United Developmental Services history

Although she vigorously denied the accusations, the charges persisted, and in January 2018 the UP expelled her from the party. It was the first transfer of power between democratically elected leaders in Liberia since 1944.

In May of 1958 Bennington Family Service Center and the state-operated Bennington Child Guidance Clinic merged and established United Counseling Service of Bennington County, Inc.

She was educated at the College of West Africa in Monrovia and at age 17 married James Sirleaf (they were later divorced). In 1961 Johnson Sirleaf went to the United States to study economics and business administration.

Following the panel's findings, President Kennedy sent a message to Congress in February 1963, which included a proposed legislative package with objectives regarding intellectual disabilities.

When deinstitutionalization began in 1966, there were 1,200 patients at Waterbury, and 660 at Brandon.

In 1967 Congress expanded the services related to intellectual disability and increased program funding.

The precursor of what became the first incarnation of the DD Act in 1970.

After obtaining a master’s degree (1971) in public administration from Harvard University, she entered government service in Liberia.

Johnson Sirleaf served as assistant minister of finance (1972–73) under Pres.

Projects of National Significance (PNS) The 1975 DD Act established and authorized funding for this discretionary grant program to address national needs and respond to emerging or urgent areas of concern more quickly.

Two organizations—the United Cerebral Palsy Association and St Louis Hearing and Speech—used United Way grants to finance the new agency, which was incorporated in 1977.

In 1978 four priority service areas were established: case management services, child developmental services, alternative community living arrangement services, and nonvocational social-developmental services.

Cofounder Casey was active in UPS management until his death in 1983.

The law also authorized prevention-related activities and modified the requirements for State Planning Council membership (referred to here as Councils). People First language was used throughout the Act beginning in 1984.

In the 1985 national election she campaigned for a seat in the Senate and openly criticized the military government, which led to her arrest and a 10-year prison sentence.

Six days before the election the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, noting that the writers of the 1986 constitution could not have foreseen the years of conflict that forced many Liberians to live outside the country.

The grants later eliminated the funding for facilities, and UAFs became University Affiliated Programs (UAPs) in 1987.

Entering the field of overnight air delivery, the company started UPS Airlines in 1988.

In 1993, UCS opened the Autumn House to provide developmental services in a group home setting.

In 1995, UCS changed its corporate structure.

After a tentative truce had been reached in Liberia’s conflict, Johnson Sirleaf ran for president in the 1997 election, representing the Unity Party (UP). She finished second to Charles Taylor and was forced back into exile when his government charged her with treason.

By 1999 Liberia’s civil war had resumed.

The 2000 reauthorization added research as a core function and renamed the University Affiliated Programs UCEDDs.

The company gained retail outlets in 2001 when it bought Mail Boxes Etc., later renamed the UPS Store.

After Taylor went into exile in 2003, Johnson Sirleaf returned to Liberia to chair the Commission on Good Governance, which oversaw preparations for democratic elections.

Known as the “Iron Lady,” she placed second in the first round of voting, and on November 8, 2005, she won the runoff election, defeating football (soccer) legend George Weah.

Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in as president of Liberia on January 16, 2006.

Congress first allocated funds directly to the program beginning in 2008, although PNS funds had been used for Family Support initiatives in prior years.

Ironically, in 2009 Johnson Sirleaf was mentioned in one of the TRC’s reports, which recommended that she, along with a number of others, be banned from holding elective office for 30 years for having supported warring factions in the civil war.

By late 2010 Liberia’s entire debt had been erased, and Johnson Sirleaf had secured millions of dollars of foreign investment in the country.

Gettings, Robert M. Forging a Federal-State Partnership: A History of State and Federal Developmental Disabilities Policy, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011.

Complaints of nepotism also hit the administration, with Johnson Sirleaf herself coming under fire in 2012 because some of her children had high-level jobs in government or state-owned enterprises.

In 2013, United Services launched an expanded outpatient pediatric therapy program that provides occupational therapy, aqua therapy, speech and language therapy and ABA-based therapy.

Keeping pace with the community’s evolving needs, United Services in 2014 began studying the possibility of creating a children’s museum in St Charles County.

As the country attempted to recover from Ebola, Johnson Sirleaf, constitutionally limited to two terms as president, prepared to step down after the 2017 presidential election.

In 2018, UCS became a certified Center of Excellence through Vermont Care Partners and the Jeffords Institute.

In 2021, United Children’s Services in partnership with the Town of Bennington opened the Spring Center, significantly increasing the capacity for childcare and creating a gathering place for the community.