Ray Graham Association provides a loving community, stability, and personal care for people with disabilities. The organization has a person-centered approach that focuses on five service areas:
- Residential
- Lifeskills
- Recreation
- Employment
- Family support
Program goals for participants
- Reach their potential by providing access to therapeutic programs, recreation, and family support resources.
- Grow their future through neighborhood living, life-skills training, and employment opportunities.
- Achieve their goals by pursuing personalized plans with measurable actions and results.
A person-centered approach
In a person-centered culture, everyone feels welcome, listened to, and supported in their decisions. To promote diversity, equity and inclusion, people with disabilities serve on the Ray Graham Association board of directors, RGA counsel, and various other committees, and they are agents of change and inspiration. No decision is made about people with disabilities without people with disabilities.
A person-centered culture does not only involve people with disabilities. The organization works hard to support everyone who loves and cares for each person in our community, including their families and the support staff. RGA advocates with Illinois legislators for a fairly compensated direct support professional workforce while sharing innovative practices with other providers through the Illinois Self Advocacy Alliance.
What’s new at Ray Graham Association?
RGA has been awarded the prestigious Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation, with Distinction, by the Council of Quality and Leadership (CQL), placing them among the top 2% of organizations in the international disability services sector. RGA demonstrated its culture of positivity, excellence, innovation, and impact through a rigorous accreditation process that involved self-assessments, visits, and evaluations by CQL.
What does this accreditation mean for people with disabilities?
Accreditation helps people with disabilities by ensuring that the service providers meet high standards of quality, safety, and person-centeredness. It also provides a framework for continuous improvement, innovation, and data-driven strategies to enhance the outcomes and satisfaction for people with disabilities and their families. Accreditation empowers and involves people with disabilities in their own care and decision-making and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the service delivery system.
