Annual Report 3 - CCRI CCRI Annual Report.… · CCRI Annual Report 2006 ... his referral information, I thought he would be our biggest challenge yet, ... quality assurance and scheduling

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A n nua l Re p o r t

2006

Rhonda King, LSW MSExecutive Director18 Years of Service

Shannon Bock, LSWDirector of Programs12 Years of Service

Mark McGuigan, CPABusiness Manager5 Years of Service

Andrea RyanHR Director1 Year of Service

Sue LopezSLS Director10 Years of Service

Lynette WeberOptions Director15 Years of Service

Jody HudsonDevelopment Director7 Years of Service

Carolyn CossetteMedical Services Director8 Years of Service

CCRI Management Staff

Jim Danielson - President

Julie Herman-McMichael - Vice President

Tom Holtgrewe - Treasurer

Barb Matthees - Secretary

Nancy Decker

Sharon Grugel

Melinda Weerts

Catie Tinjum

CCRI is governed by a 9 member volunteer board.

CCRI Board of Directors

CCRI Annual Report 2006

Executive DirectorAs I look back over the events of 2006, I feel fortunate to have been a part of CCRI for nearly 20 years. In February, 2007, CCRI will be celebrating it’s 30th anniversary. As I’ve been planning ahead to determine what type of event is worthy of celebrating our 30th, I’ve been reflecting on CCRI’s history. I’m not sure I can even visualize what the next 20 years may bring, as I find it hard to believe what we’ve already accomplished.

I’ve watched our budget grow to over $10 million. We now have 430 employees and are providing services to 289 individuals. CCRI’s DSP wages are now $9.65/hour, quite a difference from minimum wage. Not only are these numbers mind boggling, more impressive are the lives we have touched in ways our founders couldn’t have imagined. In the early days, services were more defined by bricks and mortar…by the house you lived in. That dictated what your services looked like. Your care was more custodial in nature. We covered the basics…food, shelter and safety. Today we define care by helping people realize their dreams. Dreams come in many different packages and can change over time. One person’s dream could be as basic as having food on the table and a roof over their head. Other’s dreams reach way beyond the basics and include travel, living independently, a nice home, making friends, finding a significant other, being employed, having new experiences…living a life to its fullest.

Last year, we decided to enter the fund raising arena. We learned that we needed to move away from talking about service from a technical aspect and start telling about our services in story form. At first the stories were hard to see. I recall several meetings where we actually said, “Our stories are pretty basic. We really haven’t done anything too grand.” It took a few months, but what we realized is that we couldn’t see our success stories through the daily routine of our jobs. When we understood what we were looking for, we quickly realized the success stories were every where. We also noticed that our stories all had common threads. They were about helping people realize their dreams and impacting lives in ways that were hard for them to imagine at first. They demonstrate how we support people so they can reach their highest potential. The story I am personally most proud to have been a part of belongs to Brad.

I met Brad in 1992, he was living at the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center (FFRTC). After reading his referral information, I thought he would be our biggest challenge yet, but we can do this. Brad and I were both 27 years old. He had never had a successful placement due to his violent tendencies and I had no previous experience helping someone with the severity of his behaviors. His current staff told us Brad was a jolly fellow when things were going his way, but when they weren’t he was considered dangerous. To make matters worse they said he used his 6’ 1”- 200+ pound stature to his advantage with staff and would eventually end up back at the Regional Treatment Center.

I started to second guess our team’s ability to handle Brad, but none the less he moved to CCRI in January of 1992 and we quickly found out the FFRTC staff had painted an accurate picture. He seriously injured many of our staff and the property damage mounted daily. We noticed he always attacked people who were smaller than him. Rather than give up, we developed a new strategy…we would only hire large male staff. But more than that, we exposed him to lots of opportunities and freedom he had never had before. This clearly communicated to Brad that we believed in his ability to succeed. This was a turning point and things really started to change for him. He developed a bond with his team and he didn’t want to disappoint any of us.

Today, we are both 41 years old. In the fourteen years we have been together, CCRI has earned the reputation as the agency that can handle most any client and Brad is awesome! He travels regularly, he is employed, volunteers, attends church, has many, many friends and lives in a nice home. Now his staff


are both male and female - most of them smaller in stature than him! In addition, he knows most of his staff’s families and adores their small children. All in all, he is a social butterfly and known far and wide throughout the community.

Three years ago, Brad made it obvious that the past was just that…the past. Brad was asked to present an award at a state-wide convention to one of his long time DSP’s, Maury Nissen. Maury had been chosen as one of only six winners for an award given only to DSP’s in Minnesota. Brad brought a room of 1500 people to tears when he delivered an emotional speech telling everyone what Maury has meant to him and his success. Today Brad frequently advocates for his DSP staff by speaking with state representatives on their behalf. When I share Brad’s story and his history with others they often say, “Brraaddddd?.…No way, I can’t believe it.” I use this as an opportunity to explain to tell them, “This is what working at CCRI means. You will help change lives in ways that are hard to imagine.”

As we look forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary, I want to brand CCRI as the agency you go to when the skies the limit; when you are looking to fulfill your dreams; when no mountain is too high; when you want to make a contribution to something great; when you want to: Reach higher, reach for CCRI. We have earned the brand that says with confidence that we can help your “Brad” live a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Rhonda King


Director of ProgramsI imagine it’s no surprise to anyone when I say we jumped full force into 2006. The year brought us many challenges to deal with and systematic changes to implement. A lot of hard work, perseverance and dedication on the part of our staff made this another successful year at CCRI.

The year started with the implementation of a new service at CCRI. We were officially certified to provide Adult Mental Health Rehabilitative Services (ARMHS). This service is for people 18 or older who experience mental health symptoms. Sue Korman, an LICSW joined our team to serve as our Treatment Director for the services. In addition to extensive training in mental health, the program requires a more stringent set of qualifications for staff. Sue has done a fabulous job of ensuring we meet all those training requirements and has been able to hire a great staff to provide the services. We officially started accepting referrals in February and are currently serving 26 people in the program.

The merger of the Options and In Home Support program provided Lynette and me with great challenges this year. While the service provided in both programs was funded similarly, the systems each program had in place to provide the service were completely different. This meant Lynette and her staff had to determine how best to merge systems in order to continue to provide quality jobs for our employees and quality services for our clients. We spent a lot of time analyzing what systems work well and what systems need to be redefined. As a result of this the department has developed great new systems to deal with data collection, staff supervision, quality assurance and scheduling. They are hoping to have the last major system revamp completed within the next couple months. Lynette’s team has worked very diligently to make this transition for our families, clients and staff a positive one.

The group home continued to face challenges this year. As the clients of the home continue to age, it has become more difficult to provide the level of service they require. For example, the home is filled with stairs and we have a couple folks who are nearing the point of needing a more accessible home due to aging. In addition the funding mechanism for the group home does not provide much latitude for additional staffing to meet the needs. Due to this the decision was made to de-certify the home and develop the home plus an additional home into SLS sites. This will be a difficult transition for our clients as several of them have lived together for many years; however Jennifer has done an excellent job working with the clients and their families as well as our staff to prepare them for the transition.

Sue Lopez, Lynette Weber and I were invited to the North Dakota Facilities Conference this year to facilitate a presentation on team building. The coordinator of the conference attended our session in Las Vegas in 2005. She was so impressed she called to request we present at her conference. We were also invited to present at the National QMRP Conference in San Antonio, TX this summer. Carolyn Cossette joined us for a presentation on the development and incorporation of our Health and Wellness program into the workplace.

I’ve always known I am fortunate to be a part of a great team like CCRI, however as I reflect upon the past year I realize just how lucky I am to work with the great team I do. The challenges we faced as an agency this year were much easier to overcome with the strength of our team. Thank you to all those team members who persevered with us over the last year. Your dedication to CCRI and our clients is outstanding!

Shannon Bock, LSW


Development DirectorSuccessful fund raising is not the process of accruing an ever-increasing quantity of donors; it is recognizing the ones with potential for contributing more and more generous gifts, and then making it as easy as possible for them to do just that. With the development of a formal fund raising position last year, we are in fact making it easier then ever to give to CCRI. Financial, in-kind or planned giving are all vehicles that people can use to support CCRI. Donors will be able to do so via our web-site or directly through the development office. Besides providing more options for giving, we will now provide meaningful information about CCRI, our work and progress as well as measurable results achieved because of donor contributions. People will often give again when they feel confident that their gift was put to good use.

A good example is our first Walk for Disability Awareness event. On October 7th, over 250 people from our community participated in the 5k walk. Since it was the first time we held the event, we couldn’t have been more pleased with the results. We received a $1,500 donation from the walking team “da click” which was comprised of a person from the Options department and his family and friends. Oscar came up with that name and it suggests an understanding and being in harmony, a concept Oscar knows well. The event was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to celebrate the abilities and skills of people with disabilities. Over $9,000 was raised!

We did receive a few grants this year. We received grants from the Fargo Moorhead Area Foundation, Thrivent Financial, and the Department of Human Services. We also applied for our first SAMSHA Federal Grant. Unfortunately we were denied, but it was an important learning experience for all involved. In total at the close of 2006, we received $10,539 in grants. The DHS grant will provide an additional $17,078 through October of 2007.

In February, we launched a direct mail campaign specifically for Camp H.E.R.O. and raised $7855. This was the twelfth season for Camp H.E.R.O. and I think it ranked up there with one of the best. The chance to interact with so many of our clients and to work closely with our excellent team members really energized me and I look forward to coordinating camp again next year.

Working on the CCRI brand has been exciting. Our brand needs to reflect everything associated with our organization, including the quality of our work, reputation, leadership, team members, values and services. They say that your brand is only as good as the people who live it day in and day out. In that case, our brand is going to be fantastic!

Marketing will also go hand in hand with brand development. Currently our visual and verbal messages don’t always communicate the same message. Presently we are working with the Absolute marketing group with the goal of defining and determining our creative elements so we can tie together all visual and verbal messages.

A year ago I thought fund raising was asking the “right people” for money and I believed that just because I asked and shared a little about CCRI that they would give. I now realize how wrong I was. We need to do more than ask, we need to educate and engage. We need to communicate our mission by sharing the amazing work that we do with the entire community. We need a formal development plan, a brand, and a marketing strategy that encompasses our brand and mission. We need to do more than sending


letters and asking for more money - we need a strategy! We need people to believe passionately in our mission and people who admire our work!

This list of challenges may seem daunting but fortunately we have dedicated team members who will continue to provide our clients with the opportunity to experience life to its fullest and pursue their dreams. They do all the hard work - and I’m fortunate to share it! The foundation for a development plan has been laid and it is my job in the upcoming year to promote it! Thanks for the privilege!

Jody Hudson

100% of your gift goes directly to the people we serve. We make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities by tailoring our services to fit each person’s needs. We pride ourselves on providing individualized services, as no two people are alike no two service packages are alike. All donations are used to enrich the daily lives of people with disabilities. Such as purchasing equipment, acquiring specialized transportation, making a house a home, offering an adaptive softball league, outdoor camping experiences, travel opportunities, the list goes on and on. Your donations

can help another person fulfill their dreams.

You can help build memories that will last a lifetime!

WHAT YOUR GIFT DOES


Supported Living Services (SLS)Quality 1st was our top priority for the SLS team in 2006. Our quality assurance surveys from guardians, team members and employees were the best in history. A comment from a family member was, “I can’t begin to put into words how wonderful the employees have been to us and how wonderfully they take care of our family member.” Comments from employees were, “She [my supervisor] does a great job of telling employees how appreciated they are and how good of a job they are doing.” “I have an awesome job.” “I love my experiences with CCRI; never been happier at work.” Comments like these demonstrate how we make dreams happen for the people we serve. Our team is awesome.

Local honor, state recognition, and national representation at world-wide events! Many of the people we serve have taken home the bronze, silver and gold at local and state Special Olympics competitions this year. But one person, Kyle Mason, has been chosen to represent the United States at the 2007 World Summer Games in China for his golfing expertise! CCRI’s athletes have grown by leaps and bounds this year. What used to be a handful, has now grown to entire teams of champions. Maury Nissen, a DSP, has called, stopped by, and picked up folks to introduce them to the sporting world. As he talks to people at huge round robin events, he plants the seed of excitement in them, and begins painting the picture of what can be if they get involved with Special Olympics. Later he will follow up with the seasons’ schedule of events. Little by little Maury has drawn a large number of participants to Special Olympics and is developing leaders as he goes. Allen Jang, another DSP and Special Olympics’ Coach, received the prestigious award of “Special Olympics’ Volunteer of the Year”!

We have 251 outstanding Direct Service Professionals (DSP’s) that work each day to make dreams come true for all of the 72 people we serve in SLS. This year, Duane Hickel, Allen Jang, and Curtis Fadness were nominated for an ARRM’s Cares Award for their professional, creative and innovative approaches each of them bring to work each day. It’s our whole team that makes things happen for people like Stephen.

Stephen was living in a nursing home. The nursing home staff doubted that he would live more than a few months if he was served outside of a medical facility. Stephen was in the latter stages of Muscular Dystrophy. Thanks to support from his guardian and county case manager, Stephen was granted the opportunity to move into his own apartment. Here Stephen out lived his life expectancy, with zest and dignity thanks to our great team. We helped Stephen live a life similar to that of other men his age. Although he got sick and was hospitalized often, that only slowed him down momentarily. His medical team commented that his visits were infrequent and stays shorter, proving that living in his own home was successful. It took the better part of the day to get Stephen and all his medical equipment ready to go out into the community. Even so, they went out and about on a regular basis. He became quite the social butterfly attending many events with his friends and always lighting up the room with his smile, the twinkle in his eyes and his wonderful sense of humor.

Stephen’s favorite holiday was Halloween. Stephen loved to dress up and one his DSP’s, Duane went all out and dressed up like John Travolta, pink pants and all. Stephen died on November 1, 2006, the day after he celebrated his favorite holiday to the fullest. Although Stephen’s death was difficult for many, Duane remained strong, and participated in the funeral arrangements because Stephen’s family lived very far away. In his eulogy, Duane brought us all to laughter and tears with memories. Duane shared the many things


he learned in the 14 months he worked with Stephen. He learned how to live life to the fullest and love the life you have. He learned to live each day like it’s not the last, and to tell people how much you love them. Duane ended his eulogy by telling us he would always tell Stephen as he left for the day, “See you tomorrow.” On Fridays, he would tell him, “See you on Monday.” And today at the close of the funeral, he told Stephen, “I will see you in heaven.”

I am privileged to be surrounded by a dedicated team of RC’s and PC’s. Each of them has worked as a Direct Service Professional. This experience helps each of them to lead by example and have a passion for creating and coordinating fantastic life experiences for those we serve.

RC Team: Jennifer Fester, 10 years; Eric Hilber, 8 years; Nate Dyrendahl, 5 years; Nicole Carlson, 4 years; Natalie Ward, 6 months.

PC Team: Julie Hanson, 15 years; Karen Reichel, 11 years; Dee Davis, 10 years; Maliwan Poer and Jenn Jordheim, 4 years; DeAnn Wendinger, Kari Nims, Meagan Pepelnjak, 3 years; Teresa DeMers, Rachel Haberlach, Becky Sallberg, and Stacie Rinke, 2 years; and Susan Russell, 1 year.

Our biggest challenge for 2007 will be moving the SLS administrative team. In an effort to allow them to be closer to the people we serve and our employees, we started the process of moving office locations off site to the homes in which those we serve reside. We look forward to making this transition a smooth one and the new opportunities it will bring!

Sue Lopez


Options DepartmentAt the beginning of the year, the Options and the In Home Support department merged. Although it hasn’t come without its challenges, there have been many many exciting achievements as well.

With the merge, we continue to provide a wide array of services in one department. This made it easier to differentiate between our 24-hour services and non 24-hour services. The Options department covers all non-24 hour services. Types of services include Semi Independent Living Services (SILS), Independent Living Services (ILS), In Home Support (IHS), Personal Care Assistance (PCA), Homemaking and Respite services. The Options department currently serves 202 individuals and employs 143.

During the transition, current Options department Residential Coordinators, Allison Smith, Carmel Froemke and Dave Pompe were very helpfu. They shared a great deal of knowledge with other members on our team. We had three new Residential Coordinators join our team this year. Jennie Brusven, Marilyn McMurray, and Rachelle Staton each bring a variety of experience to the department also and have brought many new ideas to light. Our team spent the last few months developing systems and policies for the department. We are all very excited and motivated to see the impact all of these ideas will have in the department. Dee Davis, SLS PC, agreed to assist us during Carmel’s maternity leave. Dee enjoyed working in Options so much she decided to continue to work in our department and transfer from SLS.

When visiting with the Residential Coordinators in the spring, they requested that they wanted to be able to spend more time with their clients and their employees and spend less time scheduling. We made the decision to hire two Scheduling Coordinators, Kayla Aanenson and Paula Short. They are a great addition to the team. They both have over 15 years of scheduling experience. New scheduling software was purchased and they have been able to fill an average of 93% of all requested hours per month. We are also able to fill a variety of hours with a smaller pool of employees. The scheduling software also lets us know if we double schedule or if someone is in overtime, which has helped us reduce our overtime numbers.

We also conducted a variety of team building activities throughout the year at our staff meetings, including our DSP retreat. These activities have been very helpful, as many of the employees don’t know each other. In the Options department, the individuals receiving services and the employees working with them don’t have a lot of interaction with other DSP’s. It has been fun to see how each person brings unique talents to our team.

We expanded the number of activities we design and offer each month to attract individuals of all ages. The Options department provides services to individuals from the age of 2 to 93 years old. The activities we developed again this year were a huge success. Some of the Day Camp activities included farm day, camping at the park, and a day at the zoo. We had a couple of individuals we serve volunteer to help out some of the younger people during the activities. It was nice to see all of these individuals interact with each other no matter what their age.

The Options department received a number of compliments from individuals and families. One comment was, “CCRI DSP’s have an amazing, natural talent and ability to interact with and impact the lives of the people they work with.” One mother stated, “After working with Eric, my son is now gleaming with self confidence and has a very strong sense of who he is and what he wants to be. My son lights up every time he sees Eric! Eric is the best!”

Lynette Weber


Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health (ARMHS)ARMHS – What is it? Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services is CCRI’s newest and fastest growing program. Through the ARMHS program, we are able to provide mental health services to adults on an individual basis, in their home or another community setting. ARMHS focuses on helping individuals develop or enhance psychiatric stability, social competencies, and independent and community living skills. Among other skills, we work with our clients on managing symptoms of mental illness, improving social skills, money management and budgeting skills, finding and maintaining an apartment, developing a healthy lifestyle and developing transportation skills.

ARMHS relies heavily on principles of psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) and recovery philosophy. Consistent with CCRI’s Guiding Principles, PSR is person-centered, supports the individual’s stated needs and goals, emphasizes strengths and is based on a partnership between the client and staff. Our belief is that even though some mental illness cannot be cured, recovery from mental illness is possible. We play a vital role in recovery by bringing this belief and hope to the relationship.

Over our first year, we have had significant growth in the program. We were locally certified by Clay County Social Services in December of 2005, shortly after which we received our state certification from the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Our first referral came in February, and from there we took off. As of December 2006, we have 26 clients in the program. In total, we served 35 clients in 2006. We have received referrals from various sources including social services, homeless shelters, other clients and self referrals. Over the year, a good portion of our referrals have come from homeless shelters, particularly Churches United for the Homeless. Nineteen clients were homeless and so far we have been able to help 14 of them obtain and maintain housing. It is extremely satisfying to work with a client who has experienced long term homelessness and see him or her take steps toward a more stable life once housing is finally obtained. We had high hopes of being able to work even more with this population by obtaining a federal SAMSHA Treatment for the Homeless grant. Though Jody Hudson, Shannon Bock and Sue Korman spent many hours preparing the grant, ultimately we did not receive this. Despite this, we will continue to serve this population as we are able.

“ARMHS helped me get a place. It is helping me get more stable, and it’s helping me get some control in my life.” These comments were made by Todd, an ARMHS client we began serving in March of 2006. At that time, he had been homeless for 3 years, living between shelters and friends’ homes. He was unemployed and having problems with mood instability and motivation. Todd’s strengths included his friendly and humorous personality. Today, Todd is living in a furnished townhouse which is part of the new Permanent Supportive Housing Program of Clay County Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Lakeland Mental Health Center. He is working part-time in food service at a local elementary school. Although Todd continues to contend with symptoms of mental illness, he has achieved a more stable and structured lifestyle.

Anita, another ARMHS client comments, “ARMHS has helped me get a roof over my head, helped me get established and helped me get started at succeeding at my goals. It has helped me get both feet planted on the ground. I wanted to change my life around and have a better life, so I could live in an environment of my choosing.”

As our numbers have grown, so has the number of our employees. We want to give special recognition and thanks to two of our employees, Debra Schillinger and Dave Fortin, Mental Health Rehabilitation Workers who have been with us since the start of the program. Both brought a strong interest in this new program and an inherent understanding of the importance of relationship in the delivery of services.

As 2007 approaches, we look forward to continue growth in the ARMHS program with increased opportunities to reach out and serve others. In addition to the one on one services, we anticipate developing and offering an Illness Management and Recovery Group.

Sue Korman


Group HomeThis has been another fun year for the Group Home. The spring and summer were filled with many outdoor activities. Everyone took advantage of the nice weather. There were many picnics, parades, bike rides, trips to the lake, boat rides, softball and camp. While at home Lane and David enjoyed the patio and David’s basketball hoop to play basketball. Others would sit on the lovely bench that Matt and

Zona Mathison graciously donated in memory of Rick. During the fall everyone has found ways to enjoy the season. There were hayrides, trips to the pumpkin patch, a costume party and Halloween dance. They will be finishing out the year with a tour of lights, decorating the home, a gift exchange and some holiday parties.

The group home has been blessed with another year of little employee turnover. This is so nice for the individuals at the home. They see the employees as part of the group home family. On the other hand, there is one employee that is changing her role at the group home. Although I have enjoyed my job for many years, I have decided to take another position within CCRI. I have worked at the group home for over nine years. Some of it has been as a group home manager and some as a group home coordinator. In my new role, I will be a Residential Coordinator for the SLS department. Although I will not be working directly with the individuals at the group home anymore, I will continue to supervise their home. I will miss being involved in their daily lives like I was, but I am looking forward to my new role. As my children have grown, I have seen the need for some more flexibility in my schedule and this new position will provide that.

Not only is the group home blessed with consistent employees, it has also been blessed with excellent employees who step up to

the plate as new challenges arrive. One challenge employees have seen is changes in the needs of the residents as they age. The oldest resident at the group home turned 80 this year. Another resident has entered the later stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. It is very hard to see some of these changes, but our wonderful employees have made accommodations to make this new stage in their life easier. Through their loving and patient care the residents at the group home have been able to remain in their home rather than moving to a nursing home. As long as we can still meet all of their needs, we want to continue to help them through this stage of their lives.

We have also been planning for an exciting new transition because several individuals have been having difficulty with the stairs as they age. We need to provide a more accessible home to some of the individuals and provide additional employees to help with their increasing needs. For this to happen we will have to decertify as a “Group Home” and transition into two waivered SLS department homes. Three individuals will continue living in the current home and we are in the process of finding another home for the other three. It is going to be a bittersweet change. It will be hard to move the two groups apart as they have been together for so long. But it will also be a wonderful change. They will no longer have to fear falling on the steps. They may also find that moving to a new home is a fun new adventure. For those who remain in the current home, they may enjoy having a whole room to themselves. Even though change may be hard, it has its rewards.

Jennifer Fester


Medical ServicesThis past year has been one of the best I can remember in Medical Services. The department has really become a busy nursing station. On any typical day we have RC’s and PC’s stopping in and asking for advice or suggestions. We also see individuals we serve with their DSP’s that drop in for their routine visit or anytime they have a concern. Then we see some of the employees in our office that are monitoring their weight, blood pressure, or just have some health related question.

As the nursing duties continued to grow, we became aware that we needed more help. We hired additional employees for the Medical Services department this year. Meaghan Dullea has been with CCRI for 4 years. She began working as a DSP while going to college and is now working fulltime at CCRI as an LPN. Her experience as a DSP is very helpful in understanding how we can provide the most support to the employees working at the homes of those we serve. Shelly Petersen, a fulltime RN, was hired in February of this year. She brings with her a variety of experience but mostly as a hospital OB nurse, which has come in handy around the office with the baby boom around here. Darlene Stanton is an LPN who was hired part time in July. She works fulltime at an area nursing home and helps us out as needed.

Meaghan and I provided the nurse coverage at camp this year. This is the first year we were able to have two nurses at camp. This change made for a safe and fun-filled camp experience for everyone. Shelly remained in the office to provide the needed nursing support while we were gone.

The Health and Wellness Committee had a successful year with several fun activities planned. In May, we had a wet and rainy “Spring Fling” event at Gooseberry Park. Even in the drizzle it was very well attended and people were eager to be outside after the winter. The event started with a poker run around the park and everyone was to bring their own brown bag lunch. The main attraction was the huge jumping balloon. Several individuals we serve, employees and children got their exercise jumping in the very fun and very wet balloon.

We had an educational day at the Annual Health Fair. We were able to have health screenings and overall health assessments done with the results printed for us while we were there. This was very informative and helped each person learn more about their individual health status. Each year we have the health screenings, we always have a few people that learn that they have a medical condition that needs to be followed-up with their regular doctor.

I can’t forget to mention what a successful “The Biggest Loser” CCRI-style contest we held in the beginning of 2006. There were 78 participants who lost over 416 lbs in 10 weeks. Participation was more than we anticipated and the success of some has been life changing. It is not just the weight loss but the lifestyle changes that individuals made that will be their long term success. For each person, personally, there was a great payoff toward improving their health and learning skills that they can do each and every day for the rest of their lives. We heard many comments like, “This contest has made a huge impact on my life and I am thankful that CCRI is interested in helping employees, their family members, and those we serve, to pursue and spur on their interest in living a healthier and fuller life.”

The Health and Wellness Committee is excited about the upcoming year. We have some new members on the committee and we plan to make 2007 the best year yet.

Carolyn Cossette, RN


Human Resources2006 was the year for change in Human Resources. In February, Sheena Bolgrean joined the team as HR Assistant, I became HR Director in March, and Michelle Colvert joined the team in September as Employment Representative.

Sheena has an Associates degree as an Executive Administrative Assistant with a medical emphasis. Since starting at CCRI in February, she has managed to streamline and improve many systems and processes. She is currently doing a terrific job managing the on-going training requirements for our employees.

Michelle, formerly of Prairie St. Johns, came to CCRI with several years of experience in HR and has brought a wealth of knowledge and new ideas. After some realigning of HR job responsibilities, Michelle took over the employment cycle. She is heavily involved in the recruiting and interviewing of new employees and coordinates the new hire orientation process. She will also be monitoring turnover and finding new ways to increase employee retention.

I also have several years of HR experience with a variety of companies in the area. I came to CCRI originally in the position of Recruiter, but when my predecessor left the agency shortly after I started, I stepped into the role, making me famous for what my co-workers jokingly refer to as, “The fastest promotion in CCRI history!” I have never made a better decision – I have been enjoying the challenge and opportunity that the position has afforded me.

A continuing challenge that the agency has faced this year is finding quality individuals to recruit. After several months of higher than average turnover, we have refined the interview process to target more desirable individuals. We have found that some of the more high-quality people we recruit come from employee referrals, so we organized a referral contest that brought in 84 employee referrals over the course of 4 months! Additionally, Michelle has developed some new advertising and we are exploring many new candidate sources. We continue to monitor the demographic shift that is the result of the Baby Boomers leaving the workforce, and are exploring ways to retain and recruit these individuals to come to work for us.

New hire orientation has changed again. In 2005 it was changed to be 2 longer days instead of 3 days. We have improved the process even further this year by getting various people from administrative and management team involved in teaching different parts of the orientation curriculum. It has been very positively received by new employees, who enjoy the variety of speakers and styles. It also provides the participating team member an opportunity to expand their role within the agency and take on new challenges. For example, Rachel Haberlach, one of the SLS Program Coordinators, recently went through a training program that allows her to be a certified instructor for Rule 40/Crisis Intervention. In addition to being able to provide new employees with a quality training opportunity, she can also train other individuals to be trainers as well.

One of our continual struggles is how to track employees’ on-going training requirements. We converted to a new database this year which has the capability to track this information. There have been a few glitches and bugs with the customized report, but we are getting there! Another project was revising and/or creating several policies. The policy manual had several issues that needed to be addressed, and my hope is to continue examining it and do a complete overhaul during the next year.

We had some good news for the staff this year when it came time to review our health insurance. After receiving our bid from the service cooperative that we have belonged to for several years, it was


determined that it would be in the best interest of the agency to leave the co-op. We solicited several bids and were able to make some improvements to the health plan for less premiums, and in fact were actually able to reduce the employee portion slightly. Additionally, we were able to add on a voluntary vision plan and improve our other voluntary benefits as well.

Overall, I feel that the new HR team has been able to learn and grow, bring fresh ideas to the agency, and overcome some big hurdles. We have many plans for the coming year, and I’m sure that we will be able to make 2007 one of the best years yet!

Andrea Ryan


Employee Retention

258

172 170 159

85

50 43 3824 27 20 14 16 5 4 9 18 17 16 9

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2006 2005 2004 2003 2006 2005 2004 2003 2006 2005 2004 2003 2006 2005 2004 2003 2006 2005 2004 2003

1-3 years 4-6 years 7-9 years 10-12 years 12+ years

2007 EmployeeLongevity10-12 Yrs

4%

7-9 Yrs6%

4-6 Yrs21%

1-3 Yrs64%

12+ Yrs4.5%

1-3 Yrs experience 4-6 Yrs7-9 Yrs 10-12 Yrs12+

# of Employment Applications

602

754654

732

554

321

0

200

400

600

800

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

Referral Bonus

56 5341

62

3217

020406080

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

New Hires

189181

202

183 184 179187

160170180190200210

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

FT Positions

141 138 137

112 115102

82

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Total Team Members - ending

401 411 399 366 326 284 276

0100200300400500

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Terminations/Quits

194 153 143 150 133 157 143

0100200300

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Team Member Turnover

47.9132.79 39.96 41.84 44.03 47.91

56.72

0

20

40

60

2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000


Business OfficeOur team in the Business Office expanded this year by adding two new positions. In January, we added a new twenty hour position to handle the Options department time sheets, expense sheets, billing, and service agreement authorizations. The purpose was to help support the Options department growth and reorganization. This allows the Options department Residential Coordinators more time to work with the people they serve and their employees. This position is currently held by Breanna Rubertus.

In May, Kent Schultz became our first Technology Manager. What an asset he and the position have been to the agency. The list of things we have already accomplished seems endless. We are very excited about the opportunities this brings to CCRI as we carry out our strategic plan. His initial priority was setting up a virtual private network through the web site. This allows the administrative and management team access to the CCRI server and data from any location; therefore, much more work can be done outside of the office.

Our next step will be to move SLS management offices, such as RC’s and PC’s, to the homes of the people we serve. We have tested this arrangement and worked out the kinks. We are expecting several sites to be ready to go the first quarter of 2007. Kent is also involved with the MRDD software, which we are now using as the employee database. Custom programming was completed in late December for the MRDD client database. We will be moving the client database from FileMaker Pro to MRDD in 2007. We also purchased a scheduling software system for the Options department. Kent has been very instrumental in making improvements to these software packages.

In July, our board member Julie Herman-McMichael helped us secure a software donation from Microsoft valued at $15,900! Kent will be using this for various other projects. In addition, we now have an intranet system, changes to our web site and many other additions that help make people work more efficiently. The biggest challenge for 2007 is figuring out how to link our scheduling software to the billing process software system in order to eliminate a lot of data entry and decrease the possibility of human error.

Sheri Olerud, Office Coordinator, is moving to a new position some time during the first quarter of 2007. She will work closely with the Director of Development and Executive Director on marketing materials. The Office Coordinator position will be filled by Linda Hovland. We purchased a new auto feed postage meter and we replaced our aging copier with a new network capable Canon copier. It has finishing features like hole punching, booklet making, folding, stapling, scanning documents to e-mail and the ability to make full-color items. These machines will increase the efficiency of the business office as they can do many functions we currently have to do manually. Tony Pagenkopf also works in the office part-time to support the team.

Linda Halvorson is our accounts payable specialist. She processes about 600 checks a month and is essential part of supporting the financial management systems throughout the agency.

This year we found out that we needed to start accepting our clients GRH (group residential housing) funds on behalf of the clients instead of giving it to them. Setting up and developing all the systems was a major undertaking that was over seen by Sarah Williams in conjunction with Shannon Bock. In November, Sarah accepted a position at the University of Wyoming to fulfill a dream of hers to relocate out west. Kelly Thorne is our new Accountant and is doing great.

Mark McGuigan


Community IntegrationHow does one sit down to condense a year of activities into one page? Especially when it consisted of making several dreams a reality for many of the individuals we serve.

The highlight of my year was an extended vacation to San Francisco with four men in May. Visiting “The Rock” (Alcatraz) was a dream for one of the vacationers, and it was a joy to be able to help him achieve this dream. He had a traumatic brain injury at the age of ten. He always wanted to travel and, particularly, he has wanted to see the sites of San Francisco. He never thought this would ever really happen since he came from a very impoverished, drug-filled background, and did not have money for heat or water, let alone a vacation. Since coming to CCRI in March 2004, the world has opened up to him. He currently lives independently and holds a steady job and has the ability to save money for the things in life he never dreamed would be available to him. He also went to Las Vegas with CCRI and had a great time, but it was San Francisco that he truly wanted to experience.

Several times during the trip, he would just stop, look around, and shake his head. He could not believe he was really in San Francisco. When we were at the hotel (at the beginning or end of the day), he would spend all his available time on the balcony, just taking in the scenery, thanking me at every opportunity for helping him get to San Francisco, for helping his dream come true. When it came time to leave, I believe he really did leave part of his heart in San Francisco.

All four of the San Francisco vacationers were so adventurous and tried many new things. Japanese and Korean food, city bus and cab travel, side tours to Muir Woods and Yosemite National Park, plus a city tour and harbor cruise. Everyone told me several times, “Really, we could stay longer if we wanted to!” This was a great trip!

I also lead a trip to Orlando with eight clients and two other employees. We stayed in a beautiful rental house and went to Disney’s Animal and Magic Kingdoms, Sea World, and the Dixie Stampede Dinner Show. On this trip we had an individual along that no one really thought would ever go on an overnight car trip without his family, let alone a six-day trip by airplane with other people he was unfamiliar with! Typically, he is most comfortable at home or in very familiar surroundings, but had watched his roommate take several trips and had gotten a bit jealous of all the fun he had been having. He felt it was time to go on his own trip, and when he was kidded about going to Disney World, he decided that it sounded pretty good. He was in great spirits every day and you never would have known that he had been taken out of his own environment. What a success! Watching him meet all the characters at Disney was an experience I won’t ever forget. See what happens when you dare to dream?

Also on the Disney trip was an older gentleman who had lived with his parents his whole life. He had only lived away from his parents for about a year. No one was sure how he would do on the trip, but his family wanted him to have some travel experiences. They took him to Las Vegas in October, and he went with CCRI to Florida in December. According to this gentleman, he had A LOT more fun with his friends in Orlando, than with his family in Vegas, and he made sure his family knew that. All of the other clients on the trip really enjoyed themselves, too. Four of the travelers had all been on at least one other trip with me and one traveler had never been on a plane before. We made sure everyone got their share of fun! You never know when a dream-making opportunity will arise!

This year, on very short notice, I had the opportunity to take an individual to Bible Camp in June. This was really important to the individual. She is 50+ years old and had only moved out of her parents house about a year ago. She had always dreamed of going to bible camp, and every year when her church had sent kids to bible camps on scholarships, she didn’t quite understand why she didn’t qualify to go, too. It was


great fun for me to be able to help make this dream a reality for her. I will never forget how happy she was to have this experience, and the true look of joy I saw on her face. She grinned from ear-to-ear from the minute I picked her up to go to camp until I brought her back home. To this day, any time I see her, she thanks me for taking her to camp and wants to know if we are doing it again.

I still produce the monthly activity calendar that is sent out to all of the individuals we serve in the agency. The calendar includes several “regular” monthly events that you will find if you look at the Community Integration Calendar. This year I added a “Poor Man’s Supper Club” for the economically challenged individuals in our group who still like to socialize. “In the Kitchen with Kirstin,” a cooking class that I initially developed for Options clients was such a hit last year, that I added not one, but two new classes for the other departments, as well. I also do several seasonal and community-based events as they come around. These are always a big hit. Again this year, I was the coordinator for the Red River Valley Adaptive Softball League, I helped at Camp H.E.R.O., as well as the CCRI Annual Talent Show. Much to everyone’s delight, I decided to have the Halloween costume party at the office instead of a different location. Over 150 people stopped in for tricks and treats. This year, thanks to a donation from Microsoft and Julie Herman-McMichael, we were able to book the Century 10 movie theatre for a private CCRI movie showing. We had 183 people attend for the free Christmas movie and snacks. This event was a huge hit and we hope to be able to do again!

The favorite part of my job still remains to be all the travel plans I get to make and participate in, short days or extended trips. These trips are always conducive to helping someone realize a dream. Even at the Twins baseball games, it always makes me smile to see our determined clients bring their baseball mitts along, just in case that fly ball should come their way.

Looking forward to the next year, I am hoping to reach even more people and get them involved and help them make their dreams a reality. You never know what shape a dream will take… glad I get to be there to see it!

Kirstin GrantDream Maker Extraordinaire


When people come together, amazing things happen at CCRI!

CCRI’s Mission is to:Empower people with disabilities

through creative care.

CCRI began in 1977 when forward-looking parents got together to discuss a dream: a group home for individuals with disabilities. It would be a place where loved ones could live and thrive in a family-like setting. With state and community help, the dream became reality: a group home was developed. It’s success and continued growth led to several other innovative programs and services specially suited for people with disabilities. As a result, CCRI now serves 275 individuals. We’ve come a long ways from those early days. Today, the people we serve could be your next door neighbors.

Scott’s story demonstrates how your donation can help someone live a hap-pier and fulfilled life. Scott, was a 16 year old boy, with a mild developmen-tal disability. He lived in filthy conditions and had no bed to sleep in. He had no clean clothing to wear. He couldn’t prepare any meals because there wasn’t any food in the house to make a meal. He spent most of his time un-supervised and getting into trouble. He was very shy, easily agitated, and had few, if any, friends. Now, thanks to CCRI’s support, this is a distant memory.

After several years, he is gainfully employed. He lives in a beautiful home with three friends. He no longer worries about where his meals are coming from. One of his favorite things is hanging out with his friends like other young 20 year old males. He’s one of the guys! He plays adaptive softball and enjoys weekly recreational outings. He enjoys annual summer camping adventures and trips to see the Minnesota Twins & Vikings games. Due to these experiences he is no longer shy and often eager to initiate activities. Last year, he finally realized a lifetime dream of his by going to Hawaii with six of his friends. Against many odds, Scott has made it.

What Your Gift Does:100% of your gift goes directly to the people we serve. We make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities by tailoring our services to fit each person’s needs. We pride ourselves on providing individualized services, as no two people are alike no two service packages are alike. All donations are used to enrich the daily lives of people with disabilities. Such as purchasing adaptive equipment, acquiring specialized transportation, making a house a home, offering adaptive softball leagues, outdoor camping experiences, travel opportunities, educational and many other recreational opportunities. Your donations can help many other “Scott’s” fulfill their dreams.

You can help build memories that will last a lifetime.For more information, visit our website at www.CreativeCare.orgor contact Jody Hudson, Development Director at 218-331-2024.

Documents

Annual Report 3 - CCRI CCRI Annual Report.… · CCRI Annual Report 2006 ... his referral information, I thought he would be our biggest challenge yet, ... quality assurance and scheduling