A Brief History of CAPS
The story of guaranteed civil rights for adults, who are developmentally disabled in this country, had its beginnings shortly after the end of World War II. In the late 1940's and early 1950's, parents of children who were developmentally disabled petitioned local schools to start providing an educational program for their children to attend. As a result, Special Education Programs were soon adopted across the country. For the first time, children who were developmentally disabled began to attend our public schools.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's gave rise to three major pieces of civil rights legislation. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which covered fair housing for minorities.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was broad in scope, prohibiting discrimination based on race, religion, and national origin. Unfortunately, it did not protect people with disabilities.
The parents who fought for the rights of their disabled children in the late 1940's and early 1950's, now faced the challenge of fighting for the rights of their adult disabled children. It is important to remember that many disabled adults were housed in State Mental Institutions well into the 1960's. For many, this was their only option.
Through their efforts which lasted another thirty years, the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) of 1990 was signed into law. For the first time, adults with disabilities were afforded similar protections against discrimination as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal.
During this time of establishing the rights for adults with disabilities, the idea of Manteca CAPS was born. In 1976, three Manteca residents led by Alice Valverde met to plan for the future of their children. They had a common interest: each one had an adult child with developmental disabilities They approached the Manteca Kiwanis Club who after listening to their needs, gave the parents of these children $3000.00 in seed money to help begin their dream of having a safe, loving environment from which their children could grow and develop those skills needed to become happy and productive members of our society.
What was needed now was a location for this new program. The City of Manteca, along with the Manteca Fire Department donated some space in a local fire house, by moving the fire trucks closer together, placing a small partition in a corner, a table, a few chairs, a few games and with that, Manteca CAPS was started.
From these humble beginnings, Manteca CAPS has grown to providing expert training and service to over 340 adults with developmental disabilities at five different sites, here in the Central Valley.
