On Saturday, February 25, South Central Los Angeles Regional Center’s (SCLARC) Family Resource Center (FRC) will host an Unveiling Ceremony that will honor Dr. La-Doris McClaney and her family. More than 100 guests are slated to be on hand to witness the unveiling of an innovative logo and fresh signage designating this well used community resource as the new McClaney FRC. Dr. McClaney is being honored because of her generous support of children and families in South Los Angeles who have been, or are at-risk of being, diagnosed with a developmental disability.
For more than 40 years, South Central Los Angeles Regional Center (SCLARC) has provided vital services to thousands of children and adults living with developmental disabilities throughout South Los Angeles. It is SCLARC’s goal to empower families and their loved ones diagnosed with autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, or an intellectual disability to find independence and acceptance in their local community. The Family Resource Center (FRC) helps families, caring for children at-risk of or diagnosed with a developmental disability, find solutions and services. Of the many supports offered by SCLARC, its FRC has stood as a beacon of hope, help and understanding for more than 28 years. Recently, Dr. La-Doris McClaney spearheaded a $1,000,000 fundraising campaign to expand and enhance the center’s programming. As a result, many more families will learn to manage the challenges that come with having a loved one diagnosed with a disability.
The McClaney family has a long history of charitable giving in Los Angeles and beyond. Dr. McClaney’s mother, Eula McClaney, was born to a sharecropping family in rural Alabama. With only a sixth grade education, Eula began a small business selling sweet potato pies. From those humble beginnings she amassed a real estate portfolio of 33 properties and managed their rentals. In the late 1950’s, on a visit to Los Angeles with her daughters, La-Doris and Burnestine, Eula purchased a motel. Within a few years, she decided to relocate to Los Angeles. The motel, which was originally converted into the McClaney’s residence in Los Angeles, later became Flagstone Guest Haven, one of the first residential care facilities for the developmentally disabled in South Los Angeles.
It was during this era that La-Doris came to understand the special needs of the population served by SCLARC. The center is one of 21 private, non-profit centers contracting with the State of California, specifically with the Department of Developmental Services, to provide diagnosis, evaluation, case management and life-long planning to individuals who are developmentally disabled. Currently, the agency serves approximately 13,500 individuals who have been diagnosed with a developmental disability. Now, with her new commitment to SCLARC’s Family Resource Center, her legacy will continue to grow.
The McClaney Family Resource Center will continue SCLARC’S long standing legacy of serving as a central point of contact for parents and caregivers with infants and toddlers ages birth-to-three who have been diagnosed or at risk of a developmental disability. Dr. McClaney’s generous fundraising support will help add knowledgeable staff who will help parents navigate the complicated world of benefits and services that exist for children with disabilities. It will also improve outcomes for young children, providing them with increased access to quality play, and developmentally appropriate activities. Most of all, the new McClaney Family Resource will increase opportunities to equip parents and caregivers with the tools they will need to be empowered advocates for their loved ones.
For more information about the McClaney Family Resource Center or South Central Los Angeles Regional Center, please contact Marsha D. Mitchell-Bray, Director of Community Services & Family Supports at 213.743.3061, or email her at [email protected].