This meeting was part of the Equal Access to Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Moscow project, funded by Johnson & Johnson. As part of this project, the Keystone Foundation for Children and Families, located in Moscow, is working to assess the needs and readiness of key stakeholders to develop inclusive education for children with intellectual disabilities, beginning with the needs of schools and the community.

IPIIE has expressed interest in learning more about Social Role Valorization and Person Centered Planning, both of which are at the heart of all of Keystone’s services. Today, we welcome several Russian professionals from IPIIE who will be visiting Keystone in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania through the Open World Leadership Center, along with other professionals from various other social services organizations. During this visit, our Russian delegates will attend a Social Role Valorization workshop and visit some of our programs for children and adults, including Capital Area Head Start classrooms and a community home. They will also visit the Life Skills Program at Cumberland Valley High School and the programs at the Capital Area Intermediate Unit.

We’re looking forward to sharing our knowledge and experiences this week so that our ten delegates visiting from IPIIE and other Russian social services organizations can implement new approaches to effectively supporting children and adults with disabilities in their own regions.

The United Nations is advocating for the community integration and inclusion of people with disabilities currently segregated from society in residential institutions. In accordance with international human rights laws and standards, they are calling for community-based services to support children and adults to live and participate in the community.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) developed the video “Forgotten Europeans” about the detrimental effects of institutionalization and the benefits of community integration and inclusion. One of the young men highlighted in the video is Mikhail. With the support of the Community for All-Moldova Program, Mikhail left the institution where he had spent over 20 years of his life and joined a family in the community through the program’s Lifesharing/Family Living service. He has been welcomed as a new member of the family, and not only is he learning important life skills, but he is learning what it means to be part of a family.

The Community for All-Moldova Program is being implemented through a partnership between the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI), the Soros Foundation-Moldova, Keystone Human Services International (KHSI), Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association (Keystone Moldova) and the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family. The work of this partnership is at the forefront of the movement toward inclusion for all people in Moldova, regardless of ability.

The UN is calling for governments, NGOs and others to respect, protect and honor the rights of people with disabilities and to take on the responsibility of making this a reality in practice, not just words on paper. We are proud to be meeting this call and to have Mikhail featured in the video. There is much work ahead of us, but through efforts like the Community for All-Moldova Program, we can build a future where no person is “forgotten.”

This Agreement ensures that the Community for All-Moldova Program will continue to be implemented, supporting individuals with disabilities to move out of the institutions and into the community. The community-based services that were developed and implemented, including Supported Living, Community Homes, Specialized Family Placement, and Professional Parental Assistance, will support individuals with disabilities and their families within the community. The Program partners have also committed to provide technical assistance and expertise to the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family for the development of the legal legislative-normative framework for these new community-based services for people with disabilities.

With this Agreement, we commit to continuing the reform of the system of care for people with disabilities and move closer to a community of inclusion, where all people can be active, valued members.

Read the full article on the Inclusion website.

With the approval of the Mobile Team Service, people with disabilities and their families who live in rayons in Moldova where specialized services do not exist will be able to receive free care within their own homes. Within the past three months, 125 people have benefited from Mobile Team Services.

The normative regulations for the Mobile Team Service were developed by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family with technical support from the Community for All-Moldova Program, implemented by Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association (Keystone Moldova). Financial support was provided by the Open Society Mental Health Initiative and the Soros Foundation-Moldova.

The development of the Mobile Team Service will help accomplish the commitments assumed by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to create a legal environment, practical support and social inclusion for people with disabilities, as well as to create equal opportunities for all people within the community.

The Mobile Team Service serves as an alternative to other, more costly services, such as day or residential centers. The service includes several social service professionals who provide free assistance and psychological counseling, speech therapy, rehabilitation services, physical therapy, medical advice and other services at home to prevent children and young people from being institutionalized and to facilitate social inclusion of children with disabilities and their families. Services are provided based on the unique needs of the individual. Specialists from the Mobile Teams visit each family and evaluate the needs of the child or family member. Based on these identified needs, the specialists work together with local authority representatives and the person’s closest relatives to develop an individualized support plan.

Since 2010, the Mobile Team Service has been established in seven rayons and two municipalities in Moldova. In addition to the Mobile Team Service, the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, with support from Keystone Moldova through the Community for All-Moldova Program, has developed and approved the Strategy of Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities and the Framework Regulation and Quality Standards for the Community Home and Supported Living services. These laws regulate the activities of Community Homes in three rayons and Supported Living in two rayons.

Currently, the Community for All-Moldova Program supports 291 people. Forty-nine of those individuals are young men who have left the institution in Orhei and rejoined their communities, 34 have received differentiated assistance to prevent institutionalization, 125 people have benefited from the Mobile Team Service and 40 people have benefited from services offered by resource centers in inclusive education.

The Master Class is part of an education development initiative to teach human service professionals in Moldova how to teach brief SRV workshops to colleagues, local public authorities, families, and new program staff. The principles of Social Role Valorization form the foundation of all of Keystone Human Services’ community-based services and supports for men, women and children with disabilities. Betsy Neuville, the executive director of the Keystone Institute and a credentialed educator of SRV, served as the coach and mentor for the participants in the Master Class.

The principles of SRV require serious study and practice in order to teach, and the Master Class provided human service professionals with the opportunity to develop their teaching skills. On the first day, each participant prepared a section of a short SRV workshop and presented it to their peers, co-trainers and senior trainer. Each presentation was followed by a round-table discussion among the group to provide the presenter with immediate feedback. The presenter then had the opportunity to re-work their presentation, incorporating the suggestions of their peers. Each presentation was videotaped to give the presenters the opportunity for self-review and critique for improvement.

On the second day of the Master Class, participants presented a one-day overview of SRV, “Natural Pathways to the Good Life – A One Day Introduction to Social Role Valorization,” for social workers, new community home staff, allied organizations and family members, under the overall coaching and guidance of Betsy.

The Master Class, including the workshop, was very successful. The graduates worked hard to create and practice a standardized format for SRV, and they even developed their own curriculum. “I am so impressed with the hard work and talent of this group,” said Betsy. “I look forward to assisting them to work toward teaching the more advanced materials and workshops, and connecting them to other leaders and educators of SRV.”

Graduates include Sergiu Toma, Tatiana Zavtoni-Oprea, Oksana Costandaki, Ecaterina Golovatii, Eliza Caus, Nelea Panfil, and Elizaveta Stratulat. These men and women join Nicolae Besliu, the Family Support Services Manager for the Community for All-Moldova Program as Moldova’s first generation of SRV educators.

Requests for training and workshops in Social Role Valorization are increasing, as more individuals and regions of the world begin exploring the principles of SRV and supporting individuals with disabilities to lead “the good life” as active participants in the community.

One graduate, Eliza Caus, will join Betsy in Antalya, Turkey in October to assist with an SRV workshop for the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI) project partners. Workshop attendees will be coming from 13 different countries to increase their knowledge about supporting individuals with disabilities to lead full lives in their communities. Click to view slideshow.

This Community Home, located in Orhei Raion, is one of the first of its kind in the country. This community-based service for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities opened on August 18 and was developed by Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association (Keystone Moldova), in partnership with the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family and the Orhei Raional Council as part of the Community for All-Moldova Program. Support for this program is provided by grants from the Open Society Mental Health Initiative (OSMHI) and the Soros Foundation-Moldova.

The home is a fully furnished, comfortable residence designed to meet the needs of the four young men who live there. It embodies the qualities that are usually associated with a home – comfort, safety, personal space, a sense of family, and a place to belong.

The young men living in the home receive support from direct support professionals in their daily activities and participation in the community. These supports are based on person centered planning, a process for developing individualized service plans. Each young man receives support based on his unique needs, goals and dreams. Services include social assistance, psychological counseling, healthcare, development of independent life skills, teaching assistance in school integration, assistance in accessing other community services and support to families to improve children’s wellbeing.

These young men had spent almost their whole lives in residential institutions, and their first day at their new home was full of emotion and new experiences. “I’ve never had a meal with flowers on the table,” said Ion, who lived at the Orhei Institution for seven years. “It’s so nice. It feels like a real family here.”

As an alternative to institutionalization for individuals with disabilities, this Community Home is the result of several years of hard work and dedication. Since 2008, Keystone Moldova, the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, OSMHI and the Soros Foundation-Moldova have worked to develop and implement the Community for All-Moldova Program. This Program, guided by the values embodied in the theory of Social Role Valorization, is working to support individuals to have valued social roles and live “the good life” with opportunities for equal participation, education, work, dignity, respect and acceptance in the community.

To sustain these new services, the necessary Regulatory Frameworks and Quality Standards were created jointly by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family and Keystone Moldova and approved by the government in 2010. Significant effort has been placed on building strong relationships with the local public authorities, which will be responsible for supporting these services financially over the long term. The opening of this home is a momentous milestone for the Community for All-Moldova Program and for Moldova.

Four more people from the Orhei Institution will be moving into a new Community Home in Soroca Raion at the beginning of September. As of this writing, 269 boys and young men from the Orhei Institution and children in the community at risk of institutionalization have benefited from the Community for All-Moldova Program’s support.

There is much more to be done to support social integration and acceptance for all people, regardless of ability or disability. Today, however, we celebrate the great strides that have been made as four young men settle into their new home in the community.

We are saddened to announce that Lyudmila Senner, a member of the Board of Trustees of Keystone Foundation for Children and Family, passed away on July 12, 2011. Lyudmila had a bright and unique personality, and she gave hope to many people. She will be remembered by many for her wisdom and generosity.

Lyudmila taught for ten years at the University, sharing her experience and knowledge with youth and inspiring them to cultivate kindness and have confidence in their strength. After graduating from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institutes in 1971, she spent more than 20 years working in the computer information and technology field.

During the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system (Perestroika) in the 1980s, Lyudmila changed her profession and devoted herself to serving and advocating for children and families with disabilities through “Faith,” a society of parents of children with disabilities. She became a member of the City Council and actively participated in protecting the interests of children with disabilities. In addition, she organized charitable events, conferences and international meetings that led to the improvement of Russian legislation and helped change Russian society’s attitude toward children with disabilities.

Lyudmila worked on the commission for children with disabilities under the Russian President. She was one of the creators of “Torches of Soul,” a unique performance that children with disabilities participated in. “Torches of Soul” was praised by the Patriarch Alexiy II and the Order of Mother Teresa. Lyudmila’s active work, her charm and her influence inspired many international charities in Germany and France to change their attitude toward Russia.

For her professionalism in working with families of children with disabilities, she received the Order of the Malta Cross. Through her care, many families had opportunities to access education and build a bright future. In 1990, she created “Opportunity,” Russia’s first “home” school for children with disabilities, and she served as the school’s director for over 10 years. Raisa Gorbacheva praised her professional work, awarding her with the first degree diploma of the Raisa Gorbacheva Club.

Since 1996, Lyudmila led the department of social work at the University “Dubna.” Besides her professional qualities, University faculty highly valued her as a responsive and caring person. Students enjoyed her lectures, workshops, picnics and evening meetings, where they learned to be professional and responsible. Lyudmila created a unique event for the University as part of the “Creators’ Carousel” project that had over 100 children creating a city of dreams.

Lyudmila actively helped those who turned to her with any request, and because of her dedication to serving others, many families were able to remain intact, lives were improved and families gained a sense of hope for a better future. She was also a wonderful mother, wife, grandmother and friend, and she welcomed many guests from around the world into her home.

For Keystone Foundation for Children and Families, Lyudmila’s wisdom, experience, strength of her convictions, warmth of her soul, faith and optimism will always help inspire and guide our endeavors.

Read a commemoration of her life in Russian.

Post by Charlie Hooker, CEO of KHSI

Since 2008 when the Community for All – Moldova program began, thirty-four boys and young men have moved out of the institution at Orhei and thirty-four others have been able to receive services in the community rather than being sent to the institution. I travel to Moldova quarterly with members of the Open Society Mental Health Initiative to see the program’s progress first hand. Earlier this May, I visited Keystone Moldova with Judith Klein, the director of OSMHI.

Through the Community for All – Moldova program, not only are the boys and young men being supported to leave the institution at Orhei and rejoin their families and communities, but a sustainable system of community-based services is being created, children at risk of institutionalization are able to remain at home, families are being empowered to become strong advocates for their children, schools are including all children with and without disabilities in the same classrooms, and the community is learning to welcome and accept individuals with disabilities.

During our trip, Judith and I visited the institution at Orhei and met several young men who will be rejoining their communities with the support of Community for All – Moldova’s newly created community-based services. We also visited one of the inclusive schools and witnessed the benefits of inclusive education for children with and without disabilities.

Please watch the video of Iulian, a boy who returned to his family and is now attending classes with his peers at one of these inclusive schools. Now that she has seen the progress her son has made, Iulian’s mother has “so much courage and optimism in her soul that she thinks that anything is possible.”

Stanislav is another young man who has been reunited with his family after spending several years in an institution. Returning home was one of his nicest memories, and he asks society “to behave nicely with children with disabilities, to treat them as normal children. We are the same. There is no difference.”

Watching the videos of Iulian and Stanislav, seeing the progress that Community for All – Moldova has made and meeting some of the young men who will be rejoining their communities has given me hope that one day all people will be fully accepted and included in the community.

KHSI is providing technical assistance to Pro-ACT in Romania to move closer to developing community-based services in Giurgiu County so that all the men and women living there can leave the institution and join their communities and live full, rich, meaningful lives. A number of men and women have already left the institutions and are receiving supports in the community. On May 9-14, Elizabeth Neuville, the executive director of the Keystone Institute, and Michael Powanda, executive director of Keystone Human Services Central PA, spent a week in Romania with our colleagues and partners at the Open Society Mental Health Initiative to conduct a needs assessment to identify the steps necessary to assist people to leave the institutions in Giurgiu County and lead meaningful lives in the community. Joining us during the week were Cerasela Porumb, the director of Pro-ACT, a new nongovernmental organization in Romania; Raluca Bunea, Senior Program Officer of OSMHI; and Ramiz Behbudov, OSMHI Program Officer.

The needs assessment follows up on the intensive education and training in Social Role Valorization and Person Centered Planning that we have provided over the past year and a half in Romania. For four days, we met with and interviewed a variety of groups and organizations, and we concluded the week with a day-long planning session for Pro-ACT, which will be providing a model of high quality community-based support for fourteen people who will be leaving the Carpenis institution when it closes in the near future.

We also visited all three of the remaining adult institutions in Giurgiu County and had the opportunity to speak with some of the people living there, as well as the people working there. Conditions remain desperate for the people living in each of these places. Fourteen people still living at the Carpenis institution currently have no clear plans for moving into the community, despite the planned closure of this institution. We were able to get to know these men and women better and really began to understand who they are and what they might need to lead new lives in the community. Thank you to Ionel Muscalu, the manager of Giurgiu County, and Teodora Avram, the executive director of the DGASPC, for being so supportive and for taking such great interest in our visit to these three institutions.

During the week, we met with local and national family alliance groups, a public policy organization that focuses on disability issues, a newly launched multi-function day center and the existing community services operated by the local public authority. All of these visits helped us understand the issues Romania faces in establishing a strong community system where people with disabilities can truly belong within the regular society, with relationships, work, and an authentic home.

To support Pro-ACT as they prepare to provide community-based supports for men and women with disabilities, we held a planning session to develop not only a vision of the future work of the organization in creating social change but also concrete steps to begin to make that vision a reality. We used PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope), a highly creative and individualized process developed in 1993 by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest and John O’Brien that left all of us with a graphic visual of the future and the steps that will need to be taken to get there.

Although we discovered many barriers and difficulties that will be challenging to overcome, we began to see the way toward to clear path to supporting people to have a new, good life and realizing the benefits of strengthening each person, the community and society.

Designed to bring many of Keystone’s staff together, the Keystone Conference is a time for people from Keystone’s many agencies and subsidiaries to meet, share ideas, form friendships and renew their commitment to their work. Each day of the conference features two workshops about new ideas, projects and activities, presented by Keystone employees. This year, Charlie Hooker, the CEO of Keystone Human Services International; Betsy Neuville, the Executive Director of the Keystone Institute; and Ludmila Malcoci presented a workshop on our Community for All-Moldova project.

Now in its third year, Community for All-Moldova, funded by the Open Society Mental Health Initiative, is transforming Moldova’s system of care for people with disabilities from an institution-based system to a system of community-based services and supports. Since its inception, over twenty boys have moved out of the institution at Orhei and joined their communities, supported by the newly developed community-based services and supports. These services and supports include community homes for children and adults, supported living services, support services for children reintegrated with their biological families, foster care and shared living services.

The goal of Community for All-Moldova is to create an environment of social inclusion for all people. Keystone Human Services International Moldova Association has teamed up with several other nongovernmental organizations to form the Joint Media Strategy Group (JMSG). Funded by the Open Society Health Media Initiative, JMSG is promoting social inclusion by increasing the community’s acceptance of all people. Not only is the group encouraging the media to take a positive approach to portraying people with disabilities and disability issues, but people with disabilities and their families are being supported to share their own stories and advocate for themselves. To see some of these stories, visit www.inclusion.md.

Although the Community for All-Moldova project has made great progress, we need to make sure that the system of community-based services is sustainable, especially during these difficult economic times. The Soros Foundation-Moldova is providing funding to ensure that not only are these gains sustained over the next three years, but new services and supports continue to be developed so that children are included in their communities.

It is our hope and goal that the Community for All-Moldova project will raise the community’s awareness about disability issues and rights, reduce stigma and discrimination, and support social inclusion of all people regardless of ability.

Thank you to Nicu, Ludmila and Parascovia for joining us for the Keystone Conference and sharing the accomplishments and goals of Community for All-Moldova!