Since its establishment in 1954, the Center for Family Support has remained at the forefront of pioneering individualized programming and innovations in the support of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). At the heart of this progressive movement in IDD support was the visionary leadership of Irene Lowy Arnold, who died in 1996 at the age of 88.
Irene Lowy Arnold was one of CFS’ founders and its first Executive Director, serving the organization from 1954 until 1972.
Her personal and professional journey was key to Irene’s profound impact not only at CFS but in the world of IDD support.
As a young woman, Irene was a successful and widely respected attorney, who was deeply dedicated to the mission of safeguarding vulnerable children. Early on in her life, she showed a profound commitment to at-risk youth, including incarcerated children which later evolved into championing the cause of European children orphaned by the ravages of World War II. Instrumental in the resettlement of 300 children from Buchenwald, Irene’s tireless efforts even caught the attention of the United Nations.
In 1954, Irene was approached and hired by a collective of families known as “Parents with a Purpose.” These families sought an alternative to institutionalization for their loved ones with developmental disabilities.
Leveraging her extensive network as Executive Director of Parents with a Purpose, which eventually became The Center for Family Support, Irene played a pivotal role in securing funding for a groundbreaking pilot program aimed at training paraprofessionals as “homemakers.” This innovative approach provided vital relief and support to families navigating the complexities of raising a developmentally challenged child.
Irene’s deep connections in the arts, entertainment, and political domains proved instrumental in garnering support for this pioneering initiative. The program’s success did not go unnoticed and was later acknowledged by President John F. Kennedy’s Commission on the topic.
By the time Irene retired in 1972 from her 18 years at the helm of CFS, her legacy set in motion profound, progressive, and positive changes in the way we care for individuals with intellectual disabilities today, not just in the U.S. but globally. She prophesized the shift towards smaller, more personalized care settings, foreseeing the eventual dissolution of large institutions.
Although it would take two more decades after Irene’s departure for CFS to bring the plan for providing smaller, personalized residential services to fruition, Irene’s vison laid the foundation for the CFS’ current mission, services, and programs. Her dream of making support personalized and individualized is an enduring cornerstone of CFS’ mission, today.
The legacy of Irene Lowry Arnold continues to inspire and guide the Center for Family Support in its ongoing commitment to empowering individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ensuring that they participate meaningfully in their own lives and the decisions that impact them and their care, supporting them in achieving their dreams, ambitions, and independence, and advocating for the exercise of all their rights, with full inclusion in society.
