Our Mission:

SERV Achievement Centers, Inc. has been providing teaching, training and support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and youth with behavioral challenges and emotional problems since 1987.

Services are individualized and based on an approach that utilizes the principles of applied behavior analysis in its treatment planning, teaching and provision of services.

All services promote individual responsibility, increase self-reliance and teach individuals and their families the skills necessary for living and working successfully in the community.

Overview of Services

Traditional Group Homes

Ongoing support is provided by well-trained staff members who are consistently engaging the consumers by teaching appropriate social and behavioral skills. These more intensive homes provide consumers with a long-term, well-structured living environment in the least restrictive setting.

Supervised Apartments

For adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have achieved a higher level of independent functioning, this apartment program allows for independent living that is supported by on-site trained staff.

Therapeutic Foster Care

Foster care for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that provides individualized living with carefully selected, trained and supervised foster care providers who fully integrate residents into family life, implement treatment and training plans and coordinate activities to help consumers reach their potential and live happy and satisfying lives. Click here for brochure.

Progressive Achievement Centers (a vocational services day program)

The Progressive Achievement Centers in Mercer and Union Counties have adult vocational training programs that work with individuals to develop and improve vocational skills. PAC staff works in coordination with local businesses and organizations to place PAC consumers in a real working environment where they can receive the benefits of employment and become active participants in the community. More on PAC.

Home-Based Services (for adults or children)

This 8- to 10-week intensive in-home intervention is designed to assist families/caretakers who reside with an individual with an intellectual/developmental disability who is experiencing behavioral or emotional challenges. A Behavior Specialist will continue to offer support to the family for one year after the intervention is completed. More on Behavioral Support Programs for Families and Caregivers.

Mobile Crisis Response (for adults)

Working through the Division of Developmental Disabilities, this fast-response team intervenes and diffuses crisis situations within one hour. Remaining with the family until the situation is diffused, the team will then continue to provide ongoing and proactive support for up to four weeks to avoid out-of-home placement.

Emergency Non-Ambulatory Services

Designed for non-ambulatory consumers or adults with limited mobility who are in need of immediate placement. Individuals are referred through the state Division of Developmental   Disabilities and placed in an accessible home for up to 120 days. Staff members are trained in all aspects of the needs of the individuals residing in these homes, including transfers and hoyer lifts. Wheelchair-accessible vans are located at these sites.

Intensive In-Home Community Services

In-Home Intervention helps parents and other caregivers address problem behaviors in children and youth that threaten the youth’s ability to continue living at home. Individualized teaching, training and support is combined to build parenting skills, develop and implement behavior modification strategies and improve coping skills. Services are provided on-site in the family home.

Referral Process 1-(833) CAN-SERV (226-7378)

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are referred to SERV through the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) for all services. If you know someone who would benefit from these services, please contact his or her DDD case manager for a referral.  If you need assistance obtaining these services, please contact our office.

Referrals for services to youth and children come from many sources including, but not limited to: the N.J. Department of Children and Families,Youth Case Management, Mobile Response Agencies, CMO's, and Family Court.  The Intensive In-Community Services are Medicaid approved.  If you need assistance obtaining these services, please contact our office.

Cost of Care

Once eligibility is determined, most services are paid for through DDD, Medicaid or other funding sources. When services are not covered by such programs, SERV Achievement Centers, Inc. offers a sliding-scale fee.

Download SERV Achievement Centers brochure

Mobile Crisis Response Service

Mobile Crisis Response Service (MCRS) offers prompt, effective, behavioral intervention services to individuals with developmental disabilities, with or without mental illness, who are in crisis or are exhibiting crisis-like behaviors. A crisis is an intense behavioral episode that threatens the stability of the living arrangement.

This four-week program provides a structured intervention with the goal of re-establishing Instructional control for the family/caregiver, promoting a safe environment and preventing the loss of placement or hospitalization.

Pro-active Intervention — Designed for “at risk” individuals who are exhibiting challenging behaviors. This four-week program educates and trains the parents/caregivers in pro-active teaching approaches designed to decrease inappropriate behaviors and prevent crisis situations from occurring.

Crisis Intervention — A Behavior Specialist comes to the family’s home and assists in de-escalating the individual/family member who is in a behavioral crisis. The behavior specialist will also help transition the individual/family member back to the home from the hospital upon discharge. A four-week follow-up service is available for continued assistance.

Home Based Services

Home-Based Services (HBS) is an intensive, in-home intervention program designed to assist families in which an individual with a developmental disability is exhibiting challenging behaviors or skill deficits.

This program is an eight-week intervention designed to resolve behavioral issues in the home while keeping the family intact.

It is specifically for families who have a developmentally disabled dependent who is exhibiting behavioral problems that could potentially lead to out-of-home placement or to a more restrictive setting.

Individualized support in the home enables the families to participate in the care and treatment of their loved one while preserving family placement.

Programs Include:

• In-home assessment of the individual’s behavioral needs
• Education and modeling of structuring, coping and communication skills
• Instruction in the Teaching-Family Model and its core components
• Development of teaching plans for the whole family
• Implementation of individualized treatment plans
• Positive and preventive teaching strategies specific to the family
• Behavior-specific treatment and support
• Conceptual feedback to enhance teaching techniques and skills learned
• Collaboration with schools or day programs to maintain a continuity of service delivery
• Ongoing in-home observation, support and assistance in addressing challenging behaviors
• Information on self-help and advocacy programs
• Future-focused planning to maintain a stable home placement

Referral Process (833) CAN-SERV (226-7378)

Referrals for both HBS and MCRS programs must come from the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD)-Lower Central Region. The appointed DDD Case Manager will call SERV or send a referral packet regarding the individual.

If you are a caregiver or parent and have an individual with developmental disabilities who you think would benefit from these services, contact the individual’s DDD Case Manager.

Download SERV Achievement Centers-Behavioral Support Programs for Families and Caregivers brochure

Our Mission

At the Progressive Achievement Center, we teach each consumer socially valued marketable job skills and behaviors that mirror community standards, with a goal of greater independence for each consumer served.

Benefits of Our Services

Employers who hire individuals with disabilities receive real benefits. The Progressive Achievement Center program can provide a company or business with a competent labor force, which can minimize problems with stability and attendance. Hiring an individual with a disability can also generate a positive public image for employers. Employers will gain experience in working with non-traditional work forces, in order to better cope with labor-short economics.

What is PAC?

The Progressive Achievement Center (PAC) program is an adult vocational training service that is designed to promote independence and provide individualized instruction in the areas that relate to employment.

The PAC offers individuals an opportunity to use acquired vocational skills and training to meet the needs of employers throughout the community.

The individuals who work in the PAC program have an expansive array of skills and abilities, which allow them to make substantial contributions to both large and small businesses and companies.

The PAC program is part of SERV Achievement Centers, an affiliate of SERV Behavioral Health System Inc., which serves individuals of all ages who have emotional, behavioral and developmental disabilities.

What PAC can do for you

We perform various jobs at cost-effective rates, which include, but are not limited to, administrative support, janitorial services and general labor.

Jobs are completed in the following service delivery models:

Individual Placement: Locates a community-based job for a specific individual with a disability. A PAC Employment Trainer provides initial training and ongoing support at the job site.

Group Placement: Uses a full-time supervisor and a small group of individuals with disabilities, in an industry or corporation, where they can work in an integrated setting. The supervisor and/or supported employees may be employed by the industry itself, or by the PAC program.

Mobile Crew: Uses a full-time supervisor and a small group of individuals with disabilities, who travel together to multiple work sites in the community where they engage in volunteer and contractual work.

In-House Contracts: Locates subcontracted work from a community business or organization, to be completed at a price per unit or in some cases work is completed on a volunteer basis.

Volunteer: Provides services or duties for which an individual is not paid.

Take a tour

We invite visitors to tour the Progressive Achievement Centers.

To schedule an appointment or for more information, contact:

Vocational Program Supervisor
(609) 406-0391