Family Support Services
Family Support, funded by the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), provides varied services to families with a son, daughter, or relative with intellectual disabilities and, in some instances, developmental delays living at home. The goal of Family Support is to provide families with the resources and services they need to maintain their family member at home.
Description of Services
Rensselaer ARC Family Support Services provides the following services to families who live in Rensselaer County and the following towns of Albany County: Watervliet, Green Island, and Cohoes:
In Home Services: Respite and other forms of habilitation services are provided to the person in his/her home by trained staff. This type of support is geared to offer skilled assistance to the family member with a disability that encourages the development of new skills, typically while other family members attend to activities outside the home.
Recreation: The evening and weekend programs adolescents and adults provides a variety of community based opportunities for socialization, exercise and leisure activities. Additionally, the department provides a 6 week summer day camp for children with and without disabilities
Service Coordination: Through a person-centered orientation individuals and families are assisted in identifying and accessing the services and community supports unique to their needs.
Family Reimbursement: This pool of money, administered by a committee of parents, provides a funding resource for families when their needs cannot be met by any other resources.
Guardianship: This service assists families through the legal process of becoming a guardian for an adult with a disability.