Frequently asked questions

Answered by a team member at YAI

• What is your mission?

  YAI and its network of affiliate agencies offer children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities a comprehensive range of services. YAI is committed to seeing beyond disability, providing opportunities for people to live, love, work, and learn in their communities.

  Founded in 1957 as the Young Adult Institute, YAI remains at the forefront of an extraordinary movement aimed at empowering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. YAI’s 4,000 employees provide supportive housing, education, medical, dental, and mental health care, job training, community integration, and social enrichment for more than 20,000 people with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and all other intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families, throughout downstate New York, northern New Jersey, and California.

• What is the history of your organization?

  Our Roots:
  YAI was launched in February of 1957 out of a small school in Brooklyn, New York. Initially staffed by Co-Founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze MacLeech alone, their pilot program served just seven people. According to Bert, from its very beginning YAI has been dedicated to providing innovative services for the I/DD (intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) community. MacLeech envisioned a “total life adjustment approach, emphasizing personal growth, social responsibility, employment goals, and the development of independence for the individual.” At a time when institutional living was the norm for people with I/DD, this vision was nothing short of revolutionary.

  YAI Today:
  Today, YAI has a team of over 4,000 employees and supports over 20,000 people in the I/DD community. This extraordinary growth shows the ongoing need for these important services, and YAI’s success in offering them. YAI supports people with autism, Down syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy, among others. Operating throughout downstate New York, northern New Jersey, and California, YAI now offers more than 300 programs for people of all ages.

  Better Together:
  At YAI, we are driven by our mission of living, loving, working, and learning. This applies not only to the people we support, but to our staff as well. Commitment and passion for the work continue to unite employees and drive the organization forward. Empowering the people we support to reach their goals remains at the heart of our organization.