Woods Services

Careers Donate Now!

social icons youtube instagram twitter facebook Blog | Contact Us | Directions

A Tale of Two Scotts

“I love Scott – that’s my boy!” exclaimed Scott S., one of Woods Services’ Direct Support Professionals (DSP).

 

This is a story of two Scotts – Scott Jr. and Scott S.

 

Scott Jr. is diagnosed with multiple, severe behavioral disorders that his parents had tried to manage for years.  Before he came to Woods seven years ago, he was prone to uncontrollable, threatening behavior that led to frequent hospital visits.  Like many of Woods’ families, Scott’s parents finally had to face the reality that their child was in crisis and needed professional care outside their home.

 

Scott Jr. arrived at Woods in December 2015.  From the initial consultation, his parents felt immediate relief knowing their son would receive everything he needs to thrive.  “The Direct Support Professionals at Woods are wonderful,” said Scott’s mother.  “They work very hard to bring out the best in our son every day.”  One DSP they are most grateful for is Scott S.  “He goes above and beyond for our son, creating a bond and level of care that we could only hope for.”

 

Scott S. has worked as a DSP at Woods for an impressive 20 years, and has cared for Scott Jr. for the last five years.  When he first witnessed Scott Jr.’s extremely challenging behaviors, he was determined to find ways to reduce them.  He found that creating a bond with Scott Jr. and gaining his trust is the key to getting the best out of him.  “Scott Jr. is incredibly funny,” said Scott S.  “I knew if I could make him laugh and connect with him using humor, we would be successful.”

 

In addition to using humor, Scott S. has also connected with Scott Jr. through music.  Singing and dancing to their favorite tunes together helps redirect challenging behaviors.  “These can be really sweet moments,” said Scott S.

 

“I know it makes a difference when you really care . . . then work doesn’t feel like work anymore!”

 

The creative ways in which Scott S. has approached Scott Jr.’s challenges have helped him thrive.  Said Scott’s mother, “We visit Scott bi-weekly, either at home or at Woods.  The experiences we now have with him are positive, and we are celebrating this past year as he has earned his diploma and graduated high school at Woods!”

 

A Woods staff and resident reach up for a two-handed high five

Making the Workplace Work for All

Woods Services resident Patrick feels blessed to be where he’s at in his career. Woods has recognized and fostered his skills.

 

“I work with people who can’t talk, so I want to learn sign language,” Patrick said. “I want to learn where they’re coming from.”

 

Woods’ residents in the workforce are diverse in their skills and needs. So, Woods has a range of employment opportunities.

 

Vocational training begins at the Woods Schools. When a student turns 14, the schools provide life skills and hands-on job training. In school, students can learn skills in housekeeping, retail, technology, beauty, and landscaping that can prepare them for competitive, entry-level work. This education can also occur in the community with the assistance of a job coach. Marshalls, Giant, and Sesame Place are just a few examples of where students can get their vocational starts locally. Ultimately, their education is guided by their interests and abilities.

 

Once a student reaches 21, they can find themselves in three different settings:

  1. Holland Enrichment Center offers non-working adults day programming.
  2. The Woods Enterprises, or TWE, offers newly graduated students a supervised work center and supervised group work in community settings.
  3. Woods’ Social Enterprises, The Yellow Daffodil, Woods Wear, and Common Grounds Cafe, offer the most independent work setting at Woods where new grads can work up to full-time.

 

“We want clients to be in the least restrictive environment and meet the level of their abilities,” said Danica Lynn, Director of the Social Enterprises.

 

Let’s take a closer look at TWE.

 

The work is varied, though one common thread binds the work done: adaptability. Adaptability is a critical element that makes TWE and those who work there succeed. These positions are not paid hourly nor by salary; they are paid by pieces produced. This allows workers to step aside as often as they need. This format has drawn its critics.

 

“People have tried to shut TWE down,” TWE employee Jason S. said.

 

Well-intentioned pushes for workplace integration and wage reforms are often the reasons critics cite for wanting to shut down workplaces such as TWE. Woods believes TWE exists to foster an inclusive, understanding environment equipped to support workers whose needs are varied – something that other business models cannot provide.

 

“I like all the work I do here,” TWE employee Sarah said.

 

While working at TWE, the employees can also take their talents to different “enclaves,” jobs outside of TWE where they work in small groups. For Sarah, you can also find her caring for the animals at Woods.

 

“One day at a time, my dear sir,” Jason A. said. “I love my work.”

 

Jason A. is also employed at TWE and works within different enclaves. For him, as well as many others, community work takes him to Habitat for Humanity ReStores. Here, you can find him sweeping.

 

Patrick similarly worked throughout the community, including Home Depot, restaurants, Target, and Optimum Sport Health Club.

 

Back in 2018, Patrick joined Woods Wear as the fledgling social enterprise’s first employee and is still proudly there.

 

Immediately, he took to learning the ins and outs of the custom apparel shop: pretreating, pressing, design research, and more. For him, he best absorbs information by studying others. Now, he helps introduce younger students to Woods Wear and is an important stitch in the social enterprise.

 

“I’ve loved its success,” Patrick said.

 

Character-wise, Patrick feels he’s developed both his independence and his responsibility. He’s also built important relationships with colleagues.

 

“God gave everyone a gift. Some people have different shapes and different abilities,” Patrick says.

 

This spirit is weaved throughout Woods’ resident workforce.

The Woods System of Care, Explained

As Woods transformed into a nonprofit in 1948, founder Mollie Woods Hare said, “The Woods Schools have always been pioneers. One of our earliest objectives has been constant pioneering research in the techniques of care and training of the exceptional child and the dissemination of that research to the medical profession and educators for the benefit of ALL exceptional children.”

 

We are again in transformation as the Woods System of Care. The goal remains the same: pioneer new ways of benefiting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), autism, co-occurring mental health, and other chronic conditions so that they can achieve their highest potential and independence.

 

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families face a broken system of inadequate and disjointed services. Woods Services and its six affiliate organizations (Abilities of Northwest NJ, Allies, Archway Programs, Woods Community at Brian’s House, Legacy Treatment Services, and Tabor Services) have joined forces as the Woods System of Care. We’re seamlessly giving people all of the support they need . . . and deserve at any point in their life. We do this through innovative, integrated, and individualized approaches that promote learning and personal fulfillment by leveraging the expertise of each affiliate.

 

Together, we focus on serving the whole person – ensuring that they achieve and maintain social determinants of health. Our model is rooted in a population health management strategy, which includes integrating primary and specialty medical care with behavioral health. The Patient-Centered Integrated Care Model, through the Medical Center at Woods, has shown that providing integrated primary care and behavioral healthcare advances the quality of life and standard of care for individuals with disabilities.

 

The Woods System of Care is the leading and largest provider of supports in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for children and adults with disabilities and challenges.

Woods System of Care Names Vanessa B. Briggs as Vice President of Health Services and Equity

The Woods System of Care is excited to announce Vanessa B. Briggs, MBA, R.D., as the first vice president of Healthcare Services and Health Equity. In this new role, Briggs will oversee programs that bring Woods’ expertise and integrated service model to N.J. These services include integrated primary and behavioral health care, children’s community-based residential treatment services, and coordination and transition services for older youth entering adult services. Briggs will also serve as the system of care’s Vice President for Health Equity, responsible for developing a framework and standards that reduce health disparities for Woods’ clients and staff. Briggs started in her new role on September 12, 2022.

 

“We are delighted to welcome Vanessa Briggs to our Woods team, to serve in two significant roles – as vice president of Healthcare Services, and as vice president of Health Equity across the entire Woods System of Care,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, President and CEO of Woods Services and the system of care. “We recently expanded services in NJ in response to the significant need for individuals with intellectual disability, autism, and complex co-occurring conditions,” Hansen-Turton added. “With her expertise, Vanessa will lead Woods efforts in NJ in offering a continuum of services that form a system of care for individuals with complex needs, at every age,” she said. “In addition, she will oversee Woods’ efforts to advance health equity and eliminate health disparities for the individuals Woods’ serves and our employees.”

 

Briggs has more than 25 years of executive leadership and senior management experience in for-profit and nonprofit sectors, including philanthropy, public health, health and human services, and regional healthcare systems. Prior to joining the Woods team, she served for five years as president and CEO of The Alliance for Health Equity. This grant-making organization works to improve the health, social, emotional, and economic conditions among children, teens, and families in Chester County, Pennsylvania. At The Alliance, Briggs was instrumental in transforming grant-making strategies.

 

Briggs is a registered dietitian accredited by the American Dietetic Association. She earned her MBA in Health Administration from Eastern University, and a Bachelor of Arts, with a concentration in Dietetics, from Rowan University.

$1 Million Grant Helping Build Skills for Employment

 

Woods Services has a critical need for enhanced and increased vocational training space in the Gardner Education Center due to its growing day student population.  Woods actually maintains a waiting list because it cannot accommodate all of the students for whom it receives referrals.

 

Thanks to a $1 million grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development Redevelopment Authority Capital Program (RACP), the Gardner Education Center will be renovated to accommodate state-of-the-art vocational training space and classrooms for students with intellectual disability, autism and behavioral challenges.  Requirements of the grant stipulate that Woods must match the grant with $1 million, which will be supported by a bequest from The Estate of Marilyn Goldstein.

 

This project will address the need for education, vocational and training for students with disabilities so they can enter the workforce, and help recruit and retain special education teachers and instructional aides.

 

Modernizing this space is urgently needed. The project entails creating a 5,054 square foot state-of-the-art vocational wing to house remodeled classrooms, each dedicated to a vocational track needed to train students for 21st century jobs, and will add a new modern façade along the entire front of the building, and a brand-new glass-walled entryway with a reconfigured reception area which will be more welcoming for students and families, and improve safety.

 

When the renovation is complete, students and teachers alike will benefit from a state-of-the-art vocational program, bright, welcoming and safe entryway into the building, and a visually appealing new façade that will modernize the look of the entire building.

 

Woods receives referrals from school districts which are unable to serve students who have a high level of need for intensive services and supports. Students attend as day students or as residential students. A hallmark of the Woods Schools is the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support program, a nationally-recognized approach which puts in place universal supports for all students, which significantly reduces challenging behaviors for the majority of students, and adds more intensive tiers of supports for students with the greatest social, emotional and behavior needs.

 

The renovated vocational areas will provide pre-vocational and vocational training in one of three tracks:

  1. cosmetology
  2. food and nutrition and life skills
  3. horticultural.

 

Two additional vocational tracks in customer service and technology will be held in existing classrooms, which do not require renovation.  Finally, a new wheelchair-accessible greenhouse will be constructed adjacent to the horticultural classroom. Each classroom is designed to replicate a real-life setting, such as a horticultural center, salon, and a kitchen and dining area where the full range of life skills can be taught related to food, nutrition, shopping and cooking. This allows for students to learn, practice and apply real-world skills that are needed to gain employment and to become as self-sufficient as possible.

 

Along with the new state-of-the-art vocational classrooms is a new vocational training curriculum, which incorporates brand-new technology and software addressing all aspects of pre-vocational, vocational and entrepreneurial training. New online vocational curriculum modules include financial literacy, creating resumes, conducting job interviews, and building skills needed for the workplace, such as communication, socialization, problem-solving, flexible thinking, behavior and self-regulation skills.

 

The enhanced curricula, paired with the new vocational spaces focusing on career areas such as customer service, food and nutrition, cosmetology, horticulture, and technology, will help students be prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation. Through this, they can live as independently as possible and to contribute to the economic life of the community.

 

Furthermore, improved instructional spaces and state-of-the-art installations will improve conditions for special education teachers and support their retention, especially when combined with professional development that the new curriculum offers.

 

Woods has integrated additional strategies into its education programs to address the teacher shortage, including its new Teach with Heart Fellowship, which allows emergency-certified teachers to obtain their Master’s degree at a low cost, receive mentoring from experienced teachers, and upon completing three years of employment, receive loan forgiveness.