History
United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) has a rich history of meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities. Each milestone is a result of a grassroots effort of families, advocates, and community leaders working together to improve the quality of life and full citizenship of all people with disabilities.
UCP was founded in 1953 by a group of parents and concerned citizens who gathered to fight for the rights of children and adults with disabilities. UCP of Central Maryland (UCP-CM) began offering its first day program to 10 children in 1964 when parents and advocates voiced the need for services for their children so they could live full and meaningful lives. The curriculum focused on intensive physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Today, UCP Delrey School’s three locations provide comprehensive services to children ages three to 21 in an educational setting.
In the mid 1970’s a new set of challenges arose as Delrey students grew into adulthood. There were no programs to help these young adults develop new skills and participate fully in the community. UCP-CM took a leadership role in developing day programs for adults. In 1976, UCP-CM opened its first Day Habilitation program. Today, this program serves persons 21 years of age and older in a variety of activities determined by choices made by the participant.
In 1979, UCP-CM opened the Independent Living Center in Baltimore to serve individuals with physical disabilities. Several years later, UCP-CM opened another type of program for adults with disabilities. The Adult Medical Day Care program was established to meet the needs of medically challenged individuals, those that required nursing intervention on a daily basis. Adult Medical Day Care programs are currently located in Sulphur Spring, Essex, Frederick, Hagerstown, and Cumberland.
As state institutions began to close their doors in the 1980’s, UCP-CM became a major provider of community housing with Alternative Living Units (ALUs) through its Residential Services program. The first ALU was opened in 1979, and today UCP-CM supports dozens of group homes where three or four people live together.
Working with adults to find competitive employment became a priority in 1985, and with funds through a Federal grant sponsored jointly between UCPA and UCP-CM, the Supported Employment program was born. These services are available at all of the UCP-CM offices throughout the state.
In 1999 the need for assistive technology supports became evident. UCP-CM submitted a proposal to obtain funding necessary to start the program and now UCP-CM operates the No Boundaries Assistive Technology Center. This center serves as an extensive assessment facility and lending library for assistive technology and augmentative communication equipment.
Today UCP-CM provides thousands of hours of service to children and adults in Baltimore City and 18 Maryland counties. UCP-CM provides services and support to individuals with a wide variety of disabilities and chronic health issues that other organizations are not equipped or willing to serve. UCP-CM is often the only place for families to turn for help with severely medically challenged loved ones. Almost 65 percent of the people receiving UCP’s services nationally have disabilities other than cerebral palsy such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, and others. More than 85 percent of the individuals we serve have multiple disabilities, and 70 percent rely on wheelchairs for mobility.
An affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc., a nationwide network of more than 100 non-profit organizations, our agency values and supports the rights of all persons with disabilities to be treated with respect and dignity and to exercise the same control over their lives as any other person.View a Printer-Friendly Version
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