Oklahoma Community-Based Providers Inc

Opportunity Center, Inc. is a non-profit agency located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. We provide both residential and vocational services to over 75 individuals with developmental disabilities. We are pleased and proud to be a member of Oklahoma Community-Based Providers, Inc. OCP serves our agency, and our clients, as a source of information, advocate, advisor, and friend.

OCP helps keep us informed of pending legislation and happenings at the state and federal level that will affect agencies such as Opportunity Center, Inc. They assist us in learning about policy changes, and advise us on how to implement those changes. OCP serves as a voice for member agencies, a liaison with other member agencies, as well as DHS, DDSD, and the legislature. They are strong advocates for people with developmental disabilities. If it affects our clients, OCP is involved and on their side, effectively giving people with disabilities a strong voice in Oklahoma.

OCP provides many valuable services to our agency and still manages to keep their dues structure to a level small agencies such as ours can afford. They are very deserving of the $5,000 prize. Without OCP, many small agencies such as Opportunity Center, would have had no choice but to close their doors last year due to proposed budget cuts in our state. Thankfully, OCP was there to unite agencies and organize pressure on our legislative leaders. As a result, many of the proposed cuts were not implemented, and agencies continued to be able to provide much needed services to people with developmental disabilities in Oklahoma. We are rumored to be facing significant budget cuts again this year. The $5,000 prize would give them additional resources and allow them to expand their efforts to see services continue at the level needed and would help them to accomplish their mission of advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and the agencies that support them.

Thank you for your consideration of OCP, Inc.

OCP is second to none in the state of Oklahoma for networking between DHS and the private service providers. OCP has been essential for years in advocating for individuals with disabilites. Improved community services and increased budget appropriations for such services all lead back throught the efforts of OCP.

OCP has added tremendous value to the disability services field in Oklahoma. The relationship they have built with DDSD is priceless and has advanced the field and improved services for thousands of Oklahoman's in need.

The benefit ResCare gets from OCP is immense. We are connected to DDSD in a way that would be near impossible to replicate as a provider. We have access to provide input to policy issues that affect us and to provide feedback to improve the process as we go along.