CENTERFORCE
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Mission Statement
Centerforce is a 52 year old 501 (c) 3 non-profit, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accredited organization, located in Lakewood, WA. The mission of Centerforce is to promote self-sufficiency, inclusion and quality of life for individuals and families of all abilities through education, employment and community living.
About This Cause
The purpose of Centerforce is to promote and advocate for the general welfare of individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities and socioeconomic challenges; foster the development of programs on the individual’s behalf; aid the client, parents and/or guardians in the solution of their problems; and coordinate efforts and activities on the individual’s behalf. Centerforce supports the targeted population with Community Employment and Community Enrichment programs. Community Employment services support the individual in obtaining and maintaining successful employment in the community, which is responsive to their choices and preferences. Centerforce Community Employment services include Program Registration, Vocational Assessment and Evaluation, Employment Planning, Job Preparation and Development, On-the-Job Coaching and Employment Support, Job Retention and Personal Services to Employers, and Record Keeping. Through a strengths-based approach the program provides person-directed services/supports to individuals to choose, achieve, and maintain employment in integrated community employment settings. But jobs alone are not enough! Community Enrichment services are designed to help individuals strengthen their personal and social skills in order to live happily and successfully in their community. Persons served are active partners in determining the activities they desire to participate in. Therefore, settings can be both formal and informal to reduce barriers between the community and persons served. A person may participate in a variety of community life experiences, interactions and activities including but not limited to Leisure, Recreational, Cultural, Communication, Pre-vocational, Employment, Volunteerism, Education and Training, Life Skills Training, and Transportation Orientation, Mobility, and Destination Training. All of these activities occur at either the Centerforce activity center and in community settings such as museums, libraries, parks, zoos, sporting events and food banks. There have been a number of dramatic changes in how the state and federal governments choose to fund organizations like Centerforce. Mandates such as increased minimum wages and health care requirements, were not addressed by increases in reimbursement rates, but left Centerforce with a gap to fill in order to continue to provide services to clients. As a result of these funding changes, a tough decision was made to close the Sheltered Employment Program and to discontinue services to a segment of the population requiring exceptional community supervision needs. Neither of these decisions was easy to come by, but leadership believed that they were necessary to grow and adapt to the needs of the community and those served. For fiscal year ending 2012, Centerforce received 81% of total revenue from government sources. And, for fiscal year ending 2015, Centerforce received 69% of total revenue from government sources. This reflects a total decrease of 12% funding from government resources in three years. Still, Centerforce leadership stands by the decisions made, but the loss of client service revenue as well as commercial contract revenue previously generated through the sheltered workshop, continues to have a financial impact on the organization.