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The Capital Times :: FRONT :: 5A
Saturday, December 11, 2004
By David Callender The Capital Times
Kathy Whitney and Mary Welnetz, both of whom have adult children with developmental
disabilities, have a very different take on Jefferson County's employment
programs than the complaints offered by Peggy Schwartz and her family.They say the county's employment services -- provided under a contract with Fort Atkinson-based Opportunities Inc., the same agency targeted in the Schwartzes' lawsuit -- have been nothing short of exemplary. They say their stories aren't unique and, in fact, represent the overwhelming support that OI has in the community.
The two women say they hadn't met before OI officials asked them to speak with a Capital Times reporter during a tour of the agency's sprawling Fort Atkinson headquarters. They found, however, that despite the differences in their children's disabilities, they had nearly identical experiences.
Whitney's daughter Stephanie, who is blind, hearing impaired and developmentally disabled, has worked one day a week at a community-based job for the past seven years.
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She receives 100 percent supervision at that job for three hours a week and also receives programming at OI's sheltered workshop, a combination that Whitney says is ideal.
Whitney says she, like Peggy Schwartz, was a strong believer in total integration of people with developmental disabilities in the workplace.
But she says she now recognizes that "if you were to remove (clients like Stephanie) from OI and have them totally in the community, they would be left alone. They would not have that social interaction."
"Each situation is unique," she adds. "Each child is unique. And every family has to make decisions based on their own needs. But you have to look at the big picture."
In their case, Whitney says the big picture was that "Stephanie needs to be productive and happy and proud of herself and be made to feel that she's an important part of society. I've always said that when (integration) stops being beneficial for her, there are other things that need to be looked at."
How fortunate': In Welnetz's case, she says her son Tim got the job coaching he needed to find a part-time job and adapt to the workplace. But before he got that job, he spent several months on one of the assembly lines at OI.
"It was so valuable for him because he learned about the expectations on the job," she says, such as being on time for work, when it's appropriate to take a break, and how to communicate with his supervisor and other workers.
Welnetz, whose family moved to Jefferson County from Milwaukee, says that "we did not realize how fortunate we were when we moved here to become connected with Opportunities Inc."
Her son was laid off from his private-sector job about two years ago during the state's economic downturn and has since been working on the packaging line at OI.
"If he didn't have the job at OI packaging, Tim would not be working right now," Welnetz says, adding that OI officials are still trying to find him a long-term placement in the community.
Whitney says that the most important element of OI's services is "an honest love for the clients and the jobs that they do. That is critical."
Equally important, she says, is that the agency treats family members with dignity and respect.
"Although we may not always agree, our opinions are respected and honored," she says. "When we disagree, we work it out until we reach a decision that works out for everybody."
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