ELM CITY CENTER

1314 West Walnut, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650

Off: 217-245-9504 Fax: 217-245-2350

Email: ecc@elmcity.org Web page: www.elmcity.org

Work and Independence for people with disabilities.

ELM CITY 2004 REVIEW

Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat Results - APRIL 2004

In the February 2004 newsletter Families, Board, Staff, Consumers, and Stakeholders were asked to complete a form telling Elm City how they think we are doing. A total of 54 were returned or completed over the Internet. This is a summary of the results. The written responses were edited down to 10 responses for each area.  Similar comments are edited together and an attempt has been made to group similar topics. Personal and confidential comments were edited.

If someone would still like to complete a SWOT form it is available by clicking here: Elm City 2004 Review & SWOT form  Simply copy the form into any word processor and fill it out. Get it back to us by any of the methods described on the form. Next year we will use an online database.

SWOT – STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITY, AND THREAT ANALYSIS BASED ON STAKEHOLDER OPINION OF ECC OPERATIONS.

External Events – What events are likely to have an effect on ECC 

1. Vocational Training Programs, Anything involving Special Olympics, Social Center
2. The exit/closing of EMI and other local economy changes
3. Cuts in financial assistance from the state of Illinois.
4. Higher expectations from funding bodies and accreditation agencies/CARF
5. Excessive regulation
   1. Change from grants to fee for service
   2. Medicaid intrusion and mandates
6. Public relations- Continue to have our people involved social, economic, and political info that effects them. Keep them informed and help them write letters to those in power.
7. Aging of consumers
8. World market problems, War, Cost of oil/gas, Increased insurance costs
9. Update with computers and Internet access
10. Further encourage and promote outside events w/community (Relay for Life, General Greirson Days, etc)

Strengths – What does ECC do well? 

1. Your newsletter is well done and great for people who are not in the immediate area.
2. ECC has always been small enough to foster an individual approach to both consumers and staff. That has both pros and cons.
3. Established and have maintained financial stability.
4. Broad programming and support (both area wide as well as per individual- emotionally, socially, financially)
5. Provide gainful and meaningful employment to those who otherwise would have no opportunities.
6. Providing a place to work where consumers feel safe, not threatened
7. I learn a lot and I’ve come a long way from the Jacksonville State Hospital, I get to see my friends, I like cooking in the kitchens, pen pals, making good food, making pizza, and going to all the trips in the community.
8. I like the administrator’s open door policy, agency benefit plans, vacation schedule and bonus options.
9. Our attention to community involvement and fostering a positive active profile is a plus and consumers are responding favorably to being part of the process.
10. More and more people have come around to not everyone is as “high functioning as we are”.

Weaknesses – What can ECC improve? 

1. We need more strength in our staff to further instill a greater sense of teamwork, unity among staff
2. Need to increase space, which is being done with the addition.
3. Need to have more easy work because I cannot do hard work.
4. Need to replace vehicles and improve maintenance
5. Update method of recording production, filing reports, transportation documentation.
6. Communication between departments gets lax and morale is low at times
7. Job descriptions are too pliable- Diversification is good but certain people seem to end up carrying the load.
8. Help staff with increasing costs of insurance
9. Need more room for lunch, crafts, and extra activities.
10. Not all areas of ECC are handicapped accessible particularly as consumer age. Need more bathrooms for men and women

Opportunities – What should ECC be doing to improve how we do things? 

1. Let your clients talk about their sports in the newspaper columns
2. Instruction in using our time wisely and efficiently (some people have a heavy load of work while others are sitting around talking)
3. Keep looking for more outside work, Need sales/public relations person, new business opportunities besides EMI
   1. Efforts are too concentrated to specific companies.
4. Training for staff
5. New revenue approaches for programs (Medicaid, other grants)
6. Develop enclaves, supported employment, and other vocational opportunities. Probably on a temp basis with the consumers.
7. Continued emphasis on community integration and individual choice
8. Continues solicitation of individual perception and suggestions, even if they \cannot be acted upon.
9. Better cooperation between staff
10. New ideas – keep asking people what kind of new activities they would like to do

Threats – What is something that will cause problems for ECC?

1. Needing more patience
2. Consumers doing tasks that are beyond their capabilities
3. Losing consumers to other programs such as moving to other group homes (unavoidable)
4. Changes in state/DHS directions for programs.
5. Consumers are living longer and physical needs at ECC have no kept up
6. Not looking for changes in market
7. Security (too many people wander in and out of the buildings unannounced)
8. Aggressive clients, We not equipped to take everyone nor should we.
9. Staff cliquishness, infighting over nothing
10. The economy especially in the Jacksonville area, More local job losses, Decline in property values

 Anything to add – Any other comments that are important. 

1. We appreciate very much that you provide meaningful activity and a pleasant environment, supervised by a competent caring staff for a population that would have difficulty finding such a congenial nurturing situation without Elm City. Thanks.
2. I appreciate ECC in every way. I respect the people who train my daughter. I appreciate the patience they have with her. I have never heard anyone so proud of a paycheck like she is. That makes me proud in my heart. Sports are wonderful.
3. My son is a consumer and I could not ask for a better place for him.
4. Jacksonville is a better place because ECC is here.
5. Overall I love ECC. I love and enjoy what we do and what we represent. I also try to conduct myself socially because I know my image out there also reflects ECC when we talk to people in the community about what we do here.
6. ECC still seems to be in a period of transition between clinging to our past and moving toward our future. My hope is that when the dust settles. We emerge stronger and more unified w/ a clear sense of direction and purpose. There seems to be a pervasive sense of uncertainty among staff that affects morale.
7. ECC is my favorite place to work. I hope it never closes. I do not ever want to leave Elm City
   1. More parties and more community trips
8. Many positive things are coming out of ECC and its staff, for he benefit of consumer and community.
9. Not me, but someone of our people could use directing in insurance
10. As staff person I feel I contribute a lot to ECC, but I also feel we do not work well together, we are not united in what we do.

An equal opportunity employer.

Revised - 1/15/08