Achieve’s senior staff has been working hard to make sure we have a plan in place for folks to safely return to Achieve. To ensure a safe workplace that allows for social distancing, we will be inviting participants back in phases once our plan to reopen has been approved by the Department of Human Services (DHS). Parents/guardians will receive a call from our staff when we’re ready for participants to return to Achieve.

We have a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in place, which means we will be doing things differently than before Achieve temporarily closed. Behavior Specialist Ralph made some videos (Welcome Back to Achieve and Welcome Back to Achieve Part 2), so participants know what to expect. Some of the changes are:

*Temperature Monitoring – We will check the temperature of each staff member and participant as the enter Achieve in the morning.  We are also asking for participants’ temperatures to be checked before getting on an Achieve vehicle in the morning, which will require answering a brief survey confirming that no COVID-19 symptoms or risks of exposure have occurred.  Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 or higher will not be allowed onto an Achieve vehicle or into our building.

*Use of Masks – Since transportation presents a unique challenge to maintain social distancing, we will require staff and participants to wear masks while in transit on an Achieve vehicle.  As participants board the vehicle, they will be given a mask and a dose of hand sanitizer. Once at Achieve, we will be requiring participants to wear masks whenever 6’ of social distancing cannot be observed, but we hope participants will choose to wear a mask during their time at Achieve to protect others. Staff will be wearing masks all day.

We also recommend the following:

*Pack a water bottle and snacks. The water bottle should be easy to clean and be able to be easily filled at a faucet. Our drinking fountains, refrigerators, and vending machines are currently out of service. The water bottle will be returned home for cleaning each day.

*Lunch should be packed in a lunch bag with a cold pack and should only include food that doesn’t need to be warmed. We are minimizing the use of common appliances like microwaves.

If a person shows symptoms while they are at Achieve, we will contact the parent/guardian to arrange to have them picked up promptly. The participant will be quarantined in a designated space with the support of an Achieve staff member, but we want to limit the amount of time that lasts. If this does happen, the participant will be sent home with our quarantine guidelines.

Starting Monday, May 18, you are welcome to call our office at (763) 783-4909 with any questions, or you can email [email protected].

Our preparedness plan is a working document, and we may make changes to comply with guidelines from the CDC, MN Department of Health, and DHS. We will need to work together to make sure we are doing what we can to keep people safe and healthy!