Neighborhood Network of New York Receives $1 Million Grant to Launch First of its Kind Community Living Services Program for Adults with Autism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Tara DiMilia, 908-369-7168

Innovativeprototype to be launched in Westchester with the intent of replicatingthroughout NYS

New York, NY, – Neighborhood Network of NewYork (NNNY) has been awarded a $1,083,233 grant by the New York State Office For People With Developmental
Disabilities (OPWDD) to develop a first-of-a-kind, person-centered, community
based service network for adults with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD).  Spearheaded by New York
Collaborates for Autism and Community Living Opportunities, NNNY
uniquely combines individualized services, propriety remote support technology,
and integrated community activities.

The grant from the OPWDD’s New
York State Balancing Incentive Program Transformation Fund, intended to
transform non-institutional, long-term services for people with developmental
disabilities, will enable NNNY to

(1) launch a prototype neighborhood network in
Westchester County, NY that serves Medicaid beneficiaries

(2) develop protocols to replicate similar networks
throughout New York State.

“Neighborhood Network of New York
helps answer the nation’s growing demand for affordable, individualized and dynamic
support services for adults with special needs, while conserving financial resources,”
said Ilene Lainer, president, New
York Collaborates for Autism (NYCA).

A departure from current residential models, Neighborhood
Network of New York promotes
a new living paradigm for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by
creating neighborhood
support networks that empower people to live productive and enriched lives with
greater independence. Clients reside in the larger community, with or near
professional families or neighbors who are trained to mentor them through daily
life. Service professionals, clinicians and community members, aided by
individualized remote technology, enhance this network, delivering on-demand,
affordable support, as well as learning programs and community immersion opportunities.

“NNNY will connect
people with special needs to the support services they require, when they need
them, through the creation of a ‘smart’ neighborhood-within-a-neighborhood.
Uniquely designed to use existing homes and apartments, NNNY leverages limited
financial resources for what matters most, support and building community connections,”
added Michael Strouse, PhD, president,
Community Living Opportunities (CLO) and HomeLink
Support Technologies.

NNNY is
distinguished by its unique approach, which combines three innovative features:

1. Individualized Living Services for all
   Levels of Need - Clients may live alone or with a roommate in
   apartment complexes where other clients and non-NNNY residents also live.
   Trained and certified professionals, who reside nearby with their own
   families, provide individualized mentoring and guidance 24/7. Those who
   require greater support may live with a professional family in a home
   setting.

1. Proprietary Remote Support Technology - NNNY homes will
   be fitted with remote technology, developed by CLO, that offers tailored security
   and communications features, following custom privacy protocols.  Cameras and sensors allow professionals to
   personally interact with clients from a monitoring center within the
   community to ensure their safety, provide real-time coaching, and trigger
   additional clinical intervention on an as needed (and therefore less
   costly, basis.)

1. The Communiversity – Expanding on
   traditional day services, the Communiversity facilitates life-long
   learning with a curriculum that reinforces critical life-skills, job readiness
   and volunteer training, as well as communal and recreational activities
   that encourage social immersion and inclusion in the wider community.

“Current options for people with autism and
other disabilities, such as group homes, in-home staffing, and traditional day
services are expensive, relying upon 24-hour staff that may not always be
needed. NNNY offers a viable and realistic, alternative living model, which
promotes independence within a structured, caring, and inclusive community,”
said Ilene Lainer of NYCA. “This program is timely and critical, especially
with more than half a million teens with ASD expected to become adults in the
next decade.”

“NNNY will use nationally-regarded,
evidence-based, community service models, quality assurance systems, and remote
technology supports developed by CLO over three decades,” added Michael Strouse
of CLO.  “We look forward to the opportunity
to combine these features in the Northeast, to deliver unprecedented
individual, person-centered outcomes for people with developmental
disabilities.”

New York Collaborates for
Autism (NYCA)
is a non-profit organization that strategically designs and launches
innovative, one-of-a-kind programs to improve the lives of people living with
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Using an
entrepreneurial approach, NYCA seeks to transform the current landscape of
autism services and challenge the status quo by creating programs and
opportunities that empower people with ASD to live fulfilling and joyful lives.
NYCA collaborates with national thought leaders, partners with leading
community-based organizations, provides tactical expertise and critical
early-stage management, and raises vital seed money. NYCA sees the
possibilities and creates the path.  For
a portfolio of programs, please visit http://www.nyc4a.org.

Community Living Opportunities (CLO) was
founded 38 years ago to make a meaningful difference in the everyday lives of
adults and children with significant developmental disabilities (DD) and the
families who support them.  CLO’s
HomeLink Support Technologies has been in constant development and refinement
since 2000. Through a unique research and development partnership with the
University of Kansas Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences, CLO has created
nationally recognized service models for a range of DD populations across the
lifespan (from 18 months through end of life) and is disseminating and adapting
its current innovative service models for community living supports across the
country. CLO has led or assisted with the closure of multiple institutions in
California, Tennessee, and Kansas by creating best practice community services.  www.clokan.org and www.homeLinksupport.com.

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