Program Description:      The Transportation Services department of Developmental Disabilities Institute is responsible for overseeing the safe operation of all agency vehicles.  This responsibility includes oversight of the maintenance and repair of each of the nearly two hundred vehicles that are used each day.  In addition, the Transportation Division ensures that each driver continually meets DDI’s stringent approved driver criteria and provides on-going safety training to staff, including Empire State Defensive Driver Training.        The Transportation department of DDI also operates a multi-functional transportation system beyond the Agency’s own internal transportation requirements that caters to the highly specialized transportation needs of developmentally disabled children and adults in the community.       There are approximately two hundred individuals utilizing our services in Suffolk and Nassau Counties daily, transported to and from worksites, day programs and school locations.  As it relates to the transportation of children to and from their school programs, it is our special training and experience that allows the DDI Transportation Services department to be successful where other providers have had difficulty doing so.  Our extremely dedicated drivers are committed to the transportation of the “un-transportable”.  Staff: All personnel who are Drivers have CDL Licenses, and are certified in SCIP, First Aid and CPR, and have also received the Challenging Passenger Assistance Training (CPAT) developed by New York State’s Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.  Drivers that perform school district transportation are additionally Department of Transportation and New York State Article 19a certified.    Vehicles: All vehicles in the fleet are part of an agency wide computer monitored preventive maintenance program. All vehicles that perform contract or school district transportation are inspected every (6) months as per D.O.T. requirements. This rigorous program aimed at prevention ensures scheduled maintenance is performed in a timely manner and that repair issues are identified before they become problems.   Contact Information:      Our offices are conveniently located in Smithtown at 75 Landing Meadow Road.  For additional information about our services, or to speak with us about providing services for your organization, you can reach us by telephone at (631) 360-4729.  Inquiries should be directed to Andrew Brathwaite, Director of Transportation.