Liberty Parks, Operations Manager at Profiles Productions, has received two awards by the Arkansas Press Association.

Parks received a single news photograph and single sports action photograph award.

“We are so happy to have Liberty working for us,” said Executive Director Jackie Fliss. Although she’s not employed as a photographer, Independent Living Services benefits from her unique skill set.”

Parks’ photos will be included in our new brochures and our upcoming 2011 annual report.

“She makes my job so much easier,” said Development Director Bobby M. Kelly III. “I’m better equipped to tell our story through the photos she takes. All marketing and communication folks know that great photos are hard to come by.”

Visit www.libertysphotos.com for more information.

Developmental disability is a term used to describe a long-term disability that begins any time from conception through age twenty-one (21) and is attributable to mental or physical impairments or a combination of physical and mental impairments.  Common developmental disabilities include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorder.

Although you may not always be able to recognize a person with a developmental disability, you will find that the person will have a less than average ability to function in a combination of at least three of the following major life activities:  self-care, self-direction, communication, mobility, learning, capacity for independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.  The range of services and supports needed by persons with developmental disabilities varies widely from one person to another.

Without appropriate services and supports, the choices open to people with developmental disabilities, including where they live, work, and play, are minimal.  Without nonprofit community programs, many people with developmental disabilities would receive no services and supports at all.

Independent Living Services is licensed by DDS as a nonprofit community program, and we serve over 200 persons with developmental disabilities in Faulkner, Pulaski, White, Cleburne, Perry, Conway, Pope, and Van Buren Counties.

We provide these services, most of which are funded through the Arkansas Medicaid program, with an annual budget of over $6 million.

We employee a total of 375 full-time and part-time employees to provide these services.

In addition to being licensed by DDS as a nonprofit community program, we are also accredited nationally by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

Joey Rivers with some of the 70 tons of paper recycled by Profiles Productions in 2010. BECKY HARRIS PHOTO

Closets cluttered with old files?

Running out of room in the drawers in your desk?

It’s time to clear out those really old bank statements and tax files.

In fact, according to the Internal Revenue Service, they won’t come looking for anything from the year 2003 and older.

If you are ready to get a move on with this project after the New Year, Joey Rivers has a solution for you.

Rivers is the manager of Profiles Productions, a recycling enterprise on Jim’s Lane. (Jim’s Lane intersects Oak Street near Rideout Lumber.)

His team provides confidential document destruction and recycling for individuals and businesses of any size.

Profiles Productions is an enterprise of Independent Living Services that provides jobs for 55 persons with disabilities.

“We are careful about handling other people’s business,” Rivers said, “and our men and women love to work. They especially like that check they get every two weeks.”

Michelle Phillips, a Certified Public Accountant and a new customer of Profiles Productions, said she encourages her clients to discard documents in a safe way.

“Instead of just throwing things away, using an agency like Profiles Productions helps prevent identity theft,” Phillips said.

“While sorting through records preparing for this tax season, it would be a good time to discard old papers, especially those that are just taking up space that could be used for other things,” she said.

Once documents enter the Profiles Productions warehouse, they are placed in locked containers until it’s time for them to be shredded.

“Our rates are reasonable,” Rivers said, “and we can arrange for in-town pickup.”

“It’s a great service, and it’s a good job for our folks.”

Rivers is energized thinking about ILS’s purchase of the Adult Education Center from the Conway School District.

“It will be an awesome place for us,” Rivers said. “We’ll be able to work under one roof, rain or shine, and our employees will be close to their friends and other services, including classes, transportation and lunch. Really awesome.”

For more information, contact Rivers at 501-328-5019.

(Becky Harris can be reached at 505-1234 or by e-mail at becky.harris@thecabin.net.)

Congratulations to Executive Director Jackie Fliss on being selected as a Nonprofit Executive of the Year finalist for the 2010 Arkansas Business of the Year Awards!

When asked to explain her secret to success Fliss says, “I aim to gather intelligent, talented, caring people and give them the tools, directions and timelines they need to do their jobs and, more importantly, do the right thing. Our employees must have compassion for the consumers and their respective families.”

Florentz Estates

“I also believe that maintaining a strong network with other agencies, developing personal networks, staying in touch with officials in state government, and communicating with community members and businesses has proven to be the key to developing innovative solutions for complex issues.”

Since she took over as Executive Director in 2000, Jackie Fliss has guided Independent Living Services through considerable growth. In the past ten years Independent Living Services has grown from a staff of 85 employees to over 375, a caseload of  70 consumers to over 200 and annual revenues of $2.1 million to $6 .3 million.

Greenbrier Apartments

Jackie oversaw the development and construction of Greenbier Apartments and Florentz Estates in 2007. Since its completion, Florentz Estates has become the model for indoor apartment construction for people with intellectual disabilities in Arkansas. Profiles Productions, a recycling facility offering gainful employment to people with intellectual disabilities, was also started during Jackie’s tenure.

Looking over plans for renovations to the Adult Ed building. Director of Profiles Productions Joey Rivers, Rik Sowell, Executive Director Jackie Fliss, and Director of Day Services Kathy Weatherl

Fliss began her career at Easter Seals of Arkansas. Afterward, she worked for seven years as a Certified Public Accountant. During her seven years as a CPA, she explains, “I was never able to forget the feeling of doing something that mattered. So, I returned to Easter Seals of Arkansas.”

After her tenure  at Easter Seals of Arkansas, Fliss worked as the CFO and Director of Children’s Services at Friendship Community Care, winner of the 2009 Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award presented by Arkansas Business.

Fliss is a member of the Conway Rotary Club and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Fliss played a significant role in founding the Sunshine Optimist Club, which is the first Optimist Club composed of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The club is viewed as the pilot for Optimist International on a national and international level.

Jackie has been married to Larry Fliss for 24 years. The two share two sons, Carter and Jackson, ages 22 and 21.

The 2010 Arkansas Business of the Year Awards, presented by Centennial Bank and Arkansas Business, will be held February 22 in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Log Cabin Democrat

Independent Living Services has purchased the Adult Education Center at 615 E. Robins from Conway Public Schools.

Dr. Greg Murry, school superintendent, said the building was purchased several years ago to also provide a home for the district’s maintenance and food service.

“About 18 months ago, the school district bought the SAS shoe factory to consolidate those services, and once we made that move, we no longer needed the Robins Street building. We were happy to sell to ILS,” Murry said.

As part of the 2012 changes, Sallie Cone Elementary will convert to a Pre-K school, and Adult Ed. will move to the back wing of Sallie Cone.

Adult Ed. will remain at its present location until June 30, 2011.

“We’re not sure where Adult Ed. will be in the intervening time, but we’re looking at a location inside the district’s annex on Lee Street,” Murry said.

The 32,500 square-foot building sold Wednesday for $850,000. After renovations, the total cost is expected to near $1.2 million,” said Jackie Fliss, executive director of Independent Living Services. Financing is provided by Centennial Bank.

Fliss said ILS is now operating at several locations across town in a total of 17,000 square feet.

Board President Cindy Ludford and Executive Director Jackie Fliss

“We are very crowded,” Fliss said.

ILS will renovate the rear of the building for more classrooms and more accessible restrooms.

“We’ll build a commercial grade kitchen so we can prepare our meals instead of having them catered,” Fliss said.

ILS will also have room to park its buses in a locked yard. Currently, they are parked at Conway Apartments, an ILS facility, where the buses sometimes cause accessibility problems for emergency vehicles, Fliss said.

Fliss is entering her 11th year as executive director of ILS.

“One of my goals has been to purchase a building that would bring all our programs together in one place. This certainly fits that need,” she said.

The building will combine Profiles Enrichment Center and Profiles Productions, now located across town from each other.

“We’ll be able to hire more consumers as transportation costs and logistics didn’t allow us to move the workers from the Enrichment Center to Productions and to their homes easily.

“That was a real important part of our wanting a large building,” Fliss said. “They’ll be able to walk a few steps from Profiles and go to work at Productions.

“Because our consumers will have instant access to our case managers, they’ll have better options for services,” Fliss said. “We’re just so excited.”

Independent Living Services was founded in 1970 to provide housing and services for persons with developmental disabilities. It now has more than 375 employees in Central Arkansas and serves 200 consumers.

ILS began as a group home for eight men and was supported by volunteers, including the Junior Auxiliary. It was the first of its kind in the state.

It began with an operating budget of $12,500. Today’s budget is more than $6 million, Fliss said.

Profiles Enrichment Center at Deer and Chestnut streets provides day services for more than 100 adults who receive transportation, lunch and classes in computers, music, art, personal finance, physical, speech and occupational therapy.

Profiles Productions on Jim Lane is an enterprise that employs more than 40 people with disabilities. It has contracts from manufacturers to handle small tasks and last year recycled more than 50 tons of paper.

Following renovation, all these programs will move to the new location.

(Becky Harris can be reached at 505-1234 or by e-mail at becky.harris@thecabin.net)

“I aim to gather talented, caring people and give them the tools, the direction and timelines they need to do their jobs,” Fliss says. This simple management philosophy, albeit simple, has proven to be the catalyst that has propelled Independent Living Services from a small nonprofit organization to one of the largest employers in Faulkner County.

Since she took over as Executive Director in 2000, Jackie has guided Independent Living Services through considerable growth. In the past ten years Independent Living Services has grown from a staff of 85 employees to over 375, a caseload of  70 consumers to over 200 and annual revenues of $2.1 million to $6 .3 million.

Jackie oversaw the development and construction of Greenbier Apartments and Florentz Estates in 2007. Since its completion, Florentz Estates has become the model for indoor apartment construction for people with intellectual disabilities in Arkansas. Profiles Productions, a recycling facility offering gainful employment to people with intellectual disabilities, was also started during Jackie’s tenure at Independent Living Services.

Jackie also played a significant role in starting the Sunshine Optimist Club, the first of it’s kind in the world. The Sunshine Optimist Club aims to help students with intellectual disabilities and their families be better prepared for life after high school.

In 2009 Jackie was honored by Arkansas Business as a finalist for the Nonprofit Executive of the Year.

Jackie has been married to Larry Fliss for 24 years. The two share two sons, Carter and Jackson, ages 22 and 21.

She has been a resident of Conway for 17 years.

Jackie can be reached by phone at 501.327.5234.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the president’s proclamation of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2010. The theme for this year is “Talent Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity Includes People with Disabilities.”

“Across America, there are 54 million people with disabilities, and their talents enrich our communities every single day. Yet opening the door to opportunity for many of these workers remains a challenge. President Obama and I believe this reality undermines the true strength of our economy and our nation, and we are taking decisive steps to address the situation.

“The president signed a landmark executive order on July 26, 2010, that calls on all federal agencies to set goals for increasing the numbers of people with disabilities who are hired. The order also looks to improve the retention and return-to-work rate of federal employees with disabilities.

“Furthermore, with the president’s support, my department is soliciting input from the public on how we can strengthen the affirmative action requirements of the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Proposed changes to this provision of the law would hold federal contractors, which create 25 percent of available jobs in America, to benchmarks for hiring qualified workers with disabilities.

“Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and its Office of Disability Employment Policy have gathered data on the workforce participation and unemployment rates of people with disabilities. These numbers will give policymakers, business leaders, advocates — and every other American — a more accurate picture of the workforce situation facing job seekers with disabilities.

“We recognize that expanding work opportunities is just part of the solution. As for all other workers, training is often the key to securing a good job for those with disabilities. That is especially true for young people. Our support of the National Youth Technical Assistance Center helps state and local workforce development systems better serve youth with disabilities. And ODEP just released the department’s first ‘Return-to-Work Toolkit,’ which is designed to help employees who have not been working due to significant illness, injury or disability return to work.

“People with disabilities are an integral part of our diverse workforce, and access to fair employment for everyone must remain a priority for our nation. To that end, the Labor Department will continue building a long-term infrastructure that helps bring together employers and job seekers, including those who have disabilities. That commitment will endure not just through National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but every single day.”

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Source:

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/ODEP20101400.htm

Rickie and Christina Thomas. Photo: Courtney Spradlin, Log Cabin Democrat

Log Cabin Democrat

Revisiting the storm: Brother and sister Katrina survivors recall journey 5 years later

http://thecabin.net/news/2010-08-28/revisiting-storm

KTHV

5 years after Katrina: New Orleans family calls Arkansas home

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=115372&catid=2

Just a friendly reminder that our 40th anniversary party is one week from today in Simon Park at 5:30pm.

Free hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided by Centennial Bank. Thanks dudes! We will also be handing out free cotton candy, pop corn & sno cones! How about that?

The 40th anniversary party will be a great way for the public to meet and greet our consumers, staff, family members and supporters. You don’t want to miss it.

Click the banner ad below for more information.