In 2022, The Arc Montgomery County embarked on a strategic planning journey using an appreciative, inquiry-driven, and strengths-based approach. That inclusive process fostered transparency, increased accountability, harnessed the power of diversity, and positioned The Arc Montgomery County for future success. Six opportunity areas drive our 2023-2025 plan, as outlined below (in alphabetical order), and updates on each area will be posted quarterly. Click on the buttons below for more details!
Intentionally focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging will reap long-term benefits for our employees, our organization, and our community. We plan to cultivate, sustain, celebrate and appreciate a dynamic and diverse workforce. We want to demonstrate workforce equity which focuses on individual needs and desired outcomes, nurturing diversity, inclusion, and sense of belonging among employees. We will launch a DEIB steering committee guided by a professional consultant, and create opportunities for employees to share their culture and self-identity.
Communication and connection, especially for families, must become a priority. We plan to enhance communication between and among people supported, their families and our team, by creating a customer service department and new opportunities for people to connect on a personal level. We will reimagine the use of technology to support better connections between and among our teams, people supported, and their families, by providing technology support and creating new ways to access and track shared information.
We need to focus on external funding security beyond income generated from our current programs. We plan to leverage a social entrepreneurial mindset and approach to create new funding streams which will support strategic initiatives, utilizing both existing expertise and resources as well as identifying new opportunities. We will increase overall contribution revenue to a sustained level of $1 million annually, drawing support from corporate partners, grants, members, families, employees, board members, and people supported.
Our stakeholders are hungry for new opportunities that provide support beyond caregiving. We plan to intentionally focus on people instead of programs, expanding opportunities for people supported to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, by thinking outside the disability box when providing choices and engaging with new community organizations. We will push ourselves and our communities to challenge traditional paradigms and change the way we view and interact with people supported, generating excitement about The Arc’s invaluable work.
At the core of our work is the people we support; it is only by listening to the voice of the customer that we can truly meet our mission. We must empower people to have more input into and influence on making decisions which impact their lives. We will cultivate deeper appreciation for the strengths, capabilities, hopes and dreams of people supported, by educating our employees and our community, support people in establishing and maintaining 1:1 connections, and ensuring that people are trained to advocate for themselves.
The entire disability services field is experiencing an unprecedented workforce crisis, with vacancy rates upwards of 30%. To combat this problem, we plan to create a robust pipeline of passionate people who may be interested in or curious about working with people who have IDD, by improving our application and onboarding processes and broadening our outreach to new groups of potential employees. We will reimagine our behaviors, practices, and policies to intentionally foster a thriving workforce, by decreasing employee turnover and implementing new flexibilities, training, and mentoring.
Join Our Journey!
We invite you to join us on this journey by participating in a strategic plan work group. There is room for everyone interested in making our community more welcoming and more inclusive! Work groups participate in research, brainstorming, and deep conversations about what tactics can be implemented to support the identified goals and objectives.
Each group of approximately 10 people includes employees at all levels of the organization and external stakeholders. Work groups meet twice monthly via Zoom, for approximately 6 months. Meetings last 75 minutes and hourly employees are paid for their time. To learn more, email Deborah Mark, Director of Strategic Initiatives, or call 301.984.5777 x1245.
Click the image to download the PDF including all opportunity areas.
