Opened by FCSN in 2004, the South Bay Adult Day Program (ADP) offers adults with developmental disabilities a joyful, supportive environment that facilitates personal growth, community interaction, and a healthy, meaningful life. Annabelle Foz, the Program Manager, shares an insider’s-look into the program’s purpose and services, as well as her favorite experiences from over 12 years of involvement. 

Foz’s journey with FCSN began soon after she immigrated from the Philippines to the US in 2010. One year later, she joined the South Bay ADP as a direct support staff member. Deeply dedicated to helping the special needs community, Foz holds a Master’s degree in Special Education. She found the ADP to be a perfect fit: “I find fulfillment in working with the special needs population. I don’t consider them challenging, because they’re really nice individuals. What is challenging is looking for different avenues to make their lives better.” Although Foz initially worked both at the ADP and as an intervention specialist in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), as her commitment to FCSN grew, she soon stopped working in ABA to focus on the ADP, which, at the time, had 30 clients. “It came to a point that I had to choose, and I wanted to help as many people as possible,” said Foz.

Since then, the ADP has blossomed and now has 65 clients with Foz as the Program Manager. The client to staff ratio is 4:1, although there are 1:1 cases for certain individuals. Most clients live at home with their families, but Foz estimates that around 10% live in group homes. All clients join the ADP for life after completing their local, district-provided post-secondary education. Notably, the ADP is a non profit organization funded by San Andreas Regional Center (SARC), which also supplies transportation to and from the ADP via the VTA Access Paratransit. 

While the ADP cannot accept individuals with medical complications, the program has a diverse client base. “There is a wide range of mental and functional abilities. Some are very high-functioning and independent, and others are highly challenged. We have clients who are non-verbal and limited-speech. We also have clients who can completely communicate,” said Foz. Clients start the ADP at 22 years old, and the current population–Foz approximates 60-70%–is on the younger side, between 25 and 35 years old. But regardless of any differences in age or ability, the community wholeheartedly welcomes each and every new client. “It doesn’t take long for [new clients] to acclimate themselves because these guys are very, very friendly,” Foz says. 

A great strength of the ADP is its person-centered planning process for determining a new client’s schedule and goals. Foz says that standard day programs are like going to school, but ADP’s philosophy is not about following a rigid, set curriculum. “With person-centered planning, it’s all about what the client wants. It’s all about the client’s interests, preferences, and likes. So, whatever their likes are, we gear their activities and learning towards that. Let’s say that a client said, ‘I want to be a postman one day.’ How would we address his dream, his goal? One of his objectives could be to arrange items by alphabetical order to mimic the sorting of mail,” said Foz. When another client wanted to be a barista, Foz and the ADP staff arranged for that client to try working at the Friends Coffee and Tea Shop. 

Along with the person-centered planning process comes person-centered goals that each client and the ADP staff set in cooperation. The staff then help the client to break accomplishing the goal down into small, actionable steps. Foz names some of these steps for a client whose goal was to stay healthy and fit. “One objective would be to attend adaptive PE at San Jose City College. Another objective would be to participate in the daily morning PE. Another could be to learn to eat a healthy diet or eat vegetables at least twice a week,” said Foz. 

The person-centered planning process results in a customized schedule for each client, who may select from life skills classes, enrichment classes, and vocational training. Examples of life skills classes are healthy snack preparation and Happy House, a class where clients learn essential housekeeping skills, such as sweeping and folding and hanging clothes. As for enrichment classes, there is Lego-building, clay art, general arts and crafts, music, and more. Some of the vocational training options are working in the Friends Coffee and Tea shop, soap-making, soap-packing, gardening at the Morley Park or the Hakone Gardens, and embroidering at Turtleworks. “Some of these programs, such as Turtleworks, the Hakone Gardens, Morley Park, and the Friends Coffee and Tea, offer future employment to clients if they are able to adopt the skills,” said Foz. In fact, after exposure to these locations through the ADP, several clients have taken up and held jobs for years. 

The South Bay ADP is year-round and based both in the community at the aforementioned locations and at the FCSN South Bay Center in San Jose. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, the 61 clients split into groups according to each of their schedules. There is a great emphasis on combining personal growth and development with fun and friendship. “Usually, our Friday is a fun day because it’s dedicated to field trips. [Clients] go to the farm, watch a movie, go bowling, or sometimes do an indoor activity; if it’s Thanksgiving or Halloween or Cinco de Mayo, we celebrate at the program,” said Foz. 

Foz gives a rundown of weekly happenings and a sample daily schedule: “Every morning, we start at 9 o’clock with exercise. On Monday, we do Zumba, Tuesday, yoga, Wednesday, chiropractic and aerobic dance, Thursday, aerobics, and Friday, stretching and dance. On a typical Monday, after exercising, a volunteer comes to sing and play music, and then [the clients] do a cleaning of the center. Then, in the morning, we have three classes at the FCSN South Bay Center, though some clients will go out to help with Meals on Wheels. Then, lunchtime is about 12 o’clock, and in the afternoon, [the clients do] arts and crafts.”

Through this mixture of work, play, and learning, clients make tremendous progress. Twice a year, the ADP staff meet with the clients’ parents and social workers, and parents are often amazed by their children’s new skills. “At the meeting, that is sometimes the first time that a parent learns a certain task can be done by their child. Sometimes, they’re surprised and say, ‘Oh really, [client’s name] can do this?’ And we tell them, ‘Yes, he can even sweep the floor or wash the dishes!’”said Foz. It is through the ADP that many parents have discovered just how much their children are capable of.

The greatest obstacle Foz runs into as the Program Manager is keeping the ADP enjoyable and interesting for clients. “You have to be creative. You have to do a lot of research. I also do a lot of asking the clients what they want to do or what they want to learn. It’s really a big challenge because you cannot run one activity for a long time; the clients will become bored. We recycle classes because clients sometimes lose the skill [that they had learned in a class]. We’ve also tried to reintroduce or repackage the lessons or the class for the clients.” 

Despite these organizational difficulties, Foz has innumerable wonderful memories in her time with the ADP. One such experience was teaching the clients Tinikling, a Filipino folk dance. The Tinikling is a highly rhythmic, coordinated dance that involves the tapping and beating of poles against the ground as dancers step in and out of the poles. To Foz’s excitement, the clients not only learned the dance, but were so proficient that the troop performed at both the 2013 FCSN Family Day and the Fundraising Gala. 

The ultimate intention of the ADP staff is to create an uplifting place for clients to find purpose and grow with the support of their peers and teachers. “Our goals for the ADP are aligned with the mission and vision of FCSN: to find hope for our clients and maximize their potential. My hope would be to see clients becoming more independent and getting jobs, because they have great potential. You just need to train them in the skills. I know they can stay [at the ADP] for life, but, of course, I want them to work and be responsible, functioning members of the community; this will give them self worth,” said Foz. To learn more about the ADP, visit this page on the FCSN website.