The Summit Center

The Summit Center has closed out a three-year strategic plan that provided a roadmap through 2021. Our primary goals were to:

1. Deliver innovative and highly-valued services that create exceptional outcomes for the people we serve.
2. Achieve organizational growth to serve the increasing number and changing complexity of individuals with developmental and behavioral concerns.
3. Continuously advance toward a culture of high engagement, contribution, accountability, and strategic leadership.
4. Strengthen our financial resilience and sustainability.

To deliver valuable services that produce great results for the people we serve, we are continuously identifying areas for growth and outcomes that matter most to our stakeholders. In addition, we are expanding our capability to provide technology-enabled services.

To assist the increasing number and changing complexity of children and adults with developmental and behavioral concerns, we are fostering teamwork among departments and identifying and responding to opportunities for partnerships. Individuals with autism are underserved in our community so we are expanding services in 2022. The Center for Autism Assessment and Treatment will include treatment and observation rooms as well as classrooms to accommodate students with severe behaviors. Currently, children with challenging behaviors are often hospitalized or sent for treatment out of state.

To move towards an internal culture of high engagement and strategic leadership, we are actively increasing employee engagement, strengthening leadership and management skills for rising leaders, and engaging our workforce in fulfilling our value proposition.

To increase our financial resilience, we have established key financial metrics and are optimizing current operations to keep programs competitive and financially viable. We are also working to raise unrestricted income needed for growth and expansion.

The Summit Center has a history of successful strategic planning that has led to expanded programs and services for individuals with autism in the Western New York community. A highly motivated executive leadership team, operating board, and foundation board are intimately involved in the strategic planning process. They establish key performance indicators to ensure the organization's goals are met.

Over the past three years, The Summit Center has attained several milestones in fulfilling its 2018 - 2021 strategic plan. One of the most notable accomplishments has been to achieve a $4.1 million capital campaign goal, resulting in enhanced opportunities for children and families.

Summit is in the midst of construction on the Center for Autism Assessment and Treatment which will be completed by the end of 2022. The new facility will combine the best elements of a special education school with the expertise of an intensive treatment program for children with very challenging behaviors. It will alleviate the emotional and financial stress that families face when having to place their child in long-term inpatient care or send their child out of state for treatment. Instead, children will have access to individualized behavior therapy and highly-structured educational programming right in Western New York.

A new strategic planning process is underway to establish a vision for the next three years.