'Change is very difficult' -- Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services helps prepare clients for center's closure

Times-News - 3/31/2019

March 31-- Mar. 31--TWIN FALLS -- Community members who have disabilities and receive assistance through nonprofit Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services -- which closes its doors next month -- are being connected with other resources.

After 46 years serving south-central Idaho residents, the organization announced Monday it will shut down April 12 due to financial challenges.

Magic Valley Rehabilitation Services -- which opened in 1973 -- provides training, employment services, personal development and other services for people who have disabilities.

Clients and their families have been notified about the closure, MVRS executive director Charles Kelly said Tuesday, and they'll continue to receive services, but through other agencies.

And if there's a silver lining, it's that the community's perspective toward hiring people who have disabilities has changed, Kelly said, and with a low regional unemployment rate hovering around 2 percent, more people are finding jobs.

Last year, the MVRS served about 150 clients, Kelly said. In terms of helping connect clients with resources in preparation for the nonprofit's closure, "it is a bit of a complicated process."

Two state agencies -- the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, and the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation -- handle case management and placement of people who have disabilities with services at the place of their choice, Kelly said.

For example, the IDHW's adult developmental disabilities care management program helps those who qualify for Medicaid connect with resources.

The closure of MVRS creates a hardship in that it limits options of where people can seek services, Kelly said, but noted "funding won't change" in terms of families' abilities to receive assistance.

"There are at least two other organizations in the community that do what we do," Kelly said. The key difference: The other agencies are for-profit companies, while MVRS is a nonprofit.

One of the options is Community Partnerships of Idaho, an agency that helps children and adults who have developmental disabilities or mental illness. It has offices around the state, including in Twin Falls and Burley.

In Twin Falls, program director Carlena Logan said Tuesday the company has done some intakes and led several tours recently for clients from MVRS. And the company is looking for more staff members to help with the influx of clientele, she said.

Community Partnerships of Idaho offers services such as adult day services, employment services, supported living to assist a person in their home to become more independent, developmental therapy to help clients learn life skills, and a Friday night fun group three times a month for those 18 and older who have a disability.

Clients who qualify for Medicaid can apply for a state developmental disability waiver to cover the cost of services or there are private pay options.

For MVRS clients, though, the transition to a new place won't necessarily be simple. Many have received services from the nonprofit for years -- some, for 30-plus years. And one client has received services through the organization since its inception in the early 1970s.

Change is hard for anyone, Kelly said, but added it's especially hard for MVRS clients.

Clients may not be with their friends anymore if they go to different places to receive services, he said, and they won't be working with the same therapy technicians they do now.

"For them, change is very difficult," Kelly said. "That's the real impact of the emotional part of it."

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