Today's Riskier Investment Climate

Over the last thirty years, families have undergone significant changes, which will transform the way business and government operate forever. Service providers and governmental entities have developed priorities to sustain systems over supports to help individuals make choices that are important to ensure community living is an option. Funding systems that are not resulting in the highest degree of personal choice has resulted in Virginia lagging behind almost every state in the nation in community living.

The Developmental Disabilities Act is a Federal Law that entitles all Americans to be included in community as a person chooses. Community supports, such as quality consumer directed personal care, availability of Medicaid Waivers that are less costly than the "one plan fits all" in Virginia have limited our access to success. Every Virginian has the right to live, work and play in our rivers, mountains, beautiful parks, and work, worship, and play in the community of their choice. There is a movement in Virginia, a civil rights entitlement, to ensure all Virginians are included. Regardless of capacity, everyone has a differing capability, and a core Value of this business is to affirm diversity, differing abilities, and individual choices to reach the highest level of quality of life possible.

Blended families, single parent head of households, working mothers, and other new family concepts create new challenges for both private and public sectors. Particularly, for families who have family members with disabilities, community living has been less than in inclusive in Virginia. Our schools, our employers are now discovering the gifts and talents through inclusion. It is imperative that such best practices be expanded, such as micro boards, and circles of support, as well as positive behavioral supports so we can build a community integrated capacity to succeed together in improved community living. The most effective strategies will rely on enhanced support to families, and individuals who have developmental and physical and sensory disabilities.

Families At Work helps you find out what the trends are in family concepts and in disability services. Many will require your organization to provide new environments, benefits and support structures to your employees and to citizens who use your services.

Families At Work facilitates your use of this knowledge to modify your operations, and recommends ways to keep track of the progress your company makes. All along, Families At Work assists you in integrating the right ideas smoothly into your operation to maximize your investment in human capital. Through new partnerships, identification of stakeholders from private, governmental agencies, and non profit sectors, with consumers we will affirm that diversity dialogue, and inclusion will help us build a better community.