Guttenberg Center for Special Services programs take place in the Sandra and Arnold Gold Wing at the JCC on the Palisades

Posted by Guttenberg Center for Special Services, JCC on the Palisades.

Department Philosophy

The Guttenberg Center for Special Services provides social, recreational, cultural and educational experiences in natural community settings with appropriate supports for children, teens and adults who are differently-abled.

Programs are designed to meet the wide range of specific needs of our participants. Our goal is to create a nurturing environment and community, allowing each individual the opportunity to reach his or her potential.

The Guttenberg Center for Special Services Endowment Fund was established by Adele and Bill Guttenberg (of blessed memory) in .1997 For more than a decade, this endowment has enabled the JCC to implement vital programs and services for individuals with special needs.

Program Requirements

Our programs are open to JCC members and nonmembers. New participants are required to have an intake interview.

Final program placement must be approved by the Director. All official documentation provided to the JCC is kept in the strictest confidence and used by the program instructors to meet each participant’s individual needs. A minimum of 4participants is required to run any program or class. Children with special needs are encouraged to participate in all JCC programming and classes.

State Funding

The Kaplen JCC on the Palisades is a qualified provider of both the State of NJ Department of Human Services Division of Children & Families (DCF) /PerformCare and the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). We accept payments from other Service Agency Providers as well as sending school districts. In order to receive services through the state, children must be registered with New Jersey DCF/PerformCare. For more information, go towww.performcarenj.org.

Adults (+21) must be registered with NJ DDD and be Medicaid approved. For more information, go to www.state.nj.us/humanservices/ddd.

Program Goals Focus On:

Increasing appropriate social interactions
Increasing communication through social skills training
Improving motor coordination
Learning and practicing leisure skills
Developing interpersonal conversational skills
Developing greater sensory regulation

We provide an appropriate teacher-to-student ratio in a caring and supportive environment. Classes and groups are formed based on age and compatibility.

We offer the following programs: 