Community Access Unlimited (CAU)
In-Person
(908) 354-3040
Elizabeth
About CAU
Community Access Unlimited (CAU) is a nonprofit based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and young people at risk. Our mission is to give a voice to people who have historically had little power in society, and to help them live independently as full participants in their communities. CAU serves more than 3,000 people and families in Union County and across New Jersey.
CAU began supporting people with disabilities in 1979 and youth in New Jersey's child welfare system in 1984. Services are planned around each person, and many take place in people's own homes and communities. You don't need to live in CAU housing to use our services.
CAU's programs have been accredited by CARF since 2006, and CAU was one of three Tier 4 providers in New Jersey to earn a perfect score on the Department of Human Services' provider report card.
Our Services
Housing and residential services
CAU owns and manages affordable housing in more than a dozen Union County towns: group homes, single and multi-family homes, condominiums and apartments. Support for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities ranges from around-the-clock staffing to help with daily living skills, and each person's support is planned around their needs and goals. Nurses and behaviorists work across our homes.
Emergency housing (Emergency Capacity System)
Short-term housing for adults with developmental disabilities who are in crisis, with staff trained for complex medical and behavioral needs. Stays run up to 60 days, or up to 120 days for individuals who are non-ambulatory. Referrals come through the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD).
Respite
Short-term respite for families and caregivers of people with disabilities, in CAU residences and in the community.
Day Habilitation Program (Cranford)
Our Day Program in Cranford serves adults with medical and behavioral needs. Individuals build skills in problem solving, communication, socializing, money management, and health and wellness through activities they choose, including music classes with the Elizabeth Institute of Music, arts and crafts, culinary arts, fitness, reading groups, pet therapy and weekly field trips, with yoga and swimming in the community. Behaviorists and speech-language pathologists work on site, and individuals volunteer at a local food pantry. DDD gave the program its highest certification, five years.
Academy of Continuing Education (Roselle)
ACE offers small-group classes for adults with developmental disabilities of all ages. Students build their own weekly schedule from groups such as math, reading, science, history, music, musical theater, personal finance, digital and visual art, and self-understanding.
Employment services
CAU helps people with disabilities and young people at risk find and keep jobs through career planning and assessment, pre-vocational training, and supported employment in small groups or one-on-one, with job development and job coaching. Students with disabilities can get pre-employment transition services, including job readiness training and paid work experience, through state grants.
T.EAT.CH Cafe runs CAU's Culinary Hospitality Training Program, "Skills, Skillets, Success", with hands-on training for jobs in food service and hospitality.
Support Coordination
CAU has provided Support Coordination since 2013, in English and Spanish. Support coordinators help people enrolled in DDD's Supports Program and Community Care Program plan their services, use their budgets well, and connect to resources in the community. People can choose any support coordination agency. CAU offers support coordination statewide, in every county except Union.
Supports Program and Community Care Program services
For people enrolled in DDD's Supports Program or Community Care Program, CAU provides community-based supports at home and in the community, individual supports, community inclusion, goods and services, environmental modifications, natural supports training, and transportation.
Behavioral supports and mental health
Our clinical team, led by Board Certified Behavior Analysts and licensed social workers, takes a person-centered, positive behavior support approach. Services include functional behavioral assessments, behavior support plans, in-home behavioral and clinical support, counseling, and groups on coping, social and communication skills. The team also trains CAU staff in positive behavior support.
Speech therapy and assistive technology
CAU's Department of Speech-Language Pathology provides one-on-one and group therapy for speech, language, cognitive-communication, and feeding and swallowing, in people's homes, in the community, and at the Day Program. We evaluate for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and other assistive technology, and train people and their supporters to use them. Our Assistive Technology Resource Center lends devices so people can try them before buying, or use one while they wait for funding or approval.
Representative payee and financial services
CAU's Representative Payee Program manages Social Security benefits for people who need help with their money: budgeting and saving, keeping records, reporting to Social Security, applying for SNAP, and opening ABLE savings accounts. CAU also teaches budgeting and money management in everyday settings. CAU's fiscal services team handles payroll, taxes, and invoices for people who direct their own care through the state's Personal Assistance Services Program (PASP), and provides fiscal services for the Support Services Provider Program for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Self-advocacy
Helping Hands, formed in 1984, is one of the oldest and strongest self-advocacy groups in New Jersey. Its self-advocates take part in legislative updates, letter-writing, voting and accessibility campaigns and candidate events, and attend state conferences such as the NJ Statewide Self-Advocacy Network's annual conference. CAU's Self Advocacy Resource Center is a home base for this work.
Planning for Adult Life and transition to adult services
With DDD and The Arc of New Jersey, CAU runs Planning for Adult Life, a free statewide series on self-direction and self-advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities preparing for adult services. In 2024, CAU hosted more than 40 sessions for over 300 people. CAU also guides families through applying for DDD services, the NJ Comprehensive Assessment Tool (NJ CAT) and keeping Medicaid eligibility.
Family Connections
Family Connections brings together the families and significant others of the people CAU supports with CAU staff and leadership. It meets quarterly, typically over dinner with a speaker on a topic families care about, and gives families a place to raise concerns and share ideas.
Recreation and the arts
CAU offers activities every week, month, and year, from outings and sports to holiday parties. There are also trips and arts activities. The CAU Community Players, an inclusive theater troupe, have staged shows since 2012. Agency events include an inclusive kickball tournament, Family Fun Day, and a holiday party with Holiday Express.
Services for youth
Union County Youth Shelter. Temporary placement of up to 30 days for youth ages 13 to 18, referred by the Family Crisis Intervention Unit, the Juvenile Justice Intake Unit, or the Union County Family and Juvenile Criminal Courts. Services include an on-site classroom with a New Jersey-certified teacher, life skills and daily living training, individual sessions with staff, nutrition education, recreation, medical follow-up and medication monitoring, therapeutic assessments on request, vocational training, supervised community service hours, connections to family support, and transportation to appointments, probation, and court. The shelter is funded by the Union County Department of Human Services.
Safe Place. The youth shelter at 508 Westminster Avenue, Elizabeth, NJ 07202, is a designated Safe Place, where young people who need help can get it free and without fear of consequences. For help, call 908-354-5420, or text "SAFE" and your current location (address, city, state) to 69866 to find the nearest Safe Place. More at nationalsafeplace.org.
PACES. For youth in foster care ages 16 to 21: one-on-one coaching to finish high school and get into and stay in college, career and technical training, or job readiness programs, with help on college and financial aid applications, resumes and interviews. Referrals come through Union and Essex County DCP&P.
| Age Groups |
|
| Community Services |
Basic Needs / AssistanceEmployment / TrainingFamily & Support Services |
| Health Services |
Behavioral / Mental HealthIntellectual and Developmental Needs |
| Treatment Services |
In-Community ServicesOut-of-Home Services |
| Payment Types |
|
| Areas Served |
|
Last Updated: 10/26/26