The Arc of the South Shore

Our mission is to empower families and individuals of all ages with disabilities to reach their fullest potential, and we have six key organizational goals. They are to:

1. Empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) by giving them the tools, through education and training, to be as independent as they can be in order to live full, active, and integrated lives as valued and contributing members of their community. We believe that all people with disabilities are entitled to the same respect, dignity, and equality accorded to other members of society, and we work to achieve this goal.

2. Provide the resources and supports that the individuals and families we serve need to make decisions about their own lives and be heard on issues that affect their well-being. We strive to increase access to our programs and develop sustainability plans to ensure their long-term success. We also look to strengthen and expand our services in response to participant needs, allowing us to be the agency of choice for individuals with I/DD.

3. Advocate at the local, state, and federal level for those policies and activities that promote the full participation of those we support in their communities and uphold their civil and human rights. We also encourage and provide opportunities for participants to advocate on their own behalf and for legislative changes and funding that will benefit them. This includes adequate program rates for our government-funded initatives.

4. Collaborate with others to ensure community awareness, education, and partnerships. We believe that the individuals we support have the right to be fully included and actively participate in all aspects of their community. We work collaboratively with other community-based agencies to ensure coordinated care for the individuals we serve and are looking to increase engagement with our current supporters, local businesses, volunteers, and the families we serve.

5. Ensure a well-trained and committed workforce that is invested in our organizational mission, values, and the individuals and families we support. We value our employees and their contributions to the agency and will continue to improve our ability to recruit and retain the highest-quality employees, increase employee satisfaction, reduce turnover, and implement a leadership development and succession program.

6. Encourage and promote the highest ethical standards and hold ourselves accountable to achieve our organizational goals. We provide quality supports that are dynamic, innovative, and based on the changing needs and strengths of those we serve. We strive to continuously evaluate and improve the services we provide, and to this end, we are developing a robust quality assurance system that includes performance measurement metrics and will use this data to inform management decisions. We are also continuing to implement the use of an organization-wide database to ensure comprehensive, coordinated care.

The heart of the South Shore, our programs provide help, hope, and opportunity to individuals with disabilities and their families. They are vital in ensuring that we achieve the goals of our mission. They are:

First Early Intervention: We provide evaluation, education, referrals, supports, and therapeutic services for children who have developmental concerns. This program is often a child’s entry point to our services, and- if timed correctly- it can represent an exit from a lifetime of special needs services.

Day Habilitation and Community Based Day Services: We offer clinical services, nursing support, and developmental skills training for adults with I/DD. Services improve individuals’ level of independence, health, communication, behavioral skills, and community integration. Our programming also includes fitness and wellness instruction, music and art therapy, computer training, and self-advocacy training.

Autism Resource Center: We provide information, referrals, and inclusive, community-based programming for children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. We do this by developing and building upon existing community collaborations and offering workshops, presentations, support groups, and therapeutic activities.

Personal Care Services and Adult Foster Care: Our Personal Care Attendants (PCA) allow individuals with a permanent or chronic disability to live in their own residence or community. PCAs support activities of daily living including bathing, shopping, housekeeping, and meal preparation. For those who need more intensive care, our Adult Foster Care program allows individuals to live 24/7 with a caregiver.

Residential Supports: We offer a wide range of housing options including apartments, condos, and single family homes for adults with I/DD. We work with each individual and their family to develop plans that allow individuals to live alone, with a roommate or family, or in one of our residential homes.

Employment Services: We offer personalized employment services to help individuals find and maintain community jobs based on their skills, interests, and strengths. We offer a job preparation curriculum, job skill acquisition, job preference/ability evaluation, job recruitment, on-the-job training, transportation, and activities of daily living instruction.

In addition to offering direct services, we have taken significant steps to ensure we are an employer of choice and to improve our technology, evaluation matrixes, and community engagement. For instance, we are in the process of increasing our starting wage to ensure a living wage for all employees, are developing and implementing a salary step structure and comprehensive orientation program, and are creating supports for staff to earn needed credentials. We are also implementing quality benchmarks across all of our programs and reviewing our technical needs to ensure we are prepared to address all future needs and meet state mandates.

Founded in 1951 by a group of parents, The Arc’s history is rooted in providing high-quality educational services, skills training, and advocacy for individuals with I/DD and their families. Over the course of our history, we have strategically developed opportunities that foster independence, community inclusion, and advocacy. We have expanded community-based services and championed policy changes that have advanced the rights of individuals with disabilities in education, employment, housing, and healthcare.

Based on our more than six decades of leadership, experience, and advocacy, our Board of Directors, dedicated staff, and volunteers work together to build a brighter future for individuals with disabilities. Our 15 Board members represent a range of organizations, including finance, business, technology, and local government, and many have a personal connection to our mission. The majority of our Board are the parent or relative of an individual with I/DD. For example, the Chair of our Board, Michael Wilcox, is the parent of two young men with Autism Spectrum Disorder, allowing Michael to lead our Board with both experience and gratitude for our programs. In addition, one of our Board members is a self-advocate who lives in one of our residential homes.

In addition to our Board, our employees are our greatest assets—they provide compassionate care and support to help our participants improve their health, safety, and independence. Each of our 225+ employees plays an important role in ensuring the success of the families and individuals we serve. We employ case managers, registered nurses, behavioral health clinicians, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, residential services providers, administrative and support personnel, and others- each of whom is a valued and important member of our team.

They are led by a team of 11 senior staff members. We employ a Chief Operations Officer who oversees our human resources, facilities staff, and Corporate Compliance and Safety Committees, a Director of Finance, and a Chief Development and Marketing Officer. In addition, our six senior level program directors oversee our key programs and initiatives. They are our Director of Day Services, Director of Residential Services, Director of Early Intervention, Director of Personal Care Management, Director of Adult Foster Care, and Director of Autism and Behavioral Supports.

Finally, each year we engage 200+ committed volunteers. They share their time and talents with our participants, offering enrichment programming including art classes, yoga and fitness opportunities, and music programs. We also host community service days with local business that complete projects such as painting our residential homes and improving our landscaping. All Board members, staff, and volunteers share our core values of people first, community, transparency, self-determination, diversity, and respect.

We recently completed a two-year strategic plan that allowed us to build our capacity to recruit and retain high-quality employees, improve our performance measurement, strengthen our programs, and ensure that our IT systems address our agency’s future. We are now engaged in a second stage plan for 2019-2020 that will allow us to expand upon these achievements and continue this growth.

We are also incredibly proud of our new Autism Resource Center, which was launched in the spring of 2016 and allows us to support more 1,600 children and families each year. The closure of a center in Weymouth nearly a decade ago created a gap in services on the South Shore. In response to the dramatic increase in ASD diagnoses (currently at one in 59 children) and this gap in care, we made the strategic decision to develop and launch our center to meet the need for specialized services for families. Today we offer weekend programming, enrichment programs, and parent support groups, and over the coming year, we are looking to add new services, including educational advocacy and a support group for siblings.

In addition to this new initiative, we recently completed an $800,000 capital campaign for our Day Habilitation facility. We made vital structural, mechanical, and safety repairs that have not only increased the safety, quality, and functionality of our facility, but also allow us the space to serve more individuals each year. We updated the heating and electrical infrastructure, replaced deteriorating fixtures, installed a sprinkler system, and widened the hallways. Our new, modern, and multi-purpose space includes a computer lab; sensory room; fitness room; modernized kitchen and lunch rooms; senior room; oversized classrooms for activities of daily living, development skills training, and therapy; and multi-purpose areas that will be used collaborative by all of our constituents.

As part of this renovation, we moved our administrative offices from Weymouth to Hingham into a new, larger space that allows our entire administrative, human resources, and finance team as well as several of our programs, including our Autism Resource Center staff, Personal Care Attendants, Adult Foster Care, Residential Staff, and others to be housed together. This allows for greater cross-team collaboration, allowing us to provide comprehensive, coordinated care to each of the individuals and families we serve.

Over the coming year, we will continue to address the challenges of today while looking boldly to the future. Our team will remain responsive to local needs and support, empower, and advocate for individuals with I/DD throughout their lifespan. We will also remain ahead of the curve, creating innovative opportunities that positively impact the lives of people with disabilities.