Community TIES

Training, Intervention, and Evaluation Services

Community TIES is a UW-Waisman Center behavioral support program serving Dane County children/families, adolescents and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who live in the community. Our mission is to address behavioral, psychological, and emotional needs using therapeutic approaches that assure continued participation in supported community life.

These needs – if not addressed – are often expressed through “challenging behaviors” – which might include aggressions, self-injurious behavior, or property destruction. Many individuals served by TIES often have co-occurring mental health conditions.

What We Do

Community TIES – in partnership with Dane County Human Services – works directly with the person with a disability, their families and community teams involved in the person’s support. Community teams might include supported living or supported employment agencies, public schools, respite providers, CLTS case management agencies, Support Brokers, Family Care Managed Care Organizations, or IRIS Consulting agencies. The TIES program began in 1986 and has steadily grown in the number of persons served as well as the range of services offered.

Length of a TIES referral can range from a short-term intensive engagement to multiple years of ongoing direct contact and team participation. It is common for TIES to become re-involved with individuals/teams years after an initial consultation. Consultations often span the transition from child to adult services. TIES also offers a variety of Community Training activities which are attended by provider agencies from across the State.

TIES activities are a creative blend of various positive practices that have proven effective in meeting complex behavioral and mental health challenges within supported community life.

View a chart that outlines positive practices and associated benefits that Community TIES program participants obtain. Dual Diagnosis and Challenging Behaviors provides you with a more detailed description of Community TIES’ approach to supporting individuals with complex supports needs in the community.

The following programs work in conjunction with TIES:

Waisman Center TIES Clinic

Adaptation and Modification Program

Crisis Response

For additional information or referral questions, please contact our Community TIES staff.

If you would like to make a referral for Community TIES consultation services, please fill out this Initial Information Form and follow the instructions provided on our Forms site.