Success Stories - Jacob W.

Jacob is a 28 year old man, with a developmental disability and a mental illness. Upon arriving at Cornerstone Services, Jacob had been in/out of the hospital for psychiatric and behavioral problems. Jacob resides within Cornerstone Services 24-Hour CILA. He attended the developmental training day program as well. Jacob's behaviors were so significant; a behavioral program was developed to address his target behaviors (i.e., verbal aggression, physical aggression, sexual behaviors, property destruction, etc.). Jacob's behaviors required a 1:1 Behavioral Specialist (eyes-on, 24/7) to keep himself and others safe. Jacob could act appropriately in the community. He really struggled in a large day program environment. During a special team meeting, Jacob requested help finding a job in the community. Of course, members of the team were skeptical. However, we decided to use the IPS approach of zero exclusion and rapid engagement and started job developing with Jacob. Jacob wanted a warehouse job with work hours during the day. We found a great employer and Jacob really impressed them during the interview. Jacob has been successfully working for 2 years now. His hours are Monday- Friday, 10am-2pm. He only required a job coach for a very short time and went from having 10 behaviors a day to zero! Jacob said, "I am very lucky that staff listened to my needs and believed I can be successful." He continued to say, "I am very happy with my job and super proud of myself!"