Woman works to improve treatment of disabled clients

Tuesday, April 8, 2004

By Joan Durbin - Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

Marietta - When Nancy Brooks-Lane first went to work for the Cobb and Douglas Community Services Board in 1988, clients with developmental disabilities were handled a little differently than they are today.

"The disability movement started out as part of the civil rights movement, and, as with any civil rights issue, persons with DD wanted to be included in valued roles in their communities," Ms. Brooks-Lane said. "But when I started here, there still was segregation, in that (DD clients) went places no one else went."

Today, instead of workshops and sheltered work environments where DD clients perform menial jobs for substandard wages, those who come to the CSB have options that include everything from employment customized to meet their abilities and needs to participation in activities that promote personal growth.

Approximately 3 percent of Americans have a developmental disability, which can be defined as intelligence or cognitive function beneath an IQ of 70.

As the board's Director of DD since 1994, Ms. Brooks-Lane has been a major force in shifting developmentally disabled clients in Cobb and Douglas away from that sheltered environment.

"The changes we have made for our DD clients gives them a variety of choices, from self-employment to taking classes in fields such as arts and computers," she said. "They have choices including community-based volunteer work to recreation and opportunities for self determination in how to spend their time."

In addition to her efforts on behalf of local clients, Ms. Brooks-Lane, 45, is part of a nine-member national task force that helps other DD service providers forge new directions for their programs.

"We provide information about what we've learned and what their role can be to people who want to do what we've done," she said.

Her current assignment is mentoring an agency in Seattle, showing the staff how to move beyond the segregation of DD clients.

Service providers from Indiana, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia have all traveled to the Cobb CSB to learn from Ms. Brooks-Lane.

In recognition of the excellence of her work, Ms. Brooks-Lane has been named the recipient of this year's Cobb and Douglas Community Services Board Director's Award.

"She's a superstar in the world of Developmental Disabilities," said CSB's Executive Director Tod Citron.

Clients of the CSB can come through referrals or inquiries from families of DD individuals, Ms. Brooks-Lane said. The agency has programs for children of pre-school age and clients 18 and older.

If a client wants to find meaningful work, the agency will help them find appropriate employment, either through a business, an apprenticeship or working for themselves.

Clients also may take instruction in business-related areas such as computers or resume-building, or hands-on classes in subjects that include art, pottery and woodworking.

"There are therapeutic aspects to creativity," Ms. Brooks-Lane noted.

In conjunction with CSB Supported Employment Director Doug Crandell and Cobb Works! Director John Helton, Ms. Brooks-Lane has gotten more than $1 million in federal grant money for clients in Cobb and Douglas to enter the business community and for employment education.

She and Crandell have also co-authored chapters for books on customized employment for DD clients.

The holder of a master's degree in psychology from the University of South Mississippi, Ms. Brooks-Lane lives in Marietta with her son, Walker, a junior at Marietta High School.