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Holiday Towers [Pasco] Office Update
Friday, May 01, 2009
In December, 2008, we engaged a consultant to evaluate our Holiday Towers [Pasco] office in terms of productivity and community awareness. After several weeks of research we concluded that consumers and the community would be more effectively and efficiently served by a mobile CASCIL team.
Based on this information we decided to close the Holiday Towers building office 4/30/09 and field a team able to overcome the substantial challenges faced in a large and rural county.
In order for the CASCIL team to better serve Pasco consumers we have equipped our Independent Living Facilitators with new technologies that give them high speed access to all the information a consumer could need. We are working with agencies and organizations with whom we have collaborative relationships that will support us in our efforts to increase and enhance services to individuals with disabilities living in Pasco County. This potentially includes sharing office space, and having complementary services in several locations throughout Pasco. The results of these efforts are very positive.
We are excited by the opportunity to have a bigger presence in Pasco County and are confident that residents with disabilities there will be better served by CASCIL.
What’s New at Caring & Sharing Center for Independent Living, Inc. (CASCIL)?
March, 2009
These are exciting times for CASCIL! New members are joining our team and, with their help, we will expand consumer services.
Over the past several months CASCIL has engaged in an extensive evaluation of all current programs and activities. The purpose of these evaluations has been to determine if each program is delivering the quality and effectiveness of services that CASCIL endorses. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who participated in that process and share some of the fruits of those evaluations:
Defined Vision:
We are very excited and dedicated to our new mission, vision and values statements now posted on the web at cascil.org.
New database:
CASCIL team will be better able to serve consumers with the new data management system phasing in over the next several months. This includes a comprehensive system for tracking consumer goals and a referral database designed to provide access to the resources available to our consumers in a consistent way.
New Roles and Team members:
Evaluations can mean changes in responsibility or the makeup of the team. Mary Twohey was appointed Program Director to oversee the expansion of CASCIL services. Kathy Lentz took on the role of Quality Assignments Monitor and is responsible for monitoring the quality of services provided to consumers. Angela Bennett has assumed the role of Office Manager overseeing the day to day operations of the facility.
We are striving to increase the impact that CASCIL has on individuals with disabilities living in Pasco County. We are very excited and proud to announce Joe DiDomenico has joined our team as Director of Independent Living Services. As of February 23rd Joe DiDomenico and Amanda Sklar are responding to consumers’ needs.
A new face to greet visitors and consumers to our center! Please welcome Jesse Broeker as he not only connects visitors and consumers with team members but also takes responsibility of our referral database access and accuracy.
New and Improved Programs:
We are proud to announce in conjunction with Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST) a satellite accessible toy lending library is now located at the Largo office. Brochures are available at CASCIL.
CASCIL has opened its doors to representatives of disability-related organizations and agencies through our In the House program. On a regular schedule, consumers can meet with representatives face to face for answers or resolutions.
Please welcome Kim Furrow who is our new Director of Employment Services. CASCIL, along with four other Florida Centers for Independent Living (CILs), successfully acquired a Projects with Industry (PWI) U.S. Department of Education grant. The purpose of the grant is to place persons with disabilities into competitive employment. It is a collaborative effort that engages persons with disabilities, small, medium and large private sector businesses, Workforce Development, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, legislators, organized labor and other interested parties. A Business Advisory Council (BAC) will be organized at each PWI site that will develop a strategic plan for each region.
In a further move to support the employment prospects of consumers CASCIL has become a Certified Business Technical Assistance Consultant for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. CASCIL is proud to be able to offer its Business Legacy Service to consumers wishing to become self-employed and own their own business. The Business Legacy Service boasts a 100% success rate in its efforts to guide VR clients into owning a prosperous business.
Beginning April 1, 2009 CASCIL will team with WrightWay Consulting, Inc. to improve our Equipment Services. Timely and safe are the guiding words of this improved service that looks at the needs of the consumer, the resources available and how quickly the necessary equipment can be provided.
This is a brief presentation of the tremendous efforts made lately to enhance our services. We are confident that consumers and community entities alike will benefit from the changes we have made.
Mission Statement "Empowering People with Disabilities" is CASCIL’s mission. It is a mission that includes advocacy, information, mentoring, training, transition and beyond to truly empower.Respect, choice and change are at the center of empowerment. Every individual is encouraged to embrace empowerment and understand that it may mean a new way of looking at things and making them happen.Fiscal, operational, advocacy and human resource policies reflect support for empowerment as agents of choice and change. All policies must advance the mission, eliminate barriers and foster inclusion. |
Vision Statement
CASCIL’s vision is vibrant, global, sophisticated and far reaching for itself and the community. CASCIL embodies superior fiscal, technological, human, and systemic resources that provide flexibility and innovative solutions in a challenging world. As a center for independent living, CASCIL has a vision of people with disabilities caring and sharing with and for themselves, each other, and the community at large. CASCIL is today’s catalyst for tomorrow’s accessible community. |
| Values & Beliefs
Respect, Choice & Change are the values of CASCIL as an organization. Respect for the choices and changes that consumer’s desire must be supported with guidance, reality and resources. Respect by all for the organization must be at the core of discourse and decision. Choice, is at the center of CASCIL. It inspires the vision, mission and values while empowering all those involved.Change is an imperative for independent living. It guides and fuels our growth, commitment, and service to the community. The Core value of CASCIL is independent living which means living, working and playing as you choose. |
The Independent Living Philosophy
The independent philosophy espouses the position that persons with disabilities, as well as society, benefit from living and functioning within the community as opposed to being maintained in an institutional setting. |
Free Hurricane Lantern!
Caring and Sharing in conjunction with Pinellas County Emergency Management would like to offer our consumers and the local community the opportunity to own for free, a beautiful hurricane lantern that you can store away for the next hurricane season. You will also receive the official hurricane guide for Pinellas County.
If you would like to own a hurricane lantern, please call: Angela 727-577-0065 ext. 238,
email angela@cascil.org
or drop by 12552 Belcher Road South, Largo, FL 33773
To Locate the nearest Independent Living Center go to the
Virtual CIL Website
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Service Eligibility
CASCIL serves persons with disabilities and their families who reside in Pinellas and Pasco counties. Most services are free of charge to consumers.
Pinellas County Local Disaster Preparedness
Evacuation Assistance
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