ACCES-VR assists individuals with disabilities to achieve and maintain employment and to support independent living through training, education, rehabilitation, and career development.

Offers a variety of opportunities for employment. Career Options provides job readiness, skill assessment, diagnostic vocational evaluation, résumé development, career counseling, job development, on the job training, and follow up services. The Vocational Centers offer job opportunities for individuals to develop and improve the skills necessary to meet their goals for employment. The Center focuses on soft skills development such as acceptance of supervision, following directions, attention to task, co-worker relationships, job completion and time management.

Provides an individualized program, based on the level of severity for individuals with developmental disabilities. Services include educational, vocational, habilitative, supportive employment, socialization, and life skills training.

Provides supported employment for adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities that are ready to work in paid community based jobs. Offers employability assessment, job finding and placement, travel training, interview/application assistance and support, on-the-job skills training and counseling, advocacy at the work place with management and co-workers and follow along services through job tenure. Re-training provided as necessary. Referral required, call for further information.

Provides pre-vocational and work readiness training, along with job placement and support.

Provides short-term, supervised work experience for youth who have disabilities and who are likely to succeed in a job with such support.

Offers a program that was created to assist students and individuals with disabilities beyond the classroom. The Supported Employment initiative has been empowering students and other individuals with disabilities by assisting employers in recruiting qualified workers with disabilities and training them for entry-level positions. The program uses a person-centered planning approach whereby an individual’s unique interests and abilities are taken into consideration during the job development phase. The Nassau BOCES staff canvasses community businesses for openings, matching individual’s strengths with employer needs. Supported workers earn at least minimum wage for entry-level positions. Vocational rehabilitation counselors and job coaches work together with employers and individuals ensuring that the best possible fit between job and employee is met for a win-win situation. When an individual first starts a job, the job coach works one-on-one with the newly hired worker teaching all tasks involved in the job as well as the soft skills necessary to fit in with the culture of the business. The job coach remains in place full time initially until the employee has successfully learned to work independently and then gradually fades to several visits per month to make sure things are going smoothly. Often, internships participated in while in school lead to actual paid employment. Nassau BOCES provides long-term, follow-along support for these workers, their families and employers through grants from New York State Department of Education (ACCES-VR) and the New York State Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Dedicated and loyal supported employees become successful members of the businesses’ staff, proudly earning wages and becoming contributing members of society. Call for more detailed information.

Provides training in maintenance and painting to psychiatrically disabled adults.

Provides supported employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Provides supported employment services to people with disabilities under contract with Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Employment specialists help individuals with disabilities develop work skills and connect with local employers. They also provide job coaching and ongoing supports.

Provides supported employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Provides supported employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Offers a school which is designed for students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. The instructional program, which is aligned to the New York State Standards for Students with Severe Disabilities and the New York State Common Core Learning Standards, builds confidence and capabilities of students and focuses on developing communication skills and personal independence. Research-based methodologies, such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), visual strategies, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), augmentative communications systems, functional behavioral assessment and positive behavioral supports are utilized in this program. The Rosemary Kennedy School consists of the elementary, middle and high school classes as well as district-based classes which provide mainstreaming opportunities for students. Community-based instruction is an essential part of the curriculum and compliments traditional classroom learning. Students participate in recreational activities (libraries, bowling), life skills (grocery shopping, restaurants), volunteer work sites (Mercy Hospital, Hofstra University) and vocational enclaves in the community (fast food restaurants, retail stores). Each student is educated by an interdisciplinary team comprised of the classroom teacher, teacher aides, psychologist, social worker, related service personnel, curriculum teachers and administrators. Parents are encouraged to participate in their child's education through daily communication notebooks, conferences, visits, parent training sessions and parent support groups. Transition planning for students from ages 12 to 21 is facilitated by vocational rehabilitation counselors and social workers in coordination with students and their families prior to graduation. Call for more detailed information.

Provides vocational habilitation to developmentally disabled individuals ages 16 and over who reside in Suffolk and Nassau Counties with their families, or agency-operated group homes. Provides assistance in obtaining and maintaining employment with the help of a job coach.

This is a workshop-based training session aimed at increasing independence and improving job readiness through the development of social and life skills.

Provides an individualized program, based on the level of severity for individuals with developmental disabilities. Services include educational, vocational, habilitative, supportive employment, socialization, and life skills training.

Offers training, supervision and support to individuals placed in a particular job position.

Provides sheltered workshops offering on-site factory like setting, food service program and clerical training for adults with developmental disabilities. Also available are supportive and competitive work programs.

Provides vocational rehabilitation evaluations, career assessments, career seminars, career counseling, job accommodations, computer training, on-site light industrial workshop, supported employment, and job placement service offered to adults with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, developmental disabilities, and other physical and neurological disabilities including learning disabilities and acquired disabilities, such as multiple sclerosis and stroke. Transitional services for school students with disabilities.

This program provides training and support to students with developmental disabilities. Offers different levels of education programs with varying degrees of support to help students develop the skills they will need to live, learn and earn within the community. Programs also include transition support, job placement, life skills, transportation, etc.

This is a workshop-based training session aimed at increasing independence and improving job readiness through the development of social and life skills.

Provides a blend of day rehabilitation, supported work, and volunteer work through small group experiences in the community.

Employment support service. Includes on and off site job coaching. The Employment Connection, a division of UCP of Long Island , assists individuals with developmental disabilities and those with acquired physical disabilities to meet their career goals. Assists job seekers with employment assessment, training, job placement and job support.

ACCES-VR works with adults and adolescents with mental illness/emotional disabilities and learning disabilities referred through ACCES-VR (NY State's Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation), in the areas of work readiness, job placement and supported employment services.

Provides competitive employment and training for physically and/or medically disabled workers.