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Community Integration In-Depth

Community Involvement/Career Assistance/Social Growth/​Educational Advancement/Life Skills Development

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The DCC Community Integration Program focuses on a holistic approach to enhancing the quality of life experienced by the individuals we serve. We provide our clients a judgment free space to develop life skills and become more involved in the local community. First and foremost, we value the freedom of choice for our clients, their support team, and/or their families. We offer a wide range of services and activities that are unique to the setting in which we operate. Each of our clients have the choice to participate in any or all of what our Community Integration Program provides. Our program works with clients, their support teams, families, and Regional Center Service Coordinators to create unique schedules for every client based on their individual choices, goals, and needs. 



In order to ensure the best experience for each individual, the DCC chooses to facilitate services on a small scale. We offer one-on-one or two-on-one guidance for every individual based on their personal support needs. What this means is that clients are matched with a support worker. That support worker will assist either one or two clients at a time in executing the daily schedules they each designed for themselves. In addition, the DCC offers a rotating schedule; therein, allowing clients the opportunity to collaborate with different workers and different clients. We find that providing services in this manner fosters an atmosphere of universal acceptance and camaraderie between clients and support workers.

Health and Wellness

Community Involvement

Personal Growth

"We Design Our Lives Through The Power of Choices." - Richard Bach

We provide an extensive list of services and activities, within our facility and out in the community, that prospective clients can choose from when developing schedules and support plans of their own. Because we offer such a personalized approach to support, we are always developing and improving programs to suit the needs of new clients and our ever-evolving base of existing clientele as well. This ensures that our clients leave our program at the end of the day happy, healthy, and eager to return.

Services and Activities

  • CACFP Food Prgram

  • Cooking Skills

  • Healthy Eating Habits

  • Sustainable Gardening

  • The Green Project

  • Recycling

  • Shredding

  • Shopping

  • Household Chores

  • Odd Jobs

  • Community Laundry Service

  • Animal Care

  • Arts & Crafts

  • Exercise

  • Paid Employment

  • Community Outings

  • Health & Hygiene

  • Newspaper Delivery Routes

  • Community Garden Boxes

  • Miranda's Animal Rescue

  • Local Thrift Stores

  • Errands

  • Videos

  • Library

  • Computer Access

  • Education 

  • Motor Skills Development

  • Mental Stimuli

  • Group Activities

  • Social Experiences

  • Self-Sufficiency

  • Gaming Systems

  • Assorted Daily Living Skills

  • Money Management

CACFP Nutrition

DCC clients have the option to participate in the California Adult and Child Food Program (CACFP) while attending our Community Integration program. At the DCC we choose to take a holistic approach to the administration of the CACFP. Not only do our clients learn about CACFP while preparing lunches and snacks, but they also receive instruction on garden to table to compost practices and the proper methods of clean up after meal service.

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This process begins by utilizing our Green Project to teach clients about sustainable growing practices, proper times to harvest, how to harvest without damaging the crop, and how to turn food scraps into compost. From there, clients use the fruits of their gardening labors as ingredients in meals they make. Each client who chooses to cook has their own individual cookbook that complies with CACFP regulations. Using these cookbooks, clients get to select which recipes they wish to prepare for lunch and/or snack. Lunch and afternoon snack are both prepared and served on-site daily.

 

Once clients select their recipes, a monthly menu is compiled displaying the selected meals and the days on which they will be served. Prior to the day each client is scheduled to cook, their support worker assists them in accessing the Fortuna Transit to shop for recipe ingredients.

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On their scheduled cooking day, each client prepares their chosen meal with assistance from their support worker. Once the meal is finished, the support worker instructs the client chef how to wash dishes, wipe down lunch tables, sweep the lunchroom floor, take out the trash, and place green waste in the compost bin. The compost is processed on-site, as well, and used in the garden where clients grow their ingredients; therein, beginning the entire process over again.

Say YES to Success!!

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