BENEDICTINE SCHOOL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN FOUNDATION INC

Our goals are to improve the quality of life for the students and adults with developmental disabilities and autism who we serve; have a positive impact on the community at large; exceed regulatory requirements from our government funding and licensing agencies and improve Benedictine's overall fiscal picture.

Benedictine has revised and adjusted its program and services to better meet the needs of growing population of functionally non-verbal students who manifest significant sensory and behavioral needs and require speech, physical and occupational therapies as part of their educational programming. The changing population of children with significant disabilities has far reaching implications for the types of services we will need to provide in the future as the children graduate into Benedictine's adult program or transition into other community-based programs for the developmentally disabled.

We are focused on four key strategic areas:

School Programming: We will develop strategic partnerships that position our Ridgely, Md., campus as a resource for organizations serving students with a range of special needs. These partnerships will expand on-campus programming, generate revenue and assure maximum utilization of facilities. Benedictine will expand residential options into the community and update current facilities on campus. Expansion of community-based residential options is consistent with the regulations under the Autism Waiver and has the potential to attract new students and offer additional services, i.e. respite services, for school age children throughout Maryland.

Adult Services Residential Program: We will expand offerings beyond our traditional group home model to include personal support services and other community based models that integrate our adult clients into their community.

Vocational Services: We will expand operations into the community and continue to build on integrated supported employment opportunities. We will grow the number of people we serve by 10% annually and develop strategic partnerships with other provider organizations and local businesses to diversify revenue sources.

Staffing: We will recruit, train and retain the best qualified staff that will continue to meet the needs of the students and adults we serve while meeting the ever changing requirements of our regulatory partners.

Benedictine has a highly engaged and dedicated Board that continually assesses our programmatic and financial goals that allow us to meet the needs of the children and adults we serve. Our staff of 400 is highly qualified and includes special education teachers, therapists, psychologists, social workers, employment coaches, residential coordinators, behavioral counselors and aides, who provide functional academics; vocational training; speech and language, occupational and physical therapy; behavior management planning; assistive technology; 24-hour nursing and medication management. We provide an exceptional program that has won national recognition and continues to adapt to meet the needs of those we serve.

We have been successful in developing community partners to assist in our job placements for students and adults we serve. We have successfully implemented our personal supports program and have already exceeded our target for year 1. We have developed on-campus housing options that meet the needs of the students.