| Affiliation with other organizations: |
The Young Adult Institute is a member of NYSACRA and IAC (Interagency Council). |
| Publications: |
The YAI Network’s DVDs, manuals and the YAI Resource Center are created to meet the needs of staff who work with people with developmental disabilities on a daily basis. Whenever possible, real-life situations with program participants are used to demonstrate techniques. Our training materials have won major awards from the President’s Council on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Superfest International Media Festival on Disabilities and the National Society for Children and Adults with Autism. The videos have also received finalist awards in the American Film and Video Festival and the International Film and Video Competition of the New York Festivals and received an Emmy nomination from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. |
| Purpose of the organization: |
YAI's mission and day-to-day activities of its staff are focused on a single succinct and clearly articulated goal: promoting for people with disabilities opportunities for Living, Loving, and Working. YAI's mission acknowledges that every individual served by YAI desires to contribute and be productive, have warm relationships with others, and live in a dignified and sympathetic environment. YAI's vision of Seeing Beyond Disability promotes defining each individual by his or her potential, rather than deficit, with the goal of providing opportunitites for the fullest life possible for each individual. Over the last 50 years, we built one of the nation's most comprehensive networks of programs and services to assist people with disabilities in maximizing their potential. We are firmly committed to helping the people we serve to achieve their potential for independence, individuality, productivity and inclusion in their communities. We believe that our staff is our most important resource. We are committed to promoting the involvement and participation of our staff in the management of the agency and to facilitating the growth of our staff through education, training, and supervision. |
| Activities relevant to the conference of States Parties to the convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: |
The YAI Network are independent health and human service agencies, which serve people of all ages with developmental, learning and physical disabilities or delays. With over 50 years of experience in service delivery focused around personal development, individual rights, and social inclusion for people with developmental disabilities we are well prepared to advocate for rights of people with devlopmental and learning disabilities. YAI is hoping to learn through further international cooperation, is interested in sharing its experiences with a wider audience, and wants to advocate for the rights of people with developmental and learning disabilities to ultimately benefit millions of people with disabilities throughout the world. |
| Confirmation of the activities of the organization at the regional, national or international level: |
The YAI Network’s 5600 staff members serve more than 20,000 individuals, including a rapidly increasing elderly population, in more than 450 award-winning community-based programs in the New York metropolitan area, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Also acclaimed for its education, publications, training and conferences, the YAI Network organizes an annual international conference. International consulting projects led to community based program development in Jordan and a regional conference in Saudi Arabia. |
| A list of members of the governing body of the organization, and their countries of nationality: |
Board of Trustees: Chair: Elliot P. Green - Vice Chair: Robert Dean Ellis - Secretaries: - Treasurer: - Chairman Emeritus: Oakleigh B. - Thorne Trustees: Dr Peter Blanck, Lee D. Chaikin, Charles M. Dombeck, Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Lewis A. Lindenberg, Jeffery A. Mordos, George Contos, John Rufer, Kevin Hogan, Richard Rosenbaum, Jane Levine, David B. Stafford - Executive Management Team: Chief Executive Officer: Stephen E. Freeman Chief - Operating Officer: Thomas A. Dern |
| Description of the membership of the organization, indicating the total number of members: |
The agency was established to provide services to people with developmental and learning disabilities, funded by state and federal funds. The organization is not based on memberships. |
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