round activities for both children and adults, including afternoon and evening social and leisure events, sports, classes, and outings. Additionally, recreation coordinates the commonwealth's second largest special olympics program for residents with disabilities throughout the north shore.individualized living options - provides adult family care and individualized living arrangements for adults and children with developmental disabilities. These arrangements allow individuals to share homes with families who provide care, companionship, skills instruction, and opportunities for community involvement.advocacy - offers informational workshops and personalized consultation to parents to ensure that their children receive the quality educational services they need to thrive.
Clinical services - provides medicaid/medicare certified home health care to medically fragile individuals in two primary programs: continuous care nursing and skilled intermittent care. This is available up to 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, to medically complex children and adults to help them achieve optimum health and wellness. Throughout 2023, 233 nurses provided more than 260,000 hours of support to 126 patients in their homes in over 100 Massachusetts cities and towns.
Early intervention - two early intervention programs operated by the Northeast Arc provide services to more than 1,000 children annually in the north shore and cape ann regions of essex county. The programs provide family-focused, home, telehealth, and community based therapeutic services to children aged 0 to 3 who are at risk of atypical development. Trainings are also provided to parents and professionals in the community on a variety of topics focused on helping their child reach their developmental benchmarks. Community-based day services - provides skill-building activities to help prepare people for jobs. Volunteer opportunities, community resources and activities are used to aid in the development of social and employment skills. Employment training & job placement - these services include assessment, work exploration, travel training, career planning, job coaching, paid employment in Northeast Arc's small businesses including breaking grounds caf, parcels, shine jewelry, the caning company at Northeast Arc, and heritage shredding, as well as competitive integrated employment with job placement assistance, workplace accommodations and ongoing support as needed. Transportation services - transportation is provided for individuals served throughout many of Northeast Arc's programs, both internally and in external support functions. This includes contracted daily scheduled transportation from homes to programs, various direct or 'on-demand' needs of day services division, and other support as requested agency-wide.day habilitation services - the Northeast Arc runs three-day habilitation programs. These programs aid with the acquisition, retention, and/or improvement of self-help, socialization, and adaptive skills in a setting comprised of peers of a similar age and level of independence. Each location has a particular focus with supports provided based on a person's own goals and objectives. Each person's day habilitation plan guides his or her daily activities and plans. Clinical supports and consultations are woven into participants' daily activities. Rns and lpns are part of each of the programs to assist with the well-being components of leading a more independent life. The array of supports and activities include but are not limited to: activities of daily living skill development communication support and development behavioral supports self-advocacy peer mentoring medical case management community based activities adaptive technology (ipad, ipod touch, smart board) socialization health and wellness community outreach in support of our neighbors and part-time work opportunities. The personal care attendant (pca) program is a masshealth service that allows people with long-term disabilities to live at home independently and manage their own care. Our personal care management (pcm) program at Northeast Arc serves more than 5,000 individuals living in communities throughout northeastern Massachusetts, greater boston, and the metro west area. Pcm skills trainers, with the help of a nurse and occupational therapist, assess the personal care needs of the individual, prepare a pca application to submit to the consumer's insurer, and help consumers in managing the hiring and training of the pca and the daily operations of the program. Adult family care (also known as adult foster care) is a masshealth program that supports individuals aged 16 and older living in the community with related or nonrelated families. Afc provides monthly home visits from a nurse and social worker, a tax-free caregiver stipend, ongoing training and teaching on the individual's diagnoses, caregiver stress, and coordination of community resources. Our afc caregivers receive support from our afc team to provide the best care at home for their loved one.the Arc tank - Northeast Arc's Arc tank, funded through a private donation by a local philanthropist, is a social innovation challenge that encourages applicants to develop ideas that will positively disrupt the way disability services are offered. Applicants compete for support through a rigorous yet streamlined process of application reviews and a final presentation to experts from different disciplines. Since inception, Arc tank has awarded more than $1 million to 17 innovative applicants addressing areas including civil liberties, employment and entrepreneurship, critical safety skill building, technology, and education for medical, allied health and first responders. Breaking grounds cafe was developed to provide employment training and education for young adults interested in food or customer services who had no direct experience in the field. The caf location was selected by a needs assessment completed by a long-term partner, the city of peabody. Joint efforts by both organizations have made breaking grounds cafe a recognizable name, elevating the profile of Northeast Arc in the community and reinvigorating peabody's downtown while serving as a training site for young adults with disabilities to develop greater employability.arcworks community art center is an integrated, cultural resource located in downtown peabody. Arcworks' mission is to provide a location for people of all abilities to learn, explore, create, exhibit, and sell their art. Arcworks has two gallery spaces, and studios to accommodate painting, sculpture, pottery, and other visual medium classes. Arcworks also connects people supported by Northeast Arc to the local creative economy, which generates multi-billions of dollars in sales and employs over 20,000 people across the region. Located inside arcworks is the heritage caning company, a storefront chair caning business; pottery and painting studios; and shine jewelry studio, all of which employ people with disabilities; and peabody's black box theater.parcels is a gift shop is located within the center for linking lives at the libert tree mall in danvers. The gift shop serves as an employment training program for people interested in retail sales or customer service jobs. The gift shop sells curated items made by, or through businesses owned by people with disabilities or autism. The gift store supports employment initiatives by over 130 independent artists, small businesses (including those based at arcworks) or organizations from around the globe. Pathways to opportunities is a mentoring program designed for historically underserved students in high school to learn about human services as a potential career goal. This program was designed to address the critical staffing shortages while also providing direct supports to students to better prepare themselves for employment. It demonstrates alternative pathways for education post high school through opportunities available to Northeast Arc employees. Students participate in fiscal literacy, lesson plan development, hands-on paid experiences while receiving all the required trainings direct support professionals need.