Our mission:
Through a partnership with RCO, individuals and their families will enrich and control their own lives based upon the principles of freedom, authority, autonomy and responsibility.
RCO's History
Resource Connections of Oregon (RCO) is an Oregon non-profit corporation, a 501c3. We provide services in Linn, Marion and Yamhill Counties. To do so, we receive funds designated under contract and disperse these funds under the direction of our customers. These funds are both federal Medicaid dollars and from the State of Oregon.
RCO is an organization known for its beneficial role in Oregon's service delivery system as well as for the talents and skills of its staff. This includes being an advocate and provider of employer supports for individuals and families to meet their needs for paid direct support services.
RCO was established in May 1998. The primary purpose was providing administrative support for individuals with disabilities and families of people with disabilities pursuing a course of self-directed supports to improve or build their lives. This includes assisting people with disabilities and their families in employing the paid direct support staff required to meet their needs.
The start of RCO can be found in the general movement toward self-determination for persons with developmental disabilities. This includes the more recent local planning activities to develop a Self-Directed Support program in each Oregon county.
In researching the concept of self-determination and the issues related to the goal of developing new delivery systems to implement this concept, it became clear that the creation of new types of organizations would be necessary. Thomas Nerney and Donald Shumway, of the National Program Office on Self-Determination, make this point very clear in their fundamental writings on self-determination. They also stress the absolute importance of having organizations to perform fiscal intermediary functions on behalf of people with disabilities and their families. These fiscal intermediary organizations must also be prepared to assist in the functions related to employing paid direct support staff, done in a way that keeps control in the hands of individuals with disabilities or their families.
The development of RCO is a direct result of need for fiscal intermediary organizations to help further the concept of self-determination and the development of self-directed supports on behalf of people with disabilities and their families.
In 2001, RCO expanded to include full service brokerage supports as defined in the Staley Lawsuit Settlement.
Staley Settlement
The Staley Settlement was in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of five individuals with developmental disabilities who were eligible for federal and state services but not receiving them. They had been on the "wait list" for services. This wait list contained the names of over 4,000 Oregonians. One person had been waiting for 17 years. Many adults with developmental disabilities were not receiving any needed supports and available support dollars were often applied unevenly across the state. The settlement required that Support Services be available to all eligible Oregonians by June 30, 2009. The services were phased in over 7 1/2 years. For more information on the Staley Settlement check the web site for the Oregon Department of Human Services or the Developmental Disabilities Coalition.
RCO Staff
RCO staff currently consists of the following employees:
1 Executive Director
1 Business Manager
1 Assistant Director
3 Lead Personal Agents
18 Personal Agents
1 Fiscal Intermediary Accountant
3.25 Office Staff RCO Personal Agents are trained to identify an individual’s needs and connecting them with local resources. One of the main components of self determination is that the customer may become the employer of those providing direct supports. In order to do this, personal agents must understand employer and employee responsibilities. Personal Agents have a well thought out and easily understood packet on employer responsibilities to present to customers using specialized fiscal intermediary services.
