[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 19, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 A TRIBUTE TO THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE HELP OF RETARDED CHILDREN ON ITS 
                            50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 1999

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Suffolk 
Association for the Help of Retarded Children, Suffolk County's largest 
voluntary agency celebrating its 50th anniversary of service to our 
community. For the past half century the Association for the Help of 
Retarded Children has lived up to the spirit of community by providing 
various educational, vocational training, and habilitative services for 
residents of Eastern Long Island with special needs.
  Through the chapter's Vocational Education Program, adults mature, 
achieve self-fulfillment and self esteem. Major Long Island 
corporations use this program's participants for packaging and 
assembling jobs. These contracts offer 800 clients opportunities to 
learn vocational skills that can ultimately lead to competitive 
employment. In the Supported Work Program, individuals successfully 
make the transition to the job market with the help of job coaches who 
provide on the job training at the employer's work site, including 
follow along care.
  The Association for the Help of Retarded Children's Sagtikos 
Education Center is a very special school. More than 100 infants, 
preschoolers and school-age children through age 21 receive 
Individualized Education Plans that foster their mental and physical 
development. School age children attend this school because their 
disabilities are so severe that they cannot be accommodated within the 
special education programs of the local school districts. This service 
allows a parent more free time to maintain both emotional and economic 
family stability. Other children attend the school's Early Intervention 
and pre-school programs. These services often diminish, if not 
eliminate, the need for costly special services for a lifetime.
  For lower functioning adults, the Association for the Help of 
Retarded Children offers a Day Treatment Program that provides 
habilitative training that fosters greater independence through the 
acquisition of daily living skills. Their Senior Day Hab Program offers 
habilitative training through age appropriate activities for senior 
citizens. Sixteen community residences located throughout Suffolk are 
each home to up to 10 adults, operating as a family unit under the 
guidance of a house parenting team. Residents interact with their 
communities as any typical family does: shopping, banking, visiting the 
library and even going to work.
  After 50 years of operation, the Suffolk chapter is known for its 
fiscal integrity. It is so well managed by a voluntary Board of 
Directors and its Executive Director that it consistently rates 
``exceptional'' in Federal, State and County adults, and is granted 
three year operating certificates rather than the usual one year.
  That is why I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives 
to join me in saluting the Association for the Help of Retarded 
Children on its 50th anniversary. For half a century, the Association 
for the Help of Retarded Children has done more than just help 
neighbors who need it, or provide opportunities for their children. The 
Association for the Help of Retarded Children has also provided our 
community the opportunity to express their strong love for their 
community by getting involved and by helping their neighbors.

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