The transcript for this presentation was edited for ease of reading. The intent 
of the original content was not changed by these edits.

Clip #3

We looked at individualized service plans demanding a new program model.   I 
hesitate using "program model." I'm saying that because we're all kind of used 
to that phrase.  There are better ways to say that, I'm sure.  We know the 
federal status.  We know all this stuff.  Medicaid's cut. The economy's weak. 
The war on terrorism is number one priority. We're not arguing that.  In our 
state, the new governor is a democrat.  That doesn't make much sense.  I want to 
throw this in.  That politics do have a tremendous impact on funding.  There's 
no way to get around it, because funding develops through relationships.  
Relationships change when politicians change.  The other thing is in our state 
the legislature is republican.  

There were literally overnight, 164 million in-state cuts for Medicaid, 
overnight, with this new governor.  The Waiver is now more costly to the state.  
We have growing waiting lists and more institutional placements in our state.  
In our counties, we have tax increases and a 20% budget cut.  Our hit on the 164 
million was 5 million in our counties. We re-established the waiting lists. 
They're no cost-of-living increases for providers and funders such as, United 
Way.  Other grant sources are also cutting back.  [At] VIA, we cut our costs in 
every area we possibly could.  We have gone for five years without a cost-of-
living adjustment.  We have a 200% increase in health insurance over five years.  
We have reduction in fund raising dollars and $100,000 in funding cuts. Whether 
you go from state, federal, or down to the organization, it's déjà vu all over 
again. The sky is falling.  Now what?  

What we decided to do was take the bull by the horns and really put together a 
major transformation plan that pulled in every stakeholder we have.  We 
identified over twenty-seven separate stakeholder organizations, pulled them in, 
and put our heads together with the focus.  I'll show you at the end of this 
presentation, what drove that.  It was our board. It was our mission.  It was 
our commitment to community-based services.  We implemented a reduction, but to 
get there, we had to do short-term, long-term, mid-term kinds of things.  

We reduced our workforce. We spread duties to remaining staff. We upgraded 
computers to reduce our cost. We reduced cost of fund raising by 40%, and we 
held our healthcare cost to zero.  Obviously by reducing those benefits for 
staff, we continued to reduce all facility based services. The reason for that 
is we're leveraging those dollars that we have tied up into facilities into 
employment and into community based services.  We're moving all individuals who 
show strong work skills to community jobs. This is the initial first phase in 
the first year, fifty people.

We're expanding our retirement supports, in a much more community based model.  
We're moving our intensive, inclusive daycare to three valley sites. We're no 
longer going to be in our daycare program.  We're partnering.  That's a big word 
in our plan. We're partnering with a provider that does a tremendous job with 
daycare.  We're providing the help through United Way funding for the training 
of those daycare staff and also certifications of those sites. We’re infusing 
our curriculum model for inclusive daycare in those sites.  We're folding early 
intervention into our remaining space of our home offices.  We're moving our 
ATF, Adult Training Facility, to our workshop.   VIA works out in the community 
as we can.  

We're moving in the next two to three years all of our services the balance, 
that 30%, to the community. We're doing that again by leveraging our existing 
assets.  We're selling access facilities, moving admen and community staff out 
of remaining facilities, and converting it to our major office.  

We're initiating a major capital campaign for new community services buildings 
that are all partnership based, not our organization based.  Another Yogi Bear 
quote [is], "It gets late earlier out here."  This is the most powerful piece of 
our funding approach.  Our board of directors in a very simple and straight 
forward way, in May 2000 made the following motion:  VIA will move all services 
and supports to the community by 2006.  I have my marching orders as a CEO.  I 
have my marching orders as an individual who is committed to community services 
for employment for people with disabilities. My staff now have marching orders 
and a very clear direction on what we're supposed to do and why.