Empowering Lives in Portage Country for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
Empowering Lives in Portage Country for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
At the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DD), our mission is to empower lives. We serve many county residents with developmental disabilities, providing early intervention, education, employment and community living services that promote independence and inclusion. Each year, we support infants, children, teens and adults across Portage County, partnering with families, schools, businesses and communities. Our services aim to foster inclusion and empowerment throughout each phase of life.
Supporting early development
Our early intervention program serves infants and toddlers under three years old, providing therapies and supports to help meet developmental milestones. Specific services include speech, physical and occupational therapies for families. Our goal is to ensure the youngest children in our community, who experience disabilities, have resources to help them develop to their full potential physically, communicatively and socially. Early intervention is crucial for lifelong healthy growth and educational outcomes.
Preparing students for independent living
The goal of Portage DD is to continuously enhance services and assistance for employees, students and families. We collaborate with educational systems and continuously modify our offerings to meet the community's requirements as they arise.
Our building independence transition program is designed to assist and fortify kids throughout Portage County who are moving to meaningful community integration and independence. This 18-week, semester-long program is free of charge and will be delivered twice a week. There will be one day of hands-on and/or community-based education in addition to classroom-based courses and activities conducted at schools. If unable to provide transportation, Portage DD may offer it.
Providing community and provider relations
By working to create and execute programs to support providers in the county, the department of community and provider relations aims to improve the quality of services provided to individuals supported by the Portage DD. In order to fulfill our objective, we organize provider meetings, which serve as a venue for discussing regulation changes, encouraging provider collaboration, hosting speakers, offering training on relevant subjects and raising awareness of the need for direct support workers.
Empowering lives holistically
At Portage DD, we believe empowering lives requires lifetime support centered around each person’s unique strengths, needs and goals across environments. Early intervention, education, employment and residential services work together to foster lifelong inclusion, contribution within communities and independence for people of all abilities. Every person deserves to reach their full potential; we’re honored to walk alongside residents with developmental disabilities and their families to make our vision for empowered lives a reality.
Conclusion
At Portage DD, our comprehensive services aim to empower lives across every phase of life. We are dedicated to supporting individuals from infancy, nurturing their independence skills for school and beyond, and offering specialized care to those with developmental disabilities, all with a singular goal: empowering everyone to realize their full potential. Through collaboration and innovation, we remain committed to continually improving our services to best serve the residents of Portage County for many years ahead. Together, we can make our vision of inclusion a reality.