The Children’s Residential Program Invites Parents and Agency Staff to Participate in CRP Day
The Brookville Center Children’s Residential Program (CRP) held its first CRP Day on September 22. The event welcomed parents, former residents, from AHRC Nassau, Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS), and Citizens Options Unlimited to visit the CRP to learn more about how the CRP supports children with special needs until early adulthood, then helps them transition into adult services.
During the visit, visitors enjoyed food, outdoor games, and the opportunity to tour the three CRP residences in Lido Beach.
Residential Program Director Sean Stallings shared, “The goal of the event was to connect people from across the family of organizations to the CRP environment – to connect names to faces, to network face to face, and for adult programs to get an idea of how the staff prepare the kids for post CRP life.”
Among nearly three-dozen confirmed attendees were AHRC Nassau leadership, some of whom were visiting the homes for the first time.
One was AHRC Nassau Vice President of Operation Shaun Weathers, who appreciated the opportunity to see firsthand how the children are being accommodated at the CRP and what key aspects of the location can be replicated in their future homes.
“I’m happy to be here and see how the children are looked over,” shared Shaun. “This is a new population for us at the intermediate age. They have more independence and should maintain that as they progress to their adult home. It was great speaking with managers to learn how they identify staff to better serve this growing population.”
As VP of Operations for AHRC Nassau, Shaun ensures residences are fully equipped to meet the various needs of the residents. This could mean that people assisted with mobility devices have a fully accessible home or organizing surfing lessons for residents who share a love of aquatic sports.
Also visiting for the first time were AHRC Nassau Director of Day Programs Chris Williams with Assistant Directors Brooke Gillman and Patrick Sherrard.
As a team they oversee AHRC’s more than 40 day habilitation sites and this visit allowed them to get to know the children, their likes, and learn about the activities they participate in daily.
Most of the children in the CRP attend school until the age of 21 and have nighttime recreation after school, ranging from trips to the amusement park to cooking lessons or working out at the gym.
When school is out of session, they have daytime recreation as well, making them used to a full schedule of activities.
During their visit, the team was able to gauge how they can help the children continue the same type of activities they enjoyed at the CRP in day program.
Connecting with the staff also allows them to coordinate those future placements.
“The challenge sometimes is that the staff isn’t able to help with the transitions, but connecting with them can help make the transitions seamless and allow us to find the perfect fit for the children,” said Chris.
“Everything we do is person centered,” mentioned Brooke, “so we want to try and create a meaningful day for them.”
This could be from ensuring they have similar activities in day services after graduating to reuniting them with old school mates at day program.