The Holiday Season...2008

It seems that "the hurrider I go, the behinder I get" during this significant month of December. Because of regulatory changes a few years ago, the State of California Community Care Licensing Division has decided I need to license our equestrian center. When we started the program in 1986, the representatives from both Community Care Licensing and San Diego Regional Center didn't require a license due to the unique nature of the service. We operate what is officially categorized (by the State Department of Developmental Services)as a Behavior Management Day Training Program. This means we work with adults with developmental disabilities (mild retardation) who have behavior problems. Their needs could be compared to teenagers with serious behavior issues. The program runs six hours per day Monday through Friday. Because I have not licensed a new program for several years, I have had to renew my CPR and First Aide training which required a day of my time, obtain a new physical and TB clearance (a 2 trip to the doctor process) and complete a massive amount of paperwork all as a part of the licensing process. Being the compulsive person that I am, in the process of gathering existing paperwork such as personnel policies to include in the application packet, I find myself updating several of our forms and policies and procedures. This includes medication procedures, disaster plans, hiring practices, organizational chart, and trust me, the list only gets longer as the days go by. It seems there is a written procedure requirement for just about every step that we could possibly take these days. Either due to the fact that regulations have changed which require updating or because my personnel have copied forms over and over for the past several years and only people with "superman" vision can see them, I have spent hours on the computer preparing the application. I have had to replace cartridges in printers and buy another ream of computer paper. My deadline is to have this done by Monday, so it is turned in before the end of the year. I must not fail to mention that although the program has been operating for 22 years, I have to complete a proposed profit and loss operating statement not only on this program but on all of the programs licensed by the corporation, as well as a balance sheet. The purpose of requiring a profit and loss statement is to insure that someone who is proposing to operate a new program has the capital to do so. That is a good thing, but rather a moot point when the program has been there since 1986, has 16 employees on site and obviously, they wouldn't be there if they weren't getting a paycheck. We also have to prove that we have control of the property, which seems like another moot point. We will require a fire inspection, which is another good thing but slows down the process waiting for the fire department to respond to the state's request for inspection. It's a good thing we have a special use permit on the property for a daycare/school operation, or we would have a big problem. We obtained that in 1987 when our neighboring ranches didn't want adults with special needs riding horses in their neighborhood. Thankfully, they have long since come to accept us or at least tolerate us. I believe I will have my packet ready for submission on Monday once I modify our medication procedures and prepare the financial information this weekend. If I were a gambler, I would bet on a belief that something will be missing. If the packet is determined to be complete, we will be ready for the next phase which should be very interesting. There will be an inspection of the physical plant. I strongly feel that we will be the first horse ranch in the state of California to be licensed by Community Care Licensing Division normally an agency that licenses traditional daycare programs in school type environments and group homes. Oh well.....that' what we get for creative thinking. We have been noted as being avant garde in the development of mental health services in the past. We will take that as a compliment and march on hoping to come out the other side of the burearcratic maze with a positive attitude and a few new ideas to better serve our clients. In spite of all of the extra assignments, we managed to have a wonderful Christmas celebration as did those we serve in all of our programs....whether licensed or unlicensed. Blessings to all.....