Pathfinders Community Integration Program:
A day program tailored to your needs.
Overview
Pathfinders Day Program is a community-based day program with a student-to-staff ratio between 4:1 and 6:1 (depending on needs). We’ve found this to be the ideal ratio for safety, engagement, friendship, and productivity. We aim to be a safe space for neurodiverse people to engage with friends, explore their interests, and build community. Common places we attend during program hours include local gyms, restaurants, parks, theaters, etc.
Our community in Folsom is a safe, welcoming place to socialize and learn various independence skills. Our lessons emphasize practical life skills, such as social skills, pre-employment skills, cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Additionally, each morning we go for a walk, meditate, engage in group discussions about wisdom and virtues, and participate in classes like:
“Money-Wise” (conceptual understanding of money and responsible spending)
“Roommate-Ready” (a set of practical skills that teach you how to be the ideal roommate to friends, parents, or whoever you live with)
“Good Friends” (how to make and keep healthy friendships)
Communication skills (in-person, texting, phone calls, emails/writing)
Book Club (books are determined by participants and are at different reading levels)
Science class: health, nutrition, biology, astronomy, etc.
Foreign languages like American Sign Language and Spanish
Arts and crafts (decided by participants)
Acting/Improv
Music (singing, percussion, ukulele)
Special topics (very fun and engaging classes decided by participants’ curiosities)
A major staple of the program is "individualized goals,” where the participant and their support team create achievable and practical goals to set them up for a future where they can thrive. These goals can be social, financial, personal, employment-related, health-related, etc. and are worked on every day at Pathfinders.
And of course we make sure to balance our days and weeks out with a great time. On Fridays we still do our morning routine and work on our goals, however, the rest of the day is based around recreation and doing activities the participants decide are the most fun.
A typical day
In short, we operate about 9am-4pm Tuesday-Friday (except for special events). We provide transportation to and from our participants’ homes. Therefore, pick-up and drop-off times depend on your location along our route, so they can be earlier than 9am or later than 4pm. Because we operate Tues-Fri, our “typical day” depends on the day of the week. A brief description of each day in chronological order is below:
Tuesday: meditation, virtues/wisdom discussion, workout at gym, “lunch out” (eat out every other week), individualized goals, classes/book club, fun activities/free time, end of day.
Wednesday: meditation, virtues/wisdom discussion, outdoor sport/activity, shop for lunch ingredients, cook lunch, individualized goals, social games, fun activities/free time, end of day.
Thursday: meditation, virtues/wisdom discussion, workout at gym, lunch, individualized goals, classes, fun activities/free time, end of day.
Friday: meditation, virtues/wisdom discussion, individualized goals, brunch or “lunch out,” community recreational activities chosen by participants, end of day.
Special Events: “Evening on the Town” is a monthly outing where we do activities we can’t do within normal day program times. Other special events are season-specific or spontaneous.
Our Philosophy
Self-Advocacy: Self-advocacy is essential in creating a more independent life. Therefore, participants are given countless opportunities to advocate for their wants and needs by making our decisions about where we go, what activities we do, what we eat, where we eat, what special classes are taught, etc.
Self-Reliance: As long as it’s safe, we expect people to rely on themselves to solve problems first…not reach out for someone else to solve it for them. This self-reliance is a wonderful character trait that creates massive independence momentum.
We’re Not For Everyone: Our program simply isn’t for everyone, and admission into the program isn’t a guarantee. Every prospective participant goes through a trial period to determine if they’re a proper fit for the program. We do this to protect the overall vibe and energy of the group, because one person’s needs don’t outweigh the needs of the group. We’re all human, and we’re all dealing with our own stuff. However, we need to ensure our program remains a safe, healthy, and happy learning environment for all.
Appropriate Expectations: At Pathfinders, we believe people almost always rise to expectations that respect their potential. It’s amazing what the power of belief can accomplish, and we utilize that power in our programs.
Fun and Humor: As much as possible we use fun and humor to keep classes, as well as ordinary moments, both light and engaging. After all, who wouldn’t want to pay attention if a joke can come out at anytime? Who wouldn’t want to engage in an activity if people are having fun?
FAQs
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A: All potential participants start out in a trial period for about 2-3 weeks. During this time, participants see if we’re a good fit, and we do the same. If both parties agree to go forward, the orientation process begins!
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We accept regional center (Alta or ACRC) funds as well as private-pay. However, most participants pay for our services through their regional center budgets. Importantly, we’re a Self-Determination Program (SDP) service provider, meaning you’ll have to sign up for the SDP through the regional center to release funds to our program. If you have questions about the SDP, or are unsure what it is (don’t worry, if you’re a regional center client you probably qualify), Joe would be happy to explain more.
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A: The SDP is a voluntary regional center program that almost all regional center clients qualify for, but is not the traditional (default) model. In short, it places more spending power in the hands of the regional center client (and their family) so they can more freely spend their budgets on services/activities/items that align with their specific goals (both IPP and PCP).
As it relates to Pathfinders Community: The SDP allows the use of the client’s regional center budget, which is usually used toward vendored providers, toward services/activities of BOTH vendored AND non-vendored service providers. Pathfinders has consciously chosen to remain a non-vendored service provider primarily because we believe paying direct service workers fairly will significantly reduce employee turnover. In our experience, short employee turnover is very common in the traditional model (with vendored providers) and detrimental to the education and progress of the participants.
The SDP was launched in July 2021 and has become an increasingly popular model for how clients choose to receive the best services for their unique goals and challenges. We believe the SDP’s benefits greatly outweigh its negatives for most people. For more questions about the SDP or to have a free SDP consultation as it relates to Pathfinders, please contact Joe Carson at joe@pathfinders.community or your Alta Service Coordinator.
Note: Joe Carson is not employed by the Alta Regional Center (ACRC).
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A: We serve sections of El Dorado, Placer, and Sacramento Counties on our transportation routes. Our route is constantly evolving as we grow, so please contact Joe Carson by phone or email to find out if we can provide transportation directly to your home.
If your home is outside our route you are welcome to provide your own transportation to meet us at a designated spot along our current route.
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A: Pathfinders Housing is still in the planning stages, and won’t be introduced for at least another couple years. It may end up with a different name, but the community here at Pathfinders will be involved. Please contact Joe for the latest information and time estimates. If you want to contribute services, time, property, or resources to make this dream a reality, please reach out today!
