Mt. Pleasant, PA. – In 1976, Valley Community Services was incorporated as a private, non-profit agency in Southwestern Pennsylvania, establishing an early learning program for children from infancy through school-age. 50 years onward, VCS is still avtively engaged in the pursuit of Supporting People.
Allegheny County shortly approached us to help create one of the first early childhood programs in the state of Pennsylvania.
Seeing a need to support individuals with disabilities, VCS created a community-based residential program (CLAs) for children and adolescents with autism in 1978. This program received a positive response from various stakeholders and most importantly, was the first ever program of its type established in Pennsylvania.
Into the 80s, success with community based residential housing saw VCS increase the amount and variety of services offered to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Through to the early 2000s, our first Intermediate Care Facilities and Adult Training Center were established as more counties sought VCS as a partner for ID/A services.
In 2026, and VCS is recognized by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania as one of the top providers of ID/A services in Pennsylvania. This comes as the state’s Office of Developmental Programs has launched Performance-Based Contracting, which emphasizes and pays providers based on successful outcomes.
Our status as a “Select” organization is one that only 5% of all residential service providers have achieved, elevating our large swath of community living homes, and our historic expertise in their operation, above the rest.
After 50 years, VCS continues to shape the future of supports for individuals with disabilities, especially through being “Technology First.” Recently partnering with Temple University’s TechOWL, innovation continues by utilizing technology to the fullest in providing supports for all individuals.