HOPE Group is a qualified vendor through the Arizona
Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) that has been serving
families statewide since 1997. HOPE Group provides
in-home Habilitation and Respite services, Habilitation
Behavioral services and Habilitation Communication services. In addition to these state
funded services, each family will be designated a Lead Habilitation
Trainer* who will come to their home to provide child specific one-on-one
training for his or her providers. We also bill private
insurance companies for covered services. HOPE Group recruits providers
through local colleges, job fairs, family members of clients
etc. and can also assist in your own personal
recruitment efforts. Our staff includes Board Certified Behavior
Analysts. We understands that it is a difficult process once your
child has received a diagnosis of autism, and we are available to assist
you with any questions or concerns.
*See description below
Check
out the client
Announcements...
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Receiving Services through Hope Group
Hope
Group Mission Statement
Philosophy
Authorization
Employment
Practices
Lead
Habilitation Trainers/Ongoing Home Program Guidance
Scheduling
Services
Documentation
Grievances
Obtaining
Providers
Provider
Hiring Information and Compensation
Informative
Websites about ABA/AVB
Local
Support
Additional
Help and Resources
To become a client of Hope Group, please contact our Client Services department. We
can help you to navigate the complex DDD system,
and will explain what you need to get your child registered with HOPE
Group. We can mail you a client packet with forms and additional helpful
information and resources to become a HOPE Group client.
Thank you for considering using our resources and services
to help your child. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Our Mission is to provide meaningful assistance and
support for individuals with developmental disabilities and their
families. In order to satisfy this mission we will strive to:
-
Recognize and respect the diversity and
individuality of those for whom we provide assistance and support
-
Conduct all of our activities in a manner that
honors and optimizes the potential of each of the individuals for whom
we provide assistance and support
-
Consistently deal with each of the individuals for
whom we provide assistance and support in an open and honest manner
-
Identify available sources of information regarding developmental
disabilities that the individuals for whom we provide assistance and
support will need to make decisions and recommend some of the
habilitation options available to those individuals without being
dogmatic or judgmental
-
Provide family members who have had a loved one diagnosed with a
developmental disability with the support and tools necessary to be
active participants in the habilitation activities for, and the life of,
that loved one
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H.O.P.E. Group L.L.C. (“HOPE Group”) was initially formed
to provide services to children whose developmental disability is
attributed to autism or a related disorder. The services provided
will typically be in the service recipient child’s home. By
directing its focus in this manner, HOPE Group intends to tailor its
services to the specific needs of this client group. Hope Group also
intends to pass through a greater percentage of funding provided by the
Division of Developmental Disabilities (“DDD”) than that which has
historically been passed through by the general service provider agencies
now providing service to this client group
HOPE Group is client oriented and expects active client
input and participation with respect to the services provided by
HOPE
Group employees. As such, HOPE Group will demand that employees be
sensitive to the needs and wishes of the clients of Hope group and are
willing to work in a cooperative and team oriented manner.
HOPE
Group also expects its clients to satisfy the obligations set forth in
both this service policy and the standard client agreement to be executed
by the client.
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Clients must recognize that
HOPE Group is an agency
which has contracted with DDD for the provision of habilitation and
respite services to eligible persons with developmental
disabilities. HOPE Group is only assigned a specified number of
habilitation and respite hours for these persons by DDD and will be paid
by DDD only for those hours within the specified number of hours assigned
to HOPE Group. The number of hours assigned to HOPE Group will
generally be determined by DDD and the client. The client must
understand that habilitation hours are assigned on a per month basis and
that the client is responsible for ensuring that the hours of service
provided by HOPE Group employees is consistent with the number of hours
authorized for that client. If the client would prefer that HOPE
Group divide the authorized hours for that client between Hope Group
providers, the client should call us.
HOPE Group tracks the number of hours of service
provided to each client. If a client is unsure about authorization,
the number of hours utilized for a period, or wishes to request that an
employee provide additional services for which payment is expected from
HOPE group, the client should contact us immediately. Clients of
HOPE
Group agree that they are responsible for payment of any services provided which
exceed the allocated number of hours assigned to the Client by DDD at the
rate of twelve dollars ($12.00) per hour for Habilitation services and
eleven dollars ($11.00) per hour for Respite services.
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Hope Group is committed to the goal of providing
quality services to persons with developmental disabilities. To meet
this goal it is important that:
Open and supportive communication at all levels is the
most critical element to ensure that quality services are provided.
Personnel selection is based on a review of a standard
written application, verification of references, verification of background
information, and each applicant much have completed the training
classes. HOPE Group will diligently
attempt to maintain a pool of qualified service providers. The
client must understand, however, that the number of providers available is
not enough to meet the demand. Client
recruitment of providers may be necessary to implement an effective
program.
Employee Records: Each employee shall have
a personnel record maintained by Hope group. Upon request, a client
may be provided some information from the file relative to the client’s
decision whether to utilize any particular employee of Hope Group.
Providing any such information will be with the understanding that such
information is to otherwise be kept confidential.
EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:
Please recognize/understand that you must be fluent in English
and/or Spanish( if you're working with a Spanish speaking client) in
order to complete the Orientation and Training process required by
the State of Arizona and be able to work with English speaking
clients. If you do not speak English it will be difficult for
you to work with a client who only speaks English. If you wish
to work with a family member/friend who speaks the same language you
speak, but it is not English or Spanish, please contact the office
about one-on-one language specific trainings. If you have any
questions about this please contact the office at (480) 610-6981.
Thank You.
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Your
Lead Habilitation Trainer (Lead) will have additional training and
experience in ABA techniques and provide direct one-on-one training to new
habilitation providers. Their experience will include the basics in
ABA including Analysis of Verbal Behavior (AVB), picture schedules, play
therapy (NET), Discrete Trial Training (DTT), as well as goal writing and
data collection.
The Lead’s primary function
will be to train new providers by modeling techniques as well as
provide observation and guidance. The Lead will work with private
consultants to train in the ABA techniques, if a family is utilizing
consulting services. If the family does not have a consultant, the
Lead will write objectives based on the child’s ISP goals for the
habilitation provider to implement. The Lead will insure each client
has a procedure for data collection and insure the HCBS Pre-service
Meeting Plan, ISP and Client Objectives are available in the home for new
providers to view.
As a new
client, a Lead Habilitation
Trainer will be assigned to you when your new habilitation provider(s)
have been hired. You will receive the following services to
enhance your ABA program in the first six months of your
in-home program.
Twenty-four hours of Lead
Training time for your family and new Hope Group providers which include
the following:
- Assistance
setting up Data Collection
- Training support of providers in private consultant lead
program
- Writing objective from ISP and training support
based on the objectives
Every six months
after you will be
eligible for twelve hours of Lead Training time to provide
on-going training to your family and Hope Group providers or train any
new Hope Group providers in your program.
This
training time is designed to enhance the skill level of HOPE Group
providers and give child specific training to our employees who will spend
the majority of the time implementing your child’s in-home
program. This is a specialized service that is provided by HOPE
Group and is not a service billable to DDD. HOPE Group Lead
Habilitation trainers do not provide training to providers who are not
Hope Group employees.
Your Lead
Trainer will be assigned to write objectives to implement at a minimum of
once per year.
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Employees of Hope Group shall schedule services
directly with the clients of Hope Group. Scheduling shall, of
course, be consistent with the authorization granted as to the number of
hours that the employee may provide to each client
The number of hours authorized for a particular
employee may be altered at any time by either the client or Hope
Group. Additionally, future services will require the continuing
concurrence of the client, the employee and Hope Group. In essence,
employees operate very much like independent contractors and, as such,
each client must recognize that employees may be providing services to a
number of other clients.
Employees of Hope Group operate as a part of a team and
are instructed to report for duty at the time agreed upon, be
appropriately attired and mentally and physically prepared to provide
services for the entirety of the scheduled service time. If an
employee is not satisfying these, or any other conditions of employment,
it is expected that client will report same to Hope Group. Hope
Group recognizes that there are occasionally times when, because of
illness or unavoidable circumstances, a client may not wish to have
services provided as scheduled. Under these circumstances, the
client should notify the scheduled employee of same as soon as
possible. Obviously, a client should also notify each employee as
soon as that client knows that he or she will alter a schedule for planned
circumstances such as vacation, medical leave, bereavement leave, jury
duty, military leave, or suspension of services for any reason.
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Specific goals must be
established and documented for each client, as well as the methods to be
used to achieve those goals. Additionally, progress reports
detailing progress made toward achieving these goals must be submitted to
Hope Group on a monthly basis. Hope Group expects that its clients
will actively participate in this documentation and goal setting
process. Clients should also expect to be contacted periodically
regarding the progress being made in the program and the client’s level of
satisfaction with the employees of Hope Group. Finally, client
agrees to provide a ring binder for, and to retain, the daily
documentation of activities utilized by the employees of Hope group
providing habilitation services to the client at the service
site.
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H.O.P.E. Group thrives on
professionalism and the utmost respect for our Clients and their
families. We offer you the opportunity to forward any complaints or
grievances you may have concerning our staff or the services we are
providing to you and your child. In order for H.O.P.E. Group to
follow-up on any complaints you must complete the
grievance
form and submit it to H.O.P.E Group via facsimile or personal
delivery to our offices. At that point, the H.O.P.E. Group
Administrators will assess the situation and make the appropriate
decisions which may need to be made based on any written documentation of
the grievance.
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Once you turn in your paperwork, if
you need a provider, we will add your name to our match list. When a
provider lets us know that they are looking for a client, we give them a
list of names in their area. If they live near you, we will give
them your name. It is up to them to contact you.
We do our best to
find a provider for you as soon as possible, but we also recommend the
following to speed up the process:
Make a flyer for
our training room as an added attention grabber. (view
example) Be sure to include primary caregiver’s name, child’s
name, crossroads and city area, phone number, and child’s picture
(optional). You may use the sample flyer as a
guide.
We also recommend
posting flyers around your community, junior colleges, ASU and
churches.
You can also post
an ad in newspapers, ASU paper, or the ASU job website
If you know
anyone over the age of 18 (friends or family) that would like to work
with your child, please have them call us. We would love to set
them up to be an employee!
If you would like
to know about the hire process and compensation, please see our Prospective
Employees page or below for a brief description.
When you do find a
provider, please let us know when you want your name taken off of the
match list. This way we can keep our records updated and give
providers only the names of clients who need help.
Please contact the office with
questions regarding provider recruitment.
Good luck!
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As
of August 1, 2003, the following hiring requirements and rate structure
apply to new and existing employees.
Employment
Requirements (established by DDD): Must be at least
18 years old.
Must have their
own transportation.
Must have
current CPR and First-Aid certification.
Must be
finger-printed and receive clearance from AZ Dept. of Public
Safety. Providers may begin employment prior to receipt of
finger-print clearance if client’s family signs a waiver.
Must complete DDD Article 9 and Health & Safety tests.
Must attend HOPE
Group basic habilitation training and orientation.
Pay
Schedule: Employees are paid monthly, either by a
mailed check or direct deposit.
Respite: All Respite providers are paid $9.00 per hour with no increase.
Habilitation: Habilitation providers start between
$10.00 and $12.00 per hour, based on education and
experience.
After 6 months of
employment, employees are eligible for a pay raise if they have worked a
minimum of 600 hours (300 of which must be habilitation) during the previous 6 month period. If the 600
hour mark is not met, the employee is reviewed again at the end of each
subsequent month for 600 hours of service provided during the prior 6
months. When both thresholds have been reached the employee is
considered for a pay increase. Input is solicited from all families
the provider works with. Based on a favorable review, providers are
entitled to a fifty cent ($0.50) pay increase. After one year of service,
employees who have not met the 600 mark are eligible for a pay increase,
based on a favorable review.
Employees will
continue to be monitored on the 6 month/600 hour schedule. If not
met, they will again be eligible for a pay increase on the next
anniversary of employment. This schedule will continue until the
employee reaches the pay cap. Pay for habilitation is capped at $14.00 per hour.
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http://www.behavioranalysts.com/ – Behavior Analysts, Inc.
(Dr. Mark Sundberg & Dr. James Partington)
http://www.christinaburkaba.com/ – Christina Burk, MA, resource for information on ABA and Links for many
Autism related websites
http://www.drcarbone.net/ – Dr.
Vincent Carbone, Board Certified Behavior Analyst
http://www.mariposaschool.org/ –
Mariposa School is a non-profit organization that has ABA training
materials available on their website.
-Please be
sure download this helpful manual from Mariposa School
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Lending Closet:
The Lending Closet was created to
provide families raising developmentally disabled children with
needed equipment, resources, and support.
www.sharethewell.org/lc
Greater Phoenix
Chapter (GPC) of the Autism Society of America: Monthly
meetings, newsletter and conferences. Call (602) 940-1093 or http://www.phxautism.org/
Arizona Autism Support: Arizona
Autism Support is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization dedicated to
providing resources, information and support to families living in
Arizona and facing a diagnosis of autism in a loved one.
480-626-4976 or
http://www.arizonaautismsupport.org/
Arizona
Autism Coalition:
http://azautism.wordpress.com/for more
information.
A.F.A.N. - American
Fathers Autism Network:
http://autismfathers.org/
P.A.C.T -Parenting
Autism Challenges Together: We are a growing support group
founded by parents raising children with Autism and other special
needs located in Kingman, AZ. "Parenting Autism Challenges Together"
is our focus.
PhoenixMommies.com: As part of The
Mommies Network, PhoenixMommies.com is a free community for moms in
Phoenix and surrounding areas of Maricopa County, Arizona. We
realize that all moms need local support -- and who can't use
another friend? PhoenixMommies.com offers a simple way to connect
with local moms for friendship, support and fun.
North Phoenix
Parent Support Group: This group is for parents of children with
autism. They meet the fourth Tuesday of the month. Contact
Jennifer Lansky 480-951-2422
East Valley
Parent Group: This group is for parents of children with
autism. They meet the first Monday of every month. Contact
Janet Kirwan 480-632-5719
East Valley
Autism Support Group for Spanish-Speakers: Group meets 2nd Tuesday of every
month with experts from different fields related to autism. Group
shares valuable information and offers support to families. Contact
Alberto Serpias at (480) 831-1009.
West Valley
Parent Support Group: This group is for children with autism. They
meet the second Tuesday of every month at the New Life Community Church,
8155 W Thunderbird Rd, Peoria. Contact Shelly Vinsant
623-572-5289
Tucson Chapter
of the Autism Society of America: Monthly meetings for people of
all ages with autism. 520-770-1541 . http://www.tucsonautism.org
Arizona Autism Support:
An online resource for Arizonans facing an Autism diagnosis
in their family. http://www.arizonaautismsupport.org
Asperger Parent
Network: Monthly meetings, e-group and website for families and
professionals in Phoenix. http://www.apn.150m.com/
Council for Jews
with Special Needs: Provides a range of services, 480-629-5343
or http://www.cjsn.org/; email info@cjsn.org; 12701 North Scottsdale
Road, Suite 205 Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Fragile X
Society of America: Provides information on Fragile X.
623-587-7570; 3418 W. Lucia
Drive Phoenix, AZ 85085; http://www.fragilex.org/
Parent listserve
HelpASAP: this listserve is for parents of children with autism
in the Phoenix area. To subscribe e-mail momie2four@yahoo.com
Raising
Special Kids: Parent training and information center, providing
information, resources and support to families of children with
disabilities. Serves metropolitan Phoenix and all the northern AZ
counties. Information is available in Spanish or English about local
services, educational programs, advocacy and special health care
needs. Contact Joyce Millard: 4750 N Black Canyon Hwy, Ste 101, Phoenix,
AZ 85017; 602-242-4366
Special Olympics
of Arizona: Sports training and competition opportunities from
volunteer community based organizations. Individual eligible are 8 and
older; considered to have mental retardation and/or have closely related
developmental disabilities such as those who have functional limitations,
both in general learning and adaptive skills such as recreation, work,
independent living, self-direction, or self-care. People with functional
limitations based solely on physical, behavioral, emotional, specific
learning or sensory disabilities are not eligible. Contact Dr. Stephen
Corbin: 3816 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ 85014; tel: 602-824-0283; email: scorbin@specialolympics.com
Support Group
for Adults with High-Functioning Autism/Asperger’s: Tempe: contact Trish Crew at trish_crew@yahoo.com; Phoenix: contact Tom at (602) 340-8717; Tucson: contact
Jerry Newport at wholphin48@hotmail.com
The ARC of
Arizona: Provides
activities and recourses to individuals with special needs. (602)
243-1787; http://www.arcarizona.org/
Raising Special
Kids: advice, seminars,
newsletter (English and Spanish); 2400 N. Central Ave, Suite 200, Phoenix
AZ 85004-1313 (602) 242-4366; 1-800-237-3007; http://www.raisingspecialkids.org Serves: Apache, Coconino,
Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Yavapai
Pilot Parents of
Southern Arizona: advice,
seminars, newsletter (English and Spanish); 2600 N. Wyatt Dr, Tucson, AZ
85712; (520) 324-3150; 1-(877) 365-7220; Serves: Cochise, Gila, Greenlee,
Graham, Pima, Pinal, LaPaz, Santa Cruz, Yuma
Arizona Center
for Disability Law:
Advocates for the legal rights of persons with disabilities: to be free from abuse, neglect and
discrimination and to have access to education, health care, housing and
jobs, and other services in order to maximize independence and achieve
equality; http://www.acdl.com/ ;
Phoenix: 602) 274-6287; Tucson: (520) 327-9547
AZ Positive Behavior
Support: Provides
information and offers workshops on assessing problem behaviors and
treating them in a positive way. Based at Northern Arizona
University. www.nau.edu/ihd/positive
Families for
Early Autism Treatment (FEAT): http://www.feat.org/ Over 70 local
chapters.
Autism Research
Institute: Directed
by Bernard Rimland, a parent of an adult with autism and a leading
advocate of research on autism. Publishes a newsletter summarizing
current research on autism, and also provides a wide range of
information. www.autism.com/ari, 4182 Adams
Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116 Fax: (619) 563-6840
Arizona
Training and Evaluation Center, Inc. (AZTEC):
Serving Glendale, Peoria, West Phoenix and the surrounding areas,
AZTEC is an organization devoted to supporting individuals with
developmental disabilities by providing Day, Residential,
Employment, and Family Support services. AZTEC is located at 7400
West Olive Avenue, Suite 24 Peoria, Arizona 85345-8891. For more
information, please call 623-412-2888 or email
information@aztec1.net.
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Please see the following resources for
additional
useful information:
A-Z Personal Services LLC: Mobile salon
service that provides assistance to individuals with
disabilities and domestic violence shelters. Selina Campbell,
Phone: 602-434-2038, msselinacampbell@yahoo.com
Recommended books:
The Social Skills Picture Book:
Teaching play, emotion, and communication to children with autism by
Jed Baker, Ph.D., published by Future Horizons. Order from Future Horizons, Amazon, and other book
sellers.
Social Skills Activities for
Special Children by Darlene Mannix, published by The Center for
Applied Research in Education. Order from Amazon and other book
sellers.
Teaching Language to Children with
Autism or Other Developmental Disabilities by Mark L. Sundberg,
Ph.D., and James W Partington, Ph.D., published by Behavior Analysts,
Inc. Order from the Behavior
Analysts website.
Recommended videos:
Special Kids has a
variety of videos that deal with everyday life skills and issues. Titles
include: Body Parts & Grooming, Getting Ready, Things in a Day,
Lets go to..., A Day at School, Shapes& Colors, Animals, Birds &
Fish, and more.
Do you have any websites, books, videos,
etc. that you have used that you would recommend to other parents? Please
let us know through our suggestion box.
Thank you!
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