Family Support Services & Treatment Foster Care

Adult Services

Employment Solutions

Harford County Office
4513 Philadelphia Road
Aberdeen, MD 21001
Phone: 410-879-6785
Fax: 410-893-3909

Cecil County Office
106 East Main Street, Suite 107
Elkton, MD 21921
Phone: 410-620-3450
Fax: 410-620-3453

About The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region

Fast Facts Who is The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region

The Arc is a private non-profit organization founded in 1953 that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities serving Harford, Cecil, and Kent counties. We are members of The Arc of Maryland and The Arc of the United States, the largest volunteer organization in the world devoted exclusively to improving the quality of life for all adults and children with developmental disabilities. The Arc today employs over 200 people and offers supports to over 400 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

What does The Arc do?

The Arc strives to provide state of the art supports and services to assist the persons we care about to live the lives they want and deserve and are as diverse as the communities they serve.
The Arc advocates for the rights and full participation of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
About 56% of adults with developmental disabilities ages 21-64 had jobs in 2002. Among those with severe disabilities, 53% had jobs in the United States. The Arc has been instrumental in securing that over 90% of Harford and Cecil county residents receiving Employment Services have jobs.
The Arc provides services to over 250 families through educational and/or medical advocacy, referral services, and financial services.
The Arc champions legislation and policy that directs resources and decisions to individuals and families.
Respect, Self-Determination, Responsiveness, and Community Building are the guiding principles of all work that we do to support people with disabilities.

What is developmental disability?

Nearly one in five Americans - about 51 million people - had physical or mental disabilities in 2002, according to the Census Bureau. About 33 million of them had severe developmental disabilities.
A developmental disability is defined in federal laws as a severe, chronic, often lifelong physical and/or mental impairments that becomes apparent before the age of 22 including mental retardation, epilepsy, autism, and cerebral palsy.
There continues to be a crisis for the over 17,000 people waiting for DDA services statewide. Over 50% of these people waiting for services are in crisis.
In Harford County (598 people), Cecil (239 people), and Kent (65 people) are on the DDA Waiting List requesting services, a 79%, 146%, and 132% increase respectively, from 2002. (January, 2008)

How is The Arc financially supported?

The Arc is a non-profit organization and provider of health and human services, incorporated under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Arc is supported through the generous donations from its members, sponsors and individual donors who believe in the strong mission of The Arc. The Arc also receives finances from private and public government grants as well as funding from government health and human services. How and when did The Arc begin? The Arc began in 1953 as a grassroots organization of twenty-two parents who wanted a better life for their children. At that time, children and adults with intellectual disabilities were denied basic services such as day care, preschool, education and work programs.

How and when did The Arc begin?

The Arc began in 1953 as a grassroots organization of twenty-two parents who wanted a better life for their children. At that time, children and adults with intellectual disabilities were denied basic services such as day care, preschool, education and work programs.