Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

CCIC Hears From Development Center

Arkadelphia's Human Development Center is a major employer in Clark County.

Richard Robinson, speaking to the Clark County Industrial Council, said the AHDC has been in operation for 31 years, with the work done there being recognized on the state and federal level.

"We're a quiet but important part of the state," he said.

Robinson said the center is interwoven with a number of other agencies in the county and provides a lot of job opportunities for its clients.

In the early 1950s, he said, people in the state were concerned there was no training facilities for the retarded. Such people were placed in the Arkansas State Hospital system, where the services weren't what they needed to be.

With the need being obvious, then Gov. Orval Faubus was lobbied heavily to help provide funds and establish a training facility for the mentally handicapped.

A measure was approved by the legislature, but there was a two-year wait before the money came through to fund any type of center.

The first such facility was founded in Conway, the Arkansas Children's Colony. It proved to be a success, and local lobbyists returned to the capitol to try and get one for Arkadelphia.

This, too, was a success, and Arkadelphia's center opened Oct. 7, 1968.

Since then, Robinson said, it has undergone many changes. Statewide, the centers serve 1,200 to 1,300 clients, with Arkadelphia's having a capacity of 154.

It is, he said, a state-owned and operated facility for the mentally handicapped, located on a 338-acre plot of land six miles northwest of Arkadelphia.

This center was expanded, with work starting in 1970. Construction included four more living units and another educational complex, which consisted of five buildings.

Most of the clients, Robinson said, are adults. They are more involved than they used to be, he added, because they can learn skills and find outside employment, along with working within the confines of the center.

The center, he said, is operational 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week with its residential services.

Some 140 people are employed by the center, working three shifts.

The clients have access to a therapeutic pool, which was built with donations and money from the sale of timber on the grounds.

The pool building is used for hydrotherapy, physical therapy and recreation, he said, as a lot of the clients respond better to this kind of treatment.

For those clients under 21, there is a certified special education instructor with a 12-month contract.

The "students", as all clients tend to be, are given vocational training and preparation.

They live on site as there are eight homes on campus. These homes are basically dorms, Robinson said, housing 20 people in each one.

At one time the center had a paper recycling program, where shredded paper was sold for various uses. However, as some of the clients were allergic to paper dust, this had to stop.

Once a way to keep the dust down can be figured out, he said, the center will look at bringing this program back, as it provided a good job opportunity to the residents.

In the meantime, though, the clients are taught how to make crafts. These wooden crafts are based on various holidays and sold.

This program actually began as a way to reward the residents for good work done in other areas.

However, the clients response to it was so great a surplus of items soon developed. These crafts were sold, and the program became a profitable side venture for the clients, turning into a full-time business.

Residents at the center also are given time to relax and have fun. Robinson said they have dances, contests and recently held an election, where candidates were picked, ballots cast and counted and a winner declared.

"The center is about people," he said. "It's not just buildings."

In fact, Robinson said the center is home to its clients. On site there is a pharmacy and pharmacist, a cafeteria with a registered dietitian planning the meals, case managers, who evaluate the clients educationally, mentally, physically and socially.The goal is to get as many of the clients as possible to a level where they can live independently.

Robinson said this can be done depending on the level of the person's handicap. There are four levels of retardation ranging from mild to profound.

In many instances those with mild retardation can attend public schools and are able to do menial labor.

Those who are able to work, Robinson said, enjoy doing it. In fact, several of the center's clients work around Arkadelphia doing all sorts of jobs, including lawn care.

There is a foster grandparent program at the center, he said, where the foster grandparents spend half a day working with residents.

The idea wasn't well received at first, he said, as the staff was concerned about having to watch the grandparents as well as the clients. However, this changed and now when a grandparent can't make it, the staff wants to know why.

The Clark County Humane Society operates the animal shelter from kennels built on the center's grounds. Dogs are adopted from the kennels that used to be tennis courts.

The clients get to work with the dogs, walking them, bathing them and grooming them.

Robinson said the center first sought accreditation in 1974, and has maintained it since then. "We stand tall nationally. We're recognized for the services we provide."

CCIC President Brown Hardman told the members he met with an architect about the proposed Southwest Arkansas Technical Learning Center, though no architect has been hired yet.

The first classes from the training center were held and successful. A follow-up will be done on those attending to see what they and the supervisors at the plants they work at think about it.

The business park on Malone Drive should be developed in the next 12-18 months, Hardman said.

The CCIC has $305,000 for infrastructure and is working to get another $200,000 to be able to complete the job.