Our mission is to offer quality services and opportunities which empower people with disabilities to achieve social and economic growth,
*through consumer choice and collaboration
*through leadership and innovation
*through cost-effective programs, and
*by facilitating a process which leads to informed choices and community integration.

Description:
We are a leading behavioral health and rehabilitation provider in Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Harford County. Our main sources of funding are the MHA, the DDA, and DORS. In Baltimore County we have a strong Vocational Rehabilitation Services division, where we provide career assessments, work adjustment training, and employment services for individuals with disabilities, as well as a vocational services program for individuals with developmental disabilities and community support services. We have a horticulture program at our Philadelphia Road site, where individuals learn landscaping skills and how to grow and work with houseplants. We also have a Business Services Division which employs hundreds of disabled individuals in NISH contracts at BWI Airport, the Port of Baltimore, and numerous other sites.

History:
We began in 1983 with our Community Rehabilitation Program for individuals with severe mental illness, and opened our Vocational Rehabilitation Services program in 1985. In 1987 we opened our first Residential Rehabilitation program. We expanded to Harford County in 1995, and acquired Changing Directions in Baltimore City in 1996, providing Psychiatric and Residential Rehabilitation. In 2000 we began our Case Management services and began programs for serving youth. We opened our outpatient mental health clinic in Belcamp that year as well. Our supported employment programs for individuals with developmental disabilities has grown substantially over the last five years, as has our Mental Health Vocational Program, which recently received honors from Dartmouth University and the Evidence-Based Practice sponsors. We just opened up our Vocational Services Program for DDA-funded individuals not yet ready for employment, providing volunteer, social, and community integration options for them.

Contact people:

Brian Peake, Director, VRS Division, (phone), (email) Paulette Epps, Asst. Director, Employer Services, (phone), (email) Jeanne Van Camp, Manager, Preparatory Services, (phone), (email)

Address:

7701 Wise Ave. Dundalk, MD 21222 (See a map)

Directions:

Take Beltway exit 39 (Merritt Blvd.) Travel down Merritt Blvd. about 1 1/4 miles to Wise Ave. Take a left on Wise. Make first right into parking lot, drive around to front of building. Enter main door, take elevator to 2nd floor. Go down. . . (more)   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: N/A   Nearest Bus Stop: #4, 0 minute walk

Miscellaneous Information

Does this agency accept court appointed volunteers?
	No