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    18Apr, 2018
    Free Special Needs Safety Kits Available

    As part of April’s Autism Awareness Month observance, Carey Services and AWS Foundation are making free safety kits available for families of children who have special needs.

    The kits are designed to safeguard against wandering and other dangerous situations involving children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The kits will be available, while supplies last, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at Carey Services’ Building C entrance, which is on the Marion Bypass south of 26th Street.

    “These kits are timely and important because kids with special needs can be prone to wandering or being bullied or they can inadvertently place themselves in dangerous situations,” said Jim Allbaugh, Carey Services’ president and chief executive officer.

    The goal of creating the kits is to provide families with tools designed to help prevent a potentially harmful situation from occurring and to provide resources if an emergency occurs. The kit is designed to address safety concerns from wandering, bullying and seclusion to safety precaution methods at home and school. Distributing the kits in April is a planned strategy to highlight the annual international Autism Awareness Month observance.

    8Sep, 2017
    Carey Services Participating in Direct Support Professional Week

    Carey Services has announced its participation in National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week. The week of September 11 through September 17 has been designated as National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week for 2017.

    “The Carey Services direct support professionals, or DSPs, help individuals and families to turn abilities and barriers into opportunities every day in several Indiana counties,” said Jim Allbaugh, Carey Services’ president/chief executive officer.  Carey Services employs 230 DSPs who provide daily services for residents and their families in Grant, Blackford, Madison, Wabash and Cass counties.

    DSPs are the people who work as direct care workers, in-home support workers, personal assistants and attendants to ensure that people with disabilities are able to live independently in communities of their choosing.  “Direct Support Professional” is a National career title, and is a great career opportunity for those interested in serving people in Grant and surrounding counties. With a national industry staff shortage for DSPs, Carey Services is routinely looking for good, hardworking individuals to work as DSPs. If someone is interested in serving as a DSP, they can call 1-888-668-8961 or visit www.careyservices.com to get connected.

    “National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week is a time to demonstrate our gratitude locally for the dedicated individuals who work at Carey Services,” Allbaugh said. “These staff work amazingly hard, and they care very much for the people they serve.”

    Carey Services will have several activities to assure the DSPs are recognized during this celebration week, Allbaugh said.

    25Jan, 2017
    Carey Services Receives Additional NAP Credits

    Carey Services has been awarded an additional $1,100 in Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits it can offer to donors through March 31, 2017.

    NAP is a program that provides Indiana tax credits to not-for-profit organizations for specific projects. Individuals and businesses who make a NAP donation to Carey Services can receive a credit on their Indiana income tax return for 50 percent of the donation amount.  Federal tax credits might also be available.

    “We were pleased to learn we have additional tax credits to offer donors as a result of fully committing our first round of credits,” said Jim Allbaugh, president and chief executive officer. “The additional donations we can solicit will be helpful as we continue to improve the work we do help people become empowered and equally valued members of the community.”

    The agency exhausted its initial allocation of credits in December. Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, the state organization that oversees NAP, reallocates the money agencies are unable to use by Dec. 31 to agencies who were able to exhaust their original allocations.

    Carey Services will use the NAP donations to help maintain the Pleasant Woods apartment complex and meet other programming needs. Pleasant Woods is an affordable housing community designed with individuals with disabilities in mind. The community has five one-story accessible duplexes designed to facilitate independent living. The NAP donations will be used to upgrade the facilities to further increase accessibility.

    For more information, call April Scott at (765) 668-8961, ext. 111

    12Oct, 2016
    October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

    Carey Services will participate in the 71th annual observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month during October by emphasizing education through the agency’s social media outlets and their website.

    Carey will celebrate the many individuals with disabilities in the local workforce and employers who employ people with disabilities throughout the agency’s nine-county North Central Indiana service area. Area community members are invited to participate as well.

    The theme for this year’s observance is #InclusionWorks. The theme highlights the importance of including people of all backgrounds and abilities in the workforce.

    NDEAM has been observed more than 70 years. It began when returning World War II service members generated interest in acknowledging people with disabilities and their contributions to the workforce. On August 11, 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed a congressional resolution declaring the first week in October “National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.” The “physically” was removed from the title in 1962.

    “Carey Services is proud to participate in this observance each October,” said Jim Allbaugh, Carey Services’ president and chief executive officer. “Of all the special awareness months that are observed each year, this is one that is squarely targeted at our mission of helping people turn abilities and barriers into opportunities by emphasizing community employment and community integration.”

    Carey Services has an employment services department focused on community employment, and many of the agency’s programs have components that help people work toward greater independence. Community employment many times is a high priority for clients.

    “We appreciate the employers in our area who have been open to embracing individuals with disabilities by hiring them,” said Greg Maynard, Carey’s director of fund and strategic advancement. “By focusing on abilities, we can work together to create employment opportunities that benefit both the employee who might have a challenge and the employer who might miss out on a good employee otherwise.”

    For more information about National Disability Employment Awareness Month, click here.

    2Sep, 2016
    Carey Services Will Observe DSP Week

    Carey Services has announced its participation in National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week. The week of September 11 through September 17 has been designated as National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week for 2016.

    “The Carey Services direct support professionals, or DSPs, help individuals and families to turn abilities and barriers into opportunities every day in several Indiana counties,” said Jim Allbaugh, Carey Services’ president/chief executive officer.  Carey Services employs 230 DSPs who provide daily services for residents and their families in Grant, Blackford, Madison, Hamilton, Wabash and Cass counties.

    DSPs are the people who work as direct care workers, in-home support workers, personal assistants and attendants to ensure that people with disabilities are able to live independently in communities of their choosing.  “Direct Support Professional” is a National career title, and is a great job opportunity for those interested in serving people. With a national industry staff shortage, Carey Services is routinely looking for good, hardworking individuals to work as DSPs. If someone is interested in serving as a DSP, they can call 1-888-668-8961 or visit www.careyservices.com to get connected.

    “National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week is a time to demonstrate our gratitude locally for the dedicated individuals who work at Carey Services,” Allbaugh said. “These staff work amazingly hard, and they care very much for the people they serve.”

    Carey Services staff will have several activities to assure the DSPs are recognized during this celebration week, Allbaugh said.

    24Aug, 2016
    Inaugural Newsletter Debuts

    Carey Services has unveiled a new monthly newsletter that will highlight agency activities.

    The Access newsletter will provide a monthly look inside the agency to show ways the agency and its clients interact in the world in which we live, work and play.

    You can find the inaugural issue here.

    18Jul, 2016
    Carey Services has NAP Tax Credits Available

    Carey Services has been awarded Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits to sell to donors.

    Individuals and businesses who donate to Carey Services through NAP are able to take a tax credit on their Indiana state income tax return for 50 percent of the amount of the donation and reduce their tax liability to the state. Donors also are able to claim the donation on their federal tax returns.

    Carey Services will use the donations received through NAP to help maintain the Pleasant Woods apartment complex that is a part of our Marion campus. These donations also will be used to provide handicap-accessible landscaping at Pleasant Woods as well as the Carey Street campus.

    For more information, call Carey Services at (765) 668-8961, and ask for April Scott, extension 111, or send her an email at ascott@careyservices.com

    30Jun, 2016
    FY 2017 Caregiver Support Services Applications Open July 1

    The Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services, Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services (BDDS) has announced that Caregiver Support Services funds will be available for fiscal year 2017 beginning July 1, 2016.

    Caregiver Support Services provide short-term relief for the primary caregiver; they may be approved for an individual that meets the state definition of intellectual and developmental disabilities level of care and for whom the primary caregiver selects an eligible provider. CSS are not available to the primary caregiver if the individual is receiving or begins to receive similar services from any other state- or Medicaid-funded program.

    The funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Previous CSS applications during fiscal year 2016 do not carry over to fiscal year 2017. A new application must be completed for each fiscal year’s CSS funds (July 1 through June 30). Any pending CSS applications will be voided the last week of June, and a new application must be submitted on or after July 1. Individuals who received services during the previous fiscal year are not guaranteed continued services and must complete the application process on or after July 1, 2016.

    Initial CSS budgets will be approved for $500 for each eligible individual regardless of the number of eligible individuals residing in the residence. When initial funding is spent, the recipient’s CSS provider can request addition funding. Each new request is reviewed individually and is dependent on available funds.

    You can apply online at this DDRS webpage. You also can call a BDDS district office to have an application sent to you, or you can apply in person at a BDDS district office.

    Interested applicants are encouraged to contact your county’s BDDS district office for more details. You can find the list of district offices here.

    14Apr, 2016
    Early Head Start Receives NAEYC Accreditation

    Carey Services has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of high-quality early childhood professionals and programming. The agency earned this accreditation for its Grant and Blackford classroom programming and this adds value to the early childhood partnerships and services in those two counties.

    “We’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to this community and the children as we reach the highest professional standards for early childhood education,” said Cathy Queen, director of Early Head Start at Carey Services. “NAEYC accreditation lets families in our community know children in our high-quality program have teachers who create engaging classrooms, enhance relationships with their parents and families, and develop rich experiences for their students to assure they are school ready for Grant and Blackford County schools.”

    Carey Services serves 48 children ages 1-3 and their families in classroom settings in Grant and Blackford counties, as well as 82 children ages 0-3 and families in home-based programming. Carey Services has provided the Early Head Start program since 1998 and routinely receives high marks in state and federal reviews. In earning accreditation through NAEYC, Carey Services is eligible to achieve a Level IV Paths to Quality – the highest level of quality for childcare in Indiana.

    To earn NAEYC Accreditation, Carey Services’ Early Head Start went through a voluntary, extensive self-study process, measuring the program and its services against 10 NAEYC early childhood program standards and more than 400 related accreditation criteria. The program received NAEYC accreditation after an on-site visit by NAEYC assessors to ensure that the program meets each of the ten program standards. NAEYC-accredited programs are also subject to unannounced visits during their accreditation, which lasts for five years.

    “It’s a lengthy and rigorous process to achieve NAEYC accreditation, and we are proud to meet these high standards for children and families in Grant and Blackford counties,” said Jim Allbaugh, president and CEO for Carey Services. “Carey Services is focused on assuring optimal brain development is achieved in the first few years of life to set a child’s path for success in school and in life.”

    In the 25 years since NAEYC Accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. Carey Services is now one of over 7,000 programs currently accredited by NAEYC, nationwide.

    10Feb, 2016
    2016 Board Members, Officers Announced

    The Carey Services board of directors recently approved the 2016 board of directors and board officers.

    Keith Newman was re-elected chairperson after having served as chairperson in 2015 and after having served two previous terms as vice chairperson. Eric Walts, who served two terms as chairperson, was re-elected immediate past chairperson. Other officers re-elected for 2016 include Michele Kelsay, vice chairperson; Doug Bryant, treasurer, and Steve Smithley, secretary.

    In the recently published Carey Services annual report, Newman stated, “As Carey Services board chair, I love the privilege of serving with a team of individuals invested in such a purposeful mission: ‘a community based human services organization assisting individuals and families to turn abilities and barriers into opportunities by providing individualized services, education, and advocacy’.”

    “This board is strong, and members are engaged and committed to the mission, vision, and values in such a way as to link other community individuals to our purpose,” said James Allbaugh, Carey Services’ president and chief executive officer. “They are ambassadors, and they truly want others in the community to celebrate the successes of staff and those we serve.”

    Complete list of 2016 Board of Directors:

    Keith Newman – Chairperson

    Michele Kelsay – Vice-Chairperson

    Doug Bryant – Treasurer

    Steve Smithley – Secretary

    Eric Walts – Past Chairperson

    Jacquie Dodyk

    Michelle Bunker

    Jim Widner

    Rodney Faulk

    Rich Orrell

    Cindy Kohlmorgen

    April Evans

    Jim Wallace

    Angela Herrington

    Eric Reaves

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