Over the past 74 years, our agency has grown from an initial focus on meeting the needs of an underserved group of children with a single primary developmental disabilities diagnosis to become the leader in Special Education, Residential and Community services as well as Behavioral Health for people in Central New York and beyond.

Over the past 5 years, Upstate Caring Partners has invested in transitioning its education and group home services to a robust clinical model focused on implementation of current evidence-based practices grounded in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) principles. Our clinicians work collaboratively with national experts in the ABA field and are implementing strategies to assist each individual we serve in gaining the skills they need to live their lives in a “Happy. Relaxed. Engaged.” (HRE) manner. We’ve seen significant progress and improvement in communication skills, food selectivity, and self-regulation of challenging behaviors.

Upstate Caring Partners has also invested in building an applied clinical research program that focuses on evidence-based practices that positively impact individuals with profound autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. The marriage of an emerging applied research program along with a historically strong and growing clinical team and culture empowers Upstate Caring Partners to work with individuals with the most challenging behaviors. Where traditional centers of research at universities are limited to laboratories and clinics, Upstate Caring Partners schools, residences, staff and family relationships enable us to develop treatments that are effective in the settings that are applicable to and enabling of a more independent lifestyle.