Our History

How did Community Pathways get its start?

Community Pathways’ story belongs to a broader history of support services brokerages in Oregon. In 2000, a group of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families determined that the availability of supports and services for adults with developmental disabilities, living and working in Oregon, was inadequate.

This group of families pursued access to support services in their homes and communities by taking the State of Oregon to court. The settlement that was reached is known as the Staley Settlement. Because of this settlement, support services and funding have become available to all adults with developmental disabilities who live in their own home or in their family home in the community.

The State of Oregon chose to implement the Staley Settlement by creating support services brokerages to assist individuals with developmental disabilities to access, plan, and monitor the supports they need to live self-determined lives in the community. There are currently fourteen brokerages in Oregon, six of which are located in the Portland Metro area.

Established in 2008, Community Pathways, Inc. (CPI) began as a program within The Arc Multnomah-Clackamas. As a brokerage, we currently enroll approximately 20 individuals per year. We are also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and serve over 475 individuals living in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties.

Community Pathways has a strong commitment to supporting its staff members, who in turn support the people we serve. Several members of our team have been with the brokerage since we opened in 2008. They are a valuable source of knowledge, advocacy, and support.

Our mission is to assist people with disabilities to live empowered, self-determined lives through community connections. We achieve this by meeting our customers where they are at in life and in the community, advocating for their rights, and helping them connect to the resources they need and want. We work closely with partner organizations and agencies to ensure the services and resources available to the people we serve appropriately support their needs and goals.

We are proud of the work we do to support individuals and communities in Oregon.

Learn more about brokerages. See a list of brokerages in Oregon.