Learn more about Happiness House.

1. Agency Overview

2. • Happiness House has been serving communities in the Finger
Lakes region since 1969 (locations in Canandaigua, Geneva,
Gorham, South Seneca and Waterloo).
• Happiness House offers an array of educational, therapeutic,
recreational, residential, and family support programs and
services for children and adults with and without disabilities.
• On average, Happiness House serves 1,150 families each year.
Fast Facts
Committed to serving individuals with traumatic brain injury,
neurological impairments, as well as a wide variety of developmental
disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, and Down Syndrome.

3. Our staff consists of dedicated and knowledgeable
professionals and clinicians who have expertise in the areas of
Special Education; Early Childhood Education; Occupational,
Physical, Speech, and Music Therapy; Psychology; Service
Coordination; Nursing; and Developmental Disabilities.
Mary Walsh Boatfield
Chief Executive Officer
A few of our staff
Staff

4. Happiness House is an educational, residential, health, and
human service organization that excels in providing the highest
quality, innovative and cost effective services to children and
adults with and without disabilities through collaboration with
families and partners throughout the Finger Lakes community.
Our belief in the principles of equal opportunity, independence,
and realization of individual potential is the cornerstone of who
we are and what we do. We believe:
‘What Happens Here Changes Lives Forever’
Our Mission

5. We envision every community being ready to welcome and
utilize the talents and abilities of all individuals. With the
financial support of the Ability Partners Foundation, Happiness
House will play a significant leadership role in making this a
reality.
We will lead by an unwavering commitment to our consumers
and their families, as well as by our cumulative skill and wisdom
as a premier provider of services. Our practice of quality
leadership and service provision will be based upon our values.
Our Vision

6. Our Values
• Commitment to the integration of community resources to
create opportunities for lifelong learning and development
• Respect for the dignity and self-worth of each individual
• Educational, recreational, residential, and clinical services that
are empowering, individualized and family centered
• Excellence in service provision
• Development and recognition of our consumers, employees,
and all others whose lives we touch
Our Values

7. Autism Services
Integrated Preschool
Early Intervention
Developmental Evaluations
Child Care
UPK
Head Start
SEIT
Related Services
Summer Recreational Program
Teen and Tweens
Brain Injury Programs
Nursing Home Transition/
Diversion Waiver
Community Habilitation
Licensed Home Care
Medicaid Service Coordination
Independent Living Skills Training
Home and Community Support Services
Service Coordination
Structured Day Program
Community Integration Counseling
Developmental Disabilities Programs
Residential Services
Clinical Services
Home Services Program
NYS Home and Community Based Waiver
Family Partnership Program
Residential Services
Respite
Programs Offered

8. Happiness House provides
developmental evaluations
for children ages birth to 5
years old. The evaluation is
the first step in establishing
services. Motor, cognitive,
communication, social and
self help skills are assessed.
Integrated Preschool
Children 3–5 years old

9. A variety of services are offered for children from birth to three
years of age through our Early Intervention Program, including
Service Coordination, Individual Therapy and Education Services,
and Developmental Toddler Groups.
Early Intervention

10. Integrated Preschool
Children 3–5 years old
• The New Friends Preschool integrates children with and without disabilities
• Each child’s individual strengths are emphasized
• Certified by the New York State Department of Education
• Governed by Office of Children and Family Services

11. We offer integrated preschool opportunities designed to
meet the intensive, individual needs of children with a
diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The following services are offered:
• Related Services (OT, PT, ST, SEIT)
• Service Coordination
• Intervention Strategies
• Positive Behavior Support, Individualized Direction
Instruction, Social Skill Development, Picture
Exchange Communication System, Support Group,
Visual Strategies, and Diagnostic Evaluation
Autism Services

12. • Available in Canandaigua, Geneva, South Seneca, and Waterloo
• Free of charge to families
• Funded through New York State Education Department grant
(4 year olds)
UPK Opportunities

13. Available at Happiness House’s Canandaigua
site, this preschool program, for income-
eligible three and four year olds, emphasizes
learning, health, nutrition, and family life
education.
Head Start

14. Eligible preschoolers can
receive occupational,
physical, and speech
therapy and SEIT (Special
Education Itinerant
Teacher) services at home,
in the community, or at
one of our agency sites.
Related Services

15. Meets Wednesdays after school (4 to 6 p.m.) and is a social
group for Teens (ages 14 to 21) and Tweens (ages 9 to 13)
with developmental disabilities, including autism. It is rooted
in the 4-H programming which emphasizes learning through
hands-on activities and developing interpersonal relations
with each other and within the community.
Teens and Tweens

16. The Summer Recreation Program (SRP) is a four-week day camp experience
for children and youth with disabilities. The SRP is designed for individuals
five to 20 years of age who are receiving Medicaid Waiver Respite services
and who reside in Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, or Yates counties.
Summer Recreational
Program
The program provides an
avenue to foster the social
skills, independence, and
self-confidence that are
particularly important for
children and youth with
disabilities. Transportation
is provided.

17. • Our residence in Gorham provides a home for children with
developmental disabilities. The residence is staffed 24 hours a
day, seven days a week to provide services and protective
oversight.
Residential Services
• Family is essential to the team
approach to assist individuals to
meet their goals. The home
setting provides recreation,
socialization, rest, relaxation,
transportation, support at
medical appointments, and
community integration.

18. • The Transition House in Canandaigua offers eight one-bedroom apartments with a
common room that includes a large kitchen and living space. It is designed to
support individuals with disabilities.
• Tenants are provided supports through the New York State Community Based
Waivers (Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver, Nursing Home Transition/Diversion Waiver,
or Office for People with Developmental Disabilities Waiver) with a focus on
developing the skills they need to live in a traditional community-based apartment.
Training is provided in areas such as money management, health and safety,
community access, home maintenance, cooking, nutrition and self-care.
Transition House

19. The apartments provide a safe, cost effective environment for people
with and without disabilities. The building has a community room,
kitchen facility, laundry facilities, office space, and easy access to public
transportation. Services will be provided based on individual needs.
Apartments

20. Happiness House offers respite services to individuals
with developmental disabilities who are at least three
years old and live in a home with at least one family
member or caregiver.
A skilled respite provider can come to the home and
provide one-to-one care for the individual while their
family/caregiver takes a break. This service can be
provided in the home or out in the community.
Respite

21. Assists individuals with
developmental disabilities
to improve or maintain
their ability to live
independently. The focus
of this service is based on
the person’s needs and
interests, and is provided
on a one-to-one basis in
the individual’s residence
and in the community.
Community Habilitation

22. This service is provided in the individual’s home or community.
ILST staff assist the individual to develop a plan of service that
meets their specific needs. These plans may address a wide
variety of interests in areas such as employment, transportation,
social opportunities, fiscal independence, health and well-being,
education, and maintaining their home.
Independent Living
Skills Training (ILST)

23. Assists individuals with the every
day tasks necessary to live
successfully and safely. This may
include assistance with activities of
daily living, companionship, and
accessing the community (shopping
and entertainment). All staff are
certified as personal care aides and
have nursing oversight.
Home and Community
Support Services (HCSS)

24. Adult learning environment allows for
individualized supports in a group setting.
Participants develop meaningful friendships
with other individuals who have a traumatic
brain injury or other disability and are
working on their own recovery. Individuals
select pre-vocation, technology, recreation,
photography, fitness, cognitive rehabilitation,
and project-based learning opportunities.
Structured Day Program

25. Happiness House offers occupational, physical, speech, aquatic
therapy, psychology, and psychiatry services. Our clinical team has
the expertise necessary to meet the needs of individuals with
neurological impairments, traumatic brain injury, and
developmental disabilities.
Clinical Services

26. Sponsored by the New York State Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Home Services Program allows Happiness
House to provide assistance to individuals with referrals to meet
their specific needs.
Home Services Program

27. Licensed provider of support services for adults with a Traumatic
Brain Injury or other disability. Services include center-based
and home-based supports, Nursing Home Transition and
Diversion, Office for People With Developmental Disabilities,
and Traumatic Brain Injury waivers.
Staff improve and maintain an individual’s
community living skills through services that
promote independence.
NYS Home and
Community-Based Waivers

28. Ability Partners, Inc.
Happiness House and CP Rochester
Board of Directors
Officers and Executive
Committee Members
Jeffrey W. Baker
Chairperson
Jacqueline Hawks Lyttle
1st Vice Chair
Chair, Audit and Finance
Sean R. Ossont
2nd Vice Chair
James H. King
Chair, Audit and Finance
Brian DiGiacco
Assistant Chair, Audit and Finance
Mary Herlihy Gearan
Asst. Secretary
Chair - Personnel Committee
Compliance/QA Committee
Ann E. Kurz
Secretary
Chair, Consumer Services/Corporate
Eileen Gage
Past Chair, Happiness House
Joyce W. Weir
Past Chair, CP Rochester
(Continued)

29. Roy M. Beecher
Chair - Long Range Planning Committee
Andrea Bonafiglia
David G. Case
Michael A. Coppola
Joel Daoust
Charles T. Graham
Founder and Immediate Past Chair
John Horvath
Ability Partners, Inc.
Happiness House and CP Rochester
Board of Directors
Robert C. Maddamma
Pat Taney
Brian P. Meath, Esq.
Martha E. Mock
Brendan P. O'Riordan
Jay W. Quinn
Chair, Communications Committee
Kevin W. Reeder
(Continued)

30. Amy Cram, Chair
Elsa Steo, Vice Chair
Jeffrey Baker, Secretary
Roy M. Beecher, Treasurer
Robert Schick, Immediate Past Chair
Charles T. Graham, Founder
John Bartholf
Michael Coppola
Margaret M. Clark
Catherine Frangenberg
Richard H. Hawks, Jr.
John Horvath
Edward A. Trevvett, Esq.
Joyce Weir
Gerald Archibald
Ann Costello
Mark Gearan, Esq.
Betsy Kubiak
Brian Meath
Foundation Officers Members
Advisors
Ability Partners Foundation
The Ability Partners Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established to raise and generate
funds that will promote, support, and augment the continuation of long-term services for people
with disabilities offered by Happiness House and CP Rochester in the Finger Lakes and Greater
Rochester areas including Ontario, Seneca, Yates, Wayne, Livingston, Monroe, and Orleans Counties.

31. Geneva, Ontario County
Administration: (315) 789-6828
Children’s Programs: (315) 789-6850
Canandaigua, Ontario County
Adult Programs: (585) 394-9510
Children’s Programs: (585) 394-1190
Toll free: (866) 408-2550
Visit us on-line at www.HappinessHouse.org or call us at:
Contact Us