YAI
Ralph serves as the Executive Director for the National Institute for People with Disabilities of New Jersey (NIPD/NJ), a YAI Network agency that provides services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). In this role, Ralph has worked to transition the agency from a contract model of health insurance reimbursement to a fee-for-service model. Although he has been with YAI for more than 22 years, Ralph’s experience in the field extends back to his parents’ work with Cardinal McCloskey Group Home in the early 1970s. In 1996, Ralph came on as a supervisor at YAI’s Hastings residence. Ralph holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development with a dual concentration in Psychology and Counseling from SUNY. He lives in Orange County with his wife and their three teenage sons. Ralph plans to continue his commitment to YAI in New Jersey where he has supported one person with I/DD for more than 19 years in his role as counselor at the Rockland County Association for People with Disabilities.
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YAI
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YAI was launched in February of 1957 out of a small school in Brooklyn, New York. Initially staffed by Co-Founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze MacLeech alone, their pilot program served just seven people. According to Bert, from its very beginning YAI has been dedicated to providing innovative services for the I/DD (intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) community. MacLeech envisioned a “total life adjustment approach, emphasizing personal growth, social responsibility, employment goals, and the development of independence for the individual.” At a time when institutional living was the norm for people with I/DD, this vision was nothing short of revolutionary.