Day and Vocational Programs
Mullica Hill Day Programs
Age range: 21 and older
Type of Setting(s): Campus and community work settings
Geographic Location(s): Mullica Hill, NJ
Licensing/Approval: New Jersey Department of Human Services
licensed
Accreditation: CARF...The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission
- Employment and Community Services Standards
Bancroft's Mullica Hill campus provides treatment and care for individuals with autism, other developmental disabilities, or brain injuries. The campus offers a rural setting on 280 wooded acres in Gloucester County, NJ.
Bancroft NeuroHealth recognizes that employment contributes to a satisfying life. The Mullica Hill Vocational Program is designed for individuals who require extensive vocational development and/or specific job training. Educational and training activities assist individuals to become contributing members of the community. Daily training opportunities focus on qualities and abilities most highly valued by employers: communication skills, ability to work cooperatively with others, following directions, and basic work attitudes and habits.
The program is designed to be transitional for those adults preparing for community-based employment. For those not moving toward employment, the program maintains a structured day program designed to facilitate growth and enhanced self-worth and productivity. A number of training sites are available, providing individuals a variety of work options. On-site training areas include Horticulture/Greenhouse Operations, Dried Floral Retail, Equestrian, Grounds Maintenance, Custodial, and Woodshop. Integration into the community workforce can be realized through volunteer opportunities, contract work, mobile work crews, supported and competitive employment.
Equestrian
The Equestrian Program maintains stables at a barn located on the Mullica
Hill Campus. In this program, the individuals learn the trade of a stable
attendant: feeding, grooming, stall keep and horsemanship. Daily programming
allows for individual riding sessions. The program is also home to several
small animals and popular household pets, enabling one to learn appropriate
care and responsibility for these likely companions.
Custodial
The Custodial Program focuses training on basic janitorial services: trash
collection and removal, window cleaning, surface dusting, carpet vacuuming,
sweeping, mopping, restroom sanitation and product inventory. Daily programming
includes safety awareness, safe cleaning practices and proper product use
and storage. Opportunities exist for participation in a variety of group
work placements.
Dried Floral Retail
A small campus-based dried floral retail business is open to the public
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. In addition, wares are sold at local and
regional craft shows, flea markets and retail shops. This provides opportunities
for transactions with customers and the general public in employment situations.
The marketable goods include handcrafted dried flower wreaths, swags, baskets,
centerpieces and wall hangings as well as holiday ornaments and decorations.
Most floral materials are grown on-site, in large outdoor gardens. The focus
of training and daily programming includes floral arranging, small business
operations and customer service.
Woodshop
In the woodshop, individuals learn the practices of woodworking as a hobby
and/or entrepreneurial opportunity. Projects include seasonal decorative
items, small furniture crafting and furniture refinishing. Individuals progress
through three tracks of training: basic, intermediate and advanced. The
focus of daily programming includes selecting the appropriate raw materials,
sanding/preparation, cutting, assembly and finishing. Individuals with greater
aptitude and safety awareness will learn to use several power tools, to
include palm sanders, disc/belt sanders, drills and a jigsaw.
Horticulture/Greenhouse Operations
The Greenhouse Program operates year round, providing instruction and therapy
in the practices of general horticulture. Daily programming includes learning
the techniques involved in maintaining plants such as watering, fertilizing,
soil preparation and plant propagation, transplanting, picking orders and
customer service. Crops include year round foliage plants as well as seasonal
annuals and flowering baskets. The program markets wholesale to local nurseries,
garden centers and greenhouses. The program's own greenhouses are open weekdays
for sales to the public.
Grounds Maintenance
The Grounds Maintenance Program focuses training on basic lawn care services
during the warmer season: mowing, trimming, raking, mulching and watering.
Off-season work is maintained via a firewood delivery operation, snow removal
and a kindling contract job. Daily programming includes safety awareness
and practices, safe equipment operation and routine maintenance. Training
focuses on the use of a variety of hand and power tools: push mowers, riding
mowers, leaf blowers, trimmers, rakes, loppers, pruners and chipper/shredders.
Opportunities exist for participation in community-based crew labor work.
Transitional Supported Employment Programs
(Group Work Placements)
Bancroft NeuroHealth offers employment opportunities for adults in a variety
of community-based business settings, in which a Bancroft work site supervisor
provides on-site training and support. Bancroft seeks to assist individuals
in developing the work skills they need, while earning wages for gainful
work activity. Group work placements are designed to be temporary and transitional.
As individuals within these work groups achieve identified levels of skill
and independence, the vocational team assists them in their move to individual
job placements (Supported Employment).
Supported Employment Services
Supported Employment Services involve competitive or paid employment with
the assistance of a job coach; however, the individual is an employee of
the host company. Job coaching provides support and cueing on the job to
ensure successful completion of essential duties; the goal of all placements
is for the job coach to provide the minimum amount of assistance necessary.
At the onset of the placement, job coaches are on site 100% of the time.
Fading of the job coach will progress as the individual becomes more independent
in task completion, and as the employer becomes more comfortable with the
performance of the individual. The presence of the job coach allows for
timely resolution of any problems that arise. While the job coach may fade
entirely from the placement site, the employment specialist maintains contact
with the employer.
We strive to assist individuals in achieving their goals via a person-centered interdisciplinary team approach. The team is comprised of the person served, guardian and funders, residential associates, vocational associates and a nurse case manager. Other team members may include physical, occupational, speech, psychosocial and cognitive therapists, as appropriate. The goals of this program are outcome oriented: individualized goals are established for each person served based upon assessment and input from the full interdisciplinary team.
