Program Manager | Connecticut ABI Waiver & Brain Injury Services

Lennea Dawson, B.A., serves as a Program Manager at The Supported Living Group (SLG), bringing extensive experience in human services, acquired brain injury rehabilitation, Independent Living Skills Training, residential support, case management, service design, and quality assurance.

Lennea began working directly with Connecticut ABI Waiver participants in 2007, initially providing Companion and Independent Living Skills Training (ILST) supports in residential settings. She later advanced to site supervision, where she developed additional expertise in case management, service design, and quality assurance. In 2021, she joined The Supported Living Group as a Program Manager, bringing this extensive ABI experience into a leadership role serving SLG’s ABI Waiver participant population.

Her professional career reflects a progression from direct community support to program leadership, giving her a practical understanding of how ABI services are experienced by participants and delivered by support teams.

More Than a Decade of Acquired Brain Injury Experience

Lennea began working with ABI Waiver participants in 2007 and has developed extensive experience supporting individuals affected by acquired brain injury in residential and community settings.

This experience is particularly valuable because brain injury can affect many areas of everyday life, including:

  • Executive functioning

  • Memory

  • Organization

  • Emotional regulation

  • Judgment

  • Problem-solving

  • Community safety

  • Independent living

  • Social participation

Effective ABI services require an understanding of how these changes affect the individual's daily functioning.

Lennea's direct experience gives her an important perspective on how support strategies are implemented in real-world environments.

Independent Living Skills Training and ABI Rehabilitation

One of Lennea's foundational areas of expertise is Independent Living Skills Training (ILST).

ILST can help individuals with ABI develop practical strategies for managing everyday responsibilities such as:

  • Organization

  • Scheduling

  • Household routines

  • Community navigation

  • Problem-solving

  • Safety awareness

  • Daily living skills

  • Personal goals

Lennea's experience providing ILST gives her direct knowledge of the difference between simply completing a task for someone and helping that individual develop the ability to participate more independently.

This distinction is central to effective ABI rehabilitation.

Residential ABI Support

Lennea began her ABI career as a residential specialist, providing both Companion and ILST services.

Residential ABI support requires understanding how brain injury affects an individual's functioning throughout the day—not only during scheduled appointments or clinical sessions.

Challenges may involve:

  • Maintaining routines

  • Managing a household

  • Interacting with others

  • Recognizing safety concerns

  • Handling unexpected situations

  • Following through on responsibilities

This direct residential experience provides Lennea with a practical understanding of the environments in which ABI participants live.

From Direct Support to Program Leadership

Lennea's career progression is an important part of her professional expertise.

She began in direct ABI support, progressed into site supervision, and later moved into program management. During her time as a site supervisor, she developed experience in:

  • Case management

  • Service design

  • Quality assurance

  • Staff oversight

  • Program implementation

She joined SLG as Program Manager in 2021, bringing this combination of direct and supervisory experience into organizational leadership.

This progression gives her an unusual understanding of ABI services from multiple perspectives:

Participant → Direct Support Professional → Supervisor → Program Manager

Case Management and ABI Service Coordination

Effective ABI services require coordination among many people.

A participant's support network may include:

  • Family members

  • Care managers

  • Direct support professionals

  • Program coordinators

  • Therapists

  • Medical professionals

  • Organizational leadership

Lennea's experience with case management and service coordination allows her to help connect these elements into a coherent support system.

Good coordination is particularly important after ABI because an individual's needs may change as they:

  • Develop new skills

  • Return to employment

  • Change housing

  • Pursue education

  • Experience health changes

  • Increase independence

Service Design and Person-Centered Planning

Lennea's background includes experience in service design, an important component of effective ABI programming.

A service plan should not simply describe the services an individual receives.

It should connect those services to the individual's:

  • Goals

  • Strengths

  • Preferences

  • Functional needs

  • Community participation

  • Long-term vision for independence

Effective service design asks:

What supports will help this person achieve the life they want?

This is particularly important within ABI services because the effects of brain injury can vary significantly between individuals.

Quality Assurance in ABI Services

Lennea also developed experience in quality assurance while serving as a site supervisor.

Quality assurance is an important component of community-based disability services because it helps ensure that:

  • Services are delivered consistently

  • Staff understand their responsibilities

  • Individual goals remain central

  • Documentation is maintained

  • Safety concerns are identified

  • Programs continue to meet organizational and regulatory expectations

Quality ABI services depend not only on compassionate staff but on systems that support consistency and accountability.

Advocacy and Self-Determination

Lennea's early professional career also provides an important advocacy perspective.

After graduating from Shaw University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she began her career as a Special Education Long Term Substitute Teacher. During that period, she worked not only with students but also with parents, encouraging families to understand school policies and strengthen their ability to self-advocate.

She later worked as a Community-Based Life Skills Educator with the Greater Bridgeport Area Prevention Program, supporting young adults transitioning out of foster care and helping them prepare for independent living while working with community and state agencies.

These experiences established a consistent theme throughout her career:

Helping individuals and families understand systems, develop skills, and advocate for themselves.

Supporting Transitions Toward Independence

Lennea's earlier work with young adults transitioning out of foster care is also relevant to her later ABI career because both involve helping people navigate significant changes in independence.

Transition periods may involve:

  • New responsibilities

  • Housing changes

  • New relationships

  • Employment

  • Education

  • Increased decision-making

Successful transition planning requires more than identifying services.

It requires helping individuals develop the skills and confidence necessary to use those services effectively.

Community-Based ABI Services

One of the most important aspects of Lennea's professional experience is that her background is rooted in community-based support.

ABI rehabilitation does not end when an individual leaves a hospital or rehabilitation facility.

Many individuals continue to require assistance with:

  • Independent living

  • Community integration

  • Employment

  • Relationships

  • Transportation

  • Daily routines

  • Decision-making

Lennea's career reflects this longer-term approach to ABI support.

Why Program Management Matters in ABI Services

Clinical expertise is essential in ABI rehabilitation, but clinical recommendations must eventually be translated into everyday services.

That requires:

  • Program coordination

  • Staff communication

  • Service planning

  • Quality assurance

  • Consistent implementation

  • Participant engagement

Lennea's career sits directly at this intersection.

Her experience allows her to understand both the participant experience and the organizational systems required to deliver consistent community-based services.

The Supported Living Group's ABI Team

Lennea works within SLG's broader ABI service model, which combines program management with clinical and rehabilitation expertise.

Her program-management background complements professionals specializing in:

  • Neuropsychology

  • Occupational therapy

  • Behavioral support

  • Counseling

  • Vocational rehabilitation

  • Independent living

This multidisciplinary structure allows SLG to address ABI from multiple perspectives while keeping the participant's goals at the center.

A Career Centered on Opportunity and Independence

Lennea's professional journey—from special education and community life-skills education to ABI residential services, ILST, supervision, quality assurance, and program management—has consistently focused on helping people build skills and participate more fully in their communities.

Her work reflects a central principle of effective disability services:

Support should create opportunities for greater independence, not simply maintain the status quo.

Lennea Dawson, B.A.

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