Who We Are
About Us
Building Bridges Developmental and Community Services has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for more than 50 years. From child development centers to adult programs and job training for people with disabilities, Building Bridges offers a variety of services to help people with disabilities address life’s challenges and achieve personal goals.
Mission Statement
Building Bridges Developmental and Community Services, Inc. is dedicated to promoting independence and acceptance, by partnering with and empowering individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to participate and contribute within their communities. We are guided by compassion, patience, integrity and respect.
Core Values
Person-centered, Dedication, Compassion, Patience, Integrity, Respect
What We Believe
We believe the service system maximizes the strengths of each individual by cultivating positive outcomes and linking individuals to natural supports.
We believe in the right of individuals to live, work, play, learn, worship and experience life where they choose.
We believe that society as a whole gains from the full participation of a wide diversity of people, including individuals with disabilities.
Regulations and Accreditations
BBDCS is licensed by the Arkansas Department of Human Service’s Division of Developmental Disability Services and regulated by several entities, including but not limited to:
- Division of Developmental Disabilities
- Division of Child and Family Services
- Medicaid
- Arkansas Department of Education
- Arkansas Department of Transportation
- Better Beginnings
- USDA
Accreditations
CARF
In February 2024, Building Bridges Developmental and Community Services, Inc., received reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for a period of three years in all service areas, including community integration, supportive living, home and community services, organizational employment, services for children and youth, and community employment services, including job development and employment supports.
This is the fifth time Building Bridges has been awarded a three-year accreditation by CARF since 2015. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.
Building Bridges is a Level 3 Better Beginnings pre-school.
At Level 3, the facility continues to build quality through self-assessment, maintaining samples of the children’s learning activities, participating in reviews of the program’s quality, and sharing information with families.
Our History
Building Bridges Developmental and Community Services, Inc. began as Lonoke County Exceptional School, Inc. on September 5, 1972. The beginning of the program originated from the concern of local community members and families who recognized a need for a program to serve children with developmental disabilities who were not served in the public school system and were not able to obtain the educational opportunities that they legally deserved.
Individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities began being included in public school throughout the 1980s, so for this reason, the program changed its focus to preschool and adult services. As the service area continued to grow outside Lonoke County to include other counties (Prairie County, White County, Pulaski County, Arkansas County, and Faulkner County) the name changed to Building Bridges Developmental and Community Services, Inc., in 2017 to better reflect the wide array of services now being offered in a multi-county area in central Arkansas.
The preschool program was expanded to Cabot in 2000 in a remodeled 3,000 square foot building to accommodate the growing number of clients in the city of Cabot, and in 2009, a new 15,000 square foot preschool building was constructed in order to serve even more children. The original Cabot site was then converted into a program for adult services.
In 2004, the Community and Employment Supports Waiver and Employment Services program was established to provide an alternative to institutionalization so that clients can live and work in the community as independently as possible. In 2019, a second Cabot location was added to accommodate an adult services program that focuses on transitioning young adults wanting to work.
Today, Building Bridges Developmental and Community Services, Inc. offers a unique continuum of care for those diagnosed with a developmental or intellectual disability of any age and throughout their lifespan.