Center for Independent Futures

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Center for Independent Futures

• Spring 2006 TBI Placement
• Advocating for Individuals with Disabilities and
  Their Families
• by Stephanie Bay

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Movement Away from A Deficit Model of Service
Provision

• ASHA outlines SLPs scope of practice within a
  biopsychosocial model of service provision and
  argues that SLPs must
• Treat individual clients needs
• Systematically assess how body structure/function,
  activities/participation and contextual
  (personal and environmental) factors affect an
  individual.
• (Threats, 2003)

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Therefore

• Service provision involves
• Targeting deficit within a functional context
• Targeting individuals strengths and his or her
  environment (including caregivers).

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Center for Independent Futures (CIF)

• This facility aims to provide services based on
  the hopes and dreams of individuals with
  disabilities and their families.
• They work to manipulate the environment, build on
  individual and family strengths, and target goals
  in a context based manner of therapy provision.

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CIFs Framework

• The Problem
• Children with disabilities and their families are
  legally entitled to service provision through the
  state educational system through the age of 21
  (IDEA, 2004).
• What happens when the child turns 22?

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CIFs Framework

• After high school
• The majority of graduates go on to pursue higher
  education while young adults with disabilities go
  home to their bedrooms and their families.
  Whether its physical, cognitive, social or
  emotional, any disability almost certainly
  results in financial hardship, social exclusion
  and denial of basic citizenship.

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CIFs Mission and Vision

• The Center aims to form partnerships to give
  individuals with disabilities and their families
  the opportunities to realize full lives.
• They establish community living options, personal
  networks, and lifelong planning and education

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What I learned

• About Advocating For Individuals and Their
  Families
• Working with an Individual

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Advocacy

• Service provision based on clients hopes and
  dreams
• Full-Life Future Planning
• Create a picture of the individuals future by
  developing goals in various aspects of life
  including family, housing, financial, community,
  friendship, etc.
• Create networks and an action plan to fulfill
  these objectives

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Advocacy

• Community Living Option
• Community based housing options in which
  individuals learn to live independently and
  become contributing citizens by receiving
  training in living skills and assistance and
  support in making community networks and
  connections

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Advocacy

• State and Federal Services available
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• http//www.hud.gov/groups/disabilities.cfm
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• MEDICAID http//www.cms.hhs.gov/home/medicaid.asp

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Advocacy

• Starting a Not for Profit Organization
• Creating a business plan
• Development of mission and vision, plan out how
  that mission and vision will be accomplished
• Obtaining the resources
• Internal funds
• External funds investments and donations
• Advertising
• Television, Newspaper, and Internet
• Think about targeted audience and access to these
  different types of media

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Meet Megan

• 39 year-old individual with disabilities
• Lived at home with her mother and father until
  the age of 38
• In search for independence
• At the end of 2005, moved into her own apartment
• Name has been changed

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Megans Life

• Currently living independently with weekly
  tutoring sessions provided by me
• During these sessions we work on
• Budgeting
• Social Pragmatic Skills
• Obtaining a meaningful career
• MEDICAID benefits
• Working full time to support herself
• Exercising at her local gym
• Proud of her independence and apartment

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Megans Dreams

• Move into an apartment with her best friend
• Own a dog
• Become a member of her local police force
• Live independently of CIF and her parents and
  live as a contributing citizen to her community!

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Conclusions

• CIF has adhered to the paradigm shift in service
  provision. They dont see an individual with a
  deficit, but rather one with strengths to build
  on
• They provide services to individuals and their
  families, including creating community networks
  and support systems to aid in the most
  independent and fulfilling living of these
  individuals and their families
• Observing this process first hand has not only
  led to my awareness of the need for this type of
  service provision, but the personal satisfaction
  an individual achieved from providing services in
  this manner

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Please take a moment to visit the Center for
Independent Futures Website at www.independentfut
ures.com