History of Community Research Foundation

CRF was founded on the principles of psychosocial rehabilitation. The first CRF program, Turning Point Crisis Center, was designed in 1980 as an alternative to traditional, medical-model psychiatric hospital programs. The original Turning Point program was designed by a group of staff and clients to provide a more normalized, homelike setting than a hospital, using the guidelines set forth in the Community Residential Treatment System Act of 1979. CRF now operates six of these psychosocial rehabilitation crisis residential programs. CRF currently employs 18 Registered Psychosocial Rehabilitation Practitioners, a designation granted by the International Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (IAPSRS) to those persons who demonstrate outstanding experience and competence applying psychosocial rehabilitation principles. As an organization that has embraced the philosophy of psychosocial rehabilitation since its inception, CRF is an active member of both IAPSRS and the California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies. The Executive Director of CRF has been a member of the IAPSRS Research Committee for nine years and co-chaired the Committee for two years and is one of the authors of the IAPSRS Toolkit, a system used to measure psychosocial outcomes. CRF's involvement with these organizations has provided access to national leaders in both the practice and research of psychosocial rehabilitation. CRF emphasizes the importance of recruiting and training staff who support rehabilitation and recovery approaches since traditionally trained clinicians sometimes find it difficult to join with clients in a community where client needs and preferences come first.

CRF strongly believes in working collaboratively with clients and advocates and does so on both a formal and informal basis. The CRF Advisory Board is predominately comprised of clients and family members whose input and guidance are uniquely valuable in the design, implementation and improvement of services. In addition, each of the three CRF consumer clubhouses has a Governing Board, predominately comprised of clients and family members who oversee all aspects of the program. The opening last year of CRF's Mariposa Clubhouse, a CRF-funded program which grew from grass roots efforts of the staff and clients in the North Regions, was made possible only through close collaboration with clients and family members. All CRF staff are trained to collaborate with clients and their chosen support persons, family members, and advocates.