Mary Cariola Center

School age education at Mary Cariola Children's Center provides instructional and therapeutic services to children with multiple disabilities from age 5 to 21. The school age education program allows children to thrive in an positive, upbeat environment, often meeting milestones that were once thought impossible. Students come from a ten county region and from 50 school districts throughout western new york. Approximately 344 children served.

Preschool education (program) is designed for children from age 3 to 5. Students attend school each day in either a half or full-day program. Children's abilities and developmental delays can vary significantly. A range of class sizes and staff ratios is available to meet individual educational and social needs. A major goal of the preschool is to provide intensive (often one-on-one) attention to the children during these formative years to maximize the opportunity for academic and social growth and increase chances for success in a less restrictive environment. Approximately 75 children served.

Residential placement - when medical issues and behavioral challenges make living at home difficult, Mary Cariola provides six group homes across monroe county. Approximately 44 clients call Mary Cariola home as they receive around-the-clock guidance, clinical and direct care, and support with ongoing opportunities to learn and grow. The common goal of all of each house is to enable the children and young adults to reach their full potential in a caring home environment where parents and families are always welcome.

Workshop - the adaptive equipment workshop exists to create, adapt, and repair equipment and devices that improve the quality of life for children with disabilities. Over the last 20+ years, our one-person staff has released a steady stream of innovations and adaptions to help children turn in, turn on, stand up, and move around.

Evaluations - our team of evaluators provide comprehensive preschool evaluations for children suspected of not meeting developmental milestones as appropriate for their age.

Idea funding - as part of the individuals with disabilities education act, the school districts who contract with Mary Cariola Children's Center are required to share funding received from the federal government with the agency. These funds are used for enhancements to programs which are not required by the Children's iep's and not paid for by tuition dollars.

Family support services - each child served is given a complete functional behavioral assessment and a behavior support plan developed specifically for him or her. This program includes family training, monitoring, review and oversight for each plan and participant throughout their time in the program.

Community habiliation - highly trained employees provide community habilitation services and implement the behavior support plans developed through family support services to ensure consistency and success. High levels of oversight and monitoring are included in this service.

Therapeutic respite - most of the same highly trained employees provide therapeutic respite services within our ira and implement the same habilitative and behavioral programming that is developed for the individual through the family support services. It is the third serivce in our unique package of services supporting families with children who have significant behavioral challenges. The children have regularly scheduled stays in the ira so that their families can have a much needed break and spend time with their other children and take care of other life events. High levels of oversight and monitoring are included in this service.

Health homes - our health home care management program provides medicaid-eligible children ages 0-21 with chronic medical and behavioral health conditions with comprehensive care management, care coordination and health promotion, comprehensive transitional care, patient and family support, and referrals to community supports to promote preventove and quality health care.

Cariola collaborative - the Cariola collaborative extends the same quality, innovation and interdisciplinary approach to professional learning and consultation opportunities throughout our community and beyond. Through the collaborative, individuals from a variety of disciplines have the opportunity to come together to enhance their professional skills. Whether it's in-person or online training or direct consultation, the collaborative introduces professionals to innovative, best practice approaches vital to the care and education of individuals with complex disabilities.