Programs & Services

The evaluation is scheduled after the intake interview and can last from 5 to 20 days.

During this time we will assess your interests, aptitudes, achievement levels, work behaviors and skills.

We will use standardized tests, work samples, and most importantly production tasks in a real work setting; either in a workshop or by participation on a community work crew.

When the evaluation has been completed, we will meet with you and your team members to discuss the results.

Our Vocational Evaluator will forward a written report to your referral source and anyone else authorized to receive a copy.

Vocational Evaluations by our licensed psychologist can be performed for individuals not entering our programs. Our vocational evaluations can also be conducted on location (i.e. school).*

For more information please contact Fred Stabene at 610-384-6990 extension 231 or fred.stabene@handi-crafters.org

*we (hopefully) are going to be more proactive in selling this service in “isolation” as a source of revenue.

For example, one customer area that we have worked with in the past is insurance companies for work comp. claims. It would be nice to be able to more actively sell this service to school districts.

We are about to purchase an internet based assessment tool that we could take to schools and could be of particular use for your non-traditional disability students (i.e. learning dis. but not dev. Disabled) who may resist coming to our location.

Click here for our Vocational Evaluation Information Sheet (PDF)

Over 300 people are employed in our workshops. They perform production service work for over 50 businesses, from start-ups to major international corporations.

Companies who rely on their work include Verizon, SC Johnson Wax, CTDI and Anthropologie.

Our workshops can provide you with a range of work experiences. We complete jobs which involve packaging, assembling, heat sealing, collating, and non-industrial assembly. Opportunities are also available for qualified individuals to operate a variety of industrial machinery. Basic safety instruction is an integral part of our work program. Most of our jobs are paid at piece rate. Some of the more specialized work is paid by the hour. Paychecks are issued every other Friday.

Our goal is to provide a safe and secure work environment that allows each individual to develop a worker profile to acquire the skills necessary for success in the competitive job market. Some individuals reach their work potential in the workshop while others go on to seek employment in the community.

For more information please contact Fred Stabene at 610-384-6990 extension 231 or fred.stabene@handi-crafters.org

Click here to learn how to access our supported employment services?

Job Development

• Resume and cover letter preparation
• Interview skills
• Assistance in the job search process
• Marketing to employers

Job Support

• Job Coaching
• Liaison to employers

Skills Assessment & Training

• Operation of cash register, customer service skills
• Application of the WorkKeys Assessment System to determine and measure basic skills required by employers and use of interactive trainings to improve those skills
• Opportunities to earn National Career Readiness Certificate

 

We accept referrals funded through a variety of Chester County agencies and through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. We can also make arrangements for private pay.

For more information please contact Christine Broome at 610-384-6990 x210 or chris.broome@handi-crafters.org

Mobile work crews offer opportunities for experience off-site doing janitorial and light industrial work.

For more information please contact Christine Broome at 610-384-6990 x210 or chris.broome@handi-crafters.org

Our School-to-Work programs help prepare students and their families to transition out of school and into the world of work.

Through a vocational evaluation by our licensed psychologist and work done by the student in our workshop, the employment potential of the student is enhanced and assessed. In the workshop students develop vocational and employability skills that help them to successfully transition from school to work.

In addition, at the request of the school district, we can provide job placement and job coaching. The School-to-Work program is funded by school districts and the Chester County Intermediate Unit.

The ESY (Extended School Year) program helps students (age 14 to 21) maintain and increase the vocational skills they acquire during the school year. Program activities and dates are customized to meet the mandates of the individual student’s IEP. ESY draws from a full range of career advancement activities, which may include the workshop experience, career guidance, job-related field trips/activities and vocational evaluations.

For more information please contact Christine Broome, Director of Employment & Youth Services at 610-384-6990 ext. 210 or chris.broome@handi-crafters.org

Independent Living Solutions educates and advocates on behalf of our community members to allow them the most independent lives as possible.

Click here for more information or contact Catherine Friedmanm, Director of Independent Living Solutions, 610-384-6990 ext. 217 | catherine.friedman@handi-crafters.org

The program has a 6 to 1 staff-to-participant ratio which gives an opportunity for close bonds to be established.

We provide special activities such as art class, music therapy, dance therapy, bingo, and on-site choral and band performance; and we schedule field trips using our wheelchair accessible van.  Outdoor activities include relaxing on our porch, gardening in our raised vegetable beds, or taking walks around our campus. These activities provide opportunities for participants to maintain and enhance the quality of their lives.

The staff includes a director, an activities coordinator, and trained activities aides; with backgrounds in therapeutic recreation, education, and health care. For more information please contact Linda Zimmerman, Director of the OADLC, at 610-384-6990 x359 or linda.zimmerman@handi-crafters.org

The groups are led by a team of volunteers. Some of our volunteers are Handi-Crafters’ staff who put on different hats for the afternoon, while others are from the community at-large.

Each group has five or six “helpers” as they work through the afternoon’s activities. These activities include musical sing alongs; exercising to “Chicken Fat”, discovering their artistic talents, playing BINGO and many others. Special events are planned around the holidays. The program runs from September through June.

For more information on the program, please contact Amy Rice at 610-384-6990 x205 or amy.rice@handi-crafters.org