Who We Are and What We Believe

ICON was organized in 1985 by representatives from the five Community Services Boards in Northern Virginia. Its initial mission was to provide training and technical assistance to local service providers to assist them in transitioning from sheltered, congregate facilities to community-based employment services.

ICON's mission has broadened over the years but we remain committed to community-based, individualized services. We currently provide supported employment services and community living supports to more than 200 people each year, in addition to providing technical assistance and community education and conducting research and demonstration projects.

ICON agrees with the framers of the Americans with Disabilities Act that "the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals [...] the continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies people with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities for which our free society is justifiably famous, and costs the United States billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses resulting from dependency and nonproductivity."

ICON's goal is to end the segregation of and discrimination against people with disabilities. We work to achieve this goal both through direct community education efforts and through the constant pursuit of innovative ways of providing community-based services. All our services are designed to provide the precise supports each individual needs to become a contributing member of the community, with all the rights and responsibilities such citizenship entails. Each individual we serve thus becomes another voice in the struggle for full citizenship for all.

ICON has a reputation for progressive service delivery, one it is has earned and sustained through a strong commitment to purpose and to the training of its staff. ICON has continually sought to expand its capacity for delivering the highest quality services through a series of demonstration grants and other opportunities including:

• 1985-1986: Development and 'spin-off' of two successful entrepreneurial supported employment operations making use of the University of Oregon Specialized Training Program's 'benchwork model': E-Tron Systems in Fairfax, Virginia and AccuTek Assemblies in Manassas, Virginia.



• 1986-1989: Department of Rehabilitative Services 'Training Hub' for the dissemination of supported employment techniques in Northern Virginia.



• 1989-1991: Region II Supported Employment Consultant for the OSERS 'systems change' initiative.



• 1991-1992: The development of individualized supported employment services for people with severe physical disabilities through a grant funded by the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services. The development of these services led to our involvement in the provision of supported employment services to survivors of brain injury.



• 1991-1992: The original 'Safetynets' project, which focused on assisting unemployed consumers in identifying, exploring, developing, and making use of alternative activities and resources which are outside of those available through the rehabilitation system, funded by NIDRR.



• 1992-1995: Project CIRCLE, a three-year demonstration grant aimed at improving employment outcomes for survivors of brain injury through the creation of 'Circles of Support', funded by NIDRR.



• 1995-1996: Development of an electronic network of disability organizations across the state of Virginia, funded by the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.



• 1995-1997: Participation in a project funded through the Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation, as part of the TBI Model Systems Project, focusing on issues related to substance abuse following brain injury.



• 1999-2001: Development of community-based support services for people with Traumatic Brain Injury in Fredericksburg and planning District 16 through contract with the Department of Rehabilitative Services.



• 2001-2002: Selected by the Virginia Board for People With Disabilities to analyze the need for greater public awareness of the role of people with disabilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and to develop public awareness materials in a variety of media for distribution to state legislators, members of certain targeted community groups, and the public at large.



• 2004-2005: ICON participated with the Brain Injury Association of America and the University of Montana in a federally-funded pilot program to address the issues surrounding self-employment among individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury.

ICON's management has had a long-standing commitment to the use of technology to further its mission. The organization has had electronic mail capability since 1991, which has served as an internal communication pathway connecting its community-based personnel as well as a link to the broader community. ICON's website has been online at http://www.iconservices.org since early in 1996, operating from a webserver located in ICON's offices.

ICON Community Services, Inc. has administrative offices in Alexandria, Virginia, and provides services in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

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