To challenge the community to acknowledge the value and equality of people of all abilities.

Birth Defects & Genetic Diseases , Developmentally Disabled Centers , Disabilities , Epilepsy , Health , Human Services , Job Training , Vocational Rehabilitation

Community and employment partners and epilepsy services:community and employment partners' services are designed to provide individual support to adults with disabilities to live and work in their maryland communities as valued and contributing citizens. Providing life skills through mentoring and training, 474 people are currently supported through team developed person centered plans to identify goals to locate, maintain and grow independence in their community based jobs, home and/or systems of resources to ensure health, safety and happiness. As a vendor for the department of rehabilitative services (dors), community and employment partners' staff were and continue to be specifically trained to quickly and effectively support 236 dors funded consumers identifying their vocational strengths and interests to locate and maintain employment opportunities in maryland communities of their choice. People funded through dors receive short term assistance and education to develop appropriate jobsite social skills, work histories/resumes, schedule and attend interviews, identify and accept employment of choice, job coaching, and on the job problem solving to maintain and grow steady work skills and job independence. Abilities network/epilepsy services conducts speaker series, educational presentation/training, and discussion groups for people with disabilities, parents of children with epilepsy, kids on the block, outreach to the hispanic and african american communities on epilepsy, iep advocacy for parents needing assistance with the school system on a regular basis for families with children with disabilities. In addition to four support groups, social/educational events and speaker series are organized for individuals with disabilities and their family. The groups continue to be well-attended and popular with people who have disabilities and their loved ones. project actproject all children together works with child care programs, out of school time programs and communities to provide training, coaching, and mentoring to improve the quality of care and support the inclusion of all children in these programs. Project act receives funding from grants through the maryland state department of education and various other private and public funders. As the child resource center of baltimore, harford and cecil counties, childcare providers and programs can receive free technical assistance and training in core of knowledge areas that will assist with keeping their credentials current to meet childcare licensing requirements and learn how to fully include children with disabilities in childcare settings. The core of knowledge areas include: professionalism, child development, health, safety, and nutrition, special needs, and community. Under these categories, project act develops and delivers training modules onsite to meet the needs of childcare professionals and teachers. As a result of these trainings, childcare professionals are more comfortable with working with a variety of children and delivering the best services possible to all children in their care. These trainings are also available on a fee-for-service basis to providers outside of the grant funded counties. Project act provides free onsite child consultation services in baltimore, harford and cecil county. Through this project, project act consultants provide case management services to children who have challenging behaviors and are in danger of expulsion from the child care center. The goal of this project is to retain children in child care and to provide the necessary resources to child care providers, children and parents. Project act also provides mental health consultation to the y of central maryland's head start programs in baltimore city, baltimore county and anne arundel county. Project act receives funding to implement inclusive child care programming and to raise the quality of early childhood education for all children. Partners include the baltimo