Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation

The Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation provides programs and a dedicated neighborhood-based facility (The Stephens House) where individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, teachers and care givers can connect with each other and the community at large. There are two full-time staff members who develop and manage the day program at Stephens House. Program Activities include exercise, board games, craft projects, cooking, gardening, music, swimming, bowling, field trips, and art projects.

The Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation exists to offer adults with developmental disabilities a supportive environment and healthy life-enhancing activities while integrating with their local community. The Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation (BISNF) was formed as the result of efforts that began around 1980. Several parents of profoundly handicapped children began meeting with each other, school educators, and other community resources to identify ways that could be employed to improve otherwise likely outcomes. These initial meetings resulted in the formation of a Special Parent Teacher Organization. This group provided certain steering and advisory functions, a lobby, and sources for funding needs not provided within the structure of state education. These functions continue today under a separate banner, while BISNF's focus has targeted the transition years and those that follow involvement in the public school system. The foundation's status as a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation was formalized in 1999. The Stephens House was established in 2002 by the Bainbridge Island Special Needs Foundation (BISNF) as a group supported employment program that provides even the most severely developmentally disabled adults with the opportunity to learn appropriate work behavior and skills, focusing on each individuals needs and interests with the goal of finding meaningful, productive community employment.