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Community Agency Profile: Ray Graham Association
 From the March 2002 Disabilities newsletter.Balancing Financial Concerns with Innovative Programming For 50 years, the Ray Graham Association has provided early intervention, family support, respite, residential, employment, recreational, and advocacy services to children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families in DuPage County, Illinois. Cathy Ficker Terrill, President and CEO of the nonprofit agency, is proud of the Ray Graham Association’s innovations and ability to overcome financial challenges. Surviving in Today’s Climate Ms. Terrill emphasizes the importance, for disability services agencies, of establishing partnerships in the community for both inclusion and alternative funding. Like many other human services agencies, the Ray Graham Association has had to deal with budget cuts from government sources, which contributes 86% of the agency’s funding. The rest comes from private sources through the agency’s own fundraising, Ms. Terrill says. Innovations and Meeting Community Needs An example of such a partnership is a community recreation center the agency established with the help of financial contributions from the community. Fully integrated with people both with and without disabilities, the center offers dance classes, camps, horseback riding, concerts, and other community events. “It’s been embraced by the community,” says Ms. Terrill, and she adds that the center received the National Accreditation Council’s highest award. The agency has also implemented the use of a self-determination model for its respite care program. Ms. Terrill, who is also the outgoing president of AAMR, explains that agency staff met with families to assess their needs, and then decided to give families the money that would be used by the agency to provide them with respite care so the families could choose their own respite services. “We provide the supports to empower [families] and we’re meeting their needs with reduced costs,” Ms. Terrill says. She notes that 4 years of surveys indicate a 96% satisfaction rate with the program. “It’s time [for disability services agencies] to reconfigure from a model of programs to providing supports through self-determination.” The agency works to address community needs through focus groups with parents and self-advocates. In response to parent concerns, the agency created an advocacy department to assist families with transition planning, IEP development, and long-term financial planning, among other services. While the Ray Graham Association is a large agency, with over 500 people on staff, Ms. Terrill believes an important ingredient in the agency’s success is that they provide services only within the county where they are located. As for advice for other agency directors, Ms. Terrill emphasizes, “It’s important to be open to change, innovative, and flexible.”
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