The Upstate Cerebral Palsy of Utica. This organization was founded in
April, 1949 by Eiddon L. Jones, Maurice Sheehan and Harry Gosling.
These individuals each had children or grandchildren with cerebral
palsy and was desperate to find hope at a time when none offered.
During the mid-20th century in the Utica area, the outlook for
individuals with developmental disabilities was bleak; there were no
services or programs to meet their needs. The founding members
wanted to provide support to people in the Utica area with differing
abilities. The mission that was developed for this agency is to provide
innovative programs that support people and create opportunities to
fulfill life choices. "One person at a time, through everyday miracles."
A major historical event that affected my agency was the COVID-19
pandemic; the agency shut down and suspended services. For some
individuals, depending on their disability, this could have been
detrimental. In 2021, the agency was finally able to reopen, but they
needed to have certain restrictions/guidelines for their programs in
place in order for it to be a safe environment for the staff and clients.
Before the agency re-opened, they would communicate with the
staff, those who served, and the community at large about the
operating status for the essential programs. These programs include
the Day Habilitation programs, the Education programs, the Pre-
Vocational programs and the Residential programs. There were
certain guidelines put in place for the Day Habilitation programs such
as pre-entry/ pre-participating screening for all individuals, social
distancing, gathering in enclosed spacing, Day Program Schedules
and Activities, P.P.E., hygiene and cleaning, transportation with the
clients, and tracing/ tracking for COVID-19. There were certain
guidelines that needed to be put in place for the education programs
as well, such as the New Discoveries Learning Center and Tradewinds
Education Center; these included revising the students to teacher and
aides ratio.
Sources:
• Upstate Cerebral Palsy (2021).
Upstate Cerebral Palsy
.
https://www.upstatecp.org/about/history
• Upstate Cerebral Palsy (2021).
Upstate Cerebral Palsy.
https://www.upstatecp.org/news/covid-19
