This program, while always of high quality, followed a custodial care model of
service during most of that time. In March of 1998, the model took on a new form
of support rather than service - for the 125 individuals enrolled.
This new direction of service focused on the individual - not the group. The
goals shifted to discovering the interests and wants of each consumer and to
optimizing their opportunities to participate in their community. The essence of
the change emphasized experience, and the community became the classroom.
With the community viewed as a daily destination, the challenges that
remained were transportation, access and scheduling. Here the staff demonstrated
outstanding organizational skills, creative planning and cooperation. The
leasing of mini-vans allowed for a flexible transportation system with a small
number of consumers able to head in separate directions accurate to their chosen
interests. They facilitated, through complex scheduling process, more than
4,000 individual trips into the community.
