Strategic Plan

2005-2006

I. Federal Contracts

In Federal Contracts we continue to recover from the major setback of two years ago when our Food Service Program was downsized by nearly half and our other contracts were reduced from 10 to 20%.

Given that set of circumstances, we still have over 139 workers with disabilities employed in this program.

· We have 47 employees in our Food Service Program.

· 25 employees in Housekeeping Program at the Naval Hospital.

· 22 employees in our Commercial Laundry Program

· 45 people employed cleaning buildings at the Naval War College, Naval Underwater Warfare Command and at the Surface warfare Officers School

It is gratifying to know that the average annual earnings of those 139 workers with disabilities is $11,296.00. Keep in mind that most of our workers with disabilities are part-time and most are well below 100% productivity. As an agency we are proud that these one hundred and thirty-nine individuals generated a total payroll of $1,600,000 dollars. The total payroll taxes generated by these employees with disabilities were $360,000.

As I pointed out, the Laundry Program employees 22 people with disabilities and in that program we process nearly one million pounds of laundry a year. We pick up and transport from Newport to Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut for the Navy and we also process laundry for the Bristol Veteran’s Home.

This past year we went through several inspections at the Galley. These inspections were thorough looking at records, cleanliness, customer satisfaction, uniforms and a host of other items.

As a result of these inspections, Ney Hall received a Five-Star Award. By receiving the Five-Star we were able to compete for the Ney Award for best galley in the Navy; unfortunately we came in as a runner-up, but the Five-Star Award alone was a significant achievement.

II. Horticulture Program

Our Horticulture Program is going through some important changes. We are currently serving some 15 clients and we are making a number of physical changes that will enhance the visibility of our horticulture buildings.

As many of you know last year through the generosity of the McBean Foundation we were able to create the Founder’s Garden recognizing those parents who created this organization.

If anyone has had the opportunity to see this garden, they know its beauty and they also know that they can purchase bricks to honor someone special, it is truly a unique place.

This year we have taken down the old fence that was obstructing the view of the building and replaced that fence with one that is more complimentary. In addition we added new windows and doors and painted the front of the building.

We have also begun a new advertising campaign that will keep the name continually out to the public. We have already experienced new customers as a result of these changes.

We are not done yet, future plans include the removal of a large pine that currently obstructs the view at Horticulture, a new sign that better reflects who we are and what we do and we have applied for grants to construct a growing house. Some of the other changes we may be looking at are our hours of operation, the best use of the land behind horticulture and an appropriate name on the new sign.

III. Workshop

We have begun to rethink our workshop program. We have done a good job in providing real jobs for those who want them, certainly we have not done all we can but we’ve initiated a good start, and as a result the complexion of the workshop has changed both our Bristol and Aquidneck facilities.

With many of those who used to able to do the more complex sub-contract work more appropriately placed in jobs, we are attempting to create a new vision for those who remain in our two workshops. We have a taskforce of staff looking into alternatives.

We have already begun by developing a small business called Blossom’s. This program orders flowers, our clients then assemble those flowers into vases, deliver them to some twenty three individuals and businesses on a weekly basis; they take the old flowers and replace them with new ones. We are looking at other business opportunities, such as making our own line of jewelry and other craft items.

We continue to do sub-contact work and we are developing programs in the workshops that will be satisfying and therapeutic to those individuals we serve.

In some cases we are doing scrap booking, art therapy, we have some who enjoy therapeutic exercise, some who are putting together a cookbook, for some we have a musician who teaches music and how to play different instruments. We provide physical therapy for about thirty individuals and hydrotherapy for another dozen or so folks.

As we move on this taskforce, we will develop more meaningful programs for those who, for whatever reason, remain in our workshop programs.

The workshop also provides for other opportunities whether it be gardening in the summer to picking up liter at the beaches and parks or to going to Roger’s High to get their hair done or being part of our seniors program.

IV Residential

Certainly the residential program is our largest program, in terms of funding, staff and scope of service. This program incorporates different residential options, some of those options are described below.

a. Group Homes

b. Semi-Independent Apartments

c. Family Supports

d. Respite Care

We have 13 group homes providing 24 hour care for 60 individuals. We have 17 apartment programs that provide supervision for 18 individuals; about half a dozen needing 24-hour care. In our Family Support Program we have 34 individuals and in the Respite Care Program, we serve 63 individuals.

The Residential Program faces many challenges but there is no more difficult challenge than having a good friend pass away. In 2005 and 2006 four dear friends passed away – Joe Daley, Kathy Ladish, Bob Ouellette and George St. Ours. Each of these individuals gave so much to their family and friends their memories will always be cherished.

The Residential Program employs over 150 people including four nurses and a social worker among others. Staff associated with the residential program experience a wide range of training from:

· General Orientation

· Psychology

· Safety Skills & Crisis Intervention

· Blood borne Pathogens

· General medical concerns

· Medication Administration

· CPR

· Defensive Driving

· Body Mechanics

While a trained staff is a necessity, dedication and sensitivity can’t be taught. We have been fortunate in having a staff who always goes above and beyond, a staff who experienced 2 significant snowstorms and made sure they got to their homes to provide staffing in those homes, a staff who spent hours and hours in hospitals to provide companionship and comfort to residents who required operations or who were nearing the end of their lives. This care, sensitivity and concern cannot be taught and we could never pay enough for this dedication.

While providing homelike environments is the purpose of having group homes, keeping those homes safe and in good condition is often times a monumental task. Homes require upkeep of their physical condition needing painting, new roofs, new furnaces, shingling, new bathrooms to meet the ever-changing needs of the clients. While the state is responsible for most of these homes and two of our day program facilities, it is a constant struggle to obtain the necessary services, to get anything more than what is critical is nearly impossible.

The support shown by our board, the parents and advocates has been and always will be essential. This past year we have had some success; four of our homes received new kitchen cabinets and new kitchen floors, two homes received needed driveway repairs and one of the bathrooms at our Bristol facility was re-done. While this was long overdue, there is so much more that needs to be done. Our group home managers are to be praised for keeping their homes so well maintained with so little resources.

To me, one of the most gratifying experiences about living in a group home is that individuals in the home are free to experience all that a given community offers, their restaurants, movie theatres and other event offerings. Even more important, individuals take vacations, going to Florida, Illinois, New York, Tennessee even to the Bahamas and a Caribbean cruise. Some have gone to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico.

Often these trips are paid for by monies they have earned in their Federal Contracts job.

As foresighted as our Founders’ were, I wonder if they could ever have conceived what their efforts have achieved.

V. School Program

These past two to three years have been years of transition and change, some deliberate and some in response to funding issues.

The reduced funding for our Federal Contracts required us to respond by laying off nearly half of our workforce at the Galley and a number of others in Federal Contracts.

Some transitions and changes were planned; the closing of the School Program was one. As an advocacy organization we have always taken the position that students with disabilities would be better served through integration into the public schools.

This past June we made the final transition for our remaining students to the public schools. In September of 2005 we began with 3 classes and only 5 students, in addition, we had 8 individuals over 21. By June all of these students and adults had been successfully transitioned to the local school department or to our Bristol or Aquidneck workshops.

With Hillside Ave becoming vacant, it gave us an opportunity to plan for an alternate use of this building. While many ideas were discussed, we finally concluded that the best use for the community and us might be the establishment of an integrated day care system for toddlers between the ages of 18 and 36 months.

Our Assistant Director has been in contact with Newport Collaborative Architects, Rhode Island Foundation and DCYF to begin the process of converting Hillside to meet the requirements for certification.

Another exciting program that we are pursuing is called Home based Therapeutic Services administered by the Department of Human Services. Once certified, we will serve children and adolescents from ages 3 to 21 who have been diagnosed with physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions.

This program will be focused in the child’s home; it will have individually specific plans and be implemented by trained staff under the supervision of licensed health care professionals. The application is nearing finality and we expect to be operating by January of 2007.

VI. Early Intervention

Though we eliminated our school program, we still serve a number of young children in our Early Intervention Program. Last year we provided services to 120 families. This year it has dropped to 95; much of the decrease is the result of the constant move of Navy families in and out of the system.

Early Intervention itself went through many changes this past year, changes in departments from Health to DHS, changing of billing procedures and systems, changes in reports and totally new management information systems to comply with federal information requirements. E.I. went through a re-certification process and in January of 2006 received its certification for another five years.

VII. Transportation

All of our programs could not operate if we did not have the means to transport individuals. Probably our largest support program is that of Transportation.

The Transportation Department is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 58 vehicles. In the course of a year those vehicles travel 1,165,000 miles and utilize 94,254 gallons of gas. We employ 25 drivers who provide transportation for 150 clients of the Maher Center and 100 RIde clients. Our Transportation Department operates from 3:30 in the morning until 10:30 in the evening seven days a week.

For our clients we not only provide transportation to and from both our workshops but also to various locations on the Base, such as the Galley, the War College, NUWC and the Naval Hospital and other locations. Rides to these locations happen several times during the day because of the number of different shifts that work throughout the day.

In addition to rides we provide to our clients, we also provide rides to the elderly for doctor’s appointments, hospital appointments, to daycare sites from Middletown to Little Compton and to four meal sites on the island.

Our RIde program also travels to Providence every day to take a person who is blind to his job at the traffic court and they transport another person who is blind from Jamestown to the Navy Base where he works as a counselor. They transport others to their jobs at URI, Stop and Shop, Salve Regina and CCRI.

We also travel to hospitals in Fall River, Providence, Newport and Warwick to allow individuals to receive cancer and other specialized treatments. We take one women on a weekly basis to visit her child in Burriville and on a monthly basis we transport 12 people who are blind for a monthly meeting in Middletown.

I give you this information to share with you the extent of our transportation system and to help you better understand the complexities of scheduling and why we travel so many miles and utilize so much fuel.

Our transportation system is not just local, it does not serve just folks associated with our Center. We are a part of a statewide system serving primarily people with disabilities but also those who qualify for ADA, the elderly and those who are medically fragile.

VIII. Administration

In addition to these program updates, we have had exciting new developments administratively.

We have recruited two new board members and those board members have demonstrated a keen interest in long range planning and fund-raising.

Speaking of fundraising, John Dugan chairman of our golf tournament and Teresa Haas our fundraising coordinator very successfully raised a net total of nearly $17,000 for this past year’s golf tournament. This past year following that fundraiser, Teresa and Dan Oakley Vice President of the Board had one of the best cocktail parties held at Belle Mer raising a net total of $13,000. Dan himself solicited over a dozen auction items.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the efforts of Cristina Loffredo who also brought in auction items not only for the cocktail party but also for the golf tournament. Cristina does a fantastic job in soliciting for these prizes.

A couple of other changes to note is that after 8 years of dedicated service, Rich Voccio our Chief Financial Officer moved to a position with United Way. After a lengthy search we hired Angelo Tartaglione. Angelo has an excellent background in the non-profit sector and though he has been with us but a short time, he is proving to be an excellent addition to our staff.

Finally and long over due, we are about to join this computer age by launching a new website. At the urging of the long-range planning committee, the company that maintains our computers is 90% complete in the website format and by this time next month we hope to be up and running.

You will be able to access the site by going to jameslmahercenter.org. The site will give you a description of each of our programs, a profile of the Board, their pictures, our recent newsletters and much, much more.

Finally, let me say that our membership is the backbone of our organization and you demonstrated that last year when we were confronted with the real possibility of massive cuts, your letters and phone calls made the difference. On behalf of the people that would have been adversely affected, I thank you; it made all the difference.

Through your efforts and advocacy we did receive level funding but for us even level funding was a cut. Level funding does not allow giving a cost of living increase, it doesn’t allow for contribution to the retirement plan. When fuel increases by over $32,000 a year or when health insurance increases by nearly $90,000 per year, level funding isn’t really level funding because we somehow must make up for all of the other increases we face.

Unfortunately, your job may not be done. Once again the budget is tight and our programs may be threatened, so we must remain alert and ready to respond to any attempt to reduce our funding. We must not only fight not to our reduce funding we must fight for the increases that we so desperately need so that we can adequately meet the cost of living increases we face, so that we can adequately pay staff, and so that we can contribute once again to their retirement plans. This is only fair.