Carousel of Home Care, a home health care agency with offices in Howell and Hazlet, has received final accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation for Home Care. Since is founding in 1995, Carousel of Home Care Inc. has serviced more than 3,000 patients by homemaker/home health aides, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to homes in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Accreditation involved an evaluation and review process to ensure that agencies in the state of New Jersey are maintaining strict, defined service standards. Once accredited, agencies must undergo annual monitoring to ensure compliance to the standards.
The Commission on Accreditation for Home Care is located in Verona and can be reached at (973) 857-3984.
Investors Savings Bank has appointed Jay E. Castillo first vice president of CRA/community relations officer, it was announced by Robert M. Cashill, president and CEO of the bank.
With nearly 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, Castillo specializes in helping low- and moderate-income homebuyers in securing participation in activities and programs that deal with CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) investments, lending and services. In his new position, he also works with government agencies and local community organizations to promote economic opportunity and growth in many neighborhoods across the state of New Jersey.
Partnering with the Somerset County Coalition of Affordable Housing, Castillo has started a First Home Club program for Investors Savings Bank. The program is built on a foundation of systematic saving that allows eligible families to receive grants of up to $5,000 per household for assistance in the down payment and closing costs toward the purchase of a home.
In addition, Castillo has joined with the Faith Bricks and Mortar Affordable Housing Corp. in Union County to begin offering first-time homebuyers in the Union area up to $18,000 in financial assistance if they purchase homes in Union County.
Prior to joining Investors Savings, Castillo served as community development officer and fair lending officer at UnitedTrust in Bridgewater. Under his guidance, UnitedTrust was one of the first banks in New Jersey to offer the First Home Club program, which ultimately resulted in a total of more than 200 participating lenders and over 60 affordable housing loans during his tenure.
Castillo has served on the boards of numerous professional, civic, and cultural organizations and is an active member of the NJDA Entrepreneurial Training Institute, the Literacy Volunteers of America, the New Brunswick Loan Pool Program and the Greater Newark Business Development Consortium. He is a past chairman of the N.J. Bankers Community Development Committee; the Plainfield Health Center; the Latin American Coalition; Faith Bricks and Mortar Affordable Housing Corp.; the Plainfield Business Development Corp.; and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development.
He has won several honors, including the Plainfield Health Center’s Outstanding Community Citizen Award, the Somerset County Coalition on Affordable Housing’s Excellence in Affordable Housing Award, the Latin American Coalition’s Quality of Life Award, and the Plainfield Bilingual Day Center’s Hispanic Heritage Citizen of the Year.
One of the first Hispanics to be recognized under the Minority Achiever Awards, he has been named by the City News as one of the "100 Most Influential People," by the Hispanic-American Association for Political Awareness as their "Outstanding Citizen," and by the Plainfield School Based Youth Services as "Outstanding Community Contributor." He is also a recipient of the NIA Community Habitat Development’s Angel of the Community Award and the La Tribuna newspaper’s Distinguished Man Award.
Headquartered in Millburn, Investors Savings Bank has local branches in Colts Neck, Freehold Township and Marlboro.
Wayne Sos has been named president of WayComm Consulting LLC, Farmingdale, a newly launched independent consulting firm that recommends and implements strategies to reduce telecom costs for businesses in the tri-state area. In his position, Sos will oversee the analyses of telecommunications systems, including local service, cellular, long distance, and data communications for businesses and organizations.
Sos was a senior account manager for Sun Microsystems, Somerset, from 1996-2003, where he sold computer equipment and workstations to telecom providers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless. He was associated with Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants before being named to WayComm Consulting.
Sos is an eight-time winner of Sun Microsystems’ SunRise award for sales excellence, a member of the business development and membership committees of MODC (Monmouth-Ocean Development Council), and a member of CRA (Corporate Resource Alliance). He holds a bachelor of arts degree in humanities from Thomas Edison State College, Trenton.