A New Vision:  Expanded Service and Family-Centered Care

Needs to Be Addressed:  Models of support for adults with developmental disabilities throughout Colorado are inadequate to meet the needs of the current eligible population and are unsustainable for the future. Nearly one-third of the adults who are known to be eligible for services within Imagine!’s catchment area are on multi-year wait lists. The number of individuals on these wait lists is expected to nearly double by 2020, if a more effective and sustainable system is not implemented. Because the current service delivery and funding landscape is dominated by a deficit-model mindset and cost-containment strategies, efforts to determine the total number of individuals with developmental disabilities and to understand the true scope of their needs have been insufficient.

Project Summary:  A New Vision will demonstrate a more effective and sustainable model for providing services and supports to people with developmental disabilities and their families. Imagine! and its partner organizations will develop and implement a demonstration model that : 1) is guided by demand management principles (the allocation of existing resources according to a hierarchy of needs), 2) features community outreach to those who may not be included on Imagine!’s wait lists, 3) analyzes the strengths and needs of all targeted individuals and families (both newly discovered and on existing lists), and 4) provides access to an array of supports and services responsive to those strengths and needs. The project’s person-centered and family-centered approach will promote self-determination and will facilitate the allocation of resources to ensure that at least a portion of the needs of all individuals and families in the target population are addressed.

Population Group(s) to Be Served:  A New Vision will benefit the estimated 300 adults with developmental disabilities and their families living within Boulder and Broomfield Counties who are not receiving services and supports. This estimate includes 230 individuals on Imagine!’s wait lists for State Out-of-Home Placements for Adults or Supported Living Services, as well as individuals who do not meet current State eligibility requirements for these service models, but do meet the Federal definition for having a developmental disability, and others who may be experiencing obstacles to accessing the wait list due to linguistic, geographic, cultural, or procedural issues.