The History of The Arc of Carroll County

The Arc of Carroll County was established in 1955 by a small group of parents of children with developmental disabilities. At that time, children were excluded from public education and there were no structured social, recreational or educational activities outside of the home. Those parents met to see how they could collectively foster the growth and development of their children. From their meeting came this organization, The Arc of Carroll County, Inc.

Special education programs were established that year in the basement of the Davis Library on Main Street in Westminster and in the Mount Airy American Legion.

Since that time, The Arc has advocated for and worked to provide support to people with developmental disabilities and their families.

In 1971 a day program for adults was established and adult transportation was implemented in 1976. Community Living Support became available when The Arc opened its first home on Main Street in Westminster in 1977.

The Arc of Carroll County is affiliated with The Arc of Maryland and The Arc of the United States. These organizations help to advocate for people with developmental disabilities through state-wide and national legislation.

To confirm our commitment to quality services, The Arc was first accredited by CARF, a national accreditation commission for Organizational Employment Services and Community Employment Services, in 1994. Our most recent reaccredidation by CARF was 2005, which now includes: Personal and Social Services, Family Services, Respite Services and Community Living Services. CARF is a not-for-profit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through an accrediation process that centers on enhancing the lives of persons served.