Mission Road Developmental Center

The Mission Road Developmental Center is a private, non-profit, residential program for persons with mental retardation and is built upon a simple premise: Persons with mental retardation can and should lead fulfilling lives within their own community. Each of our clients is recognized for their potential not their limitations. It is our objective to help them achieve a level of independence commensurate with their skills and abilities. For some, this means a certain degree of supervision will be necessary throughout their lifetime. For others, it may mean preparation and then leaving our program to live independently. To accomplish our objectives, a variety of residential, vocational, and educational alternatives are available. Common components to all of our programs are: Education; Case Management; Pre-Vocational and Vocational Training; Occupational Therapy; Social Services; Psychological Services; Nursing; Medical, and Dental services; and a variety of recreational opportunities.

Mission Road Developmental Center is a community based, church sponsored organization with a call from God to minister to persons with mental retardation by challenging them to achieve their full potential for independence, productivity, and inclusion in the community. Mr. and Mrs. Clifford C. Bledsoe searched throughout the country for an appropriate residential placement for their son who was severely mentally retarded as a result of a serious automobile accident. These efforts were not successful and they began a search for property where they could establish their own residential center. In 1946 they acquired the current location on Mission Road, and the center was founded in 1947 when the Bledsoes began to accept other children with problems similar to those of their son. In 1954, Mission Road Foundation was chartered by the State of Texas as a non-profit center for persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. The center grew and expanded to 21 acres and fourteen campus facilities over the next twenty years providing care for both children and adults. The Bledsoes, in failing health found it necessary to retire in April, 1973. Because of many interested community leaders, Mission Road Foundation was deeded from the Bledsoes to an independent Board of Directors with the provision that Mr. and Mrs. Bledsoe would be cared for in their retirement years. The efforts of the new Board of Directors were successful in re-establishing the center, but in 1975 the new Board sensed a need to address long-term stability. An agreement was reached in January, 1976 with the First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio. The church agreed to a sponsorship role and the name changed to Mission Road Developmental Center in keeping with the changing trends and intent of the program.