Pennsylvania Community Resources

AACCommunity.Net – AAC community website on communication rights for Pennsylvanians with intellectual disability, autism, movement difficulties and other disabilities that create complex communication needs; funded by ODP

ACHIEVA – part of The Arc’s network for services in Western Pennsylvania

Acronyms – from PA Office of Developmental Programs, listed in alphabetical sections

The Arc of Pennsylvania – PA chapter of The Arc, the largest advocacy organization in the U.S. for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families; check out “Alexa’s Home” with amazing technology that enables independent living!

The Arc Alliance – part of The Arc’s network and formerly known as The Arc of Montgomery, Berks and Bucks Counties

CLASS (UCP CLASS) – services to individuals of varying abilities, fostering community inclusion for people with disabilities from independent living skills classroom training to community-based case management for social, recreational and residential supports; originally chartered as UCP of Pittsburgh

Community Options, Inc. (in PA) – housing and employment supports for persons with disabilities; has several offices across Pennsylvania 

Community of Practice: Supporting Families throughout the Lifespan, previously The Partnership:  The Pennsylvania Training Partnership for People with Disabilities and Families – training and technical assistance families and self-advocates

Community Resources for Independence – in Pennsylvania; good list of acronyms

COMPASS – website for Pennsylvanians to apply online for many health and human service programs that include Medical Assistance (“Medicaid”), the  Health Insurance Marketplace, CHIP, SSI, Pre-K Counts, and more

Disability Rights Pennsylvania (DRP) – formerly known as the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, DRP is the statewide non-profit corporation designated as the federally-mandated organization to advance and protect the civil rights of adults and children with disabilities to live the lives they choose, free from abuse, neglect, discrimination, and segregation

D.R.E.A.M. Partnership – postsecondary education for people with intellectual disabilities

Education Law Center of PA (ELC-PA) – Direct links to Fact Sheets, Toolkits, and Resources & Publications)

Everyday Lives – a guide to the Office of Developmental Programs as it develops policy and designs programs. Providers of services will use these recommendations to support individuals and their families to achieve an everyday life.

FISA Foundation – resources in Southwestern PA for girls, women, and people with disabilities

HealthChoices – Medical Assistance information from PA’s Department of Human Services (HealthChoices is the name of Pa’s managed care programs for Medicaid / Medical Assistance recipients. 

Imagine Different Coalition – a statewide coalition working to ensure that every child with a disability in Pennsylvania grows up in a family, at home, where he/she is loved and nurtured

Include Me – an initiative by The Arc of PA with the PA Bureau of Special Education on inclusion from preschool through secondary transition

Institute on Disabilities at Temple University – PA’s “University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service” (UCEDDs are funded by HHS.)

Jean’s Story – “My Life–My Story” by Jean M. Searle, President of PennTASH (written September 2006)

Keystone Institute / Keystone Human Services – education, consultation, and human services

“Kids on the Go!” Program – adaptive mobility equipment for kids in Western Pennsylvania

Kids Together, Inc. – school and community inclusion

Liberty Resources – independent living in Philadelphia area

Lifesharing in Pennsylvania – information from PA’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP)

Literacy Instruction for Individuals with Disabilities – from Penn State University 

Medical Assistance Eligibility Handbook – PA Department of Human Services publication

“My Bike” Program – adaptive bikes for kids in Western Pennsylvania

Networks for Training and Development, Inc. – employment, life in the community, person-centered skills

One Pennsylvania – unites low income and working class activists with a broad coalition of community, labor, faith, and students’ organizations including people with disabilities

PA Family Network – family workshops and networking opportunities throughout PA, led by trained Family Advisors who all have family members with disabilities; under the leadership of Vision for EQuality, Inc.; overseen by PA ODP membership in the national Community of Practice: Supporting Families throughout the Lifespan

PA Link to Community Care – for persons with disabilities and seniors (and families) to find information that connects them to supports and services in the community; access to many resources including a Home Care Directory of organizations that provide in-home services and supports

PA Online Voter Registration and read “Voting Rghts” at Disability Rights Pennsylvania (DRP)

PAR – see “Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and ID”

Parent Education Network (PEN) – school inclusion

PATF – refer to “Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation”

PEAL Center (The Parent Education and Leadership Center) – information, resources & trainings on children with disabilities and special healthcare needs in Pennsylvania (PA’s PTI Center)

Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance (PMPA) – website on the history, present and future of Pennhurst, the infamous institution (1908-1987) and site of precedent-setting major legal victories in national and global disabilities rights

Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and ID (PAR) – a nonprofit that represents home and community-based service providers in Pennsylvania and reaches tens of thousands of individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism; its mission is to strengthen the capacity of its membership to provide person-centered services and supports

Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) – provides education and financing opportunities for people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians to help them acquire assistive technology devices and services that improve the quality of their lives in order to go to work, be active participants in their communities, and live in their own homes. Refer to their “Cents & Sensibilities:  A Guide to Money Management” for financial education resources

Pennsylvania Council on Independent Living (PCIL) – independent living

Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council (PA DDC) – a federally-funded planning, advisory, and funding body of people with disabilities, families, advocates, and cabinet secretaries appointed by the Governor

Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) – statewide coalition of over 60 organizations, including disability rights communities, working to protect & expand health insurance coverage and to provide health care reform education & enrollment assistance to PA’s uninsured  

Pennsylvania Health Law Project (PHLP) – consultants on access to health care for low-income consumers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities

Pennsylvania Inclusive Higher Education Consortium (PIHEC) – created by Millersville University in collaboration with Penn State Harrisburg and Mercyhurst University to develop campus settings in which education, authentic social experiences, independent living, and integrated competitive employment can be accessed by young adults with intellectal ddisabilities within inclusive and supportive environments    

Pennsylvania Medical Home Initiative – provides CYSHCN (Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs) with accessible, family-centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, culturally-competent health care services

Pennsylvania Waiting List Campaign – to end PA’s Waiting List 

Pennsylvania’s Association of People Supporting Employment First (PA APSE) – employment

Pennsylvania’s Education for All Coalition, Inc. (PEAC) 

“Pittsburgh Disability Connection” Blog – features writer, speaker, and parent, Tina Calabro, specializing in disability issues, awareness, and support 

21 and Able – project to develop a systematic roadmap for young people with special needs transitioning to adulthood in Allegheny County (Western PA)

Speaking for Ourselves – self-advocacy

TechOwl (previously PIAT Pennsylvania Iniative on Assiteve Technology

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) – educates, advocates and provides support services for people with a spectrum of disabilities (not only cerebral palsy), advancing independence, productivity and full citizenship through its affiliate network

United Way of Southwestern PA (UWSWPA) – focuses on pressing issues by mobilizing the entire community (policymakers, corporate leaders, agency partners and citizens) to assist people in need and develop long-term solutions; connects children and adults with disabilities to vocational, social and recreational opportunities. 

Vision for EQuality – human services; leader under the PA Family Network (see above)

Western PA Disability History and Action Consortium – preserves and shares the historic struggles of Western Pennsylvanians with disabilities to attain human and civil rights, and advocates with stakeholders across PA for policies and laws to ensure disability rights