Bucks IU Partners With College To Create Adult Services Hub

NEWTOWN, PA — The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) and Bucks County Community College (BCCC) on Thursday announced the addition of an adult services hub – the IU’s first – on the college’s Newtown campus for IU clients over the age of 22.

“At Bucks County Community College, partnerships with key community organizations are crucial to our success,” said President and CEO Patrick M. Jones, Ph.D. “Strategic
partnerships allow us to combine resources to extend the reach and impact of both organizations. This evolution of our relationship with the Bucks IU is just one of the latest examples of such partnerships, with more on the horizon.”

Jones added that the expanded partnership benefits each organization. The space will serve as the home of an Adult Community Hub, connecting participants to the
educational, social, vocational, and wellness opportunities available on campus and throughout the community, he said.

Through the new center, individuals will build practical life skills, explore employment opportunities, develop relationships, and participate in meaningful experiences that
support independence and community inclusion.

Bucks County Intermediate Unit Executive Director Mark Hoffman, Ed.D., (fourth from left) and Bucks County Community College President and CEO Patrick M. Jones, Ph.D., (fifth from left) greet students and staff at the Bucks IU’s facility on the College’s Newtown Campus that currently serves 18- to 22-year-olds. (Eric Parker/BCCC)

“The Adult Community Hub reflects our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for individuals with disabilities beyond their K-12 years,” said Mark Hoffman, Ed.D., the Bucks IU’s executive director. “This partnership recognizes a simple truth: adulthood should bring new opportunities, not fewer. Through our collaboration with Bucks County Community College, participants will have access to authentic learning, social, and vocational experiences that foster independence, connection, and personal growth. Together, we are creating a pathway that helps more individuals build fulfilling lives as active members of their community.”

The two organizations already collaborate in many ways.

Bucks County Community College provides Bucks IU with classroom space to serve preschool age students, which gives the college’s Pre K-4 early education students the chance to work with special needs children directly on campus. This has been a fixture on the Newtown Campus for many years and now has a new home in the specially designed Early Learning Center.

A Bucks County Intermediate Unit teacher works with a youngster at the Bucks IU preschool facility at Bucks County Community College’s Newtown Campus. The Bucks IU and BCCC have announced an expanded partnership to add the IU’s first-ever Adult Community Hub for clients over age 22. (Eric Parker/BCCC)

The IU also uses classroom space at the Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie and the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus in Bristol to serve students ages 8 to 22.

Bucks County Community College students enrolled in the Associate of science in Nursing program also complete a community clinical rotation at Bucks IU’s Lower Southampton Early Learning Center.

BCCC and Bucks IU also collaborate on a unique registered apprenticeship program to help address the critical shortage of special education teachers. The program — the first of its kind in Pennsylvania — is a three-way collaboration between the College, the Bucks IU, and Gwynedd Mercy University.

Students earn an associate degree at Bucks and a bachelor’s degree from Gwynedd Mercy while completing apprenticeships at the BCIU.