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On August 30, 1988,
the Community Integrated Arrangement Act became a reality.
The Act marked the beginning of a re-designed community-based,
customized service system for persons with disabilities. These
individualized services are known as CILA (Community Integrated
Living Arrangements).
In Spring
of 1990, CILA began to expand our Agency, adding on a residential
program for persons with mental illness or Developmental Disabilities
to begin a new life in the community.
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Our first clients moved
in late August of 1990 and we are continuing to grow. We currently
are providing residential services to thirty-two individuals who are
developmentally disabled and/or have a mental illness, of whom twenty-three
are 24-hour and four receiving SLS services. The program has become
a great success, enriching the lives of the people. We've had two
clients move from 24-hour supervision to
Supported Residential
and two have graduated into the community on their own.
Our Community Support
Network is an array of customized support services:
a. 24-Hour Crisis
Response. Besides 24-hour staff at sites, five other levels
of staff carry pagers to be able to respond to behavioral and psychiatric
crisis management issues for clients. Medical issues are also covered
24 hours a day by an RN and LPN.
b. Program Case Coordinator.
QMHP/QMRP personnel have direct Case Management responsibilities
for clients in the Program.
c. Community Integration
Goal. This Program has the goal of community integration or
re-integration of developmentally disabled and/or mentally ill individuals
living in the community.
d. Adult Wraparound.
The Program is required to set up and to pay for whatever services
the clients need to be successful in the least restrictive setting.
e. 24-Hour Supervised
Residence. The Program has three sites in apartment buildings
which clients are supervised with 24-hour staff present.
f. Supported Residential
Setting. The Program supports some clients in residential settings
where they are supervised eight hours a day.
g. In-Home Day Programming.
Most of the clients are provided day programming in the work activity
center. Some of the clients choose to have day programming, as needed,
at home.
h. Client Transportation.
We have ten vehicles and drivers who are able to transport clients
whenever necessary.
i. Supported Employment.
The Agency provides support to clients who are involved in employment
opportunities in the community.
j. Emergency Psychiatric
Evaluation and Treatment. We have contract so that clients experiencing
a crisis can have psychiatric triage provided and adjusted medications
when necessary. Ultimately, they can be put in Intensive Community
Residential status or transferred to in-patient facilities as needed.
k. Intensive Residential
Services. We can provide appropriately qualified staff personnel
on a one-to-one basis to meet an individual consumer's crisis situation
so that they can continue to be successful in their community placement.
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