Elk Grove Adult Community Training, Inc. (EGACT) is a non-profit organization that provides education and training for adults with developmental disabilities.
We have been serving adults with developmental disabilities for over 40 years and we are proud to be a part of the Elk Grove community.
We currently have three program sites, two in Elk Grove, CA and two storefront classrooms in Galt, CA.
Our History
Elk Grove Adult Community Training (EGACT) was formerly incorporated under the name Retarded Adult Workshop (RAW) in 1972. It was established because there was a need to provide a continuing education for the graduates of Jessie Baker School, which is the school for developmentally delayed children in Elk Grove. The Elk Grove Unified School District was no longer responsible for the education of mentally handicapped children after the age of eighteen. Since the only adult facility was located in Sacramento and was operating at capacity, the graduates were forced to sit home.
Consequently, the President of the Jessie Baker School Parents Club suggested that a training center be developed around recycling. The Parents Club and the staff at Jessie Baker endorsed this idea wholeheartedly. It was felt that a recycling center would provide an opportunity for the teaching of worthwhile skills, offer an opportunity for the graduates to participate in something that would benefit the community and help pay for the cost of the program as well.
Two teachers from Jessie Baker School volunteered to test the feasibility of this concept by instructing a few graduates for several weeks. They found that indeed the graduates could be quite successful in this program.
The next step was to approach the Superintendent of the Elk Grove Unified School District. The Superintendent was sympathetic to the idea and authorized the use of the old bus shed at Franklin Elementary School. He also arranged for the first teacher and director of the program to be paid through Adult Education.
Advertisements in the "Elk Grove Citizen" and flyers alerted the public to this new venture. People were urged to save their papers, cans, bottles and cardboard. The California National Guard was of great help in picking up the recyclable materials at the homes throughout the Elk Grove area and transporting them to Franklin Elementary for sorting, etc.
Due to the fact that the bus sheds were needed by the Elk Grove Fire Department and that RAW wished to be more centrally located in Elk Grove, the operation was moved to today's main site on Elk Grove Boulevard behind the offices of the Elk Grove Community Services District (CSD). The property was leased from the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD), a tin shed was obtained from the school district and a mobile home was later purchased.
In 1990, RAW became Elk Grove Adult Community Training, Inc. Soon after the curriculum changed to a community based program. The tin shed and mobile home have long been replaced by classrooms and an administrative office. EGACT continues to provide a positive and safe environment for all Consumers.
