North Center has been providing quality services to the developmentally disabled of Chicago since 1968. November of 1968 is when North Center’s founder Mrs. Bess Jacobson’s son, along with five other students were dismissed from the program they were attending because they reached the age of fifteen. North Center was born because there were no other options for these six individuals. North Center’s commitment has always been to assist the person who is disabled in developing their full potential regardless of the type or degree of disability. Because of this commitment we have traditionally tended to serve individuals with intellectual disability ranging from sever/profound to moderate. Meeting the needs of this population requires a great deal of flexibility and creativity in program design. We feel that this has enabled North Center to meet the needs of many clients who would not be able to receive adequate services with other community based programs.

North Center remains a relatively small agency which we believe benefits our clients because it enables us to respond more flexibly and creatively to their needs. Yet, we have adopted the aggressive growth oriented attitude of many larger organizations. We are always look to increase our range of services, so as to further help our consumers.