Long Term Care Ombudsman Program

Do you have problem-solving skills and a passion to help older adults?

The People Inc., New York State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and Center for Elder Law & Justice volunteers promote the rights of residents who live in nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care facilities in Eire, Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties.

Through a certification training process, ombudsmen volunteers are matched with a long term care facility to serve as an advocate for the resident's care and rights. Ombudsmen are an independent voice, separate from the facility; they are trained to properly listen to, investigate and help resolve concerns on behalf of long-term care residents.

Volunteer and Information: Email LTCOmbudsman@people-inc.org or call 716.817.9222 or 1.844.527.5509.

Senior Companion

Want to help older adults remain independent in their own home?

The People Inc. Senior Companion Program assists older adults who have difficulty with daily living tasks so that they can retain their dignity and independence. Among other activities, the Senior Companion may assist with tasks, such as grocery shopping and errands; providing friendship and companionship; alerting doctors and family members to potential problems and providing respite for caregivers. Senior Companions are volunteers age 55 years or older from Erie County who meet income eligibility requirements. 

Information: 716.768.2381

Share your skills while assisting people in our various programs and services.

Volunteer: Download the application

Information: Email volunteer@people-inc.org or call 716.322.7050.

The Behavioral Health Department of People Inc. provides clinical support to individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and their support teams. Interventions include psychological assessment, functional behavioral assessments, developing behavior support plans, and working with teams to develop skills to successfully support individuals with challenging behaviors. The Behavioral Health Department is staffed with licensed clinical psychologists, licensed and/or certified social workers, BCBA professionals, mental health counselors, and behavior intervention specialists. A licensed psychologist with experience in forensic psychology provides consultative support to the program.

The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) supports clinically sound, evidence-based practices that can support people with developmental disabilities to lead meaningful and productive lives in the least restrictive setting possible. People with developmental disabilities benefit from assessment and treatment planning, but there are limits to what can be accomplished by existing systems. Service providers find themselves with increased responsibilities and decreased supports. Both the service providers and people with disabilities look to outside services for clinical assessment and treatment; however, people with developmental disabilities experience a number of barriers to accessing clinical services, including insurance limitations and limited access to providers who are competent in providing clinical support to this population. Ancillary providers often ask for additional support, such as enhanced treatment planning and in-house counseling, which is unavailable in the current system. There is also a glaring deficit in clinical treatment options in the areas of sexuality, healthy relationships, trauma counseling, emotional regulation, and healthy coping. Fellows can help meet the clinical needs of people applying for and/or receiving services from People Inc. and its affiliates. Likewise, People Inc. can provide fellows with a rich training experience.

Fellows will have a variety of training opportunities, including:

• Psychological assessment, including cognitive, autism, differential, sexuality, dementia, lethality, and risk assessment.
• Functional Behavior Assessment.
• Behavior Support Planning.
• Individual counseling (office and site-based).
• Group counseling (office and site-based).
• Research.
• Clinical supervision (practicum students and masters level clinicians).
• Consultation within the department, as well as with other departments and agencies.
• Developing/providing training to staff responsible for direct care and/or for developing behavior supports.
• Additional psychological assessment through the People Inc. Article 16 Clinic for those who meet New York State requirements to work as a Testing Technician.

Fellows have the opportunity to work within a treatment team to provide essential clinical supports designed to promote independence and person-centered care. People Inc. is dedicated to providing a rich training experience in order to support fellows in becoming clinical psychologists. The program embraces a scholar‐practitioner model, and prioritizes the acquisition of clinical skills and emphasizes practical, hands-on training. All fellows in the fellowship program receive training in clinical psychology that is informed by trauma-informed treatment practices. Fellows will be encouraged to apply a variety of psychological theories in case conceptualizations and will utilize evidence-based interventions.

The training program’s primary purpose is to develop skilled practitioners competent in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities, with specific skills that include providing evidence-based services, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate support and treatment planning. Fellows are given opportunities to develop skills in education and training regarding the intellectual/developmental disabilities population, assessment experience, and developing appropriate interventions and treatment planning. Fellows are also given opportunity to provide clinical supervision to practicum students and masters level clinicians. These overall goals are executed through the following specific program goals and objectives.

Learn more about this program, the goals, prerequisites and general requirements.

See our APPIC Directory Listing to apply!

Our Direct Support Internship Program places students in residential, day and respite settings working with people with developmental disabilities. The student will have opportunities to interact and learn from program management, coworkers and people with disabilities, as well as learn the roles of different team members.

Open only to graduate students in social work or mental health counseling programs. Limited number of students accepted.

Designed to give students experience working with professionals in the field. A limited number of students are accepted.