Special Needs Resource Directory

Choosing the right residential, or extended care, facility for a child can be difficult for families. Here are some important questions to ask when interviewing / researching a particular facility:

• What is your philosophy of treatment?
• Currently, or generally, what types of issues do you deal with the most at your facility?
• Based on your understanding of my child's needs
• Do you have a program that will benefit my child?
• What are your initial thoughts about a treatment plan?
• Have you worked with similar cases? What were the outcome in these situations?
• How would my child fit in with other residents?
• Do you have any concerns about my child's participation in your program?
• What would be a realistic successful outcome for my child?
• What is the average patient age?
• Are patients ever separated by gender? (sleeping, recreation, meals, groups)
• What type of plan for communication is there between the treatment team and parents? How does this communication plan work (e.g., phone, email, visits)? What type of access do we as parents / caregivers have to the attending physician?
• What type of expectations would the facility have for family participation during my child's stay? Is there a recommend visitation program?
• How is length of stay determined?
• How are on-site visits usually handled? Do you recommend that our child attend the initial on-site visit?

The Arc of Greater Cleveland has a helpful list of questions to ask a potential provider.

• The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities provides residential supports and services that allow individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live in the most appropriate home environment. Residential options also include care in Ohio’s state-run Developmental Centers and in Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (ICF/IDD).

• Residential vacancies in Ohio
• Licensed Residential Facilities in Ohio
• Home Choice Programs

• Abilities First, located in Middletown, Ohio, has two ICF’s (Intermediate Care Facilities). Hopewell Residential located in Franklin, is serves 10 adults with moderate to profound disabilities and Doty House, located in Middletown, serves 20 individuals diagnosed with severe to profound disabilities with multiple disorder diagnoses.
• Adriel Respite Program, located in Ohio, provides services for youth who are between the ages of 6 and 19 and who have an intellectual functioning above 55.
• Autism Speaks has information on housing and community living and a database of options.
• BeauVita was created as a 501C charitable organization with the purpose of providing housing and residential support services in a community setting for adults with developmental disabilities in Hamilton County. It is anticipated that it will take approximately 5 years for BeauVita to reach its goal of establishing a community of services and supports for developmentally disabled adults. Planning and fundraising efforts are underway.
• Beechwood Home, located in Cincinnati, is a long-term care facility specializing in neurological disorders which include but are not limited to those with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, ALS and those who have suffered a stroke. They accept residents with trachs or vents.
• Bellefaire JCB residential treatment program, located in Shaker Heights, Ohio, provides residential treatment for boys and girls ages 11 - 22 and children with autism, ages 5 - 22.
• Bittersweet Farms, located in Lima, Whitehouse and Pemberville, and Middletown (Safe Haven Farms), Ohio, provides residential, community living, vocational services and specialized services for children and adults with autism.
• Brookside Extended Care is an Intermediate Care Facility in Mason, Ohio, for individuals with developmental disabilities. Brookside is one of only a few facilities in the state of Ohio that specializes in the care of individuals with severe to profound developmental disabilities. They serve children and adults ranging in ages 9 and up,and support trachs but not vents.
• Hart-Supported Living Grant can provide financial support for individuals with disabilities to live in and participate in their communities.
• Hattie Larlham, located in Mantua, Ohio, is a nonprofit organization that provides residential services to children and adults with developmental disabilities.
• Heinzerling Foundation, located in Columbus, Ohio, provides residential services to non-ambulatory individuals with severe or profound developmental disabilities and multiple disabilities. They also accept individuals on trach and BIPAP support. Residents range in age from infancy to adults.

• Home of the Innocents, Kosair Charities Pediatric Convalescent Center, Louisville, Kentucky, serves medically fragile children, ages birth to 21. The skilled nursing facility provides short-term, long-term and respite care for children with severe developmental and/or physical disabilities, as well as ventilator dependency.

• LADD (Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled), located in Cincinnati, supports individuals over the age of 18 who are eligible for services provided by Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services (HCDDS). They have training programs for independence, apartments, community supported living assistance and home ownership programs.
• Monarch Center for Autism, a division of Bellefaire JCB, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is an independent living program for adults with autism. They also have a boarding school for children with autism, ages 8 to 22.
• NECCO Center, located in Pedro, Ohio, provides treatment and care to male individuals ages 10-21 and are qualified providers for Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Individuals must have a mental health and/or intellectual disability diagnosis.

• Nursing Home Compare is a tool that provides detailed information about the past performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.

• Rockcastle Regional Hospital and Respiratory Care Center, located in Kentucky, is a community hospital that operates acute care programs and long-term care beds for ventilator-dependent patients.
• Safe Haven Farms, located in West Chester, Ohio, is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization offering residential, day and community services for individuals on the autism spectrum. It provides a variety of living, working, learning and leisure activities in a farm environment.
• St. Joseph Home of Cincinnati, located in Sharonville, serves non-ambulatory, non-verbal and medically fragile infants, children and adults. It serves 48 children and adults with complex medical needs. All St. Joseph Home school-aged residents attend either a county special needs school or St. Joseph Home Academy, the on-site school program for those too young or too medically fragile to leave the campus. Older residents attend a workshop program that is specially designed to allow those with severe or profound disabilities to achieve the dignity and purpose that comes with employment. St. Joseph Home holds a Summer Camp program for school-aged residents to keep them active and stimulated between school years
• Stewart Home School, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, provides a community where people live in a nurturing environment, and participate in programs designed to specifically meet their individual needs. Students, ages 14 and up, pursue skills in self-sufficiency, academics and vocational programs in a setting that stimulates self-confidence.
• Stillwater Center is an intermediate care facility for children and adults. They accept residents in the severe to profound range of intellectual disabilities, as well as medically fragile individuals, including those on vents. Services include rehabilitation, nursing, recreation, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, nutrition and social services.
• ViaQuest, located throughout Ohio, including Cincinnati, provides a variety of services for individuals diagnosed with a developmental disability, or with a dual diagnosis of developmental disability and mental or behavioral health need.

• Cincinnati Children's College Hill Campus Residential Treatment Program provides a place where children who need psychiatric care over extended periods of time can receive treatment. The program is for children ages 9 to 17 whose stay is between one to 12 months.
• Beckett Springs, West Chester, Ohio, is a 72-bed behavioral hospital offering inpatient and outpatient mental health and addiction treatment to adults and their families.
• Beech Brook, Cleveland Ohio, provides intensive residential and day treatment programs for children and teens.
• Bellefaire JCB residential treatment program, located in Shaker Heights, Ohio, provides residential treatment for boys and girls ages 11 - 22 and children with autism, ages 5 - 22.
• Centerstone is a not-for-profit health care organization dedicated to delivering care that changes people’s lives. They provide mental health care, addiction treatment and community education in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
• Buckeye Ranch, Columbus, Ohio area, offers residential and community-based programs that provide family-focused mental health treatment and alcohol / drug services for children with behavioral or psychological and substance abuse disorders.
• Carrington Youth Academy, Cleveland, Ohio, serves boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 21, with a wide variety of behavioral issues and mental health diagnoses.
• Chileda, LaCrosse, Wisconsin is a residential care and treatment center for children and young adults with developmental disabilities and challenging behaviors.
• Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, Inc., Wauchula, Florida, teaches self-control and positive behaviors to people with brain and head injuries in a structured, therapeutic environment. The goal is community integration.
• Foundations for Living, Mansfield, Ohio is a secure, mid-to-long-term residential treatment center for adolescents 11 to 17 years of age, with minimum IQ of 55. The center is accredited by CARF and licensed by the Ohio Department of Mental Health. Their on-site school has certified teachers for all essential junior high and secondary school subjects.
• Hillside, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, offers intensive residential psychiatric treatment, therapeutic foster care and community-based family preservation services for 7 to 18 year olds.
• Holly Hill Children's Services, located in Northern Kentucky, provides residential treatment for girls ages 11-18 who have emotional and behavioral issues.
• Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, Canton, Massachusetts is a special needs school serving both higher functioning students with conduct, behavior and emotional and/or psychiatric issues and lower-functioning students with autistic-like behaviors.
• KidsPeace in Georgia, Maine and Pennsylvania offer a variety of residential programs for children and adolescents including diagnostic assessment, dual diagnosis, residential, transitional and therapeutic treatment.
• Laurel Heights is a private intensive residential treatment program located in Atlanta, Georgia. They serve children ages 5 to 21 who have complex psychiatric and developmental disabilities. They also offer a specialized Autism Spectrum Disorders program for children and adolescents severely affected by autism.
• Lindner Center of Hope, Cincinnati, offers Sibcy House program for adults, age 18 and older, with specialized assessment and short-term intensive treatment for individuals struggling with mental health, addiction and complex, co-morbid issues in an enhanced therapeutic environment. The Adolescent Comprehensive Diagnostic and Short-Term Intensive Treatment Program, called Williams House, offers a specialized and intimate treatment setting within the Lindner Center of HOPE, focusing on intensive assessment and treatment of patients, age 11 through 17, suffering with complex, co-morbid mental health issues. They also have a list of adolescent residential programs in Ohio on their website.
• Marsh Foundation, located in Van Wert, Ohio, offers on-campus group homes for males and females ages 7 to 17. A specialized residential program provides services for male juvenile sex offenders. In addition to group homes, they maintain a network of foster homes. Their clinical services are available to residential and community clients. They also have a campus school that offers its services to those living in group homes, in foster homes and to special needs students from the community.
• Maryhurst, Louisville, KY, offers a highly structured, intensive residential treatment program with an on-campus school. Serves 12 to 18 year olds.
• Midwest Center for Youth and Families, Kouts, Indiana, is short-term residential facility, offering behavioral health services for youth ages 6 to 20.
• Monarch Center for Autism, a division of Bellefaire JCB, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is an independent living program for adults with autism. They also have a boarding school for children with autism, ages 8 to 22.
• NECCO Center, located in Pedro, Ohio, provides treatment and care to male individuals ages 10 to 21 and are qualified providers for Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Individuals must have a mental health and/or intellectual disability diagnosis.
• NeuroRestorative Specialty Centers operates treatment centers in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas that serve individuals who have suffered a neurologic impairment due to traumatic brain injury, tumor, stroke, anoxia or congenital, degenerative, or neurogenic infectious disorder.
• Jason Foundation (formerly Psychiatric Solutions) offers an extensive continuum of behavioral health programs to critically ill children, adolescents and adults in 31 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can find a treatment center in your area. The continuum of services includes acute inpatient hospitalization, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, alternative school and outpatient services. Some facilities include:
• Belmont Pines, Youngstown, OH
• Columbus Hospital, Columbus, IN
• Cumberland Hospital, New Kent, VA
• Fox Run Hospital, St. Clairsville, OH
• Windsor Hospital, Chagrin Falls, OH
• Rainbow Rehabilitation, Ypsilanti, MI, provides a residential environment for those with brain injuries. They assist in developing appropriate socialization skills, family and community reintegration and increased independence. Serves pediatric and adult patients.
• Talbert House, Cincinnati, offers residential care for female youth ages 12-17 who have emotional or behavioral difficulties. Services include assessment, individual, group and family counseling, case management, medication management, primary care, life skills development, self-help recovery groups, parenting education and relapse prevention to address mental/behavioral health, substance use, criminality, family functioning, victimization, grief, and abuse. Treatment is provided in a trauma-informed environment with a graduated step down from residential into an outpatient level of care including home based services to keep youth engaged in their treatment and successful in the community. Psychiatrists and Nurse Practitioners are on staff to reduce and manage symptoms and treat physical health needs.
• Transitional Living, 2052 Princeton Road, Hamilton, Ohio, provides 24/7 psychiatric treatment, nursing services, residential treatment, counseling, community support services, homeless outreach and housing. Office is open Monday -Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm. Middletown location is 1630 Central Avenue, Middletown, Ohio. Residents of Butler County, age 18 or older with a mental disability, are eligible. For information call 513-422-4004.
• Ten Broeck Hospital, Louisville, KY, offers a full continuum of inpatient, partial, outpatient and residential services for children, adolescents, families, adults and seniors.
• The Village Behavioral Health, located outside of Knoxville, TN, is licensed psychiatric residential treatment facility. The program treats adolescents, ages 13 - 18, with disorders including substance abuse, mood disorders and self harming behaviors. The therapeutic approach includes psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, social workers, nurses, recreation therapists, counselors and teachers. A private, state approved, accredited school exists on both the boys and girls campuses. All commercial insurances are accepted as well as TennCare, NC Medicaid and private pay.
• Three Springs, Huntsville, AL, provides therapy and education to adolescents experiencing emotional, behavioral and learning problems.
• ViaQuest provides mental health services and youth residential programs for behaviorally challenged youth and adults throughout Ohio, including Cincinnati. ViaQuest offers a wide range of treatments, services and facilities including licensed group homes, supported living, transitional living, independent living and mental health services.
• Resource Treatment Center, Indianapolis, IN. Serves children ages 8 - 20 years with conduct and oppositional defiance, mood disorders, impulsivity, and attention deficit.
• Southwood Psychiatric Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. Offers acute inpatient for child and adolescent care (boys and girls age 4 - 18); Residential Treatment (boys ages 4 - 18); and DD (boys 12 - 21).

• Buckeye Ranch, Columbus, Ohio area, offers residential and community-based programs that provide family-focused mental health treatment and alcohol / drug services for children with behavioral or psychological and substance abuse disorders.
• Foundations for Living, Mansfield, Ohio is a secure, mid-to-long-term residential treatment center for adolescents 12 to 18 years of age, with minimum IQ of 65. The center is accredited by CARF and licensed by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. Their on-site school has certified teachers for all essential junior high and secondary school subjects.
• Valle Vista Hospital, Greenwood, IN, offers a continuum of services for children and adults.
• Day Top, located in New Jersey, is a treatment program designed specifically for adolescents.
• 4drugrehab.com provides an alphabetical listing of rehabilitation programs by state.

• Center for Independent Living Options (CILO) is the oldest center for independent living in Ohio serving individuals with disabilities in Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky. They can assist with affordable, accessible housing, emergency shelter, provide help for the homeless, independent living skills and personal assistance.
• Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) offers several housing assistance programs. This web site describes the available programs and provides information on how to apply.
• Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit Christian housing ministry who partners with families to build homes and offer no-interest mortgages. Check out Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity for information about local projects and how to become a partner family.
• DeVol Design. Build. Remodel (DBR) is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) recognized by the National Association of Homebuilders with the CAPS designation to serve Greater Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Our primary focus is in the cities of Loveland, Mason, Montgomery, Amberly Village, West Chester, Milford, Andersen and Wyoming, but we are able to serve other areas as needs dictate.
• Housing Resources developed by Disability Rights Ohio.
• Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati takes cases helping clients prevent evictions and foreclosures, eliminating lead paint hazards, addressing lockout or utility cutoff by landlords, and preserving affordable family housing.
• MortgageLoan.com is a guide to housing and mortgages for people with disabilities. It covers terminology, the process of buying a house and financial assistance.
• People Working Cooperatively, Inc. (PWC) is a non-profit organization working with professionals and volunteers to provide low income, elderly and disabled homeowners with critical home repairs, energy conservation and weatherization, mobility modifications, and maintenance services. They also provide energy consideration services for renters. Services vary by state and county. Find information for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
• Refinance and Mortgage Guide for People with Disabilities has information on the key steps in buying a home and funding sources.

• When a child resides in an institution for more than 30 days, the income and resources to the child's parents are not longer counted in determining the Medicaid eligibility of the child. Therefore, children who are institutionalized for more than a month will generally qualify for Medicaid.
• Ask the Right Questions is a guide to making decisions about residential supports for family members with disabilities.
• Center for Independent Living Options (CILO) is the oldest center for independent living in Ohio serving individuals with disabilities in Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky. They can assist with affordable, accessible housing, emergency shelter, provide help for the homeless, independent living skills and personal assistance.
• LADD (Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled), located in Cincinnati, supports individuals over the age of 18 who are eligible for services provided by Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services (HCDDS). They have training programs for independence, apartments, community supported living assistance and home ownership programs.
• Envision, located in Cincinnati, provides supervised living assistance in traditional group homes, apartments and foster family settings in the community. They can provide guidance to individuals and families who are seeking out advice and direction on residential services. Staff are able to work with funding sources and share knowledge about the availability of other resources.