History
Since its inception in 1956, United Cerebral Palsy of Dane County (UCP) has operated under the spirit of our current mission statement, as follows:
"The mission of UCP of Greater Dane County is to enrich the quality of life for the people we serve: in their homes; in their communities; and in their life choices."
Changes have occurred within the organization over time, however, and are highlighted by the following historical benchmarks:
- UCP of Dane County was incorporated in 1956 as an affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc. by a group of educators and physicians who asked two "consumer parents" to join them to form the Board of Directors. The primary goal of UCP in 1956 was advocacy on behalf of individuals with cerebral palsy and their families.
- In 1974, UCP of Wisconsin, the state-operated United Cerebral Palsy affiliate, re-assigned affiliate areas among the local chapters. Eight additional counties were assigned to UCP of Dane County, which thereafter was renamed United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Dane County. In a review of its mission statement, the Board of Directors determined that Dane County would remain the prime geographical target area, and with allowable funds, activities could be implemented in Columbia, Dodge, Grant, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Richland and Sauk counties.
- In 1975, the first full-time employee was hired--an Executive Director. Funding sources became available to not only support the needs of individuals with cerebral palsy and their families but also individuals with other developmental disabilities. Since this time, UCP of Greater Dane County has been able to expand and develop direct services to meet the needs of individuals with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
- Early in 1976, a social worker at a special education school became aware of the need for child care for children with developmental disabilities before and after school and during the summer. His proposal to the County Developmental Disabilities Board to provide child care services for school age children with developmental disabilities was expanded into a proposal to foster the utilization of existing child care programs. A program to support the inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in existing community child care centers was then developed and implemented by UCP of Greater Dane County. Initially, six children were placed in three centers through the UCP Extended Day Care Program. Funding during the first five months was obtained through a grant from the Wisconsin Developmental Disabilities Council, and later came from the state and county. The program has continued to grow and currently provides services annually to over 65 children with developmental disabilities, in approximately 40 geographically dispersed community child care programs. In 2002, this program was renamed Child Care Inclusion Resources.
- In 1978, UCP began the Adult Supportive Services Program in response to the particular service needs of adults with cerebral palsy and their families. Direct services were provided to 25 adults annually. The Program Director advocated for both a greater community and service system response to individuals with cerebral palsy. Over the years, the program expanded residential services and included support for individuals with other developmental disabilities, those needing short-term intervention, (the Assessment and Planning Program) and individuals who were experiencing crisis. Services were provided annually for over one hundred adults with varying developmental disabilities. In 1998, due to our experience, staff from the Dane County Department of Human Services asked us to initiate the first agency-run Support Broker Service for the newly created Self Directed Services Program. Through a person-centered planning process, UCP Support Brokers assist adults with developmental disabilities in choosing supports or services to meet their needs. UCP Brokers also assist individuals with budgeting, negotiating with service providers and monitoring governmental funds allocated for their services. (In order to perform this Support Broker role, UCP was required to transition out of residential programming, to avoid potential conflicts of interest.)
- In 1980, United Cerebral Palsy began the Infant, Toddler and Family Connections Program in rural Dane County. For many years, the MARC Kiddie Camp Developmental Center had been meeting the developmental and support needs of all Dane County infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities or delays and their families. Kiddie Camp closed August 15, 1980. Families residing in the Madison Metropolitan School District began receiving services from the Madison Public School Early Childhood Program and United Cerebral Palsy was awarded a grant to provide a comprehensive range of services to Dane County families residing outside of the Madison School District. This program initially provided directed programming for 20 children annually. Currently the program provides support to over 500 children each year. (This program has been renamed as the Birth to Three Connections Program.
- For many years UCP had been concerned about the after-school and summer needs of teenagers with developmental disabilities. Parents who had received services from the UCP Extended Day Care Program while their children were in grammar school turned to us for consistent quality after-school programming for their children who were now teenagers. In 1987, Extended Day Care received a small grant from the Unified Services Board to initiate a teen service component. The goal of this project was two-fold: 1) to develop summer and after-school options for a small number of teenagers with developmental disabilities who had aged out of after-school child care, and 2) to organize a teen planning committee consisting of parents and providers which could assist in the development of a model for future after-school and summer options. In 1988, the United Cerebral Palsy Teen Outreach Program model began and subsequently received a UCPA "national innovative program" award. The program annually provides support to approximately 20 teenagers with developmental disabilities in the Madison area during after-school and summer periods.
- UCP of Greater Dane County continues outreach to children with cerebral palsy (and varying developmental disabilities) and their families who reside in outlying counties within our nine-county affiliate area. A part-time Community Outreach Program Coordinator is available to respond to requests for: a) information, referral and advocacy; b) public education; and c) consultation regarding community inclusion. In 2000, the Program installed the first UCP toll-free phone number to improve our outreach efforts.
- Between July, 1998 and August, 2000, the agency agreed to operate a Fiscal Management Service for the Dane County Self Determination Program. The Fiscal Accountant acts as a conduit for individual service funds (that is, funds allocated for individuals with developmental disabilities). Payments are directed by participants through the use of approved vouchers.
- The agency continues to make changes to both strengthen the organization and position itself as a vital part of the community service system for individuals with disabilities and their families. The current operating budget has grown to approximately $2 M (without including client-specific funds) with 45 regular staff members. Board members and volunteers are actively involved in fundraising throughout the year to supplement grant and foundation support.
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