The nonprofits Whole Life and Tri-County ARC, both serving people with developmental disabilities, are finalizing a merger agreement, the boards of the two agencies announced on Tuesday.

Whole Life Executive Director Sheila Cordock said the idea for the merger came about two years ago and stemmed from budget pressures.

"Financial stability is particularly important as the state faces a budget stalemate and funding for vital services is reduced," she said in a news release. "This merger reflects new thinking on our boards about how to do business and deliver quality services; we urge the Legislature and Governor (Dannel) Malloy to do the same as they work to craft a budget for the coming fiscal year."

Tri-County has had more of a day/vocational focus, while Whole Life provided more residential services, and Cordock is pleased to now offer both under one umbrella.

"We're really excited about being able to support more people, and to be able to reach out and do more community interaction," Cordock told The Day.

With the merger, Whole Life and Tri-County ARC are now operating under the name Whole Life. Cordock said the decision for the name was an agreement the organizations came to over time, through looking at different models for combining operations.

The merger will be finalized on or about Aug. 1, pending finalization of property transfers. Cordock explained that a sale of a building in Vernon, where Tri-County ARC has been headquartered, had been underway prior to the merger as part of a debt restructuring.

All staff members of both nonprofits were able to stay onboard, Cordock said. Some administrators who had been working at the Tri-County ARC office in Vernon have relocated to Whole Life headquarters on Broad Street in New London, but most employees who have been working in Vernon are remaining there.

Both Whole Life and Tri-County ARC have been in business since 1987.

The new Whole Life will serve people in Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Brooklyn, Columbia, Coventry, Danielson, East Hartford, Ellington, Hebron, Lebanon, Mystic, Monroe, Mansfield, New London, Norwich, Preston, Shelton, Stafford, Stratford, Tolland, Trumbull, Waterford and Willington.

CT Community Nonprofit Alliance President and CEO Gian-Carl Casa praised the union, saying a merger is one way to "preserve and expand cost-effective, quality services" in an economy where state funding is uncertain.

e.moser@theday.com