The residents and their welfare are – and will continue to be – our programmatic and financial focus.
With an annual budget just over $4.5 million, 99% of our day-to-day operating funds come from government sources, primarily the State of Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS). The remaining 1% comes primarily from Foundation grants, local government grants, and donations from parents/guardians and others with a direct connection to our programs.
Rimland’s primary expenses relate to the employees that support the residents and the agency, and consist of salaries, benefits, and the cost of out-sourced functions. Additional expenses relate to the cost of operating our 19 residential homes and the Community Day Services (14%); resident food, medicine, supplies, transportation, and activities (6%); and general overhead (4%).
Funds & Needs
All of our residents live with us on a full-time, year-round basis and are enrolled in our programs for a substantial portion of their developmental years, if not for life. No fees are assessed, other than an occasional trip and extracurricular activity fees. While DHS funding contributes to the cost of each resident, most of those costs relate to Direct Support Professionals who support our residents. After paying those salaries, only minimal funds are left for program enhancement and expansion. Additional funding from non-DHS sources is needed for program enhancement and expansion.
The State of Illinois’ estimated, assessed cost per resident of a State of Illinois-operated institutional setting approaches $175,000 annually, with DHS only budgeting for and providing $50,000 in funding. This leaves a funding gap of $125,000 per client annually that Rimland has to assume and why we so greatly appreciate your support.
The current assessed cost per resident by DHS funding only provides each resident with basic supports: food, shelter, housing, supervision, and personal assistance with activities of daily living (“ADLs”). Not included in this cost is funding for recreational and therapeutic activities that Rosalind Oppenheim envisioned to promote inclusion for individuals – like the fully-functional Community Day Services – with autism in society, like field trips and interventional therapies.
Facility Development
In addition to our day-to-day operations and resident care, Rimland also has an active Facility Development Program. The goal is to purchase, renovate, improve or construct facilities to provide an expanded capacity and more dignified approach. To-date, we have sourced close to $900,000 that we used to acquire and rehabilitate 5 new group homes. These homes are now finished and occupied, and we are setting our sights on new homes to purchase and renovate.
In 2011, Rimland partnered with Designs 4 Dignity, a nonprofit design organization, to begin a radical transformation of several of our residential homes. The former Design Director of D4D is now leading Rimland’s design effort as our new Director of Design. He is leveraging his experiences and his resources to create a design standard for all existing and future homes. For more information and photos, feel free to browse here. To learn more about how you, too, can contribute to our expansion and renovation process, click here.
Programmatic & Resident Demographics
Rimland’s primary programs are: the Community Day Services, Health & Wellness, and a series of Residential Homes throughout the Chicagoland area.
There are 100 full-time residents in Rimland’s care, with 85 taking full advantage of the Community Day Services.
