For the past 62 years, Innovative Services NW’s mission has stayed the same: ensuring vulnerable Clark County families have access to equal employment, education and therapy opportunities.
Innovative Services NW, 9414 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., offers a range of services to low-income families, including pediatric therapy, early learning education programs and employment support for adults with disabilities.
But as the organization expands, so does the demand for these services. In order to meet the need, the Vancouver nonprofit is working on a series of projects to improve its early childhood education facilities, including a $560,000 kitchen renovation to enhance meal programs for children.
“We have enough room to add 26 more kids to our early learning program, but our kitchen is from 2008 and we’re now serving 64 percent more kids than we were in 2008,” Chief Operating Officer Susan Veneruso said. “The through line is really the passion the staff have for the work. From when I started to where I am now, what our staff care about is supporting the families and children and adults with disabilities.”
Get Help
Families in Clark County can access pediatric therapy services through early-intervention programs by calling 360-750-7507 to begin the evaluation process.
Therapy services are provided both in-home and in community settings for children from birth to age 3.
Clinic-based therapy is also available for children up to age 20 at Innovative Services NW’s headquarters, 9414 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver.
Innovative Services NW is now one step closer to completing the kitchen renovation project but still has more funding to secure.
The nonprofit announced Jan. 23 it was awarded multiple grants totaling $34,500 to update the kitchen and support its outpatient pediatric therapy program.
The grants include $10,000 from the IMA Foundation; $10,000 from Kaiser Permanente; $7,000 from Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation; $5,000 from the Sundt Foundation; $2,000 from iQ Credit Union and $500 from Clark County Realtors Foundation.
The combined $24,000 from Kaiser Permanente, Umpqua Bank, the Sundt Foundation and iQ Credit Union will be dedicated to the outpatient therapy program, while the $10,500 from the IMA Foundation and Clark County Realtors Foundation will go toward the kitchen renovation.
“Up until COVID-19, at least, many of the foundations that granted money didn’t want to do operating expenses, they only wanted to fund something new and shiny,” Veneruso said. “But for many nonprofits, sometimes the struggle is keeping the door open and providing services that are needed.”
Serving the community
Innovative Services NW was founded in 1963 after a small group of parents established an activity program for their children with disabilities. The organization became a nonprofit two years later with a $1,430 annual budget and two part-time staff members who served 15 people a month.
About 60 years later, the nonprofit has an $8 million annual operating budget and 110 employees who serve more than 1,150 children and adults through early learning programs, pediatric therapy and employment services.
The early learning program, which opened at Innovative Services NW in 1985, serves children ages 1 through 5 with special needs and who come from low-income or trauma backgrounds. Ninety-four percent of the children are from low-income families, and 35 percent have special needs.
Out of the nine classrooms at the nonprofit’s Vancouver campus, five are dedicated to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program and the other four are dedicated to preschool services for children of all income levels.
“Our goal is that they’re set up with a foundation to be successful in public school and just having those social and emotional tools to navigate the real world,” Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program Director Stephanie Oman said.
Innovative Services NW has the space to add about two dozen more children across the nine existing classrooms but cannot do so until the kitchen is updated and modernized.
The organization has already raised about $94,000 for the project.
“Our staff is constantly growing and increasing by size,” Vice President Melody Partridge said. “I’m always looking at what more can we do, what more can we add and how can we make this best?”
Veneruso, who is also the organization’s grant writer, said she has to find grants that fund capital expenditures like construction and large equipment, which is not always something that a small foundation wants to get involved in.
However, many of the foundations have changed some of their guidelines and now allow funding that covers general operating expenses, she said.
Innovative Services NW hopes to begin the renovation process this spring, depending on how much it raises before then.
“It’s an ongoing search, but the story we have to tell, our history and the services we have to offer, really help us get further across the line,” Veneruso said.
Pediatric therapy
Since 1978, Innovative Services NW has provided speech, occupational, physical and specialty therapy to children with different developmental diagnoses through the pediatric therapy program.
The pediatric therapy program is split into two divisions that address different needs in children: early intervention and outpatient therapy.
Early intervention provides treatment for children until age 3. Within this division, graduate-level teachers and licensed therapists see children in their natural environments to diagnose potential disorders.
The outpatient therapy clinic provides therapy for children until age 20 and throughout critical stages in their development.
“Part of our team works directly with the family to assist them with housing instability and food resources,” Vice President of Pediatric Therapy Beth Markell said. “They’re locked into the community here in Clark County so they can reach out and provide that family with the resources they need.”
In October, referrals for pediatric services at Innovative Services NW skyrocketed, Markell said.
Currently, more than 66 percent of the organization’s outpatient therapy clients are insured through Medicaid, and Innovative Services NW does not cap the number of Medicaid clients it serves.
“The cost of operating a comprehensive pediatric therapy clinic that meets the complex needs of the children Innovative Services NW serves is outpacing the reimbursements that Medicaid and insurance companies provide — making these grants a critical piece of the organization’s funding,” Markell said in an Oct. 21 news release.
Meaning, grant funding is crucial to continue serving children through the pediatric therapy program, Chief Executive Officer Dena Strong said.
In October, the nonprofit put out a call to the community seeking licensed physical speech and occupational therapists to join its team. Since then, Innovative Services NW has increased its staffing, but it is still looking for more therapists to meet the needs of the program.
In the meantime, the $24,000 Innovative Services NW received in January will help bolster the outpatient pediatric therapy program.
“My job is to give staff the ability to do whatever they need to do. Without our team, Innovative couldn’t be what we currently are,” Strong said.
