Stacy Duell, vice president of community supports at Easterseals Northeast Indiana, told the Columbia City Common Council on April 22 that the agency is expanding programming at its Creative Learning Center in Columbia City while continuing to struggle with staffing shortages in group homes and supported-living sites.

Duell said the Creative Learning Center has moved to an a la carte schedule so participants can attend single activities, and the site added a gaming room that staff said helped one participant move from solitary phone use to socializing with peers. "We now have that gaming room up and running there in the creative learning center as well, which has been phenomenal for some of our folks," Duell said.

The agency also described new workforce-development offerings in partnership with Cardinal Services in Warsaw, including a certified nursing assistant program, a manufacturing lab and a hospitality certification. Vicki Lowton, chief development officer, said the hospitality pilot has already shown benefits for participants' communication skills. "Between the career center with the community schools ... we're able to provide certifications and trainings under hospitality, health care and manufacturing," Lowton said.

Why it matters: Easterseals provides residential and day services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Whitley County and nearby areas. Changes to programming, staffing and housing affect local families who rely on those services and on providers' ability to maintain group homes and supported-living locations.

Details and context: Duell said the Columbia City Creative Learning Center is currently "two staff down" but expects a new supervisor to start in mid‑May who will split time between the Columbia City and Engle locations. The agency reported three group homes in Whitley County and additional supported-living sites; since the beginning of the year it has worked with Brightpoint on lease-to-purchase housing options. Duell said one individual has purchased a home through that program, while other residents relocated to alternate providers after Brightpoint prepared some homes for sale.

Easterseals reported about a 50% vacancy rate across supported living and group-home staffing in the county and said it is experimenting with new staffing models to increase coverage, including weekend-only ("bridal"/contract) DSP positions and condensed weekend shifts that pay for 40 hours over a 36-hour schedule. Duell said the agency pays $17.18 an hour for direct-support professional (DSP) wages in the area and is limited by Medicaid waiver reimbursement rates when setting pay.

On education and employment programs, Duell said pre-employment transition services currently serve 37 Whitco-area students (up 11 enrollments since the start of the year) and that an application period for summer internships and volunteer placements has produced 10 Whitco applicants and 72 applicants across all counties served. Lowton said scholarship funds are available to help community members with financial barriers attend short vocational courses.

Council response and next steps: Council members thanked Easterseals for the overview and pressed gently on long-term plans to address chronic staffing shortages. Duell said the agency is pursuing a mix of revenue streams and training expansions to improve retention, noting national DSP turnover rates and the nonprofit's efforts to grow supervisory training and benefits.

Ending: Easterseals invited council members and the public to tour the Creative Learning Center and see new features such as the gaming room and hospitality pilot.