DDSS assists in obtaining individual and family-determined supports for persons who have developmental disabilities or mental retardation. Goals are to serve and enhance opportunities for making choices that promote inclusion as a valued citizen in all meaningful phases of community life. These include where and how a person lives, learns, works and plays. The program assists by providing supports (services) that help link individuals to existing community resources; by developing, creating or locating new resources; and by being an active advocate for the rights of individuals and their families. Our vision is to see individuals reach the maximum degree of inclusion possible in the day-to-day life of their community.

DDSS Service Access
Information, referrals, and service eligibility are all functions provided by centralized DDSS entry points that are convenient for area residents. Once eligibility is determined, a Support Coordinator is assigned and becomes responsible for guiding and directing appropriate services from within Pathways and in the community.

Early Intervention
Children’s services include First Steps, Kentucky’s Early Intervention System which provides evaluation, assessment, service coordination, and educational services for infants and toddlers ages birth to three. Children’s services also include service coordination for children, assisting with transition from early intervention to public school.

Support Coordination
Support coordination is an individualized coordination and referral service available to any person within the Pathways service area who has a developmental disability. Our Support Coordinators work to ensure that all persons with DD have access to needed community service and resources.

Residential Services
Residential services are provided in a variety of community settings including staffed residential, family home residential, and Horizon Village, a 30-unit HUD subsidized residential complex in Morehead.

Respite
“Respite” or temporary care is provided to individuals of all ages with mental retardation or developmental disabilities. Respite care may be provided for a few hours or a few days depending upon the needs and preference of the individual and family.

Vocational Community Habilitation Program
The VCH program offers services designed to help support adult individuals with DD to reach their maximum potential. This is accomplished by creating opportunities for socialization, help with self-care skills, and providing an employment-oriented program of meaningful work training and experience. These services are designed to enable an individual to either move into other work training programs or competitive employment, and/or maintain his/her Developmental Disabilities Support Services current level of functioning. Each VCH unit provides a day-oriented vocational program that simulates the adult pattern of going to work during the day. Meaningful, real work is provided where individuals may earn a wage that is commensurate with their abilities.

Supported Employment
JOBS (Jobs, Our Basic Service) assists individuals with disabilities in securing and maintaining competitive employment in regular work settings within their community. To be eligible for services, a person must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the region served by Pathways, currently receiving or eligible to receive services from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and Pathways, and diagnosed as having mental retardation, mental illness, or a developmental disability.

Supports for Community Living
SCL is a complete spectrum of services that provides families of individuals with mental retardation an alternative to institutional care. SCL services may be provided in either a residential or a community- living setting. To be eligible for services, a person must require an intermediate level of care and be at risk of being institutionalized, or come out of an ICF/MR facility back to the local community.

Supported Living
Supported Living is a state grant program to provide support for any person with a disability. Supports can include respite, personal care, and adaptations for the home. Decisions are made by the Supported Living Council, which consists of eight volunteers appointed by the Governor.

For more information call
(606) 329-8558, ext. 4112
Toll free in Kentucky
(800) 562-8909