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For more information:
Call 651-454-2732, or contact one of Lifeworks' Intake and Referral Coordinators:

Lifeworks Career Development and Social Enrichment:
Metro Area
Jeanne Eglinton
651-365-3781
jeglinton@lifeworks.org

Mankato Area
Kristi Powers
507-625-7522
kpowers@lifeworks.org

Lifeworks Customized Support
Dawn Thorn
651-365-3742
dthorn@lifeworks.org

Or call your county case manager and ask for a referral to Lifeworks.

Other Resources

History

Lifeworks Services, formerly Dakota, Inc., was founded in 1965 by families who have children with special needs. We are a private nonprofit organization serving 1,200 people with developmental disabilities and their families in the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Mankato areas. They have mental retardation and related disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy. Here is a brief summary of our history:

  • In the 1970s Lifeworks, then called the Developmental Learning Center, or DLC, started a home-visiting program for infants, the first in Minnesota. Adults with developmental disabilities began to receive services in 1972.
  • In 1985 services to adults expanded to include people living in Hennepin County, and Lifeworks began developing expertise in supported employment in community businesses.
  • In 1988, the public schools in Minnesota became responsible for direct service to children. Lifeworks, then known as Dakota, Inc., began to directly serve only adults.
  • In 1996, Dakota, Inc. was renamed Lifeworks Services and began providing school-to-work transition services to students in special education.
  • In 2000, Lifeworks began services in the Mankato area in response to requests from families, case managers, and school staff who wanted more options for young people with disabilities in the area.
  • In December 2000, Lifeworks' Customized Support Services (CSS) department was formed. CSS provides fiscal support entity services where individuals with disabilities and their families can hire personal care support and purchase needed services and equipment. We now provide this service for people with all types of disabilities and the elderly throughout Minnesota.