TULSA ADVOCATES FOR THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
A network of programs that educates, empowers and advocates for Oklahomans with developmental disaiblities and their families
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
As Oklahoma’s only chapter of The Arc – a national organization serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families – TARC has both a unique opportunity and a challenge. Of the 3.8 million Oklahomans, 632,400 report to having one or more disabilities, and they are spread across almost 70,000 square miles. While we are based in Tulsa with offices in Oklahoma City and Ada, we employ a range of strategies to help as many people as possible, including those in rural Oklahoma who do not have services as readily available. The prominence of disabilities in the state of Oklahoma coupled with its geographic spread have made it necessary for TARC to embrace the opportunity to become a statewide organization. This expansion and rebranding is important because it will allow us to reach more Oklahomans in need, and provide us with access to more tools to affect change.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Family Support
The Arc of Oklahoma's Family Support Program provides a variety of activities that expedite access to the full range of services needed by families who have children with developmental disabilities at critical times in their lives and supports them in caring for their family members with a disability. Program staff work with families who have not accessed the system or who are having difficulty securing adequate services and need short-term, intensive intervention to help them get the services they need. Families who are in crisis due to transitions in their lives are a key target groueducation and support • Assistance and support in securing special education • Moms & Dads Support Group • Hispanic Parents Support Group • Asperger's Support Groups for children
Self-Advocacy
Activities that promote the development of social and decision-making skills so that people with developmental disabilities can live fulfilling, self-directed lives in the community and be contributing members of society. Specific activities include:
• Tulsa People First group
• DayMakers activity groups
• Individual advocacy for people with disabilities
• Families in Transition support group
• Asperger’s support groups
Grief Support
The Grief Support Services Program is designed to help individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities and their families through the emotional turmoil and impact that loss and grieving can have on their lives.
OK AIM
Oklahoma Advocates Involved in Monitoring sends volunteer monitors into residences where people with disabilities are being served to ensure they are receiving good care.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
TARC is committed to making Oklahoma a better place to live. By focusing on the health and educational opportunities for Oklahomans with developmental disabilities and their families, TARC is working to create an Oklahoma that serves all its citizens, including those Oklahomans with disabilities.
TARC’s mission is ensuring a high quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through education, empowerment, support and advocacy. TARC’s objective is to build and lead a Developmental Disabilities Coalition with a defined and unified message comprised of organizations that serve those with developmental disabilities in order to develop, adopt and advocate for public policy initiatives that improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities, thus supporting our mission.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
TARC is an independent, 68-year-old organization that has the most experience in Oklahoma in helping families navigate the complex systems of support for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. We maintain an outstanding staff that has experience working in both the state and/or private service programs. Working as a team, we understand how to navigate the service system for people with disabilities. This experience has allowed us to strategically position TARC as the recognized expert in developmental disabilities.
As our services are free of charge and are available to any individual who has been diagnosed with a developmental disability and/or their family, we serve economically disadvantaged Oklahomans. We pursue outside funding – through grants, donations and fundraising – so that we can continue to serve these clients regardless of their economic standing.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, TARC offers a network of programs and services that are free to the public, including our bilingual Family Support Program, which helps families navigate the social services, government, and education systems to secure services; our Family Support program also encompasses our numerous support groups, including three for individuals with Autism. By hiring a Bilingual Resource Navigator and expanding our Family Support Program to encompass non-English speaking Oklahomans, TARC is also addressing the needs of the Hispanic population with developmental disabilities.
Our Self-Advocacy Program helps adults learn to advocate on their own behalf for their own needs; our Grief Support Program helps clients deal with grief and life transitions; our Residential Advocacy Program - OK AIM - ensures people receiving residential services have a good quality of life; our Advocacy and Public Policy Program includes advocating for individuals and families as well as systems and public policy change; and our Student Inclusion Program fosters social inclusion for students with disabilities.
While there are other organizations that provide residential and/or employment services for people with developmental disabilities in Oklahoma, TARC is the only organization that provides the types of support, education, empowerment and advocacy opportunities that we provide to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
TARC operates under the principle that the most effective programs involve a coalition of partners working together. As such, TARC leverages partnerships to build capacity, ensure effectiveness, and enhance efficiency whenever and wherever possible. For more than two decades, TARC and Ability Connection (formerly United Cerebral Palsy) have co-led a support group for parents of children with disabilities. We also work with Tulsa Public Schools and surrounding districts as needed, attending Individualized Education Plan (“IEP”) meetings to assist parents and schools to develop appropriate education plans to meet the unique needs of special needs students. Our Family Support Coordinator works with schools – not as an adversary – as a consultant who can help the school better serve its students. Our Family Support Coordinator is considered an expert on autism, and she also works with A New Leaf to train staff on how best to work with individuals with autism.
TARC also received the 2019 Goodwill Community Partner of the Year Award for convening several providers and nonprofits to host a transition resource fair for self-advocates. We support two People First chapters, are active in Oklahoma People First, and the Oklahoma Self-Advocates Network. Together, we co-host intellectual and developmental disability awareness events at the Capitol and in our community. We also invite participants from employment agencies to join us for MLK Volunteer Service days.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
TARC received the 2019 Goodwill Community Partner of the Year Award for convening several providers and nonprofits to host a transition resource fair for self-advocates. We support two People First chapters, are active in Oklahoma People First, and the Oklahoma Self-Advocates Network. Together, we co-host intellectual and developmental disability awareness events at the Capitol and in our community. We also invite participants from employment agencies to join us for MLK Volunteer Service days.
The global pandemic is exposing cracks in the systems that are intended to protect individuals with developmental disabilities, making TARC’s programming even more necessary as families reach out needing guidance about sheltering in place and support services. These families have to be hyper-vigilant about social distancing and sheltering in place, as individuals with developmental disabilities are at an inequitable disadvantage with regards to COVID-19: due to medical guidelines used in many hospitals, individuals with disabilities may be potentially de-prioritized if ICU or ventilator treatment became needed. This added fear, in addition to the extra precautions, challenges families of those with developmental disabilities; TARC is positioned to help families face these unique challenges.
During this time of social distancing and sheltering at home, our staff is continuing to work with individuals and their families remotely, working so that Oklahomans with developmental disabilities have the supports they need in place to both have a high quality of life and also protect themselves and their families from undue exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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TULSA ADVOCATES FOR THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Board of directorsas of 11/17/2020
Mr. Eric Newendorp
Tulsa Drillers
Term: 2017 - 2020
Lisa Burlingame
Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Ryan Fulda
Schaffer Herring, PLLC
Mark Hargis
Tulsa Sport Commission
Lynette Lambert
Security Bank of Oklahoma
Eric Newendorp
Tulsa Drillers
Ray Pordrier
ONEOK
Tony Baker
Williams
Jackson Coco
Magellan
Andrea Cooper
OneOk
Todd Hofmann
BOK
Daniella Hovenga
University of Tulsa
Megan Henderson
April Margwarth
Aaon
Ann Morgan
BOK
Michael Nicholson
BOK
Bill Woodard
WPX
Michele DeBerry
State Department of Education
Diane Morrow-Kondos
Tulsa Kids Magazine
Erin Ramsey
Keller-Williams