Community Enrichment Program
An important part of growing up is the opportunity to develop positive social relationships with our peers -- something that is often difficult for children with developmental disabilities.
The Arc of Palm Beach County’s Community Enrichment program provides training for those working to promote the appropriate involvement of school age children with disabilities in afterschool, summer camp, and other out-of-school time programs across Palm Beach County.
Who benefits from our program: We provide specialized instruction and on-site support for practitioners to ensure that their interaction with the youth with developmental disabilities is positive and effective. In addition, other youth within the program also benefit from having trained practitioners who increase positive social relationships.
What our program offers: These targeted enrichment trainings focus on the specific needs of the individual youth and practitioners, and are scheduled with the provider based on need. Group sessions, which offer more general information, are offered monthly with additional sessions added as necessary.
The ultimate goal of this education is to help practitioners understand how to appropriately include children with special needs in their programs.
The Arc of Palm Beach County also provides Community Enrichment trainings to corporate partners within the community. This training is for companies interested or already providing employment to individuals with developmental disabilities. This training, in addition, offers employers and their employees an understanding of individuals with disabilities and the knowledge of how important it is to provide work opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities.
Respite Services
Caregivers need time away from caregiving.
Who benefits from our program: Our respite program is designed not only to protect the caregiver’s health and well-being, but also to prevent out-of-home placement and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect.
What our program offers: Through The Arc’s respite program, trained workers provide center based and compassionate in-home care to children with a developmental delay that allows parents the opportunity to balance their lives while decreasing stress and recharging. All respite program staff members have extensive experience working with people with developmental disabilities, and receive ongoing training on relevant issues and new procedures. Each respite worker is required to pass rigorous pre-employment federal background screenings.
Upon acceptance into the program, interviews are scheduled with potential workers so that families are guaranteed that the person coming into their home is someone with whom they are comfortable.
Center-based respite care is offered each Saturday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.