KFI

12/13/2025

Yesterday we joined many of our colleagues with MACSP to celebrate the work of exceptional Direct Support Staff. KFI nominated Taylor Dodd for DSP of the Year and he was chosen as the winner for our region!
"Taylor is a very versatile and valued team member who adjusts himself to the unique needs of each person he supports. His optimistic attitude is infectious and he shares his can do attitude with everyone he meets.
Taylor lives and breathes Active Support. His ability to engage the person he supports in everyday tasks at the level that is exactly right for that person on that day is amazing. He demonstrates the concepts of Active Support throughout his interactions with everyone. This approach has allowed Taylor to support people to try new things, increasing their confidence and helping others to see them as more capable.
Taylor's gentle approach and commitment to building trust helps the people he supprts feel safe to express their wants and needs and to engage in the world in more positive ways.
Taylor is very willing to help out with covering open shifts when needed, and has filled in with many people across the agency.
Taylor’s skill at writing clear, accurate, non-judgmental and thorough documentation for every shift is phenomenal. He always provides an accurate description of how each day went, and makes the reader feel that they were there with him for the entire day. His writing is objective without bias or opinion. He is committed to including accurate documentation before leaving the shift, and understands the responsibility of his work. He has been instrumental in training new staff on how to properly document for their shifts, which has resulted in a noticeable improvement in quality across the agency."
We are proud of the work Taylor does every day and we are delighted that MACSP recognizes and celebrates these accomplishments! Congratulations Taylor!

11/03/2025

We strive to make planning truly person-centered.

For many people with intellectual disabilities, goals are less about growth and more about funding. The system demands measurable progress, so year after year, professionals dutifully write down the same old objectives. “Teeth Brushing.” “Shoe Tying.” “Money Management.”

And year after year, those same goals are reviewed, repeated, and reapproved. Progress notes are written. Boxes are ticked. Lives stand still.

What’s worse is how quietly cruel this can become. Being told, for decades, that the big work of your life is brushing your teeth, as if being human begins and ends with basic hygiene.

It’s not that professionals don’t care, they do. Deeply. But they’re caught in the same loop. Funders want measurable goals, and measurable goals rarely measure what matters.

Real goals are about becoming, not repeating. They’re about joy, connection, contribution, risk, and choice. Those don’t fit neatly into data sheets, but they fit beautifully into a life.
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ID: Image shows man smiling saying: You want to keep my goals the same for another year - oh yay

10/09/2025

KFI is proud to participate in the MACSP Change Management Learning Collaborative!

10/07/2025

Language matters.

We love our labels. My client. My service user. My participant. Each one draws a line, you there, me here. Each word creates distance, a buffer of professionalism. Every word starts with my. Ownership. Possession. Subtle, but real and dangerous. Not long ago, and still in some places today, people have been held captive, their lives controlled by the professionals meant to support them. How many have lived years under someone else’s rules, routines, and definitions of them?

The people we support aren’t ours. They belong to themselves. Forget that, and we stop supporting and start managing. Use people's names whenever you can. When that’s not possible, use language that is person-centered and respectful. For example, the person I support, the person I work for, the people I assist. Words matter.
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ID: Image shows a man sat on a chair looking sad and reflective. To the left text shows that words are being spoken at him as follows: My Consumer, My Individual, My Client, My Service User, My Friend, My Participant. To the right is a speech bubble that reads: I am not your anything I am Nigel.

09/18/2025

I do not live in your workplace. You work in my home.

I can tell within moments.

A house where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live that is called a home, but isn't one.

Sofas pressed against walls. Notices tacked up like reminders that this place is managed, not lived in. Files and folders left on tables, evidence of systems, not people.

Staff coats and bags scattered about. Their presence heavy, louder than the lives of the people who actually live here.

And then the silence of the walls, bare, or dressed only in rules. No photographs to catch my eye. No colours that whisper who loves what, who dreams of where. No hint of someone’s favourite band, or the trip they still talk about. A strange kind of emptiness, a place inhabited but not claimed.

And yet people live here. People with names, with histories, with laughter that deserves a frame on the wall. People with favourite chairs, favourite shows, favourite mugs of their own. People whose presence should fill the space, but instead feels erased by the weight of “program,” or worse "placement."

A home should not be anonymous. A home should tell me, before I even meet you: this is who I am, this is what I love, this is my life.

When we push the sofas back, let the wall stay bare, when we let staff belongings crowd the corners, we send a message, even if we don’t mean to. The message is: this is not really yours.

But a home should speak differently. It should speak of belonging. It should speak of identity. It should say, without hesitation, I live here. This is me.
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ID: Photo shows a baron home lounge with chair pushed against the wall. Text reads: This home could be anyone's. Which means it's no one's.

09/16/2025

Last week LyAnn Grogan and Jodi Benvie attend the NADSP Annual Conference in Buffalo with two awesome DSPs, Brenda Stanley and Rebecca Washburn. It was an action packed 2 1/2 days full of learning and fun!
On top of that, we got to watch our long-time colleague Bonnie-Jean Brooks receive the 2025 John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for Direct Support Workforce Advocacy & Leadership.
https://nadsp.org/nadsp-news-jfk-jr-direct-support-award-2025/

09/11/2025

Today we celebrated DSP week with a barbecue at our Bangor office. What a perfect day!

09/11/2025

Think about it. Do you greet people with disabilities differently?

09/10/2025

It's more than just a job. Our DSPs show up with purpose every day! ♥️
Thank you for all you do!

09/10/2025

We hope our DSPs see what we see when they look in the mirror.
You are appreciated and we are grateful for you every day.

09/09/2025

Happy DSP Recognition Week! The entire Therap team extends our sincere gratitude to Direct Support Professionals for the essential work they do every day. Thank you for your compassion and dedication.

09/09/2025

We’re thrilled to share that Governor Janet Mills has officially proclaimed September 8–14 as DSP Recognition Week in Maine to recognize the dedication of Direct Support Professionals!

Tap to view!