Developmental Disabilities

Georgia Contacts

State Agency Responsible for Providing Services to the Developmentally Disabled

The Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases, Georgia Department of Human Resources, offer Developmental Disabilities services aimed at helping the family continue to care for a relative when possible, serving people who do not live with their families in a home setting, and promoting independence and self determination. Consumers and their families are closely involved in developing their goals, planning services to meet those goals, selecting their service providers and ensuring that services are meeting the needs. Services are offered through a variety of public and private providers.

State Agency Responsible for Overseeing Employment Opportunities for the Developmentally Disabled

The Georgia Rehabilitation Services operates five integrated and interdependent programs that share a primary goal-to help people with disabilities to become fully productive members of society by achieving independence and meaningful employment. The largest of the programs are Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, Disability Adjudication Services, and the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. The VR Program provides a wide array of services to persons with disabilities as they prepare for gainful employment. From application to eligibility, determination, assessment to job placement, VR professionals located in 53 offices statewide focus on assisting people with disabilities to work. Not only does the program assist people with disabilities to work, it also provides employers with dependable, qualified employees. Community Rehabilitation Programs provide, under contract, employment related services for Rehabilitation Services Consumers (persons with disabilities).

Sheltered Employment

The Georgia Goodwill Association is an outreach and intake to link people who want to work with information they need to prepare for and enter the workforce. Services offered include assessment to identify skills and opportunities for growth; intensive work ethic training in instructive, forgiving environments to facilitate development of skills needed to get and keep a job; short-term occupational skill training to meet local labor market needs and fill gaps in available services; job search skills training; job placement assistance; position matching, and job retention support. These services develop paid employment opportunities in integrated settings which offer meaningful occasions for workers to interact with non-disabled persons (co-workers or customers).

Competitive Employment

The quality, scope, and extent of supported employment services of the Georgia Department of Labor Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program ensure that VR consumers with the most significant disabilities are integrated into competitive employment settings that are consistent with their capabilities, priorities, resources, strengths, and informed choice. The supported employment concept assumes that all persons, regardless of the degree of their disability, have the capacity and should be afforded the opportunity to engage in competitive employment with appropriate support services. The VR Program provides supported services through a network of 380 approved service vendors; these services may include: job development and placement; on-the-job training; follow-up services; and on-going support. Generally transition to extended employment occurs when the supported employment specialist, the VR counselor, and the consumer determine that employment stabilization has been achieved.

Health and Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Georgia Consultation Project Offices provide free consultation service to help employers improve their occupational safety and health management systems and to help employers comply with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. The program also helps provide safe and healthy workplaces for employees by helping the employer locate and remove existing hazards in the facility, thereby reducing injuries and illnesses.

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) provides safety and health protections to most private sector workers and state and local government employees within the state. OSHA investigates complaints about workplace safety and health hazards.

Reporting Abuse and Neglect

The Adult Protective Services (APS), Division of Aging Services, Georgia Department of Human Resources, is mandated under the Disabled Adults and Elder Persons Protection Act to address situations of domestic abuse, neglect or exploitation of disabled persons over age 18 or elders over age 65 who are living in the community and not in residential long-term care facilities. APS also serves victims of self-neglect who are not able to meet their basic daily needs because of a physical or mental condition. The program works to prevent repeat abuse through protective services. Anyone wishing to report cases of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of disabled adults or elder persons in their community should contact the Division of Aging Services, Adult Protective Services toll-free at 1-888-774-0152 or 404-657-5250 in Metro Atlanta.

Protection and Advocacy

The Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) is a private non-profit corporation. Its mission is to work with and for oppressed and vulnerable individuals in Georgia who are labeled as disabled or mentally ill to secure their protection and advocacy. GAO's work is mandated by Congress, and GAO has been designated by Georgia as the agency to implement Protection and Advocacy within the state. The GAO assists people who have been abused or neglected or whose rights have been denied, finding inclusive solutions toward education, appropriate services and benefits, and community living. The priorities of the Protection and Advocacy for People with Developmental Disabilities (PADD) Program are (1) to protect individuals with developmental disabilities from, and to pursue a remedy for, incidents of abuse and/or neglect; (2) to respond to allegations of discrimination and legal rights violations of individuals with developmental disabilities in Georgia; and (3) to recruit and engage ordinary citizens as advocates for individuals with developmental disabilities in Georgia. In addition to the work of the Georgia Advocacy Office, PADD supports Citizen Advocacy offices in eight local communities.