How do I get services for someone?
The best way to start is to contact AWS at 877-744-6145. We will discuss our services with you and help you navigate through the system.

Where do I start?
Depending upon the type of service you are looking for, you may have to contact the Area Agency on Aging (AAA), Bureau of Developmental Disabilities (BDDS) or Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). Again, we can help guide you in the proper direction, depending upon the type of service you need.

Is there an age limit?
There is no age limit. From infancy to age three, the federally funded early intervention program offers services for babies diagnosed with or at risk (such as low birth weight babies) for a developmental delay. At AWS, our early intervention program is Infant and Toddler Services. Services are available to a person with a disability for their entire lifetime.

Can I choose more than one provider?
Yes, you can choose more than one provider. And depending upon the type of service you or your family member is receiving, you may have several different providers delivering services. Through the early intervention program, parents choose individual practitioners rather than a specific agency, to provide services. The advantage to choosing AWS for providing all services is that we form a team atmosphere and work as a cohesive unit. In the provision of services for adults, the individual may receive a variety of services from separate providers or may receive all services from one agency.

Do I have a choice of provider?
Yes, you have a choice of provider. You also have the right to "un-choose" a provider or switch providers. At AWS we take very seriously the idea of client choice and know that we have to serve that individual every day to the very best of our ability and we do not take for granted the fact that clients or their families/guardians can decide to change providers.

What services does AWS offer?
A brief overview of our services is listed below. You can find more detailed information about a specific program or service in the AWS Services section of the site.

Supported Living Program-Through the Medicaid Waiver, AWS helps individuals move from their family home, institution or group home into the community. Assistance is tailored to each person's specific needs.

Family Support-Allows families with a member who is disabled to stay together. In-home services include case management, respite care, training, personal assistance and vocational rehabilitation.

Semi-Independent Living Program-Assists people in their homes in the community by providing a variety of services to meet individual needs. Safety, budgeting, cooking, academic skills, community integration, legal and medical issues and other services are addressed with the goal of promoting greater independence.

Employment Services: Assessment, Placement & Training-Helps people with disabilities become a part of the community workforce. Includes vocational evaluation, community-based evaluation, job-seeking skills, job placement, supported employment and job training.

Job Retention-Provides long-term career development services. People usually enter Job Retention after being successfully placed through AWS Employment Services. Among the available services are on-site job coaching, aid in finding a new job, advocacy for improved pay/benefits, tutoring to improve reading skills or helping to plan vacations.

Production Facilities-Workshops that provide hands-on experience, vocational training and job skills development which can lead to successful employment in the community.

Post Masters -An integral part of the workshop environment, Post Masters offers businesses complete mailing services, including First Class presort and Third Class mail processing.

Day Services -Teaches lifestyle, educational and social skills to adults with disabilities. Participants learn money management, computer skills, cooking and other important and fun skills. They also volunteer in the community.

Group Homes -Homes for adults and children with disabilities. These homes help adults make a successful transition from institutional living to independence and for children, they do what an institution cannot do, which is to allow children with severe disabilities to be just kids! AWS offers group homes for the medically fragile and high behavior homes.

Infant and Toddler Services-A source for parents to turn to when their child under three is at risk or has been diagnosed with a developmental delay. Infant and Toddler Services is a free service for parents who are in need of sound advice, answers to questions, infant evaluation, direction and support.

HomePointe Personal Assistance -Offers personal assistance to seniors in order to help them maintain their independence. Plans are tailored to meet the needs of the individual and may include helping with personal finances, shopping and light housework.

HomePointe HealthCare - Medical and therapeutic home health services for children and adults.

Camp Red Cedar-A therapeutic horseback riding, swimming and recreational facility for adults and children with and without disabilities. Each year over 2,000 people participate in programs at this unique facility. Programs range from horsebackriding lessons to therapeutic riding to summer camps where kids and adults have fun and learn valuable skills. The Mad Anthony's Old Swimmin' Hole offers a challenging, accessible environment. The lake and sandy beachfront are available for swimming and canoeing.

What types of accreditation or quality controls does AWS have in place?
Many of AWS' programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities or CARF. CARF is a private, non-profit organization whose duty is to promote quality services for people with disabilities. Accreditation means that we have met the highest standards set by rehabilitation professionals across the country in the following programs:

Infant and Toddler Services
Supported Employment Follow Along
Employment Services
Day Services
Supported Living
Production Workshops

In addition to this triennial survey, we are inspected by the state board of health and Medicaid. Internally, AWS conducts quality review and outcome measurements; maintains a quality review committee comprised of staff and members of the board of directors; and has a human rights committee.

Where are services provided?
AWS goes where our services are needed. While the agency was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1960, today we are serving children and adults with disabilities in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

Are services provided in a clinic?
AWS has long been a leading proponent of delivering services in the natural environment of the individual we are serving. We firmly believe that people are more comfortable, more familiar and therefore, tend to make more progress, by being in their own setting. For our Infant and Toddler Services program, that may mean we are providing therapies for a baby in his or her own home, at 's house, at a daycare facility or at the babysitter's house. It may also mean nights, weekends or other odd hours. At AWS, we tailor the delivery of services around the individual and his or her needs and wishes.

What does AWS stand for?
In 1957, a community volunteer committee that would ultimately become the United Way of Allen County in northeast Indiana, launched a study to consider the provision of work-related services for individuals with disabilities. From that study, the Community Coordinating Center for Rehabilitation and Healthy Services, Inc. was founded in 1960. Eventually, the agency name was changed to Anthony Wayne Rehabilitation Center for the Handicapped and Blind, Inc. In 1998, the agency shortened its name to the initialism, AWS. The real answer to the question, "What does AWS stand for?" is that we stand for quality service, commitment to the people we serve and an absolute dedication to assisting people with disabilities in achieving independence, individual maximum potential and inclusion within the community.

Where do your funds come from?
Funds come from a combination of federal, state and local programs. Many state programs receive federal matching dollars. AWS also receives financial support from grants, fund raising and special events and from developing projects that provide revenue streams for the agency; the proceeds from which go back into the delivery of services.

How many people do you serve?
AWS currently serves more than 7,000 clients in a wide variety of programs, everything from summer camp for kids with disabilities to personal assistance for adults living in the community to helping a person find and maintain a job.

How many employees do you have?
Presently, AWS employs nearly 2,000 part/full time staff.

What are the strengths of AWS?
AWS is known for the quality of service we provide. We are also known for our creativity in finding solutions, dealing with challenges and developing methods that ultimately assist the clients we serve in reaching their goals and aspirations. We give our staff the tools to do their jobs and take the initiative that will best suit the client's needs.

We have the greatest respect for the staff who work for us because they are really working for the clients. During reviews and internal surveys, our employees regularly comment on the positive nature, the good humor and sense of fun that they feel in doing their work. We think that, in and of itself, speaks very highly about our agency culture and the environment that has been created; especially since it necessarily impacts the lives of the clients. Because we sincerely believe that every person has the right to achieve maximum independence, inclusion and potential within the community, everything we do is directed toward those goals, which of course, is the AWS mission.

Where is AWS located?
The AWS Corporate Center is located at 8515 Bluffton Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46809. There are also additional offices and work sites in Fort Wayne and offices in South Bend, Indianapolis, Marion, Hobart and Columbus, Indiana as well as Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio and St. Joseph, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri.

AWS will go wherever we need to go to provide services. AWS has employees serving clients in more than 70 counties in northern, central and southern Indiana; northern, central and southern Ohio and southwest and southcentral Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri.

Are AWS services available in my area? If not, when?
AWS provides services where there is need. This philosophy has led us to expand the geographic scope of our services to include more than 70 counties in northern, central and southern Indiana; northern, central and southern Ohio, southwest and southcentral, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri. We won't build offices or have "store fronts" in every city or town where we provide services. We think it's far more important that our staff be working one on one with the clients we serve, rather than sitting at a desk in an office.

Do I have control over my money?
Essentially, clients have control over their own money. At the request of the client or their parent or guardian, we will manage their money. With regard to state monies, we are required to maintain sole responsibility for those funds.

How do I get my teenager into the system for services?
Between the age of three and either 18 or 21 (depending on the local school corporation in which you live), the department of education is required to provide all services except for residential services. Contact your local school corporation for more information.

Why do I have to make long distance calls to get in contact with my case manager?
AWS has toll free numbers available in all of the locations where we provide services. Contact your case manager for the toll free telephone number in your area.

How often do you have openings in your group homes?
Openings in our adult and children's group homes vary, but typically we have one or two openings per year.

What is the difference between group homes and supported living homes or apartments?
Group homes are larger group settings with four to eight people per home. The funding is different in that Medicaid pays for room/board, transportation, furniture, etc. in the group home. In supported living, Medicaid only pays for staff.