The South Arkansas Developmental Center for Children & Families on Tuesday celebrated its 50th anniversary in the community, bringing together current and former clients, volunteers, staff and even the nonprofit's founder to commemorate the occasion.
"We've managed to struggle along for all these years. Now we've got 50 of them behind us, and I'm hoping all of you are going to commit today to take it forward, because we still have children that have special needs; we still have parents that need some support," said Rita Taunton, executive director of SADCCF.
Beginnings
Taunton had just finished earning her master's degree when she interviewed for a job with the then-hospital assistant administrator.
"It was a long interview, and we talked about a lot of different things, about what the board thought we would do, who we would serve. And we got to the end of the interview and he said, 'it's your baby,'" she recalled. "The thing that we didn't cover during the interview, and that I didn't think to ask – I didn't realize, there was no money available. I had no money to hire any staff, so there was nobody to deliver the services unless I found a way to get some money."
The Union County Center for Handicapped first opened in 1973 with 24 clients. Within five years, SADCCF introduced its first program for developmentally delayed children.
The South Arkansas Developmental Center for Children & Families started out as the Union County Center for the Handicapped in 1973 with a class of 24 people. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)"We started out with just local funds, and some of you probably, who grew up here, remember – we used to have a ... telethon that was on our local TV station, and every year, the volunteers would get busy and organize a 24-hour, around the clock telethon, that would raise money from the community for the center," Taunton said.
At its peak, the telethon raised up to $30,000, which made up the entirety of SADCCF's budget until it was able to start receiving state and federal funding years later. Many of those who were involved at SADCCF in those days provided services on a volunteer basis.
Cynthia Posey (formerly Leverette) recalled knocking on doors in unfamiliar areas of El Dorado to solicit funding and using her Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagons to bus children from around the county to SADCCF's facility for programs.
"I had one in second grade and a preschooler of my own, and I would pick them up and then we would come by here and pick up a load and then I was off to those areas of town I had never been to in my life," Posey remembered.
Over the years, SADCCF expanded its services, establishing Community Living Arrangements, a meal and housing service for senior citizens and adults with developmental disabilities, under which the Champagnolle Landing Senior Wellness Center was founded.
Taunton was later invited to meet with the National Council for Exceptional Children in Washington DC, which eventually helped to secure federal funding for SADCCF.
"The Lord has his hands on it the whole time, because I ended up, so many times, in the right place at the right time," Taunton said. "We got the ball rolling at the federal level to pass the laws that provided federal funding around the nation to provide services to people with disabilities, and there I was, sitting right at the table."
The State of Arkansas also got involved in providing funding for the services SADCCF offers, and now, SADCCF oversees facilities serving developmentally delayed people through all stages of life, including the main building on the South Arkansas Regional Hospital campus, for small children; Champagnolle Landing; Our House; and two ECCEL daycare centers.
Taunton said the services SADCCF provides have been invaluable to countless families in Union County, and she hopes to see the work they do continue for years to come.
"I used to tell everybody, these babies don't come with a manual attached. Parents, sometimes, are just frantic that something is not right about their baby, that they're not developing right," Taunton said. "What we've tried to be in this community for 50 years is somebody they could go to, that they could trust to help them get that baby on the way to getting better function, and that's what this program was for."
50 years later
Many of the staff members at SADCCF have been working there for decades, including Posey, who, after fundraising and bus duty became a substitute teacher and administrator for SADCCF, worked there for 37 years.
"I learned so much from Rita, I mean, being there, right-hand with her. I learned a lot from her," Posey said. "While I was here, I thought people opened their minds more and more. I saw that. And some of the techniques that were used earlier on, I saw put to the wayside and they no longer used them."
Shaconna Reed, coordinator of staff development at SADCCF, who has worked at the nonprofit for 17 years, said the health care philosophy around developmental disabilities has changed over time, and keeping up with the latest best practices has been important for the nonprofit.
"We have kids come in here who literally can't say their own name, can't walk... We work strategically to help with whatever it is," Reed said. "And it helps as they're adults ... live independently and work in the community."
Gallery: South AR Developmental Center celebrates 50 years
Cornelia Critton, coordinator of children's services, said when developmental disabilities were first gaining recognition, many parents shied away from labeling their children; however, as time has passed, families have started realizing that a developmental disability does not mean a person will never be able to function in the public world.
"Our goal is to get them where they need to be before Kindergarten... Some won't be able to because of their disability, but many have," Critton said. "That's the amazing part of the job – to see the progress. It's just amazing... Seeing what you're doing is making a difference."
Taunton said the community's support for SADCCF's mission is, in large part, to thank for the progress the nonprofit and its clients have made.
"It's absolutely heartwarming to see where we started and where we are now, and have so many people that continue to stick with us, rally around to help us through difficult times. The community has been a tremendous support over the years," she said.
As a girl, Taunton rode the school bus every day, and she recalled passing by a neighboring house, where a boy with developmental disabilities would watch as his peers headed to school. That inspired her to work in her field, she said.
"Every morning, when the school bus would come down there and take us up to the light, he would be at that fence and he would cry because he couldn't get on the school bus too. I always think about him and how much he wanted to go to school. Back then, they wouldn't let people like that go to public schools," she said. "That got me prepared to do something about it when I got to a position I could."
Attitudes toward disabled people and best practices for treating those with developmental delays have changed a lot since then, she said.
"The community as a whole is more inclusive," Taunton said. "The thing I would like to see is for people to give (developmentally disabled people) an opportunity, first-hand, so that you won't exclude them from work or play or whatever it is."
SADCCF CFO Barbara Staggs presented Taunton with a glass memento as a keepsake to remember her service during Tuesday's celebration. Many in attendance pointed to Taunton's leadership as a driving factor of the nonprofit's success, and said 50 years of helping some of the community's most underserved people is something to be proud of.
"I think it's awesome, because there's a lot of kids and adults that would not get the treatment, would not get what they need," Reed said.
The South Arkansas Developmental Center for Children & Families celebrated its 50th anniversary on Tuesday. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Rita Taunton is the current, not former, executive director of the South Arkansas Developmental Center for Children and Families.