History
For more than 45 years, Special Care & Career Services has been building independence for children and adults with disabilities. Special Care & Career Services provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities so they can lead fulfilling lives in their communities.
In 1963, when public schools did not admit all children with intellectual and other disabilities, Special Care School was chartered to provide education and training to children with intellectual disabilities. A state-of-the-art twelve classroom school was erected in 1970 in Farmers Branch which was fully accessible to people with disabilities, featuring progressive amenities and programs long before legal mandates.
After the public school system began to accept children with disabilities in the 1975, we adapted programs to meet these changing needs. Special Care School became Special Care & Career Center, and the school building was sold to the Carrollton Farmers Branch Independent School District. The Early Childhood Intervention and Supported Employment Services programs were implemented to meet the needs of children with developmental delays and disabilities before they entered the school system and again upon graduation, respectively.
In 1999, the Board of Trustees changed the name of the agency to Special Care & Career Services which more closely reflected our philosophy: to include persons with disabilities in all aspects of the community. Services are not provided at a “center,” but are provided within the community where people with disabilities live, work and play.
Current Scope of Work
Today, Special Care & Career Services supports families, children and adults with developmental disabilities by providing key services to Collin, Dallas and Denton counties.
- Early Childhood Intervention. This extensive program serves babies and toddlers, birth to age three, who have developmental delays and/or disabilities. After an in-depth screening and evaluation process, experts provide speech, physical and occupational therapy and instruction to children and their primary caregivers either in the child’s home or daycare facility.
- Supported Employment Services. Through this program, adults with cognitive disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism and traumatic brain injury participate in comprehensive employment services to obtain and keep jobs in the local community. Thorough skills assessment, targeted job development, on-the-job training and continued support help ensure long-term employment success.
In 2007, Special Care & Career Services served 570 children and families through the Early Childhood Intervention program and 141 adults through Supported Employment Services. Our structured activities are planned, coordinated and facilitated by tenured health care and social service professionals, and each program is individualized based on the needs and interests of our children, families and adults. By offering quality services where our clients live, work and play, they become independent participants in their communities.
