Adults with disabilities in Bucks County will gain access to job training and education through a new program at Bucks County Community College's Newtown campus.

The Bucks County Intermediate Unit (Bucks IU) and BCCC announced the Adult Community Hub, the IU's first adult services site, according to a college announcement posted Oct. 15. The hub will serve IU clients over age 22 who have aged out of school-based disability services.

The hub has no opening date yet.

Participants will use the Newtown campus to build life skills, explore employment and develop relationships, the college said. The program connects them to educational, vocational and wellness resources both on campus and in the wider community.

"This partnership recognizes a simple truth: adulthood should bring new opportunities, not fewer," said Mark Hoffman, the Bucks IU's executive director.

Patrick M. Jones, president and CEO of Bucks County Community College, said the expanded partnership benefits both organizations. Jones called the hub one of several new collaborations, with "more on the horizon."

The two organizations already share a long history. BCCC provides classroom space for Bucks IU preschool students at the Newtown campus, and the IU uses space at the Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie and the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus in Bristol to serve students ages 18 to 22. BCCC nursing students also complete clinical rotations at the Bucks IU's Lower Southampton Early Learning Center.

The partnership extends to teacher training. BCCC, Bucks IU and Gwynedd Mercy University run a registered apprenticeship program for special education teachers, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. Paraprofessionals employed by Bucks IU can earn a Pennsylvania Special Education Teaching Certification and a bachelor's degree from Gwynedd Mercy while working full-time, according to the Gwynedd Mercy partnership page. They complete their first 60 credits at BCCC before finishing at Gwynedd Mercy, with on-the-job experience satisfying field requirements.

Families seeking more information about the Adult Community Hub can contact Bucks IU or visit the college's Newtown campus at 275 Swamp Road.