Opportunity Partners Inc

Programs: Vocational services:founded in 1953 by visionary parents who wanted a better life for their teenage children with disabilities, opportunity partners has always focused on the abilities of people. At a time when many people with disabilities were insititutionalized, the organization provided a place where people could learn job skills and experience the sense of pride that comes from earning a paycheck. In 1959, opportunity partners became the first provider in the twin cities to place people with disabilities with employers in the community. Opportunity partners has grown over the years to serve more than 2,000 individuals in 2017 at hundreds of job sites, residences and community settings throughout the greater twin cities metropolitan area. Opportunity partners provides support to a wide range of individuals - from teens with fetal alcohol effect to adults recovering from stroke to seniors with down syndrome. No matter what the challenge, our services help people with disabilities to lead more rewarding and meaningful lives. Opportunity partners provides classroom and hands-on training to help people acquire skills for economic participation, independent living, and civic engagement such as how to write a resume, shop for groceries, and register to vote. Employment programs offer vocational assessments, career training, job placement, and ongoing support in the workplace. Program participants gain experience and earn an income at opportunity partners production centers or in the community at more than 250 businesses. 2017 vocational milestones:opportunity partners had 112 competitive, integrated job placements for people with disabilities. Of those, 41 were job placements from our day training & habilitation services program. The average wage for its independent, community jobs is $11. 26 per hour. Opportunity partners is accredited through carf international, the commission on accreditation of rehabilitation facilities. During its last accrediting period (2017), opportunity partners was reaccredited for a period of three years for its community employment, employment planning and employment skills training programs. The latest accreditation was the eighth consecutive three-year accreditation that the international accrediting body has awarded to opportunity partners. This represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows a substantial conformance to the carf standards. An organization receiving a three-year accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality. In 2017, opportunity partners opened its pilot knob service center in mendota heights, with bright and spacious areas for people living with brain injury, autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities. These employment, training and enrichment programs had previously been located in west st. Paul. Advocacy efforts continue to be a focus at opportunity partners. In 2015, opportunity partners' advocacy efforts earned statewide recognition when the organization's committee of advocacy & leadership (coal) made up of people with disabilities and staff allies receive top honors in the advocacy category in the nonprofit mission & excellence awards from the minnesota council of nonprofits and map for nonprofits. Opportunity partners' career learning pathways program provides training and education for people with disabilities. Through the program, people have opportunities to earn certifications to better prepare them for jobs and increase their competitiveness in the marketplace. The program includes professional cleaning and retail services. The retail training program is in collaboration with walgreens through its redi program. In addition to opening new avenues of training for people with disabilities, the clp program has resulted in new collaborations with higher education, school districts and other disability service providers. In all, more than 250 people have been served by the clp program since 2010. Opportunity partners continued to expand my career path, a program launched in 2015 to transition people from center-based to competitive, integrated employment. Approximately 56 people took part in my career path in 2017.

residential services:opportunity partners began offering residential services to people with disabilities in the early 1970's, assisting people to live as independently as possible while providing staff support as needed. Today, opportunity partners offers a continuum of residential services, ranging from group homes (which provide the highest level of support) to community living (which provide the highest level of community integration). In 2017, the organization provided services to 328 people with disabilities in their own homes and also provided 24-hour staff support to another 86 individuals living at 21 group homes (three to six residents live in each home). It also has a supported apartment program, homebase, that it launched after extensive research and input from individuals, families and referral sources. Homebase provides semi-independent living in comfortable, convenient apartment settings. The program promotes the highest level of independence of each person by offering either single or shared apartments with access to nearby support staff. Opportunity partners opened homebase in hopkins in 2011 and expanded the program to coon rapids in 2012. In 2017, opportunity partners purchased two group homes, one in crystal and one in richfield, from an organization that planned to close them. This resulted in eight people, including two sisters, being able to stay together in their homes. People served in opportunity partners' residential programs benefit from opportunities to get involved in their community and make lasting friendships. Residential services are currently offered in hennepin, anoka, dakota and ramsey counties, serving more than 400 individuals in all. Satisfaction surveys and licensing reviews promote opportunity partners' attention to quality in services and property management.