About Passport to Learning, Inc · Los Angeles
Passport To Learning, Inc. (PTL) is a California-based Health and Human Services agency founded in 1977 by Betty Walkes, a former teacher with 27 years at the Los Angeles Unified School District. Operating across Southern and Northern California, the organization is dedicated to assisting individuals with intellectual disabilities and related developmental disorders (including MMR, Down Syndrome, and Autism) through educational, life-skills, and support programs. PTL serves as a vendor for multiple California Regional Centers and employs more than 200 qualified staff, many bilingual, to deliver services across offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, Fairfield, Alhambra, and the Antelope Valley.
Passport To Learning, Inc. (PTL) was established in 1977 by Betty Walkes, a former Los Angeles Unified School District teacher who became a vendor with South Central Los Angeles Regional Center to provide tutoring to individuals with developmental disabilities in the greater Los Angeles area. Walkes founded PTL on the belief that 'no person living with disabilities would go without the resources and support they need to be successful.' For more than 40 years, the agency has provided social, educational, and support services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and other closely related developmental disorders across California. Today, with offices in Los Angeles County, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, Alhambra, Fairfield, the Antelope Valley, and the San Fernando Valley, PTL delivers a diverse portfolio of programs: Adaptive Skills Training (AST), Independent Living Skills (ILS), Supported Living Services (SLS), Judicially Involved Support Services (JISS), Parenting Support Services (PSS), and Adaptive Living Skills Services (ALS). PTL is a vendor for twelve California Regional Centers — ACRC, ELARC, FDLRC, GGRC, HRC, NBRC, NLACRC, RCEB, SARC, SCLARC, SGPRC, and WRC — and emphasizes a three-pillar support base of financial stability, consistent operations guidelines, and high-level, experienced employees, more than 200 in total, many of them bilingual. The organization's mission is to empower individuals with intellectual disabilities to make positive choices, pursue meaningful goals, and improve their overall quality of life; its vision is an inclusive society where every person is given the support, education, training, or counsel needed to realize his or her highest potential.
- In business
- Established 1977 (over 40 years in operation; Los Angeles location registered since January 1, 1999)
- Owner
- Betty Walkes, founder (former LAUSD teacher, 27 years)
- Serves
- State of California — Los Angeles County, Sacramento, Oakland / East Bay (Newark), San Jose, Fairfield / North Bay, Alhambra, Antelope Valley (Palmdale / Lancaster), San Fernando Valley (Northridge), and San Francisco
About Passport To Learning, Inc.
Passport To Learning, Inc. (PTL) was created in 1977 by Betty Walkes, a former teacher with 27 years of experience with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Walkes became a vendor in 1977 with the South Central Los Angeles Regional Center as a specialist providing tutoring to clients in the greater Los Angeles area, and she founded PTL to ensure that no person living with disabilities would go without the resources and support they need to be successful. For more than 40 years, PTL has assisted individuals with special needs throughout California from offices in Los Angeles County, Sacramento, and Oakland, delivering diverse services in the Health and Human Services field. PTL's three-pillar support base is financial stability, consistent operations guidelines, and high-level experienced employees — a team of more than 200 qualified and dedicated staff, a number of whom are bilingual. The agency focuses first on assessing each consumer's abilities and potential, then tailors education, training, and counseling from multiple disciplines to meet each person's needs.
- Founded in 1977 by Betty Walkes
- Vendor with South Central Los Angeles Regional Center since 1977
- More than 40 years of continuous service
- More than 200 qualified employees, many bilingual
- Three-pillar support base: financial stability, consistent operations, high-level experienced employees
Mission, Vision, and Values
PTL's stated mission is to make a positive impact in the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities and others with closely related mild-to-moderate developmental disorders, empowering them to make positive choices, pursue meaningful goals for personal growth and development, and improve their overall quality of life. The vision is an inclusive society where individuals with intellectual disabilities are appreciated for their different abilities and every person is given the support, guidance, education, training, or counsel needed to realize his or her highest ambition or potential.
- Mission: empower individuals with ID/DD to make positive choices and pursue personal growth
- Vision: an inclusive society that supports every person's highest potential
- Values: service excellence, purpose-driven, integrity, courtesy, empathy, equality, diversity, inclusion
Programs and Services
Passport To Learning offers a diverse number of services in the Health and Human Services field, from those involved in the judicial system to those who are parents. Programs are designed to address the unique challenges of individuals with developmental disabilities and to make possible the fulfillment of personal goals. PTL serves individuals classified with intellectual disability, MMR (mildly mentally retarded under historical DDS terminology), Down Syndrome, and Autism.
- Adaptive Skills Training (AST) — training toward educational and employment goals or greater independence at home and in the community
- Adaptive Living Skills Services (ALS)
- Independent Living Skills (ILS) — functional skills instruction for greater community independence
- Supported Living Services (SLS) — helps individuals with special needs live on their own with additional support systems
- Judicially Involved Support Services (JISS) — training in correctional facilities and community settings, including recidivism prevention for successful reintegration
- Parenting Support Services (PSS) — one-to-one parenting support and instruction in the participants' natural environment
Los Angeles Office
The Los Angeles office is the historic home of PTL, anchoring services across multiple sites in the LA area. Programs operated here include JISS, ALS, PSS, AST, ILS, and SLS, staffed by program managers and coordinators dedicated to each discipline.
- Myron Lilley, Program Manager — 1241 West Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 — Tel (323) 954-8413, Fax (323) 954-8467 — Programs: JISS, ALS
- Maria Davila, Program Manager — 1241 1/2 West Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 — Tel (323) 549-9328, Fax (888) 448-6040 — Programs: PSS
- Sylvester Blue and Teniesha Blake, Program Coordinators — 2015 W. 98th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90047 — Tel (323) 954-8413, Fax (323) 730-9751 — Programs: AST, ILS, SLS
Alhambra Office
The Alhambra office serves the San Gabriel Valley with Adaptive Skills Training, Independent Living Skills, and Supported Living Services under on-site program management.
- Nelson Arana, AST/ILS/SLS Program Manager — 1905 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, CA 91803 — Tel (626) 703-9650, Fax (866) 375-9790
San Fernando Valley / Corporate Headquarters
PTL's corporate mailing address sits in Northridge and houses the Alhambra-area management contact for ILS and PSS programming.
- Corporate mailing address: 19641 Singing Hills Drive, Northridge, CA 91326-1723
- Juliana Roura, Program Manager — additional coordination point for ILS and PSS in the region
Sacramento Office
PTL's Sacramento office provides Independent Living Skills and Judicially Involved Support Services throughout the Sacramento region, with an additional PSS coordinator on site.
- 900 Fulton Ave., 180, Sacramento, CA 95825 — Programs: ILS, JISS, PSS
- Andrew Thomas, ILS Program Coordinator; Jessica Flores, JSS Program Coordinator; Sariah Thomas, PSS Program Coordinator; Juliana Roura, Program Manager
- Tel (916) 488-2688, Fax (916) 488-7643
Antelope Valley / Palmdale Office
The Antelope Valley office serves the Palmdale and Lancaster communities with Independent Living Skills and Judicially Involved Support Services.
- Stephanie Saint, Program Manager — 41319 12th Street West, Ste. 102, Palmdale, CA 93551
- Tel (661) 538-9200, Fax (661) 538-9299 — Programs: ILS, JISS
Fairfield & San Francisco Office
PTL serves the North Bay with programs spanning Independent Living Skills, Judicially Involved Support Services, and Parenting Support Services from Fairfield and a satellite San Francisco location.
- Giovanna Sandoval, Program Coordinator — 740 Texas Street, Ste. 202, Fairfield, CA 94533 — Tel (707) 419-4886, Fax (707) 419-4680 — Programs: ILS, JISS, PSS
- Satellite office: 1161 Mission Street, Ste. 435, San Francisco, CA 94103 — Programs: JISS
Oakland / East Bay (Newark) Office
The East Bay office delivers Adaptive Living Skills, Adaptive Skills Training, Independent Living Skills, and Parenting Support Services to clients across Alameda County and the surrounding region.
- Amanda Navarro, ILS & PSS Program Coordinator; Bernadette Sanchez, JSS Program Coordinator — 39899 Balentine Drive, Ste. 215, Newark, CA 94560
- Tel (510) 683-0693, Fax (510) 857-5784 — Programs: ALS, AST, ILS, PSS
San Jose Office
The San Jose office supports clients in Santa Clara County with Independent Living Skills and Judicially Involved Support Services.
- Leonel Torres, ILS Program Coordinator; Sergio Jimenez, JISS Program Coordinator — 1210 S. Bascom Avenue, Ste. 230, San Jose, CA 95128
- Tel (408) 459-7997, Fax (408) 716-8156
California Regional Centers and Department of Developmental Services
PTL provides services to individuals served by twelve California Regional Centers, making the agency one of the more widely contracted community-based providers in the state for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. PTL notes that individuals denied services by a Regional Center have the right to appeal, and links to the Department of Developmental Services complaint procedure for that purpose.
- ACRC (Alta California Regional Center)
- ELARC (Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center)
- FDLRC (Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center)
- GGRC (Golden Gate Regional Center)
- HRC (Harbor Regional Center)
- NBRC (North Bay Regional Center)
- NLACRC (North Los Angeles County Regional Center)
- RCEB (Regional Center of the East Bay)
- SARC (San Andreas Regional Center)
- SCLARC (South Central Los Angeles Regional Center)
- SGPRC (San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center)
- WRC (Westside Regional Center)
- Appeals procedure available via Department of Developmental Services: www.dds.ca.gov/complaints or (916) 654-2987