What is UCP?

What is the History of UCP of West Central Wisconsin?

Founded in 1949, United Cerebral Palsy also know by the acronym UCP is a nationwide network consisting of a central national organization, located in Washington, D.C., and over 50 independent, state and local non-profit affiliates. UCP is the leading source of information on cerebral palsy and is a pivotal advocate for the rights of all people with disabilities. UCP affiliates serve many individuals without a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, in fact, 65% or more of the people UCP affiliates serve have a disability or chronic conditions other than cerebral palsy.

UCP affiliates serve more than 170,000 children and adults with disabilities and their families every day. Together, with over 100,000 volunteers and an even larger number of professional staff, UCP affiliates nationally serve people with disabilities and others, through the development of state-of-the-art programs, information and referral services, legislative advocacy, technology initiatives and research, and the delivery of a range of direct services tailored to local communities through programs such as assistive technology training, early intervention services, individual and family support services, and social and recreation programs. In addition, many UCP affiliates provide supported living services, employment assistance, and other supports as needed.

Brief History of UCP of West Central Wisconsin

UCP of West Central Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization that has existed in the Chippewa Valley since the 1950’s. We are an affiliate of the National UCP organization but have our own 501c3 tax status and independent Board of Directors from the National UCP organization. We have a long-standing relationship with other affiliated UCP agencies that make up a collective national membership and a world-wide presence. UCP of West Central Wisconsin Board of Directors governs the business of the agency at a local level to support children, families and adults. Over 90% of the individuals that participate with UCP do not have a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and range in ages as young as a couple of months old to frail elderly. Our agency traditionally provides many disability populations with services, awareness and resources. UCP has evolved to meet community needs and is an ‘indispensable resource’ for families.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HISTORY

1973-1974 Janet Van Dyke

1974-1979 Jill Haak

1979-1983 Gene Amann

July, 1983 - November, 1983 Debbie Erickson

February, 1984 - January, 1985 Lewis Perkins

March, 1985 – 2012 Ruth Gullerud

2012 – August, 2016 Dave Piltz

August, 2016 – Present Todd Breaker

LOCATION HISTORY

1954 Louis L. Phillips formed the Board of Directors

1954-1973 Board of Directors – Parent Lead (no staff)

1973 - 1975 Health Department in Eau Claire Courthouse

1975 - 1978 407 South Farwell

1978 - 1981 Barstow Court, 306 S. Barstow

1981 – July, 2019 206 Water Street

2019 – 2024 2153 Eastridge Center

2024 - Present Day 2130 Eastridge Center

History of UCP of West Central Wisconsin from the Beginning Through 2006

A group of parents in the Eau Claire area discovered each other and realized that they shared two commonalities. They were parenting a child having cerebral palsy and they desired a way to support each other in the quest to help their children reach their optimal potential. Three years prior to meeting each other, the beginnings of a support organization had started in New York called the United Cerebral Palsy Association.

Joined by local educators and therapists, these parents incorporated in November 1954 under the name of United Cerebral Palsy of Chippewa Valley and the first Board of Directors was formed under the leadership of Louis L. Phillips. Other early Board members included: Ken and Mary Jane Clark, the Meagher sisters, Bert and Cliff Chatterson, Larry Wahlstrom, Ruth and Lee Mathison, and Charles Safford.

During the organization’s first two decades, UCP in the Eau Claire area existed only as a volunteer Board that supplied each other with support, hooked into the first national Telethon in the ’50s and, with the funds raised, purchased adaptive items needed by local individuals. In the early 1970s, the Board organized a survey of local needs and accepted the challenge of employing one staff person to attempt to address the needs identified. Since that first hiring, the growth of UCP has been phenomenal. Starting with its tentative beginning with one part-time employee, the agency now (referencing 2004) employs 12 dedicated staff members.

In 1976, UCP affiliate boundary lines in the State of Wisconsin were redrawn and the local area was renamed West Central Wisconsin, including nine counties of Barron, Chippewa, Eau Claire, St. Croix, Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, and Rusk. This service area was later expanded to include Jackson, Buffalo and Trempealeau counties.

In 1977, an evaluation clinic was started. Initially, the C. P. Clinic served about 15 individuals, operating every other month. Today (referenced 2004), the clinic has broadened under its new name, the Neurodevelopment Evaluation Clinic, serving a diverse population of over 100 individuals every other week.  The clinic is held at Sacred Heart Hospital and has grown under the directorship of Dr. Michael O’Halloran and his team, including Neurologist, Dr. James Bounds, Orthopedist, Dr. Claude Davis and three therapists.

In the late ’70s, another survey of needs revealed a desperate cry from parents and caregivers for periodic relief from their 24-hour care obligations. Thus, UCP initiated the first respite care program in the area. This Respite Care Program had become the benchmark of UCP’s advocacy process to step aside from a program as soon as a quality duplicate is in place. As a result, respite care became a State mandate in the 1980s and local counties formed their own respite components. Still acting as a watchdog for service quality, it is interesting to note that in 2003, the mandate no longer existed and UCP had emerged as a respite care provider under the statewide Lifespan or Respite Care project.

UCP of West Central Wisconsin has also been blessed with remarkably dedicated staff members who have always had the philosophy of “consumer need is our first criterion” for services. No project demonstrates this maxim better than the existence of our “consumer groups” developed with WCDD funds under the leadership of Adult Educator Donna Fortin In the mid-1980s.

United Cerebral Palsy of West Central Wisconsin will continue to strive to meet the ongoing and ever-changing needs of people with disabilities in the future. The hope is that the gap between those with disabilities and those who are “temporarily able” will continue to close so that all will be integrated into a single group of people with differing abilities. Until then, UCP will continue to be an active advocate and service provider for individuals with a varying abilities and their families.

Since 2006, UCP, our Fiscal Agent services have helped individuals manage and Self-Direct their own care and service in a manner that they have control over their life. Through this service, UCP of West Central Wisconsin is able to manage resources and funds on behalf of the individual while they are empowered to select, employ, train, determine the amount and type of care and manage their own care providers pay rates.

WHAT IS THE UCP RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION?

The UCP Research and Educational Foundation is the nation’s principal non-government agency sponsoring research directly relevant to the prevention of cerebral palsy and improvement in the quality of life of persons with disabilities due to cerebral palsy and related developmental brain disorders. In its history of more than 50 years, the Foundation has been instrumental in eliminating two of the major causes of cerebral palsy, German measles, and maternal-child blood type incompatibility.

The Foundation is now focusing its attention on other remaining major causes such as low birth weight, prematurity, and the effects of maternal infection on the developing brain. It is also exploring the development of improved methods for mobility, communication, and the general well-being of children and adults with developmental disorders of the brain as well as the possibility of replacing lost cells in the brain. The Foundation also serves as the medical and scientific information resource for UCP, its affiliates, the clinical professions, and the public.