- 28-Dec-2014
A Very Special Place, Inc.
Abstract
A Very Special Place, Inc. (AVSP) was created on October 19, 2020 as a direct result of the closing of another non-profit organization that provided a unique, high demand service to persons with various special needs.
AVSP offers specialized care for children and adults with special needs. Anticipated clients will have medical needs (i.e. feeding tubes, standers, wheelchairs, seizure disorders), and/or behavior disorders (i.e. autism, oppositional defiance disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), that the available day cares in this area are not equipped or staffed to accept. These children and adults are not considered “medically needy” enough for a private duty nurse, but are more than can be serviced in a typical day care with the staff and supplies available.
In today's world where two incomes are necessary for families to even survive, the inability to find appropriate care for their children with special needs forced many of these families to public assistance. It is unfortunate that 80% of marriages with children with special needs end in divorce due to the financial and emotional strain placed on these parents. We hope to lessen the burden and help those in need.
A Very Special Place, Inc. has five distinct programs that provide a continuum of care of services to children and adults with special needs, and their families. Staffing patterns often times need to be several times higher than a typical daycare setting, we have established a minimum 4:1 client to staff ratio. Our core operating hours are from 6 am to 6 pm. This allows caregivers the ability to work, go to school or relax and recharge themselves from the stress of 24 hr. daily care giving.
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Additional Questions
Who is your customer?
Our customer/client is persons with special needs and their families. We serve children as young as 6 months to no age limit. Our clients are persons with physical, intellectual, and cognitive disabilities often combined with autism/autism spectrum disorders, medical needs, and behavioral disorders.
What problem does this idea/product solve or what market need does it serve?
A Very Special Place, Inc. addresses a significant gap in the community in regards to options and choice for persons with special needs and their families. Through the provision of specialized care and with hours that are amenable to working families, our services allow our clients to continue to learn, expand their abilities, learn life skills, explore creative expression (through art, technology, community involvement, etc.). Additionally, our services and the hours in which they are available provide for working families to continue to work outside of their home and contribute finally to their household.
What attributes will make this idea/product successful? Why do you believe that those features will create success?
Our hours of operation from 6 am - 6 pm during the week for services ranging from child care to adult day services; and 24/7 respite and residential care offer clients a stable yet community oriented setting where they can make friends, learn new things, expand their horizons, etc. But it will also allow for families to utilize this service for vacations, respite, and to continue to work outside of the home. AVSP offers choice in our community for our clients and their families - something they deserve. AVSP will also be reaching out to collaborate with other community resources to foster greater community involvement and integration.
Explain how you (your team) will execute to make this idea/product successful? What gives you (your team) an advantage over others already in the market or new to this market?
Family involvement! No doubt. While you need to have a strong team of experts in the traditional sense, i.e. legal, financial, CPA, HR; in the world of special needs care you also have to have families who have a thorough understanding and vested interest in what programs are available, how they work, how the funds can be used, etc. This valuable knowledge from first hand experience allows our team to be on the front end of change, policy development, new program opportunities and community resources. This hybrid team will no doubt give us an advantage to other related organizations.