Bonacic: Human Service Groups To Receive State Assistance

State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/I/C - Mt. Hope), today announced that two organizations which serve hundreds of Ulster County residents will each receive $50,000 from the State's Community Capital Assistance Program to make needed improvements at their facilities.

"These two organizations make a real difference not only to those who use their programs, but also to the families of those individuals. Thousands of families across the Hudson Valley have family members with developmental disabilities. Ulster-Greene ARC and the Children's Annex open the door to opportunity to their consumers and the families of their consumers," Senator Bonacic said.

Ulster-Greene ARC will use the funding to help create a unique School-to-Work Transition Center in Kingston for high school students from throughout Ulster County who are preparing for graduation and entry into the world of work and independence. The program will provide vocational training, skill building for ARC's consumers, internships and job placements - all under the direction of special education experts employed by Ulster-Greene ARC.

The Children's Annex, located on Kukuk Lane in the Town of Ulster, will use the funding to help develop an Autism Support Center at their campus. The Children's Annex was founded in 1977 in Woodstock. It now employs approximately 150 people and serves children between the ages of 2 an 15. It also operates a program in Ellenville.

According to officials from the Children's Annex, Autism Spectrum Disorder is on a steady rise nationwide, with an incidence of 1 child affected out of 166 births. The Children's Annex serves students from more than forty schools across the Mid-Hudson Valley.

For more information on these organizations, visit: www.Ulster-GreeneARC.org and www.childrensannex.org.