Quality Services for the Autism Community (QSAC) is an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by a group of parents confronting inappropriate and limited service options for their children with autism. For over three decades, QSAC has been guided by the principle that every child and adult with autism deserves the highest quality of treatment and care that enables them to live meaningful and fulfilled lives in our society. Today over 1100 QSAC employees join together at over 20 facilities in Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, and Nassau County to provide educational, residential, therapeutic and family support services to over 2,700 people each year, including 1,400 individuals who receive direct services.
QSAC offers a wide range of individualized clinical services based on best practices and Applied Behavior Analysis, an evidenced-based intervention for which the agency became a certified trainer in 2011. All of QSAC’s clinical services are supported by a multi-disciplinary team of trained, experienced and empathic professionals including speech-language pathologists, behaviour analysts and therapists, childhood educators, psychologists and social workers. In addition, the organization’s team is supported by a Professional Advisory Board composed of distinguished clinicians and prominent research scientists. The success of all programs is based on the partnership between professionals and families. These partnerships are crucial to the remarkable and lasting progress which clients are able to achieve. Family members are trained to become facilitators and advocates for their child’s learning in the home and in the community thru all life stages.
QSAC has earned a well deserved reputation for caring for the underserved community and for taking on individuals with severe behavior problems, a unique distinction in the State that has made QSAC a valuable and trusted partner with city and state governments. In recent years, QSAC has been chosen by the government to assume responsibility for four problematic residential projects based on its reputation for high quality management and service. QSAC was recognized in 2011 as one of the Top-Rated Children & Families Nonprofit in GreatNonprofits 2011 Children & Families Campaign, a survey conducted with donors, families and consumers of services for the developmentally disabled.
Gary A. Maffei, MPA celebrated his 20th anniversary as Executive Director and CEO of QSAC in 2012. He is supported by a senior management team that has worked together for the past 17 years, a period characterized by consistent growth, flexibility in the face of change, and constant innovation. QSAC has a strong record of retaining talented and devoted staff, a direct result of the agency’s commitment to facilitating the growth of our staff through education, training, and leadership, and to promoting best practices and continuous improvement. QSAC has an annual operating budget reaching $40 million and a proud record of clean audits every year since the agency was founded.