Finance Committee Agenda and Packet 2018 11 19

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CITY OF LOUISVILLE, COLORADO GRANT APPLICATION FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 1. Organizational background: What is the mission of your organization? Briefly present the strategies you use to achieve your mission. What is the source of information used to verify the need for the services your organization provides? Association for Community Living (ACL) was founded in 1962 and incorporated as a Chapter of the Arc serving Boulder and Broomfield Counties in 1974. We are the only source of free and independent advocacy in this area, for people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, their families and the wider community. The mission of the ACL is to promote attitudes, practices, programs and policies that enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be included as a natural and integral part of community life. We supply families with the tools they need to advocate effectively for their needs, even during stressful circumstances, through a person -centered approach. We promote independence, health, safety, and full community participation for the people we serve who have multiple risks factors, difficulty accessing services and many of whom experience extreme poverty. Community need is determined by; who seeks us out for support, through information sharing between our collaborators in the DD field, and with regular assessments of the people we serve. Most of the adults we serve come to us because their basic needs are not being met or they are having difficulty navigating the systems that are set up to support them and most of the children we work with are having difficulty establishing the accommodations they need to participate in general education classrooms. 2. Program description: What are the specific activities/programs for which you are requesting funding? If requesting general/operating support, provide an overview of the organization's activities. ACL Advocacy Program Serves people with IDD, from birth to end of life, and their families. Where family members are involved they are fully included in the advocacy process. The program promotes the family's role as primary advocate for their family member, and provides education/training/consultation/advocacy for the family. Expected results are that children will access the services and supports they need to remain in their family homes, be included in typical classrooms, access the general education curriculum, progress academically and socially, participate in family and community life, and exit the school system with better access to employment, higher education and full community participation as adults. Expected results for adults with IDD are that they will be identified as having IDD, access the health care and Tong -term care systems and community resources necessary to maintain their health and safety, make informed decisions about their lives, advocate for their needs and choices, learn to navigate systems as independently as possible, find work and affordable housing, handle and learn to avoid crises, seek justice when they are the victims of crime, and have relationships with other community members. Listening to the people we serve we have changed the name of our Safe and Inclusive Communities Program to the ACL Communities In Action Program which encompasses the community capacity building work we do that brings ACL within sight of fulfilling our mission that people with IDD be included as a natural and integral part of community life. This exciting work supports community -based projects that ripple inclusion out into the community. The ACL values opportunities to collaborate, to find more ways for people with IDD to participate in typical activities throughout their communities. We facilitate discussions, trainings, groups and events that broaden perceptions within the community and deepen the capacity of organizations and people to include people with IDD. The ACL also works to influence cultural and systems change through policy advocacy, outreach and education. 14