In the course of this last two years, The Campbell Center (TCC) has served a total of 73 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/D), with some overlap between those attending programs and those living in one of our three licensed group homes. Our programs remain focused on providing an environment that fosters independence and quality of life through a ‘person-centered’ approach. Historically, people with I/DD have faced barriers to full integration into their communities, resulting in social isolation, poverty, vulnerability to homelessness, and mental and physical health inequities. Our programs break down these barriers through community partnerships that provide meaningful participation and representation.
This last year TCC focused on the following key initiatives:
Integrating Person-Centered Thinking through Tailored Day Services
Growing our new Digital Literacy curriculum
Building back from remote services to staff up for in person services
Capital improvements to TCC and residences
Merging with a local sister agency, New Horizons
Integrating Person-Centered Thinking Through Tailored-Day Services
We continue to ensure new staff are trained in Person-Centered Thinking (PCT) and all Associates benefit from a ‘person-centered plan’ to guide their journey at TCC. Person-Centered planning is a newer industry standard that aligns with federal Home and Community-based guidelines. It ensures that the rights of our clients are respected and they are given full agency over their services. In 2024 we became a vendor with Lanterman Regional Center to provide individualized ‘Tailored-Day Services,’ or TDS.
- In December 2023 and January 2024, 6 of our direct support staff attended the 16-hour PCT training.
- TDS vendorization ensures sustainability for 1:1 support to meet specific personal goals
- TDS hours are used to explore unique objectives like attending college, a specific vocational program or unique community activity
- TDS is flexible, enabling our staff to deliver services remotely or in the Associate’s home
- Overall, 11 Associates received TDS support in 2024
- From Jan.-Oct. we provided 7,396 hours of community coaching and 215 hours of one-on-one support.
Growing Our New Digital Literacy Curriculum
This year TCC also became a vendor to teach our ‘Digital Playbook’ online safety course.
- This ensures sustainability through guaranteed reimbursement
- Any adult in the Lanterman system can attend, expanding our reach
- So far in 2024, 15 adults have completed the program and based on a pre and post-test, demonstrated increased mastery
- TCC staff provided several presentations to potential clients, K-12 special education staff and Regional Center staff to share the value of this program.
- Additionally, from Jan.-Oct. we provided 754 hours of work readiness skills and 2,719 hours of job coaching to associates in our Supported Employment Program.
Staffing Up for In-Person Services
One of the challenges this year has been staffing. We are continuing to build our staffing back up to pre-pandemic levels. We’ve been aggressively increasing pay above minimum wage (the rate our state reimbursement is based on) to better recruit and retain essential direct support staff. We provided two increases this year to our Direct Support Staff, plus a Fall bonus.
- From late 2022 to early 2024, wages increased from between 9.5 and 17.6 percent
- Pay increases included one-time adjustments to base pay for those positions that were ‘under-market’
- Provided increased cross-training opportunities for staff to have more shift options in various departments
Improved staffing has enabled us to significantly increase the hours of service we are able to provide. Two years ago, we were still struggling to return to in-person services post-pandemic and were forced to shorten our service days. Looking at September 2022 vs. September 2024, in Community Integration our hours of service for the month went from 380 to 793, for a 109% increase. Our employment hours in the same monthly comparison went from 166 to 199, for a 20% increase.
Capital Improvements and Renovations
In 2024 we completed major renovations to our Alma House, made possible by a Community Development Block Grant from the City of Glendale. Additional private funding also allowed us to do a full bathroom remodel at our Gogian House. Addressing deferred maintenance in our homes helps keep our residents safe and our homes in good repair for the long-term. However, for our oldest and largest home, Hamilton House, deferred maintenance had taken too large a toll. We determined that it needed far too many significant repairs to rehab while residents were in place. This year we vacated the house and found new homes for all our Hamilton House residents in order to develop a sustainable, long-term plan. Beyond the needed capital investment that would be required, the large-home model with 9 or more independent residents is no longer in favor and funding for this model is disappearing. This next year we will be evaluating options on the best use for the property. We’ve also begun our campaign to ‘go green’ with our fleet of vehicles and are successfully moving away from gas vans and toward smaller, energy efficient electric vehicles.
- Updated infrastructure for Alma House, including adding earthquake retrofitting, installing a new gate, and adding a new roof
- Remodeled three bathrooms and the kitchen at Alma House
- Patched and painted exterior stucco and wood trim at Alma House that was becoming damaged due to weather exposure
- Remodeled accessible bathroom at Gogian House, rebuilding the walk-in shower and replacing fixtures
- Installed an EV charger at TCC and purchased two new electric vehicles in the last two years
Program Overview and an Eye Toward the Future
One of our goals over the last two years was to expand our services to young adults who are matriculating from high school, primarily to meet the need for services by the growing population of adults on the Autism Spectrum. Our outreach efforts have been successful and young adults now represent 80% of our new referrals overall.
Over the course of the last two years, we have cumulatively served a total of 73 individuals.
- 21 residents
- 33 associates in Community Integration/Tailored Day
- 19 associates in Supported Employment/Tailored Day
Preparing for the Future – In this last year, we have begun evaluating our programs and looking at options to improve our sustainability. We’ve determined that between the high overhead required to provide state-funded services and the low reimbursement rates that continue to lag behind the cost of providing programs, TCC will continue to struggle long-term as a small agency.
In May we signed a merger agreement with New Horizons in North Hills, an agency that is very much aligned with our mission and provides similar services to adults with ID/D. Both agencies believe that greater economies of scale will be essential going forward. This move will expand our capabilities, grow our service area, and enhance our mutual expertise to allow us to innovate and flourish in the best interest of our Associates in the future.