Oceanside JCC to develop training program for adults with disabilities who want to work with children
Roni Kleinman, right, at the Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center during story time on Dec. 19. The center received a $55,000 grant to develop a program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who want to work in child care. Credit: Johnny Milano
To help adults with disabilities, a group said to be among the "most underemployed," the Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center in Oceanside is developing a teaching assistant program to help students obtain meaningful careers, organizers said.
The center received a $55,000 grant from the UJA-Federation of New York’s Butler Endowment Fund to run the program, which will teach adults with intellectual disabilities about childhood development and how to work in classrooms. The five-week course, which will begin in February, will culminate with the students gaining hands-on experience in the center’s classrooms.
“They’re one of the most underemployed populations,” said senior program director Marcy Hallerman. “I also have gotten calls over the years from people with disabilities who want to work with children, but then when we asked for resumes, or for what experience they have working with kids in general or in classrooms, they don’t have a lot of experience or necessarily the skills to do it."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that in 2021, only about 19% of adults with a disability were employed. Seeing their struggles in gaining employment was the impetus for the center to launch the program, leaders said.
The center already works to engage community members with disabilities by offering recreational classes, and it recently obtained funding for sex education classes, but this is the first time the JCC has offered vocational training, said executive director Roni Kleinman.
“I’ve been an advocate most of my life and was so excited to have the opportunity to bring meaningful education programs to the special needs community,” Kleinman said.
Jose Saint-Louis was hired by the center to oversee the program. The classes will be taught by Child Care Council of Nassau staff and provide a compendious overview of working with children, Saint-Louis said. The council did not respond to Newsday inquiries.
The most important part of the course will be when the students enter the classrooms for their six-month internships, where they’ll likely get “the ah-ha moment,” Saint-Louis said. Oftentimes, adults with intellectual disabilities are “put in a bubble” and are pigeonholed into certain careers, she said. The labor statistics bureau found that those with disabilities were more likely to work in the service industry than those without disabilities.
Five people have enrolled in the program and more than a dozen have applied; Hallerman expects about 15 students in its first cohort. The center is still accepting applications for classes, which cost $200 for JCC members and $250 for nonmembers. Money that individuals receive from the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities can be used for the program, Saint-Louis said.
Kristy Baumer, who has Down syndrome, has worked at the center as a teaching assistant for almost a year. She had previous classroom experience from a day care, but didn’t attend a vocational program. Baumer, 34, of Merrick, said the program at the JCC will help adults like her who want to work with children.
“I love what I do. I love helping the teacher, being with the kids and reading books to them,” Baumer said, adding that the new program will help adults with disabilities “grow and learn and … help them succeed in life.”
To help adults with disabilities, a group said to be among the "most underemployed," the Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center in Oceanside is developing a teaching assistant program to help students obtain meaningful careers, organizers said.
The center received a $55,000 grant from the UJA-Federation of New York’s Butler Endowment Fund to run the program, which will teach adults with intellectual disabilities about childhood development and how to work in classrooms. The five-week course, which will begin in February, will culminate with the students gaining hands-on experience in the center’s classrooms.
Oceanside JCC's senior program director Marcy Hallerman, left, and Kristy Baumer, who has worked at the center as a teaching assistant for almost a year. Credit: Johnny Milano
“They’re one of the most underemployed populations,” said senior program director Marcy Hallerman. “I also have gotten calls over the years from people with disabilities who want to work with children, but then when we asked for resumes, or for what experience they have working with kids in general or in classrooms, they don’t have a lot of experience or necessarily the skills to do it."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that in 2021, only about 19% of adults with a disability were employed. Seeing their struggles in gaining employment was the impetus for the center to launch the program, leaders said.
The center already works to engage community members with disabilities by offering recreational classes, and it recently obtained funding for sex education classes, but this is the first time the JCC has offered vocational training, said executive director Roni Kleinman.
“I’ve been an advocate most of my life and was so excited to have the opportunity to bring meaningful education programs to the special needs community,” Kleinman said.
Jose Saint-Louis was hired by the center to oversee the program. The classes will be taught by Child Care Council of Nassau staff and provide a compendious overview of working with children, Saint-Louis said. The council did not respond to Newsday inquiries.
The most important part of the course will be when the students enter the classrooms for their six-month internships, where they’ll likely get “the ah-ha moment,” Saint-Louis said. Oftentimes, adults with intellectual disabilities are “put in a bubble” and are pigeonholed into certain careers, she said. The labor statistics bureau found that those with disabilities were more likely to work in the service industry than those without disabilities.
Five people have enrolled in the program and more than a dozen have applied; Hallerman expects about 15 students in its first cohort. The center is still accepting applications for classes, which cost $200 for JCC members and $250 for nonmembers. Money that individuals receive from the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities can be used for the program, Saint-Louis said.
Kristy Baumer, who has Down syndrome, has worked at the center as a teaching assistant for almost a year. She had previous classroom experience from a day care, but didn’t attend a vocational program. Baumer, 34, of Merrick, said the program at the JCC will help adults like her who want to work with children.
“I love what I do. I love helping the teacher, being with the kids and reading books to them,” Baumer said, adding that the new program will help adults with disabilities “grow and learn and … help them succeed in life.”
Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.
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