New sheltered workshop seeks funding from developmental disabilities board

A new program for county residents with developmental disabilities that wants to teach job skills and create local employment opportunities has asked the Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities to help it get started.

Three members of the Blue Sky Center Inc. board of directors, Kevin Smith, Traci Ritter and Bryan Noack, each have a child with developmental disabilities. The fourth member, Pam Deneke, is a special-education teacher in the Jackson School District.

Noack had been on the Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities, but resigned in June when Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell and then-board chairwoman Dory Johnson questioned Noack's ability to serve without bias because he also works as the paid executive director for Perry County's disabilities board.

Smith said the group hopes to create chances for people like his son to become as self-sufficient as possible, through progressive sheltered workshop and employment programs.

Right now, Smith said, people with developmental disabilities don't have many options after completing high school and often end up in a long-term sheltered workshop or just staying at home. Blue Sky Center would like to help people move out of those workshops through employment programs that provide training. They would also like to build teams of disabled employees and non-disabled job coaches who perform paid services.

"That step from the workshop to employment is a tremendous leap," Smith said.

Two barriers to people becoming active, visible parts of the community are a lack of programs that help with that leap and the limited exposure potential employers have to the developmentally disabled, he said. The community is often unaware of people who are successful in sheltered skills programs.

"No matter how well they do, nobody sees it," Smith said.

At the Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities meeting Tuesday, the Blue Sky Center board and seven interested parents and community members highlighted the needs of county residents and pointed out that service trends are moving away from the traditional sheltered workshop setting toward integrated employment. The Blue Sky Center's goal is for more than 50 percent of workshop participants to move into the employment phase.

As an example that trends are moving away from traditional sheltered workshops, the Blue Sky board cited a recent lawsuit in Oregon. In January, a group of disability advocates filed a landmark class-action lawsuit against the state of Oregon on behalf of 2,300 people working in sheltered workshops. The lawsuit contends the system perpetuates stereotypes that people with developmental disabilities are "not capable of succeeding at real work" and that the state violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by funding programs that segregate and exploit people with disabilities, who are often compensated at much less than minimum wage.

Smith said he hopes Blue Sky Center will add to the services provided by the existing sheltered workshop in the county run by VIP Industries. He estimated there are about 70 county residents who are qualified for services but are not receiving them. He said there is room for both agencies.

Blue Sky Center requested $592,121 plus unspecified employee transportation costs from the Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities to establish its sheltered workshop. The community employment portion would be handled by a separate not-for-profit, Blue Sky Services Inc. Both programs would also seek funding through other sources, such as the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, with the goal of becoming financially independent.

Board chairman Larry Tidd said Friday that board members would continue discussions with Blue Sky Center and evaluate whether the agency's plans fall within state guidelines that govern how the board is allowed to spend public funds. No decisions could be made Tuesday, as fewer than the required majority of five board members were present. The county commission is responsible for appointing board members, and only five of the nine spots have been filled since July.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said Friday the county is screening board applicants and is mindful of the board's ongoing legal proceedings. The board has been embroiled in lawsuits with the local sheltered workshop, VIP Industries, since last March. Two trial dates were postponed, and a new date has not been set.

"As a commissioner, I have concerns abut placing somebody on the board in the middle of this lawsuit that is going on," Tracy said.

Citing concerns about board funds being used for litigation, the commission voted in September to cut the board's tax rate in half. It is now set at 0.0385 cents per $100 assessed valuation, making it the third-lowest rate in the state, behind only by Polk and New Madrid counties.

Tidd said Blue Sky Center's request would be considered independently of the board's legal issues.

Smith said a refusal by the board will not thwart the mission of Blue Sky Center or Blue Sky Services.

"We're not going to give up," Smith said. "We want to help folks with developmental disabilities become part of the community."

The Cape County Board for Developmental Disabilities meets at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at the County Administrative Building.

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