"The more things change, the more they
stay the same." This phrase seems never
to have been more true. The community-based
mental retardation (MR) system is changing more
rapidly than ever, and Catch's developmental
disabilities (DD) division is no exception.
Recent initiatives in this division have allowed
us to better serve consumers in neighborhood
settings and increase the influence these consumers
and their families have over their services.
The goal of this division is "to support
persons with mental retardation in their desire
to function as independently as possible, in
every aspect of life, in local, community, integrated
neighborhoods."
To that end, Catch's Board of Directors
has recently adopted a new mission statement
for the Developmental Disabilities division.
The goal of this division is "to support
persons with mental retardation in their desire
to function as independently as possible, in
every aspect of life, in local, community, integrated
neighborhoods." In order to put this mission
statement into practice, the Developmental Disabilities
division has created a Quality Improvement team
composed of a director or supervisor from each
unit, a consumer representative and representatives
from the Board of Directors, Developmental Disabilities
Committee and the FDSS Committee. By incorporating
many of the new MR initiatives into our service
options, the (QI) team will focus initially
on the goals of increased consumer/family control,
increased consumer/family choice and customer
satisfaction as we transition into the 21st
century. This is also in keeping with the national
trend towards more individuality and independence
for persons with mental retardation. |
