History

Rehabilitation Associates of Connecticut, Inc. is a private company registered with the Connecticut Secretary of State to do business in Connecticut, It was established in 1979 by Carol Landsman and Myra Watnick, who is Executive Director of the Birth to Three Program.

Our mission is to develop trusting relationships with families by respecting their cultural backgrounds and providing evidence based practices to build families' confidence and competence in supporting their children within their daily routines and community.

Our comprehensive Birth to Three program is staffed by experienced and qualified professionals who are dedicated and responsive to the needs of the families they serve. We maintain offices in Middletown, Hamden, Waterbury, Ansonia and Fairfield. We believe that knowledgeable, local staff are best able to assist families in developing strong linkages to community resources and supports. RAC has Memorandums of Agreement with many community agencies. These alliances strengthen our ability to enhance the health and well-being of infants and toddlers and families; as does our longstanding, positive relationships with local school systems.

In 1979, Rehabilitation Associates of Connecticut was designated as one of the preferred providers administering evaluations in addition to direct family centered services to children found eligible when the State Department of Education was the Lead Agency. In 1986, the Department of Developmental Services (now DDS) took over as the Lead Agency and we were, once again, chosen as one of the Birth to Three providers in the State.

In 2009 RAC expanded its scope to include autism specific services. Today, Rehabilitation Associates of Connecticut and ABC Intervention, our autism specific program, provides family centered services of over 1000 families in Connecticut.We have provided evidence based services in both programs. It has not been the amount of services but the quality of these services that makes our programs stand out.  Our professional staff carries out our mission on a daily basis. RAC has been positively recognized by state agencies, school systems, organizations and individuals in the communities we serve. Office of Early Childhood Staff has commented on how few parent complaints have been reported given the size of our agency. We reflect best practices outlined in birth to three policies and as a result of positive results in monitoring and general supervision measures Rehabilitation Associates of Connecticut, Inc. has been determined to ‘Meet Requirements’ every year since the process was initiated in 2007. 

Our Executive Director, Myra Watnick, has been providing services to children and families for 40 years. She has been a member of the State Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC), advising and assisting the lead agency for more than 20 years. She is presently Co-Chair of the Fiscal Committee; attending quarterly meetings, attending legislative hearings and engaging our families in those proceedings to provide first-hand accounts of Birth to Three’s life changing impacts. Myra’s participation on the ICC enhances her knowledge of emerging trends and best practices at both the state and federal levels. This passion for learning extends to RAC’s practitioners. Myra encourages and supports staff’s attendance at conferences and in-services; examples include NLE, Coaching Style and Primary Provider Models, Early Start Denver Model (for children on the spectrum) and Reflective Supervision.

Our agency was so fortunate to be able to hire Kristina Gilbertie, as Director, who had a strong background in supervision as well as service provision. She has now been with us for more than 10 years. She is a Licensed Behavior Analyst as well as a Certified Special Education Teacher. She is part of a handful of professionals certified in the Early Start Denver Model in the State. Tina assists in NLE  trainings provided by the Office of Early Childhood. She is an active trainer in house sharing her expertise in NLE, Coaching Style, and ESDM. Her plan to have a Master Coach in each region we serve is underway. Her vision to have staff achieve fidelity in the evidence based practices and coaching style of interaction have added immeasurably to our working towards the tenets of our Mission.

​ Knowledgeable, dedicated and tenured staff who live in the communities they serve has proven successful in strengthening the capacities of families to meet the needs of their infants and toddlers who have developmental delays or disabilities. Rehabilitation Associates is proud of the services it delivers and is privileged to serve the families of Connecticut.