Fall is a season of change. This year, it is also a time of transition for the YAI Network and for the disabilities field. 

At the YAI Network, we are looking at things differently. From listening to and supporting individuals and families, to building partnerships, to measuring our impact on the lives of the people we serve, we are finding new and innovative ways of fulfilling our mission to provide opportunities for people to live, love, learn and work as valued members of their communities.

The field around us is changing, too. Now more than ever government resources on both the federal and state levels are stretched, and we are being called upon to find new ways to provide the same high quality services with fewer resources.

Partnerships are Paramount

To be successful during a season of change that may last several years, we must engage in fruitful, productive partnerships on many different levels which take hold in many different ways.

First, we must continue to work with the people we support, self-advocates, and staff to empower people to build the lives they want. One way that staff throughout our network are achieving this goal is by utilizing Personal Outcome Measures (POMs) in various ways throughout our programs. 

We must partner with families to not only support our mission but to have a seat at the table to influence and help shape the future of our agency. The creation of a new Family Advisory Council is underway and you will be hearing more about it in the coming months.

Families will also play an important role in carrying forth our message and advocating before government to protect vital services for their loved ones, and in educating others about the important work that we do. We must work with elected officials to ensure that the right resources are available for the provision of quality services for those we currently support well as new individuals seeking our assistance.

We will need more than ever before to cultivate partnerships with corporations and individual donors in new ways to ensure that we can continue to provide innovative services that help the people we support achieve their goals. 

One recent example of creative partnership is with Pfizer, who will be honored at our annual gala in October. By hosting a gallery of work created by YAI artists, Pfizer literally created space within their corporate community where people we support can share their talents and connect with Pfizer staff.

Another example is our partnership with Whole Foods, which is supporting our YAI Gardens initiative by donating 5% of sales in all of their Manhattan stores on September 17 to YAI. 

It will be important for us to continue to partner with government and with fellow providers as our field moves to a managed care model to ensure that we are able to provide the highest quality, person-centered services that continue to fulfill our mission. 

We need to develop new partnerships that enhance our communication through technology and effective platforms to engage with and be responsive to all of our stakeholders. You'll be hearing more about our move to new communication platforms and tools in future articles.

A Season of Difficult Choices

Change is not always easy. It is a season of difficult choices. We are challenged to make decisions about how to most efficiently deliver services and provide administrative supports that make them possible.

Our staff members are key in not only listening to and supporting individuals differently but in implementing practices that make us more efficient in how we operate. The rebalancing of government funds through rate rationalization, fee for service, and other initiatives means that we will have to be efficient and creative with our resources and daily business practices.

We are evaluating each and every service model to determine if we are providing supports in the most effective, high-quality way given the current reality.

We are assessing our business practices in order to decrease our administrative expenses. We are decreasing costs throughout our Central Office, and leveraging our strength as a large network to save money through coordinated purchasing of supplies, equipment, and food.

We are exploring other, diversified sources of revenue to access non-government dollars to support our programs. We are looking to private foundations, corporate and individual planned giving by organizations and people who share our vision of a world that sees beyond disability and who can help us bring it to life.

It is a season of difficult change. But it is also a time when we are more focused than ever on our mission, more committed to collaboration, and better prepared strategically for a future in which we can help the individuals and families we support get the services they need.

What will enable us to thrive will be our ability to be fluid, creative, resourceful and mission-driven, and to anticipate and shape change rather than react to it.  At the end of the day, the most important thing for all of us to remember is the work we do and the reasons we do it. The values we share will guide us and help lead the way to a vibrant and sustainable future.