OAK LEYDEN DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
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Mission Statement
Vision We envision a world where people of all abilities live their best lives. Mission Oak Leyden serves children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families by providing individualized therapy, education, housing, job placement, and comprehensive services. Values: Compassion – anticipate and see the need and respond with kindness Humility – be coachable, always listening and learning Integrity - keep your promises and own what you do Impact Metric By FY 25, Oak Leyden will directly serve over 1,000 people per year – a 67% increase over today.
About This Cause
Approximately 7,000 Cook County, Illinois residents with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) are on a waiting list to get into specialized health-service programs like the ones provided by Oak-Leyden, and most will wait about seven years. Since 1956, Oak-Leyden has worked to fill this tragic shortfall by serving children and adults with IDD and their families who live in Chicago’s western suburbs of Cook County. Its mission to help children and adults with IDD reach their highest potential is lived each day by its dedicated staff, volunteers, and partners. Oak-Leyden serves the health, therapy, housing, education, adult daycare, and employment needs of people with IDD of all ages through three distinct programs: CHILDREN’S SERVICES (Academic Achievement & Learning; Healthy Youth Development) In Illinois, there are more than 250,000 school-aged children with disabilities — almost 14 percent of public school enrollment, and most of these are in the Chicago area. According to The Chicago Community Trust Disabilities Fund, only 30% of Chicago area students with IDD will graduate high school, making it harder for them to achieve lifelong success. In the Chicago region, almost half of people with disabilities are people of color who already face multiple barriers to long-term health and well-being. On top of that, an astonishing 47% of all Illinois school-aged children do not have the social-emotional skills necessary to be kindergarten-ready according to the most recent report from the Illinois State Board of Education. Kindergarten readiness drops even lower for children who are English learners, are children of color, have individualized education programs (IEP), or receive free or reduced-price lunch. Oak-Leyden's Children’s Services focuses on healthy youth development and school readiness for children with developmental disabilities and delays. Individual and group therapies are delivered by licensed therapists to over 300 children in Cook County. 95% of participants demonstrate documented gains in developing the skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make good choices, all of which are critical to school success. Some children will come to Oak-Leyden with a diagnosed developmental disability that will follow them throughout their lives. Others will receive such a diagnosis during the early years of their treatment with Oak-Leyden or later with their school. And still others - about 25% - will ‘catch up’ and meet the developmental milestones that allow them to fully integrate with society. In any case, Oak-Leyden helps all participants prepare for and be more successful upon entering preschool and kindergarten. COMMUNITY LIVING SERVICES (Housing) Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, the question of where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live has been a major part of disability policy. Research over the past half-century shows that large institutions have negative outcomes for people with IDD in the areas of health, well-being, quality of life, independence, community involvement, and overall happiness. The state of Illinois has been slow to embrace the deinstitutionalization of the IDD support system in favor of strong community-based systems which allow people with IDD to live, work, and play in the community. Best practices clearly favor these community-based systems, like those provided by Oak-Leyden, which are proven to improve health and happiness outcomes for all adults with IDD. Oak-Leyden receives referrals for housing for adults with IDD from the State of IL and serves its clients without regard to their ability to pay. All of its CILA residents live at or below the poverty level and would likely be homeless, or left to stagnate in unsupported, unspecialized housing without the residential services provided by Oak-Leyden and other similar providers. Fifty-seven adults with IDD live in Oak-Leyden's neighborhood-based, residential homes known as community-integrated living arrangements (CILAs). Each of these comfortable, accessible, family-like homes house an average of four residents. Oak-Leyden maintains 12 residences located in Oak Park, Berwyn, Forest Park, Franklin Park, Melrose Park, Northlake, and Westchester where adults receive 24/7 clinical services that coordinate each person's medical care and personal living support. Oak-Leyden also provides support services to approximately 50 additional independent-living individuals who are not residents of its CILAs. Oak-Leyden is currently updating its CILAs with wider hallways, modified bathrooms, ramps and lifts, and other assistive devices and equipment to provide safer, healthier, more accessible living for its aging residents, which represent 25% of all residents. Oak-Leyden's CILAs provide safe and purposefully-designed environments. Residences are universally-designed/modified for optimal access providing comfortable and predictable environments; they have areas that encourage socialization, modifications that reflect the needs of residents regarding sensory issues and safety; private rooms under the control of their residents; and use technology to enhance safety and independence. They are staffed by highly trained individuals who specialize in supporting people with IDD. LIFELONG LEARNING (Academic Achievement & Learning; Adult Day Care; Economic Opportunity) In the US, almost 8.6 million working-age adults have a cognitive disability, including 291,840 in Illinois. People with I/DD generally have significant behavioral/mental/physical health conditions and struggle to find adequate community resources to meet their complex support needs. In the state of Illinois, services for adults with IDD is grossly underfunded and the state ranks 47th nationally in fiscal investment in community services for people with IDD. Compared with peers in the general population, adults with IDD are 2 times as likely to live below the federal poverty level, have 5 times higher average annual health care costs, and are half as likely to find employment. Their low socio-economic status impedes access to housing, healthy food, and opportunities for social inclusion. Oak-Leyden's Lifelong Learning programs combat these negative outcomes for adults with IDD by providing daycare programs, educational services, and vocational training and placement that offer participants the opportunity to engage in their community, develop support groups outside of the family, cultivate personal interests and vocational skills, and find meaningful employment leading to greater financial independence. About 130 adults with IDD participate in Oak-Leyden's Lifelong Learning program. They receive individualized developmental and vocational support, engaging in classes and activities that help them obtain valuable life skills. Adult community day program (CDS) participants work on daily adaptive living skills and economic self-sufficiency skills. This training takes place away from the individual's residential living arrangement and is designed to foster the acquisition of skills leading to appropriate behavior, greater independence, and personal choice. Classes and activities include areas of learning and self-expression such as nutrition, exercise, cooking, gardening, music, arts and crafts, safety, financial skills, and self-advocacy. Lifelong Learning also features a Supported Employment Program that helps participants find jobs that interest them, that pay competitive wages, that are in the communities where they live, and that are with other people who don’t necessarily have disabilities. Oak-Leyden partners with local employers including Aramark, Costco, Delta-Sonic, Jewel-Osco, Sam’s Club and Target to provide over 40 community-based jobs for its participants. We created eleven new job placements in the year and maintained a retention rate of 96% for the participants who had employment at the start of 2022. We partnered with numerous businesses to be able to provide participants with employment opportunities. Our partners include Lake Theatre, Lexington Square, Café Gourmet, Starbucks, Aramark, Walmart Supercenter, Elm Middle School, TGIF, Jewel-Osco, Speedway, Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Hospitality, Marriott, Wright College, Goodwill, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, TJ Maxx, Camp Bow Wow, Dominican University, Arby’s, and AMC Theatres. In the last year, 93% of adult participants met or exceeded outcomes from their Person-Centered Plans. We held monthly celebration events that involved every participant at our sites at some level as well as a gallery event and a science fair. We transformed spaces at both of our Lifelong Learning Centers where people over 50 would find invigorating programs and activities but at pace where they could participate and enjoy their activities with their friends.