MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Advocates for the disabled want to see more programs for adults during the workday. Members of the Arc of Mobile County are asking for last-minute funding from the City of Mobile.

There are only a couple of weeks left in the current fiscal year before members of the Mobile City Council are expected to vote on a new budget for the next fiscal year. There’s not a lot of time but there may be a path forward. This past week, Tom Holmes with the Mobile Arc petitioned the city council and the mayor for funding for a group adult day program.

In 2019 Alta Pointe merged with The Mobile ARC and took over the services they provided.
During the pandemic group day programs were phased out in favor of programs that kept adults with mental disabilities in their communities or with families with caregivers. Arc Officials want to bring back group programs for adults

“The services get reimbursed by a combination of state and federal Medicaid dollars. So that’s the group that we want to shoot for. Once we are certified to be a provider. We can. Individuals could be referred to us for their services and we’re hoping to begin with 20 and then expand from there as we grow the program,” said Tom Holmes with the Arc of Mobile County. “[The adults served by Arc] lose whatever they learned when they’re not in a structured program. So that’s what we would hope to do for them and their families. And of course, if the families are being served, then they can go back to work. They can earn that income.”

Holmes is asking for more than $55,000 in a performance contract–the same amount the Mobile ARC had before the AltaPointe Merger. AltaPointe has requested that amount be ear-marked from their performance contract for those programs but so far nothing has been finalized.

Tom Holmes also sent us this statement clarifying the difference between his group, the Arc of Mobile County, and the former Mobile ARC:

The Arc of Mobile County, Inc. is our organization’s legal name, not Mobile ARC or Mobile Arc. We do not want to be connected to, or affiliated with the former Mobile A.R.C. The Arc of Mobile County is not an acronym, always refer to us as The Arc of Mobile County, not the ARC and never ARC. The Arc of Mobile County should be considered as a title or a phrase. The Arc of Mobile County, Inc. promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes. The Arc of Mobile County, Inc. is an affiliated local chapter of The Arc of Alabama and The Arc of the United States.