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1. Site identification which includes site name, address, telephone, contact person.

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1. Site identification which includes site name, address, telephone, contact person.

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Contact Information:

Jill's House
9011 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182
Phone: (703) 639-5660

Site visit contact:

Maike Doty
Intake Manager

T: 703.639.5641 | F: 703.639.5662 | W: jillshouse.org

Office Hours:

M: 9:30-1:30; Tue: 10-2; Wed:9:30-1:30; Thur: 4-8; Friday: 9:30-1:30

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2.	Description of the site, mission, and target service population.

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2.	Description of the site, mission, and target service population.

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Jill's House is a Christian non-profit organization offering respite for families with a child identified as having an intellectual disability in the DC area as well as other locations around the country. Children may stay at Jill's House for a fun vacation filled with activities that are tailored to their needs.

Jill's House's mission is to provide families with respite so they may recharge and reconnect with each other while their family member with special needs is safely cared for in a fun and safe environment.

Locations include:
Vienna, Virginia
Middleburg, Virginia
Seattle, Washington
Garden State, New Jersey
Chicago, Illinois
Nashville, Tennessee

It is important to note Jill's House programs help foster important student attributes necessary in the transition process such as making choices and decisions, problem-solving, self-management, and self-knowledge.

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3. Description of services and programs available at the site.

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3. Description of services and programs available at the site.

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Children who are ages 6-17 may stay at Jill's House in one of three programs (lodging and meals are included):

I. Weekend stay: parents drop their child off at Jill's house on Friday night and pick them up on Sunday morning.

II. School overnight program: children attend a regular day of school, are picked up after school by Jill's House staff, and stay overnight. The following morning Jill's House staff will bring the student to school.
*Students with an ID diagnosis may do the school night program until they graduate from high school or age out of their special education school program
*Only specific schools partner with this program (The Ivymount Organization and the Phillips School are two such schools). Jill's House can expand and work with more schools, but there is a minimum number of six students and the school must be within close proximity to Jill's House.

III. Daycamp program: Students stay at Jill's house from 8:00 AM-3:30.

Jill's House also offers parent support groups, sibling nights, and family retreats.

Jill's House is also equipped with and offers:
-Nursing staff
-Wheelchair-accessible pool
-Bathing accommodations for non-ambulatory children
-Pet therapy
-Arts and crafts classes
-Padded gym and bounce house
-Music room
-Sensory room
-Indoor and outdoor play areas with bikes
-Show and tell
-Community meals

For many students with an Intellectual Disability, Jill's House may be the first experience they have staying overnight without the help of their family. It may give the student a stronger set of life skills and a sense of what is possible in their first taste of independence and the ability to have more agency for their own decision-making as they move toward or are within the transition process. These are important realizations for the individual moving forward and may change what they consider to be the least restrictive environment. Parents may legally represent the best interests of their child once they reach the age of majority and if the student is deemed unable to make decisions for themselves.

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Pod room with adapted bed, Jill's House, Vienna

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4. Description of resources and linkages with other agencies (informal and formal)

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4. Description of resources and linkages with other agencies (informal and formal)

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Unlike community transition programs, Jill's House does not partner with transition agencies for employment, housing, or education. However, they do occasionally arrange class opportunities for students to come to Jill's House and help clean a "pod", or living area, as volunteers. This mostly includes changing and washing bedding, dusting, and cleaning the bathrooms under supervision. These skills are transferrable and could create an interest in housekeeping or custodial employment.

In the transition goal areas of employment, education/training, and independent living skills, Jill's House most closely corresponds to shedding light on a student's independent living skills through their experience in community participation and how they partake in recreation.

Jill's House also provides parents with opportunities to connect with each other in their journey of caring for a child with special needs by arranging:

-retreats with speakers and special activities for single
moms  and fathers
-"mom and dad socials" to build connections
-parent support groups
-community women's bible study
-special events such as family holiday parties, fundraisers,
and seminars

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5. Description of linkages with the school system.

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5. Description of linkages with the school system.

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Jill's House currently has a day program partnership with two organizations in the area that serve students with special needs: the Ivymount Organization and the Phillips School. Students enrolled with Jill's House and who attend these schools have the option of participating in the day program where they attend a regular day of school, are picked up by Jill's House staff and stay overnight at Jill's house, and then are brought back to their school the following day.

Jill's House can expand this program to other area schools as long as there are at least six eligible students enrolled in Jill's House.

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Office art of Jill's House locations, Vienna

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6. Description of the service coordinator role.

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6. Description of the service coordinator role.

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Unlike transition agencies which help corrdinate living, employment, or training for those with disabilities, Jill's House offers respite for families by caring for their child with special needs.

The main service coordinator of Jill's House would be the intake manager. Their responsibilities include reviewing the initial intake form, contacting and interviewing parents, and giving parents facility tours. Once there is an opening for a child to attend, other staff schedules the student, and care coordinators supervise the student while in attendance with Jill's House.

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Pod open play area, Jill's House, Vienna

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7. Description of the agency’s perception of the student/consumer role in decision-making.

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7. Description of the agency’s perception of the student/consumer role in decision-making.

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The importance of choice is a key component of a joyful stay at Jill's House. The element of choice is highlighted in the variety of activities Jill's House offers:
-Choice of reading materials and toys in the library
-Choice of toys available in indoor common play areas
-Choice of outdoor playground activities
-Choice of many activities such as crafts, pet therapy, gym activities, pool, music, sensory rooms, show and tell, and meals!

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Family partnering with Jill's House as seen in the Family Support brochure

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8. Description of the agency’s perception of the family’s role in service provision.

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8. Description of the agency’s perception of the family’s role in service provision.

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The family is highly involved in service provision for their child in the aspect of preparing and providing for the child. During the intake process, families provide Jill's House with detailed information about the child and their medical condition/s so optimal care can be provided. Families are also responsible for making sure their child has all the neccessary amenities, clothing, devices, and medications needed for a stay at Jill's House, as well as monetary compensation for services through waivers or self-pay.

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Art piece outside of the art room, Jill's House, Vienna

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9. Description of the impacts and outcomes defined by the agency i.e. how they measure their ‘success’

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9. Description of the impacts and outcomes defined by the agency i.e. how they measure their ‘success’

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Jill's House measures their success by their ability to provide respite for families and a loving, fun experience for the child with special needs. Families have a chance to reconnect, recharge, and focus on their other children as well as themselves. Spouses have a chance to spend quality time with each other as well as connect with other families who share the same challenges of raising a child with special needs.

Children who attend Jill's House have a wonderful place to look forward to visiting that is designed especially for them. Many children, especially non-ambulatory students, stay at Jill's House as their first independent excursion on their own with a big network of support!

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10. Your personal opinions about the site.	Include any barriers to accessing services. What is working. What is not working. 

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10. Your personal opinions about the site.	Include any barriers to accessing services. What is working. What is not working. 

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Opinion about the site
Jill's House is thoughtfully accessible for people of all needs. For example, the center of each pod has three sections: a dining section, an office section, and a fun area section. All sections are separated with walls which are high enough to make scaling difficult, but low enough for most people to see what is occurring within each section. When inquiring about ideas about Jill's House design, the Intake Coordinator, Maike Doty, mentioned the founders visited a similar site in Israel and gleaned ideas from the site.

Barriers to accessing services: funding, medical and behavioral traits, location
Funding
Not all families have a waiver that can pay for part or all of the cost to attend Jill's House or can afford self-pay. Jill's House does not accept DC or Maryland Medicaid.

However, Jill's House does accept payment with the following waivers:
-Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus Waiver (Virginia)
-Developmental Disability Waiver
-Virginia Medicaid
- Elderly or Disabled with Consumer Direction Waiver

Medical and behavioral traits
Some students are unable to attend Jill's House for the following conditions:
-pika
-drop seizures
-extensive behavioral needs such as aggression or inability
to quietly sleep or self-entertain throughout the night
-lengthy bathroom routines
-student is in a treatment facility for self-harm
-students having ostomy bags or a tracheostomy

Location
Families with a child attending Jill's House need to be no further than fifty miles away from the site in case of an emergency.

What is and is not working
Jill's House has tremendous success in facilitating respite for families as well as providing accessible, safe, and fun activities for students with intellectual disabilities. The Intake Manager spoke about many families who do not tell their children they will be going to Jill's House because the child will be overexcited and perseverate on how much fun they will have!

However, the biggest obstacle Jill's House faces is its difficulty in recruiting enough client care specialists who care for students anywhere from a one-to-one ratio up to a group of four. This directly affects how many students can attend Jill's House. Currently, no new students requiring a one-to-one ratio have been admitted to Jill's House since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the most recent intake form (May 2023), the average waitlist time is six months to three years.

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11. Your recommendations for improvement

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11. Your recommendations for improvement

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The largest obstacle for Jill's House is the ability to accept new students. I would recommend interested families minimize their possible wait list time by registering their child as soon as possible.

To help alleviate staffing shortages, Jill's House also has a fellowship program I would highly recommend to those interested in working with special needs children. This program takes place the first year after a student graduates from college and provides:
-no-cost housing in Fairfax for one year
-full-time, salaried work

In addition, college students can also work as summer interns and have no-cost housing Friday-Sunday.

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Publication materials as artifacts used for live presentation 

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Appendix 1 description section: Artifacts, additional exhibits, documents or resources (such as photos, videos, program materials, etc. that you choose to include)

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Appendix 1 description section: Artifacts, additional exhibits, documents or resources (such as photos, videos, program materials, etc. that you choose to include)

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Information in this presentation is primarily from an in-person guided tour of Jill's House with intake manager Maike Doty on Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023.

Supplemental information in the presentation was also derived from publication materials pictured from Jill's House in Vienna, Virginia as well as their website, jillshouse.org.

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Technology room, Jill's House, Vienna

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Sensory room, Jill's House, Vienna

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Church service and music room, Jill's House, Vienna

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Method of organizing weekend stay student items, Jill's House, Vienna

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Pod dining area, Jill's House, Vienna

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Sensory light room, Jill's House, Vienna

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Entrance to Jill's House pod, Vienna

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Chapel music area, Jill's House, Vienna