Village Northwest Unlimited 330 Village Circle

Located in Sheldon, Iowa, Village Northwest Unlimited began in 1974 under the name of Handicap Village of Northwest Iowa. Currently, 180 individuals with disabilities receive a wide array of services and training from the Village. These 180 individuals represent several different types of disabilities including mental retardation, brain injury, cerebral palsy, autism, etc.

The Village has five homes located on its picturesque campus that are licensed ICF/MR (Intermediate Care Facility for the

Mentally Retarded). Basic living skills needed to move toward greater levels of independence are taught in a warm, home-like atmosphere. Supervision is provided by well-trained staff. Staff to consumer ratio is typically 1:4. Eight to twelve individuals are served in each home, and each individual has a private room.

One of these ICF/MR homes is the Transitional Training Center, the residential training program for individuals with brain injury (see Brain Injury Services). Another one of the ICF/MR homes is specifically designed in function, policy, and philosophy to serve individuals with cerebral palsy. For these individuals, this can be a permanent home. They may or may not progress through other services and homes. These individuals must be able to direct and control their lives, as well as self-advocate. This home has been designed to provide a unique environment where the physically disabled, but cognitively alert individual can control the physical aspects of their home. For instance, light switches are placed low on walls to be wheelchair accessible and touch sensitive. Specially designed sinks and tubs can be raised or lowered to accommodate wheelchairs and safe transfers. Individuals’ private rooms have doors which can be opened/closed electronically. Bathrooms are enlarged for wheelchair access, as are the living and dining rooms.

The Village also has a home located on its campus that is licensed RCF/MR (Residential Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded) and another home licensed RCF (Residential Care Facility). These homes provide supervised living in a family atmosphere that promotes and provides greater independence. Eight to fourteen individuals live in these homes, and supervision is provided on a 1:6 ratio.

The Village also offers semi-supervised, rent subsidized apartment living in an integrated community setting. Here, tenants receive the support and training that the Supported Community Living Program can provide, while accessing the highest level of independent living possible. A Community Homes program also provides drop-in supervision for individuals capable of living in a typical neighborhood with appropriate supervision (daily, or less frequently, depending on needs).

The Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) program provides opportunities for up to 3-4 individuals to live in a community home where there is up to 18 hours of staff support each day. These homes are either owned or leased by the tenants or the Village.

Each individual is assigned a residential advocate. This advocate assists the individual in identifying strengths as well as areas that require additional training. The advocate is an important part of the Interdisciplinary Team. This Team, which includes the consumer and their guardian/family member, secures the proper services that address need areas.

VOCATIONAL SERVICES

Vocational training is coordinated through our two work centers: NW Enterprises which serves individuals with developmental disabilities, and Futures Unlimited for individuals that have sustained a brain injury. Through vocational services, individuals are given opportunities to learn basic work skills that will enhance their potential to be employed in community jobs. In addition to earning a wage based on their productivity, consumers receive training to help them understand

expectations of employers, proper work behaviors, how to complete employment applications, etc.

Vocational Services stresses normalization and maximum employment. Attendance, punctuality, and other work behaviors as well as quality and quantity of work are emphasized in order to achieve advancement to higher levels of training and employment.

A variety of hand assembly work, beverage container sorting, data entry, packaging, and pallet construction are offered in a work center. A variety of community jobs including custodial, food service, classroom aide and tutoring, appliance delivery, grounds keeping, and recycling are available to those who are able to work with limited or no support. Competitive employment within Sheldon or surrounding communities is a goal for individuals having that potential and many people are employed in community jobs.

Each individual is assigned a vocational advocate to assist them in creating a work schedule and obtaining jobs that suit their individual needs and preferences. This vocational advocate is an important part of the Interdisciplinary Team process.

THE INTERDISCIPLINARY/PERSON CENTERED MODEL

After an initial 30-day assessment period, each consumer and their family/guardian help to construct an Individual Comprehensive Plan (ICP) that identifies the individual’s desired outcomes and outlines the consumer’s strengths, needs, and the training necessary to address them. The consumer’s residential advocate coordinates this process on an annual basis. For brain injury services, this process is done quarterly. Several services are represented and available as a piece of the ICP depending on individual needs. Those services include: Residential, Vocational, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Communications/Adaptive Communication Device Training, Exercise and Sports, Recreation and Leisure, Life Skills Training, Nursing, Spiritual Life Services, Pet Therapy, Music program, Sensory Integration (Snoezelen) Services, Psychology, and Counseling. The Village recognizes the importance of family as a support for consumers. We encourage family visits and/or home visits, phone calls, and letters. Generally, the Iowa Department of Human Services allows consumers to be away from the Village for 30 days in a calendar year, and we encourage family to make plans about how those 30 days will be used. We strongly encourage family members to become an active participant of the Interdisciplinary Team, and work closely with the consumer’s residential and vocational advocates to determine proper services.