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Tacachale - We are the oldest and largest of Florida's residential centers and opened in 1921. Our unusual name was chosen in 1990 at a time many new changes were being implemented. It is a Timucuan Indian word for a ceremony marking a new start and means "to light a new fire."
Who Lives Here? Currently 468 adult men and women with developmental disabilities live here in 35 different large homes, housing from 8 to 16 people.
- 413 residents in ICF/DD (Intermediate Care Facility/for Developmentally Disabled Persons
- 55 male residents in one of the court ordered forensic programs
- Most residents are in semi-private rooms with one or two roommates
- About one-half of our residents are able to work and want to work - 248 on payroll from work done in specialized settings
Population: Our residents are grouped by the level and kind of care they require in homes for women and for men
- Legacy residents who have been here many years or since childhood - some served in homes especially for our geriatric residents
- Medically complex or fragile residents and those persons who are behaviorally challenging and cannot be served successfully in community settings
- Some residents have a dual diagnosis of developmental disabilities and mental illness requiring specialized care
- Men remanded by the Courts to forensic programs - expansion to include a home for women in the forensic system
- Men with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Who works here? Our staff of about 1200 people includes everyone needed for a community - Nurses, physicians, dentists, nutritionists, cooks, maintenance staff of all kinds, direct care staff at all levels of education and experience, a fully staffed business office, quality assurance monitoring staff, psychologists, social workers, occupational, physical, speech, recreational and rehabilitation therapists, an information technology office, a volunteer coordinator, and a chaplain.
Total budget - $64.1 million for FY 06-07 that included
- $48.5 million payroll of 1296 jobs plus $1.2 million for OPS jobs
- $4.8 million in contracts - UF is principal contractor for services
- $4.4 million in expenses and food purchases
- In 2001, an economic impact study concluded that each Tacachale job, generated 2/3 of another job in the community.
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