Ray Graham Association For People With Disabilities
Community Learning Center
1. What is the mission of the organization?
The Ray Graham Association is dedicated to the full participation of all people with
disabilities in a quality life by providing leadership that supports the
accomplishments of individuals, strengthens families and inspires community
involvement.
2. Program description:
a. Describe the nominated program?
The Ray Graham Association designed the Community Learning Center model. It is
not replicated from another organization. Community Learning Centers provide
adults with disabilities choices in how they spend their day. Each adult participates
in those activities which are of interest to them as an individual and which meet their
personal goals. Each of the six Community Learning Centers provides a unique set
of services and activities. No two Centers are exactly alike. Each is designed to
have a goodness-of-fit with the community in which it operates and they are
dynamic, changing as new opportunities arise. To date, the Community Learning
Centers have focused on four areas; a) developing micro enterprises and small
businesses, b) volunteerism, c) community participation, and d) employment
opportunities. (See section 3.a for further detail of the four areas).
2.b Whom does it serve?
The six Community Learning Centers serve 225 adults with disabilities. The adults
range in age from 21 to 85. For diagnostic purposes, the adults are classified as
developmentally disabled which includes, but is not limited to; mental retardation,
cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism.
2.c What needs and challenges does it address?
When parents of children with disabilities formed the first Association For Retarded
Children in the 1950s, they had two goals: to develop private schools to educate and
"train" children and to develop day programs for adults. Parents developed and
funded hundreds of private schools for their children. It was not until the Education
For All Handicapped Children's Act became law in 1973, that children were
guaranteed a free, public school education. Since that time most private schools for
children with disabilities have closed. For adults, the parents established day
programs to care for the adults. Parents began to have higher expectations for their
adult children, beyond the arts and crafts curriculum of many day services of the
time. It was recognized that many adults could learn vocational skills and do
assembly type of work. Thus, the original day programs evolved into what we know
of today as sheltered workshops. For more than fifty years, sheltered workshops
were the primary employment option for adults with developmental disabilities.
Federal legislation moved children with disabilities from private schools into public
schools. There is currently a movement underway to seek alternatives to large,
sheltered workshops. Unfortunately, there is no federal legislation or judicial
decisions to support and reinforce this movement. One of the greatest challenges
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Ray Graham Association For People With Disabilities
Community Learning Center
faced by reformers and disability advocates is the development of alternatives to
sheltered workshops. Ray Graham Association's Community Learning Center is
one model which has proven effective as an alternative to large, segregated
sheltered workshops.
3. Program results:
a. What are the results of the program?
 Personal Outcomes: The Ray Graham Association measures the quality of its
programs through "Personal Outcome Measures" developed by The Council On
Quality and Leadership, an accreditation body. Personal Outcomes are defined as
"what people expect from the services and supports they receive." On a quarterly
basis, the Ray Graham Association interviews a sample of individuals served using
the Council's twenty-five Personal Outcome Measures.
By comparing aggregate Personal Outcome Measures from 2003, the last year of
our large workshop, with outcome measures from 2006, when the Community
Learning Centers had been operating for two and a half years, the scores in
measures related to adult day services improved. This indicates that individuals
have experienced an improved quality of life reflected in higher aggregate scores in
outcomes related to adult day services.
Aggregate Scores
Percent
Outcome Measure
2003
2006
Increase/Decrease






People choose services
People realize personal goals
People are connected to
natural supports
People perform different
social roles
People have friends
People use their environments
47%
63
52
87%
100
81
+40%
+37
+29
21
50
+29
58
78
81
100
+23
+22

Micro Enterprises: Individuals served in Community Learning Centers have
developed eight (8) new, small businesses, which they operate. The micro
enterprises provide creative, income generating, self-employment opportunities.
They include Bow-Wow Dog Products, Save-The-Planet Aluminum Recycling, HipHop Craft Shop, and Monarch Inc, an on-line book resale business.

Volunteerism: Individuals served have established seventeen (17) volunteer
relationships with organizations in their communities such as The Community
House, Graue Mill, Public Library, Sunrise Senior Center, Fullersburg Woods Nature
Education Center, to name a few. This demonstrates that people with disabilities
are contributing members of their community who share their talents and skills with
others.
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Ray Graham Association For People With Disabilities
Community Learning Center

Community Participation: To avoid isolation and segregation, which is often the case
in sheltered workshops, individuals in the Community Learning Centers regularly
participate in community events and activities. Community activities are diverse and
include; cultural activities, adult education, sports, and fairs and festivals. Data is
maintained on the number of events in which each individual participates.

Employment: Community Employment Services are available through the
Community Learning Centers. In 2005, 102 individuals found and maintained
employment. Full-time, part-time and seasonal employment offers many choices to
meet the interests and talents of each individual. The hourly wage for individuals,
$8.11 an hour, is significantly above the minimum wage in Illinois.
3.b Did the program produce any unanticipated results?
New friendships have developed between individuals in the Community
Learning Centers and other community citizens. For instance the senior citizens
who receive Meals On Wheels delivered by individuals with disabilities, genuinely
look forward to greeting the individual delivering their meal. They know the person
by name and engage them in conversation about their life, interests, family and
current events. Friendships such as these were not made possible when individuals
attended the sheltered workshop because they were isolated from the community at
large.
4. Potential as a model:
How can the program serve as a model that can be replicated or adapted by
other organizations?
Large sheltered workshops, operational since the 1950s, are an antiquated model
and need to change. To affect system change, Ray Graham Association is
developing methods to disseminate information to these key stakeholders, so the
Community Learning Center model can be replicated or adapted by other
organizations.

Self-Advocates: Adults in the Community Learning Centers will be encouraged to
make presentations at local, state and national conferences sponsored by
organizations of self-advocates such as “People First” and “Self Advocates
Becoming Empowered.”

Parents: Parents need to be informed about the alternatives to workshops that can
truly improve the quality of life of their child. Information on the Community Learning
Center model can be shared with parents of all ages thorough parent-networking
groups.
 Federal and State Government: Legislation must be developed which supports
models such as Community Learning Centers. Current funding for sheltered
workshops must be reallocated. Funding must be available to pilot and evaluate
new models for adult day services. Educating state legislators about Community
Learning Centers is a place to start.
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Ray Graham Association For People With Disabilities
Community Learning Center
 Young Professionals: Outreach to university and college students in fields such as
Rehabilitation and Special Education must become knowledgeable of new and
progressive adult day service models and be encouraged to do internships and
class field work in Community Learning Centers.
 Current Practitioners: Outreach to professionals working in the disability field can be
done through professional publications, journals, conferences and through
associations which advocate for individuals with disabilities such as "The
Consortium Of Citizens With Disabilities."
5. How is the program innovative?
As the following table illustrates, the Community Learning Centers demonstrate
innovative organizational change, moving from a large, centralized system, which had
been in place for forty-two (42) years, to a smaller, decentralized system. This
innovation has significantly improved the quality of life of individuals with disabilities
served by the Ray Graham Association For People With Disabilities.
SHELTERED WORKSHOP
COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER
Location
 One city

Six Villages and Cities throughout
the county
Size


Six buildings, averaging 4500 sq ft
each
Facility Cost
 Building lease and operating costs
$403,000 per year

Leases for six buildings and
operating costs $405,000 per year
Individuals Served
 165

Average 35 per location

Entrepreneurial model with 8 small
businesses and micro enterprises
operated by individuals served.
Products sold on web.
In 2005, 102 individuals found paid
employment in the community.
One 40,000 sq ft building
Paid Work
 One major, manufacturing
“assembly” contract for $400,000
with an external company. When
contract was not renewed
individuals experienced excessive
downtime with no pay.

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Ray Graham Association For People With Disabilities
Community Learning Center
Volunteer Opportunities
 None

Individuals volunteer weekly at 17
community locations
Community Connections
 None

Individuals served participate in an
average of 190 activities in their
communities per quarter
Transportation
 5 large 36 passenger buses
 $75,000 cost per bus
 Separate bus drivers requiring CDL
license
 Buses traveled throughout county


90 minutes, average, door to door
ride time for individuals served
large buses problematic for
community access due to size
Staffing
 One staff per twenty individuals
served (1:20 ratio)

 21 smaller 6 to 15 passenger vans
Average cost per van $35,000
 Staff who work in program serve as
van drivers, no CDL needed
 Vans travel in Cities/Villages served
by each location


40 minutes, average door to door
ride time for individuals served
smaller vans allow more community
access

One staff per seven individuals
(1:7 ratio)

New job title and job description,
"Life Skill Instructors" requiring a
B.S. and experience to supervise
programs
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