Camphill Village is suitable for adults with developmental disabilities who can thrive in its unique environment: people who want to work and have the health, strength and ability to do so; who want to be part of a social and cultural community; who can grow in independence and responsibility. Our most basic criteria are that the community can meet the needs of the individual and that the individual can meet the needs of the community. These needs are not static, but change over time.

The nature of the Village—its physical layout, our open way of living together, the co-worker/villager ratio—obliges us to discourage some applicants. The Village is not suited for people with profound physical disabilities, people with serious, chronic nursing needs or people with a primary diagnosis of mental illness. We cannot meet the needs of people who require one-on-one supervision or total physical care.

Vacancies do occur. The frequency of vacancies, however, is not predictable because the Village has reached optimal size and because many villagers have happily made the Village their home for years and do not plan to leave. Families of prospective villagers are encouraged to call the Director of Admissions to discuss the prospect of vacancies and whether or not Camphill Village is the right place.

Federal and State entitlements for people with disabilities cover about 50 percent of the costs of Village placement. We ask families of villagers to contribute to the shortfall. Our fund raising for annual operating costs and for special projects depends on a large and growing circle of support that includes families and friends of villagers.

The admissions process begins with a telephone conversation with the admissions director. If appropriate, the process may continue through a visit to the Village, an admissions interview, a four-week trial visit and eventual placement.

For more information, please contact Wanda Root, Director of Admissions, 518/329-1988.

Camphill Village is fully licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). The licensing process is concerned with issues of health, safety and quality of life. The OMRDD has consistently recognized and commended Camphill Village for cost-effectiveness, compliance with regulations, and meeting or exceeding State and Federal goals of providing opportunities leading to greater independence, inclusion and productivity.

With its emphases on family-centered care, inclusion and the development of individual potential, Camphill is a forerunner and model in the disabilities field, where these practices are now the basis for public policy nationwide.

Camphill Village USA, Inc. is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization, under section 501(c)(3) of the federal income tax code. A 21-member Board of Directors with committees has legal and fiduciary responsibility for the organization and meets four times a year. Fiscal responsibility is ensured through careful monitoring of expenses, quarterly budget reports to the Board and an annual audit.

To view financial reports and other information about Camphill Village click on the GuideStar logo.

A recent study of Camphill communities in the U.S. by an independent researcher identified a number of factors as indicators of quality care for people with developmental disabilities.* An objective observer can verify that the following indicators are present in Camphill Village and other Camphill places.

• Strong emphasis is placed on integration with non-disabled people.

• People are generally very healthy and observably happy.

• People exhibit a sense of purpose and autonomy.

• People exercise choice.

• People are socially capable beyond what would be expected from their diagnoses.

• Home life is truly home-like.

• People have fulfilling lives with constant interaction with people of different ages and backgrounds, friendships, artistic activities for self-expression, opportunities for physical activity.

• People participate on equal terms (to the extent of their abilities) in activities that are designed and intended for all.

* Kay Sherwood, “Indicators of Quality Care for People with Developmental Disabilities: A Guide for the Lay Person.” 1999. Independent study funded by a grant from the F. B. Heron Foundation.

The quality of life offered in Camphill Village comes alive in a new one-hour documentary film, "Let Each Light Shine: a Portrait of Camphill Village." Copies of the film can be obtained from Films for the Humanities and Sciences, a distribution company specializing in educational films. Films for the Humanities and Sciences holds the exclusive rights to distribute the film in the home video and educational markets.

Call 609/275-1400 or toll free 800/257-5126,
from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST

Ask for: item number 31148.

Copies of the film can also be obtained from the Camphill Village Gift Shop by calling 518/329-4511.

Many testimonials from public figures, families of villagers, professionals in the disabilities field, artists and philanthropists attest to the excellence and uniqueness of the work of Camphill.

It is certainly true that the ‘Camphill approach’ differs significantly from conventional modes of providing residential and vocational supports to people with developmental disabilities. For one thing, those who share their lives with people with disabilities do so because of a commitment to the well being of those they live with rather than as paid staff. Secondly, the communities are based on well-articulated ethical values that are continually discussed and examined to ensure that they are present in practice as well as theory. Thirdly, each community includes a strong emphasis on the arts, music, and celebrations—unlike the conventional approaches to ‘day activities.’

Valerie J. Bradley
President, Human Services Research Institute
Former Chairperson of the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation.

The extraordinary experience of playing in Camphill Village has been one of the highlights of my life as a musician. I came to know the villagers through Anne Ratner, the remarkable lady who dedicated some of her enormous energy to a benefit concert series for Camphill Village. Not even Anne’s description would have prepared me for the warmth and intensity of the villagers, the raptness with which they took in music, and the purity and joy of their response. All those with whom I’ve played have agreed—there is a love and humanity here that everyone feels, and the sharing of music is one of its deepest expressions. Long live Camphill! I’m terribly grateful to take part in it.

Richard Goode
Pianist

The Camphill community believes that all in the community grow from participating in the daily activities of community life….The Camphill villages are quite unique and extraordinary. They are a model for real inclusion and other programs for children/adults with special needs and challenges could learn much from them.

Ervi Farkas, Ph.D.
Psychologist

My brother…has been a villager for over thirty years….At Camphill he has been accepted and encouraged to be all he can be. Through loving support he has grown to be self-assured and an important part of Village life. He not only works in the wood shop and helped make pottery, but he reaches out to help others in a loving supportive way. The wholeness of Camphill Village has given my brother…a full productive life, something, I believe, he could not have had otherwise.

Anne Newell
Sister of Camphill Village villager

Had I been asked what I wished for our daughter…when my husband and I were desperately seeking a place for her, knowing the time had come for her to leave home and be prepared for a life without us, I would have said: ‘a place where she would be part of a caring and extended family, have countless friends, love her work, have a measure of freedom and independence, and at the same time be surrounded by physical and spiritual beauty and music, and indulge her passionate love of animals, nature and the change of seasons.’ What sounded like an impossible dream became reality when…[she] entered Camphill Village four years ago….it was unbearable to think of placing her in a confining group home where she would be cared for by shifts of ever-changing indifferent workers, bussed to work in an assembly line in our local Association for Retarded Citizens, where she had been bored and restless for years, and spend most of her leisure time in front of television….In Camphill, Clara has a life, meaningful and serene.

Irene Soubry
Parent of Camphill Village villager