You may have seen The United Arc in the news recently, or you may have heard rumors of problems at The United Arc. You may be wondering what in the world is going on.
The board of directors believes that it is important for us to communicate with you what has happened, what has been done to correct deficiencies, what still needs to be done, and what the positive future of The United Arc looks like.
To anyone who feels that they have not been well served by The United Arc in the past or who feels that their comments and criticisms went unheard, the board of directors sincerely apologizes. We wish to assure you that this will not be the case for the administration of The United Arc in the future.
The board became aware of a dysfunctional work environment at The United Arc and began to address it in early 2021. We did not realize the depth and breadth of the organization’s dysfunction at that time.
In June, a routine evaluation by the Office of Quality Enhancement (OQE) found significant and severe deficiencies in the administration of three adult services programs: Residential, Shared Living and Individual Home Supports.
Based upon the OQE report, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) decided to revoke The United Arc’s licenses for those three programs, after a 60-day transition period ending on Sept. 20.
DDS granted The United Arc the opportunity to repair deficiencies in the administration of the Individual Home Supports (IHS) program, to potentially allow for a new license application. DDS and the OQE provided a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and set the standards for this new license application.
The United Arc was challenged to accomplish three significantly large tasks during the 60-day period:
■Maintain the health and safety of all the individuals we serve.
■Partner with ServiceNet and DDS to facilitate the transition of the Residential and Shared Living programs to ServiceNet.
■Collaborate with DDS and OQE to address requirements and standards of the CAP.
The health and safety of all the individuals we serve have been maintained.
Residential and Shared Living programs have been successfully transitioned to ServiceNet. Both DDS and ServiceNet acknowledged our cooperation and positive attitude during this difficult process.
The United Arc made significant progress in meeting the requirements of the CAP, including improvements in program reporting structures. As a result, DDS and OQE granted The United Arc a temporary license to continue administering the Individual Home Supports program.
The United Arc’s senior leadership team was reorganized and streamlined.
The leadership team and the board of directors developed a new financial plan for The United Arc.
The United Arc will continue to make improvements in the systems and reporting structures of program administration under the guidance of DDS and OQE.
The United Arc will submit a license application for the Individual Home Supports program after reaching improvement goals, estimated to occur in the next six to eight months.
OQE will conduct an in-depth license review at that time.
Current and future improvements will allow The United Arc to better serve those in our care. The number of individuals and families served by the programs of The “new” United Arc will include Individual Home Supports (45), Adult Support Services (38), and Family and Youth Services (500).
In addition, Positive Parenting, Youth Transition, Self-Advocacy Clubs and Youth Clubs will continue. With these continuing programs, The United Arc seeks once again to be an important contributor to our community.
Importantly, senior leadership and staff have a new positive approach to their work. The new United Arc is a point of pride for them. They realize that the success in meeting our recent challenges was a group effort by a dedicated team of individuals.
Finally, the board of directors along with the senior leadership team pledge to be both open and transparent. We want to assure you that your voices will be heard.
Please contact us at theunitedarc.org/contact-us/ for any questions or comments that you may have.
Our wish to all is for continued health and happiness.
Bruce Biagi is president of The United Arc board of directors.