Story and photos by Jan Osborn. Video by Jennifer Chiquito.
Adults with disabilities are often limited to the activities that their assigned caregivers perform with them. Organizations like Ability Connection are intended to provide independence on each person’s own terms as well as support for any tasks that require assistance. We recently had the opportunity to spend the morning at Ability Connection and learn more abut the services they offer and tour the beautiful facility. We were joined by Jim Hanophy, Sharyn Casey and Lana Marker of Ability Connection as they introduced us to members of the team.
Ability Connection is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to enrich the lives of people with disabilities…one person at a time. Ability Connection is committed to providing people with disabilities comprehensive life changing care, training and support.
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“Over 3 million Texans live with a disability.”
Ability Connection began in 1953 as United Cerebral Palsy Association (UCP) of Dallas. As the organization evolved to serve a broader array of people with developmental disabilities in North Texas, the name was changed to Ability Connection in 2011. Today, Ability Connection serves over 700 children and adults with disabilities and their families in 119 Texas counties.
Lana Marker, Vice President of Development, said, “the members of Ability Connection get exceptional care and have a great quality of life.” Lana went on to say, “Our members come to Ability Connection with individual needs – whether it is adjusting to a wheelchair, relearning how to eat or coping with a new situation. We believe a disability is a naturally occurring part of life, not a defining characteristic. Disability exists when there is a gap between the demands of a particular circumstance and the capacity of the individual. We bridge that gap for each individual with a unique support and services tailored to their individual situation.”
Ability Connection services include: day habilitation in Ability Connection training centers, independent living training, group homes and foster homes, vocational training and employment assistance, community inclusion, physical, speech and occupational therapies, nursing care and transportation services.
Sharyn Casey, Chief Development and Public Relations Officer, explained the customized tiered level of support in Ability Connection’s Training Centers. “Life Change is built on a clubhouse model, which emphasizes member ownership and decision making over programs and daily functions. The program provides tailored support based on each members individualized academic, behavioral or occupational goals. Ability Connection has worked to change the narrative for individuals with disabilities from just being recipients of services to being contributors to the community. Members volunteer and serve in the community and several have jobs in the community.” The Dallas Stars Foundation gifted the agency The Independent Living Studio, a fully functioning “practice” apartment that teaches members how to put away groceries, make the bed, do laundry and other household chores.
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“Texas ranks 48th in providing funding for people with disabilities.”
Sharyn further explains, “Life Change serves individuals who are more independent while IMPACT and FOCUS serve members with more significant disabilities. IMPACT focuses on personal care and more basic independent living skills. Members in FOCUS require full time assistance, staff and therapists working to engage members with sensory activities such as tactile stimulation, visual stimulation, olfactory stimulation and movement. Onsite medical staff are available to address any concerns which give our member’s families and caregiver’s peace of mind.”
Ability Connection uses The Personal Outcome Measures, which is a tool to help evaluate the factors that lead to a high quality of life for the member and help drive the quality and effectiveness of the services provided to members. Members and their families or caregivers determine what goals are most important to them and actively participate in the selection of services.
A key differentiator for Ability Connection is that Program Coordinators in the programs are nurses. These Nurse Case Managers work with families and the members living in the community to make sure that all of the programs, therapeutic and medical services are delivered and that everyone is satisfied. Sharyn stated, “Because our nurses know our members and caregivers so well, nurses are able to monitor health changes such as reactions to medications and new symptoms. This provides an extra layer of assurances for family members and caregivers.”
Jim Hanophy serves as President and CEO of Ability Connection. Jim previously worked in Austin as the Assistant Commissioner at the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitated Services. Jim’s strong leadership skills have been extremely helpful during the COVID crises. Ability Connection temporarily closed the training center for a few weeks at the start of the pandemic. However, with Jim’s knowledge and the generosity of the Clay Cooley Family, The Rees-Jones Foundation, The Communities Foundation and The Meadows Foundation, Ability Connection reopened their doors at the end of April and are currently at 40% capacity. Under Jim’s leadership, Ability Connection has been diligent in maintaining the highest level of quality and safety disinfecting and sanitizing as well as adhering to CDC protocols. To date, no staff nor members have tested positive to COVID.
The effects of COVID have been a challenge for the many of the medically fragile members at Ability Connection. Because of health concerns, many of the members have opted to remain at home with care providers or in the group homes. Ability Connection staff have done a great job of helping those members stay active and engaged. Recently Ability Connection launched “training centers to go”, enabling members to participate in some of the activities in the training centers remotely.
Another effect of the pandemic is that several members of Ability Connection who had jobs in the DFW community lost their jobs. “We were fortunate to secure a fulfillment based contract with a company to assemble package repair kits for coin machines,” said Jim. “This provided much needed employment for four members. We are hopeful to get another contract with this company after we finish in August.”
Jim shares, “While Ability Connection receives funding though the government for long term services for some people, the demand has not kept up with funding. In fact, there will never be enough government support for people with disabilities. The waitlist for long-term Medicaid services has over 163,000 people, an increase of 47 % over the past four years. For many the wait is over 10 years.” Not all of Medicaid Services are fully covered by the waiver program. For example, Medicaid only covers 29% of the cost to provide program coordination by nurses. “Ability Connection serves a wide array of people, some of whom are medically fragile. We are committed to providing exceptional care.”
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“There are over 163,000 individuals with disabilities on the wait list to receive waiver program funding for services.”
Sharyn was excited to share that Ability Connection was selected as a 2020 Crystal Charity Ball Beneficiary. “It’s for a new program launching next year. There are limited options for summer, caregiver relief and school holiday care for teenagers. We will offer a 10 week summer educational and recreational program, weekend caregiver relief and a holiday program teens with disabilities ages 12-17 in Dallas County,” says Sharyn.
Ability Connection’s mission continues focusing on enriching the lives of people with disabilities one person at a time. Jim concluded our interview by saying, “There are a lot of organizations who do some of what we do, but nobody does all of what we do. We have great plans for the future. We continue expanding our services and providing options for people waiting for publicly funded services. The need for services continues to grow; people with disabilities are often overlooked. We cannot wait for the government to catch up with the need. We need the support of the community.”
Donations to Ability Connection can be made through their North Texas Giving Day page through September 17, or at abilityconnection.org/donate.
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