Napa Valley Support Services

Programs: Over the past year, imperial way has embraced the person-centered way of thinking, making it part of the culture, the language and the everyday activities. As part of the journey to become person centered imperial way has surveyed the 94 individuals with developmental disabilities, who received support and services in 2016, a number of times to find out what activities and job opportunities they want to be offered. This led to the development of community volunteer sites, a variety of classes, opportunities for individuals to choose activites from beauty, advocacy, recycle club, to sign language and continuous search/development for community work opportunities. With these new opportunities, individuals have choices to access preferred activities, create new goals for themselves and discover what makes them feel independent and successful. Through the creativity of support staff at imperial way, individuals have been able to apply a new understanding to the person-centered way of thinking in day-to-day activities. There are many opportunities for the individuals we support to access employment and work just the amount of hours that are right for them. An instructor supervises a group of three individuals that work on subcontracts, who all make minimum wage while working. Housekeeping, litter abatement, yard maintenance and assembly are just a few examples of jobs that the individuals with developmental disabilities supported by napa valley support services were employed at in 2016 grossing over $116,787 in wages.

everyone loves to give back to his or her community and the participants at the brown street gallery (bsg) are no different. Volunteering was a regular opportunity in 2016 and many individuals with disabilities supported by bsg have volunteered throughout this year equaling over 1300 volunteer hours. Volunteer opportunities include: delivering meals on wheels - individuals deliver meals to seniors or others with disabilities that are house bound with a special greeting and a smile. Serving lunch at the local senior center - this included making friends and this year several of the ladies at the senior center learned sign language to be able to talk to and thank one of the bsg volunteers. Whiskers, tails & ferals - volunteers clean cages and socialize with the animals. The brown street gallery had many successful art reception events in 2016. Success is not only measured by the attendance and sales at the event, it is also measured by how each reception affects the artist's self-esteem. When over 50 people you know and love show up to support your art, in a small community like napa, there is no feeling like it. This type of success is priceless! Especially when you have a developmental disability. This is your event, especially when you planned it (with the assistance of staff) and all your favorite food and drinks are served. After the event everyone is paid 50% of the proceeds of their art sales, and in 2016 the sales of 30 artists with development disabilities grossed over $6,000.

napa personnel systems (nps), a carf accredited program since 1985, provided services to over 200 individuals in 2016:203 people were supported by nps: 98 people with a variety of disabilities105 people with developmental disabilities42 people supported by nps were placed in a job:28 people with a variety of disabilities were placed in a job14 people with a developmental disability were placed in a jobthe individuals supported by nps during 2016 had a choice of services they received including:tailored day services (tds) nps offers 36 flexible hours of 1:1 support per month. Individuals are expected to make a commitment to learn the critical skills identified in helping them function more independently in their present and future community environments. Support is offered in the following areas: volunteering, employment and education. Job assessment/work adjustment offers individuals the opportunity to try out different jobs of their choosing in the community and assess their skills, strengths and needs in order to find the best job match. Furthers opportunities to develop job skills in the community and understand the expectations of employers. Employment preparation assists individuals to develop work related skills, e. G. Interviewing skills, resume development and job seeking skills. Job club. Job club meets two times a week. These meetings give people a chance to talk about their job search. Job development and placement. During job development our job developers negotiate job opportunities, in the community, with employers in either group or individual placement. Job coaching/maintenance a job coach accompanies and trains the individual up to a 100% of the time worked and provides all additional employment related support until it is determined that fading instruction is important. Active training is then faded, and the new focus becomes teaching the individual how to access information independently. A job coach maintains regular contact with the individual and the employer to ensure employment success. In the event further training is necessary, the employer or employee may ask for nps support. Lip "life in progress" lip club offers an opportunity for individuals to meet with their peers once a month. It's a social group but we talk about advocacy and how to advocate for yourself. We provide presentations from employers, nbrc office of client's rights and other community representatives, talk about work-related concerns, and participate in recreational activities.