walkinstown association Walkinstown Assocation, 1 Longmile Road Walkinstown Dublin 12 Tel: 01-4650388 Fax: 01-4607899 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.walk.ie walkinstown association STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 2 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 5 Introduction 6 Walkinstown Association Services 7 History Day Services Residential Service Respite Service Community Inclusion Service Clinical Support Service Recreational Service Model of Service Delivery Philosophy of Low Arousal Our Beliefs about Behaviours that Challenge Our Mission 12 Our Guiding Values & Beliefs 13 Our Strategic Goals 14 Goal 1 – Delivering Person Centered Services Goal 2 – Promoting and Supporting Social Inclusion Goal 3 – Responding to Changing Needs and Future Demands Goal 4 – Becoming an Employer of Choice Goal 5 – Maintaining Effective Communication Goal 6 – Ensuring Efficient and Effective Financial Management Goal 7 – Providing Strong Governance Premises 23 Management Team 24 3 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 4 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 FOREWORD It gives me great pleasure to welcome the first Strategic Plan of Walkinstown Association. The plan has been developed in response to the changes taking place in our environment, and the learning that has occurred in our Association and society in general over the last number of years. This learning has led to a greater welcome for the participation of people with disabilities in community life; has focused more on the contribution a person can make and less on personal limitations, and has clearly identified social inclusion as a goal for enriching our communities and the lives of people with disabilities. Our changing environment has also brought a welcome emphasis on the rights of people with disabilities to be treated as equal citizens, and to exercise choice in the services that they receive. As we face into the future, our new environment will require us to increase our responsiveness to the changing needs and wishes of service users and families, we will need to engage in a continuous cycle of service improvement, and our understanding of our role in the lives of people with disabilities will become more defined – our role is to serve. I am confident that the Strategic Plan addresses the challenges that we face, and that the dedication of our management and staff will ensure that its ambitious aims are realised for the benefit of our service users and their families. Joe Connolly Chairman 5 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 INTRODUCTION The need for our Association to renew its mission and engage in strategic planning has been influenced by a variety of factors. The task of facilitating social inclusion with limited resources; the importance of supporting service users in exercising their rights; the challenge of providing individualised services; and the need to recruit and retain staff of the highest quality, were all significant issues. Demands from the statutory environment in which we operate have also influenced the plan. These require us to deliver services based on person centred plans; to actively support advocacy by and on behalf of service users; and, to meet independently evaluated service quality standards in the not too distant future. While each of these changes addresses a specific issue in service provision, they all support one particular development – the empowerment of each service user to choose the services that he or she receives. This development represents a significant shift in decision-making power from the organisation to service users and their advocates. It will require flexible and creative responses at service delivery level, and the design of services in accordance with service user choices is likely to result in altered roles and responsibilities among staff. This new environment requires a strategy, which acknowledges that the level of change will impact on all areas of the Association. Adjustments in organisational policies, procedures, systems and practices will be required to ensure that they support the goals of individualised plans; and a process of organisational re-design will emerge as service users needs and chosen goals are placed at the centre of organisation strategic development. In addition to the above, the issues of supporting ageing service users, coping with challenging behaviour, and providing services for individuals with complex needs will remain a daily feature of service provision in the association. This Strategic Plan is designed to address the challenges that we face. It is informed by statements of organisation mission and beliefs that will guide our decision-making and activities, and which will ensure that our services are based on firm foundations of positive values and person centredness. Ultimately, the achievement of our strategic goals will be dependent upon the willing commitment of organisation staff; on the basis of our past achievements, I have no doubt that this commitment will be forthcoming. Joe Mason Chief Executive Officer 6 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 OUR SERVICES HISTORY Walkinstown Association was founded in 1967 by a group of parents and friends in response to a need for community based services for people with learning disabilities. The first service opened was a social club originally known as the Sacred Heart Club. This service operated from a number of local halls such as Walkinstown Youth Club and the Sisters of Charity school hall. In 1979 the Association received a donation of a pre-fabricated building from St. Mary’s hospital in the Phoenix Park. This was moved to a site at 1 Long Mile Road provided on a long- term lease by the Sisters of Charity. Many of the people who attended the social club had no other service and in response to that need in 1981 the Association opened its first day service. This service provided eight places and was staffed by a full time manager and a team of local volunteers. The service was funded by local fundraising, which included an annual wheelchair push from Dublin to Tralee. In 1990 due to financial difficulties St John of God Hospitaller Services took over the Day Service. However the Social Club remained under the control of Walkinstown Association. In 1992 due to rationalisation St John of Gods closed the service. Due to the Associations continued commitment to community-based services the Day Service reopened in 1993 with a grant of £25,000 from the National Lottery. This grant enabled the provision of eleven places and the employment of a full time manager with further staff provided by FAS under their Community Employment scheme. In 1994 the Association received recognition as a service provider under Section 65 of the 1953 Health Act. This recognition enabled the Association secure regular grants and saw its income rise from £10,773 in 1993 to £64,308 in 1994. This regular funding allowed the expansion of the Day Service to fourteen places and for the first time put the Association on a firm financial footing. In 1995 the Association opened its first community residential house at 76 Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore in partnership with the Eastern Health Board. Over the following five years the Association expanded its Day Service to twenty two places and opened a Home Support Service. In 2001 a Home Support service tailored to the needs of young adults who were out of service was opened with funding from the Northern Area Health Board. In 2001 after a decade of political lobbying the Association received funding to build a new Centre at 1 Long Mile Road on the site kindly donated by the Sisters of Charity. During construction the Associations Day Service moved to the Scout Den on Bunting Road. In June 2001 the new Centre opened and between then and 2006 the Day Service expanded to provide forty six places. The Association also continued to expand its residential services with the purchase of 40b Dargle Wood, Knocklyon in 2002, 37 Orlagh Park, Knocklyon in 2004 and 27a Walnut Close, Kingswood Heights in 2005. 7 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ WALKINSTOWN ASSOCIATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012 The organisation has undergone considerable expansion and current services including: Day Services To provide a tailored holistic service that promotes the growth and development of adults with intellectual disability through the provision of appropriate training, education, social, recreational and occupational programmes. To provide a comprehensive system of services that enable individuals to exercise self- determination, be independent, be productive, and be integrated and included in all facets of community life. Residential Service The Association provides residential services in five homes in the Knocklyon, Orwell, Inchicore, and Kingswood areas of Dublin. A sixth home will open in 2008. The objectives of the residential service is the integration and inclusion of service