PR: LONGTIME COMMUNITY PARTNER TO WORK WITH COUNTY STAFF TO FURTHER EXPLORE THE TRANSITION OF THE OPPORTUNITY CENTER TO LOCAL PRIVATE NON-PROFIT PROVIDERS

P R E S S    R E L E A S E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: October 4, 2022

Contact: Community Education Specialist Kimberly Ross, (530) 229-8478, kross@shastacounty.gov

LONGTIME COMMUNITY PARTNER TO WORK WITH COUNTY STAFF

TO FURTHER EXPLORE THE TRANSITION OF THE OPPORTUNITY CENTER

TO LOCAL PRIVATE NON-PROFIT PROVIDERS

SHASTA COUNTY – The Shasta County Board of Supervisors today received a report regarding the Opportunity Center (OC) and the Far Northern Regional Center (FNRC). After public input and discussion, the Board directed staff to research potential local private non-profit agency involvement as a service provider.  

The OC, formed in 1964, provides its clients work opportunities that include janitorial, grounds/landscaping work, recycling sorting, mail room distributing and processing, copying, car-washing and community-based vocational training, and job aid services. The OC contracts with the cities of Redding and Anderson, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, CAL FIRE, and local businesses to provide these valuable services.

The OC is one of many vendors overseen by FNRC to provide work and other opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities. The FNRC specializes in finding services that support people with developmental disabilities to live productive lives in their community. The FNRC provides assessments, determines eligibility for services and offers case management and advocacy for OC clients. The FNRC develops, purchases, and coordinates the services defined in each person’s Individual Program Plan (IPP).
It also provides programs and services, such as early intervention services, behavior intervention, respite care, placement in licensed care homes, adult day activities, supported employment, independent living skills, supportive living skills and healthcare.

County staff have already been working closely with FNRC to meet a target date of June 30, 2023, although additional time can be added as needed, Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Interim Branch Director Julie Hope said.

“We have planned a comprehensive, warm handoff to other local private non-profit agencies, working with FNRC, staff, clients, parents, providers, and other stakeholders; with no client slipping through the cracks,” she said.

Likewise, the 42 county employees who serve OC clients will be given one-on-one assistance with job relocation within the County, along with support if they choose to become employees of other FNRC providers instead. As when the County Library changed hands in fiscal year 2008-09 with no layoffs, County Administrators are committed to the same controlled hiring model, Hope said. She and Acting HHSA Director Laura Burch attend OC staff meetings throughout the process to foster a smooth transition for clients as well as employees.

“No layoffs is our goal and our wholehearted intent,” Hope said.

The OC began as a program of the Shasta County Department of Social Services (DSS), and eventually became part of the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA). However, Shasta’s OC is the last county-run program in California, as all others have already transferred management of this or similar services to private non-profits.

By direction of the Board of Supervisors, County staff will begin a series of regular meetings with OC staff, clients, parents, FNRC, the Department of Rehabilitation, providers, and other stakeholders to share information, answer questions, and address details with a goal to return to the Board at its December 6, 2022 meeting with a more specific proposal.

#  #  #