Overview

Our clients have bright futures... You can too!

It's an exciting time to join Fraser. We are growing all the time: an average of 9% employee growth per year. We have a vibrant community, full of opportunities, learning, and best of all, the knowledge that you spend each day making a meaningful and lasting difference in the lives of people that need you.

Fraser has the advantages of a big organization and the access of a small one. We provide opportunities for growth in many ways: formal and informal mentoring; additional job duties based on strengths; implementing your ideas for improvement with our leadership team, and much more! In fact, many of our leaders at Fraser were promoted from within. Find out how you can build a career with Fraser!

Culture

Fraser's culture is rich, and full of history. We have worked to build our culture around our core principles of Partnership, Innovation, Respect, and Quality. It is Fraser's promise to our clients and staff to hold these principles at the heart of everything we do.

We strive to be a place where everyone can feel comfortable and achieve their highest potential, including clients, families and staff.

We expect each employee to live our Employee Credo:

I am passionate for the client.

• We put our clients first and foremost in everything we do, from having well-maintained facilities to direct therapeutic care or education, to the decisions our leaders make.
• We take on the hard work we do to make the lives of our clients and their families brighter.

I am committed to success.

• We strive to grow, innovate and achieve. Each employee is an integral part in our success.
• We create goals for ourselves every year, from improving a service, to being more efficient with our finances, to even opening a new site….. and time and again, we achieve them.

I value relationships.

• Whether it is with clients, outside partners or within our team of staff, we work together to get the good results we achieve. Collaboration is a key principle.
• We treat each other with respect, and work to create a welcoming, kind atmosphere.

History

Our founder, Louise Whitbeck Fraser, was born in 1894 in Grand Forks, N.D. She earned a teaching certificate and was quickly noted to have a special gift. She was often assigned to work with the students who needed the most help.

Louise and her husband, Wesley Fraser, had four children: Mary Louise, Jean, Bobby and Wesley Jr. At the age of 6 weeks, Jean contracted spinal meningitis and was later diagnosed with mental retardation as a result of the illness. A heartbreaking accident occurred when Bobby was just 3 years old, and he passed away. In 1928, Wesley Fraser, Sr., a prohibition agent, was tragically shot to death during his final investigation.

Despite these tragedies, Louise persevered, and in 1931 moved her three children to the Twin Cities. Louise took Jean to the University of Minnesota where she learned that Jean had profound hearing impairment. Her daughter's challenging behavior was due to her inability to hear, not mental retardation.

Louise decided to teach Jean at home while waiting for an opening in a program for deaf children. Since Jean was able to hear high and low tones, Mrs. Fraser found music to be a teaching tool that would hold her attention. Jean responded well to the music and learned concepts quickly. News of Mrs. Fraser's success spread throughout the special needs community and other families pleaded with her to teach their children too.

In 1935, Mrs. Fraser opened a school in her home for children with disabilities. With the encouragement and support of many grateful parents, she pioneered special education in Minnesota and gained national acclaim for her innovative teaching methods and the remarkable achievements of her students. Music therapy became the cornerstone of her teaching program.

Mrs. Fraser devoted herself to improving the lives of as many children as she could. She provided help and hope to many families who otherwise might have had none.

Some other pieces of our history to note:

• 1949 - After years of neighborhood opposition, several location changes, and a lack of support from public officials, Mrs. Fraser and some enthusiastic parents raise money to purchase a three-room building and playground space at 63rd Street & Penn Avenue in Richfield. The school opens in that building in the fall.


• 1967 - A new, much larger facility is built at 2400 West 64th Street in Richfield.


• 1978 - Fraser begins offering residential services for adults with developmental disabilities in a group-home setting.


• 1988 - Fraser builds its first apartment complex for adults with special needs who can live independently with minimal support.


• 1990 - Fraser formalizes its Rehabilitation Services and officially becomes a provider in the state of Minnesota.


• 1994 - Fraser opens Fraser Child & Family Center, a specialized clinic providing mental health, autism, neuropsychology services and referrals for children, adolescents and families.


• 2004 - Fraser sponsors Fraser Academy, an elementary charter school. This public, K-5 program (a separate organization from Fraser) provides an inclusive environment with individualized learning programs to meet the unique needs of each student.


• 2006 - Fraser expands Home & Community Support Services to provide in-home waiver services, personal care assistant (PCA), home-based respite and flexible case management.


• 2012 - Fraser begins offering Transition Services and Employment Readiness for teens and adults with autism and executive function issues.

Benefits

Services