ANCOR Foundation | Community Builder Award

ANCOR Foundation Announces Recipients of the 2008 Community Builder Awards

With a record number of applicants, the selection committees faced the difficult decision of choosing recipients that best exemplify the spirit of the ANCOR Foundation’s Community Builder Award--to seamlessly integrate people with disabilities into the fabric of every-day life.

The Foundation is pleased to announce KFI, Inc., of Maine and State Senator Cynthia Nava (D-NM) as the ANCOR Foundation 2008 Community Builder Awards recipients.

This year’s recipients illustrate that the strongest communities are those that embrace the gifts and talents of all people. Both KFI and Senator Nava have worked tirelessly to ensure that individuals with disabilities can live, work and contribute to community life, regardless of the challenges they may face.

Developed in the 1960s as a specialized school for individuals who were not being served in the public school system, KFI has continued to evolve into a robust, community-based organization supporting 100 adults with disabilities through residential and day supports. KFI does not own any housing, each person served by KFI has his or her own residence, whether as a renter or homeowner. KFI creatively works with representatives from the housing, employment, civic, volunteer and recreation sectors to create meaningful opportunities for the people they support.

One of the key components on which nominees are judged is replicability of their model/program; and that clearly holds true for this year’s recipient. KFI currently serves as a national mentor organization through the Training and Technical Assistance for Providers (T-TAP) grant, has consulted nationally on their conversion efforts, and has a record of working with state agencies, providers, families and others to teach some of the strategies and “lessons learned” as they moved from segregated to community-based settings. KFI’s services have been cited by the University of Southern Maine, Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion and Syracuse University as exemplary models.

The recipient of this year’s Community Builder Award in the community/community member category, Senator Nava, has dedicated her life to improving the lives of people with disabilities.

Throughout her life, Senator Nava has been involved in the field of education, an emphasis that continues to drive her work today. She currently serves on a variety of committees in the New Mexico State Legislature that focus on education, including the Education and Legislative Education Study Committees. On the Committees, Senator Nava draws upon her previous experience as an educational diagnostician, special education instructor, school psychologist and home instructor for a family infant toddler program serving children with or at risk for developmental delays.

During her 16 year tenure in the New Mexico State Legislature, she has championed legislation protecting the educational and other rights of people with disabilities, successfully advocated for increased funding for community-based agencies that provide supports to children with disabilities, and increased scholarship opportunities for people with disabilities attending technical-vocational schools and universities.

Senator Nava’s field experience and advocacy efforts do not end there. Since her first day in the New Mexico State Legislature, she has employed two individuals with disabilities to serve as attendants for her office and committee. By greeting visitors, answering telephones, preparing committee rooms and assuming other public responsibilities, these two individuals have not only grown in confidence and skills but, more important, other senators and visitors have seen first-hand the positive contributions and talents individuals with disabilities possess when given the opportunity to work.

Senator Nava remains firmly rooted in the community and passionate about education, continuing to serve as superintendent of the Gadsen School District, a rural and impoverished area in Southern New Mexico. Her wealth of experience, dedication to the field and commitment to systems change that facilitates and supports full participation is the basis for the Community Builder Award Selection Committee’s decision.

KFI and Senator Nava will be recognized during the ANCOR Management Practices Conference and Trade Show on Monday, April 14, 2008, in New Orleans, LA, following a special breakout session where they will share their award-winning practices.

Since 2004, the ANCOR Foundation Community Builder Award has been a cornerstone of the Foundation’s vision--a world where people with disabilities live well-supported, meaningful lives in the communities of their choice. Together, let us work together to help make this vision a reality. Let us continue to work diligently to support people with disabilities to the best of our ability, and let us listen and learn from those who are leading the way to realizing that vision.

Honorable mentions for the 2008 Community Builder Awards:
Community Access Unlimited (NJ)
St. Louis ARC (MO)
TecAccess (VA)

Previous Award Recipients