Riverside has new name, plan

The Miami County Board of Developmental Disabilities, also known as Riverside of Miami County, has a new name to help clarify for the community who the organization is and what it does.

The name change is part of one of the organization’s five goals outlined in a strategic plan unveiled recently by the board of the organization now known as Riverside Developmental Disabilities.

The strategic planning began in May with information gathering continuing through August. The plan itself was unveiled in the fall.

More than 20 focus groups were held involving a variety of people from families, guardians, the public and staff, among others.

Some of the work was done internally and some by an outside consultant to get “candid” feedback from the various groups, said Brian Green, Riverside’s superintendent. The outsider was Mel Marsh, a woman involved in developmental disabilities work across the street with whom Green has worked in various developmental disabilities organizations

Although people in the county knew of Riverside, they often didn’t recognize it as working in developmental disabilities, even though the names were used side by side frequently, Green said.

In coming up with the new name, the assumption was made people would know the organization was in Miami County, so that was dropped. Riverside was kept in the name because it was highly recognized, Green said.

“That automatically tells people who we serve if they have any history with the county,” said Melissa Nichols, community relations director, Riverside Developmental Disabilities.

A new logo with visual reminders of the organization’s previous logo was developed with emphasis in the name Riverside Developmental Disabilities on the “develop” and “abilities” portions of words.

The strategic plan calls for work on five goals over 2015-17

• Collaborating with schools and private providers to ensure children are successful in school and transition to adulthood.

• Collaborating with all private providers of adult services to ensure every adult develops social, life and vocational skills in the most integrated setting possible.

• Increasing community employment opportunities and successes.

• Educating the community about the abilities of people with developmental disabilities and making clear the agency’s role in empowering them to lead successful lives.

• Continuously improving operations.

For more information about Riverside Developmental Disabilities, go online to riversidedd.org.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/riverside-has-new-name-plan/njdjb/