Salt River Project Becomes First of Its Kind Designated as a Certified Autism Center™
Salt River Project (SRP) is the first water and power organization in the country to earn the Certified Autism Center™ designation (CAC), granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). The designation demonstrates the commitment SRP has made to neurodiversity and inclusive hiring practices. SRP staff completed a training and certification process through IBCCES to learn how to better attract and manage neurodiverse individuals, including those with autism, ADHD and other disorders.
“SRP is always looking for ways to become a more inclusive employer and becoming a Certified Autism Center supports that aim wholeheartedly,” says Stephanie Winn, Manager of Talent Acquisition. “With our recent partnership with The Precisionists, Inc., which included hiring individuals with autism for Records Management and Enterprise Systems Quality Assurance (QA), we knew that support systems and resources for our staff would be critical to successfully seeing that program through. We are thrilled that our team has additional training and resources to support this program and future hires.”
SRP was the first company in Arizona to partner with The Precisionists, Inc. to create job opportunities for people on the autism spectrum, harnessing their special talents, and providing valuable employees for the utility. Since the partnership began this year in 2019, SRP has hired 11 individuals supporting Records Management and Enterprise Systems QA and has plans to hire more. To build on this initiative, SRP joined a growing number of organizations in the Mesa community completing certification through IBCCES as part of an inclusion initiative spurred by Visit Mesa. Because of these efforts, Mesa, AZ, is now the first Autism Certified City in the world.
For almost 20 years, IBCCES has been the industry leader in cognitive disorder training and certification for education, healthcare, and corporate professionals around the globe. IBCCES provides evidence-based training and certification programs created in conjunction with clinical experts and individuals with autism in order to provide professionals serving individuals with cognitive disorders a better understanding of what these disorders are, industry best practices, varied perspectives, and the latest research in these areas.
“It’s exciting to have a forward-thinking organization like Salt River Project take the lead for their industry by seeking IBCCES certification. This is wonderful news for the individuals on the SRP team and we know this is just the beginning,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman.
SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest provider of electricity in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving more than 1 million customers. SRP is also the metropolitan area’s largest supplier of water, delivering about 800,000 acre-feet annually to municipal, urban and agricultural water users.
About IBCCES
Delivering The Global Standard For Training and Certification in The Field of Cognitive Disorders – IBCCES provides a series of certifications that empower professionals to be leaders in their field and improve the outcomes for the individuals they serve. These programs are the only training and certification programs endorsed by the largest grassroots autism organization in the world, The Autism Society of America, and recognized around the world as the leading benchmark for training and certification in the areas of autism and other cognitive disorders.