CASS Academy is CASS Housing’s independent living skills program, helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities build the skills they need for life’s next steps.
Our programs focus on five key areas:
Safety at home and in the community
Cooking and housekeeping
Finances
Healthy relationships
Community engagement through vocation, recreation, and transportation
We offer two formats:
Cohorts: A structured, two-year program for those who thrive in a classroom setting
Small Groups: Focused six-week sessions offering extra support
Acceptance is based on application, assessments, and a cleared background check.
Questions? See our FAQs below or email Amanda at amanda@casshousing.org.
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Individuals interested in becoming a Community Core Member with the CASS Academy must:
Have a documented developmental or intellectual disability
Have the capacity to be independent and unsupervised while at CASS Programs
Have a desire to grow in independent living skills
Have reliable transportation within 30 minutes of start and end of CASS Academy
Have the capacity to abide by the CASS Academy Code of Conduct. Failure to follow the code of conduct may result in meetings with the Core Member, Program Staff, and guardians, in addition to potential removal from CASS Academy.
Acceptance into CASS Academy is at the discretion of the CASS Housing Programming Committee.
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CASS Academy covers five key areas of independent living:
Safety at home and in the community
Cooking and housekeeping
Finances
Healthy relationships
Community engagement through vocation, recreation, and transportation
Cohorts work through all five areas over the two-year program.
Small Groups focus on one area per six-week session. -
Both CASS Academy cohorts and small groups serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who want to grow their independent living skills.
Cohorts work well for those who thrive in a classroom setting and need only basic support. They’re a good fit for individuals who may succeed in our Independent Living or Guided Living housing models.
Small Groups provide more one-on-one attention and are a good fit for those who may succeed in our Guided Living or Family Living housing models.
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Costs vary between our cohort and small group programs. For the most accurate information, please visit the CASS Academy Cohort or CASS Academy Small Group page.
“making friends, lots of friends, many kinds of friends…. (who) empower one another to keep making change.”