About Us
Boone County Family Resources serves persons of all ages – from infants and toddlers to older adults. The people we serve present diverse needs for life, work and recreational support in their homes and in the community.
Each person is supported by a knowledgeable team, which may include their family, teacher, therapist and others important to them. This team helps plan the support they need and make informed decisions about where to get it. The agency has a service provider network with hundreds of agencies, therapists and other professionals who are committed to helping persons served lead regular lives in the community.
BCFR was established by the passage of a special property tax levy in 1976. Since then, the agency has purchased and provided services for thousands of Boone County residents with developmental disabilities. In 1993, the levy was increased through a ballot initiative.
Today, BCFR is an Administrative Agent of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and services have greatly expanded. Services offered include Supported Living residential services, Life and Work Connections vocational and practical living skills development, and Family and Community Living Support service coordination and purchased supports.
Services directly provided by the agency have been nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) since 1985. In 1995, Family & Community Living Support became the first accredited family support program in the nation.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to effectively and efficiently use agency and other available resources to enable Boone County residents with developmental disabilities to progress toward normal living and to develop, as far as possible, their capacity, performance, and relationship with other persons.
Specifically, the Board is empowered to establish, administer and/or operate a sheltered workshop … residential facilities, or related services, for the care of employment, or both, of eligible persons.
The Board recognizes that each eligible individual has a need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, habilitation or other services which may be of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated. Therefore, the agency shall establish, own, operate, coordinate and administer residential facilities, community and family residential support programs, developmental programs, vocational training and employment opportunities planned so as to meet the diverse needs of eligible children and adults residing in Boone County.
Philosophy and Beliefs
The citizens of Boone County have entrusted the Boone County Family Resources Board with the responsibility to administer, effectively and efficiently, available resources to enable Boone County citizens to meet the challenges of developmental disabilities. Every person with a disability has the same rights as any other citizen. When a person with a disability is unable to exercise these rights, individually planned services and supports, recognizing the special role of the family, are essential to meet the unique challenges of his or her developmental disability.
Beliefs
- Individually planned services and supports are essential to meeting the unique challenges of an individual’s developmental disability.
- It is necessary to set certain standards for care, treatment and education of the individual as required by the particular disabling condition.
- Parents, guardians and persons with developmental disabilities must be educated to become informed advocates and consumers to ensure greater integration into the community.
- That persons receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs and choices and an array of services and supports are offered to allow each individual to progress toward normal living and develop to his/her full capacity.
- Available resources should be effectively and efficiently administered to enable Boone County citizens to meet the challenges of developmental disabilities.
Historical Review
| 1976 | Boone County voters approve ballot proposition establishing Boone County Group Homes Board with a 5 cent per 100 dollars valuation property tax. |
| 1977 | Parkade House, a group home for eight Boone County residents with developmental disabilities, opens. |
| 1979 | Hallsville House, providing a home for eight more Boone County residents with developmental disabilities, opens. |
| 1981 | Independent Living Services are developed to provide practical living skills training to persons with disabilities living independently or with their families. |
| 1982 | Diego Court Semi–Independent Apartments opens in the south part of Columbia. |
| 1984 | The General Assembly clarifies that otherwise eligible persons may receive services regardless of age. |
| 1987 | Granada Apartments open to extend supervised apartment living for persons with developmental disabilities. |
| 1989 | The Boone County Board and the Department of Mental Health sign a first of its kind Intergovernmental Agreement to pilot a Family & Community Living Support Program. |
| 1990 | The Boone County Board, in collaboration with other agencies and advocates, creates the first Early Childhood Advisory Council to improve services for infants and toddlers at risk of disabilities. |
| 1991 | The agency is certified as Missouri’s first local government Medicaid funded case management provider. |
| 1993 | Boone County voters approve Proposition H allowing for expansion of services. Local tax levy is 12 cents per $100 valuation. |
| 1995 | The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission (CARF) grants accreditation to the Family & Community Living Support Program. It is the first Family & Community Living Support Program to be accredited in the nation. |
| 1999 | The agency acquires and remodels the Community and Family Support Center at 1209 East Walnut to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. |
| 2002 | The agency celebrates 25 years of service to Boone County citizens with developmental disabilities. |
| 2003 | The agency acquired and renovated 16 residential apartments for accessibility and aging in place. This rehabilitation project was nominated for a national award by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). |
| 2005 | The agency changes its name to Boone County Family Resources which is more reflective of the diverse services and supports provided. |
| 2006 | August marks the 30 year anniversary of the passage of a property tax establishing the agency. |