2021 Milestones and Accomplishments
As we planned and budgeted for 2021, we were cautious in our ambitions, knowing that the pandemic would have some say in what we could achieve. By the end of the year, we wanted to have a strategic planning roadmap along with a new series of program offerings that were viable long term and favored by the people we support, as well as, our funders. We knew that to accomplish these goals we would need to stabilize and systematize our management of operations during a very fluid time while also committing to a positive culture that focuses on the needs of our clients while empowering staff and keeping them informed. We want to encourage every employee at ASPIRO to have a deep understanding of our goals and plans and feel secure in taking initiative to solve problems. We have some distance yet to travel but we are proud of what we have been able to achieve in 2021.
· The preferred models of the Department of Health Services in Madison and Health and Human Services in Washington include Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE), Group Supported Employment (GSE), and Building Full Lives (BFL). We focused on expanding these program areas while contracting prevocational services paid at a special minimum wage.
· Year to date we have opened nine new GSE sites, for a total of 12, which shifted 75 people away from prevocational programming and special minimum wage to either a hybrid program, which combines these programs with prevoc, or a pure community-based model without prevoc. The development of these programs was vital in that many of the people we supported in prevocational services did not favor day services or competitive integrated employment at the time they were transitioning. These offerings kept us connected and ensured people were supported in their goals.
· We are actively tracking interest in CIE that blossoms from experience in Group Supported Employment and Building Full Lives.
· We were very excited to open the Aurora BayCare Medical Center Project SEARCH site which will support young adults as they try a variety of job experiences.
· We created a new Dementia Program at Dousman to be able to continue to support people experiencing memory loss and other challenges affecting their daily lives.
· We expanded the Building Full Lives program which provides people with exciting new learning opportunities and experiences across Brown County and beyond.
· We created a new art studio and gallery with an eye on helping people create great art.
· We created a new health and fitness space and program with the help of our on-staff fitness specialist.
· Through a new partnership with Greenfield Rehabilitation the people we support are now able to get therapy services while they are attending ASPIRO.
· We capped off these advancements by showing them off at our first annual Family Night where we hosted 400 people.
· We moved our end of year softball game to Capital Credit Union Park. This was the direct result of our involvement in the broader community through our Group Supported Employment sites.
· We have also had a great year promoting CIE with 40 placements through the first three quarters of the year. This may end up being a record-breaking year for placements.
While staffing remains a challenge, we are working hard on recruitment and establishing a new wage scale to increase our competitiveness in the market.
These accomplishments were the result of the combined efforts of many people. As we move into 2022 we will be working to refine these programs and expand in additional areas favored by the people we support as they strive to live their best lives.
Lincoln Burr
President
