“We are incredibly grateful for all of Mintz Levin's help with Flutie Spectrum Enterprises and have no doubt that this work will go a long way in helping us create meaningful employment for many adults with autism.”
Brittany Collins
Managing Director
Flutie Spectrum Enterprises
Enterprise Empowers Adults on the Spectrum
Dougie Flutie is much like any other 23 year old, though his autism limits his job prospects. He works on basic living skills every day that will help him become more independent. Though he may never live completely on his own, Dougie is making progress and has the potential to complete basic tasks that could earn him a paycheck.
Dougie's parents, former NFL star quarterback Doug Flutie and his wife Laurie, are fortunate enough to be able to provide the support he needs as he enters adulthood. Recognizing that other families need the same care and support for their children and may not have the resources to provide them, they founded the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism after Dougie was diagnosed with autism at age three. Watching Dougie grow into a young man, his parents also saw the need to have a program for adults with autism spectrum disorders. According to the foundation, it's estimated that 90% of adults with autism spectrum disorders are unable to obtain employment.
Through its long-standing relationship with Mintz Levin attorneys Tom Burton and Dan Bleck, the foundation turned to the firm last year to help them set up what is now Flutie Spectrum Enterprises, LLC, a nonprofit social enterprise that will create micro-businesses to employ adults from across the entire autism spectrum. Tom, along with attorney Katy Ward, handled the corporate aspect of setting up the social enterprise. Attorney Gauri Punjabi did the employment law work, and attorney Anthony Hubbard oversaw the corporate governance.
"Flutie Spectrum Enterprises is a new and innovative way to provide services and also help these adults be productive," says Tom, who as a law student lived and worked with his wife in a group home for adults with special needs. While living there, Tom witnessed first-hand how important having a job and feeling empowered are to the quality of life of adults with special needs.
The social enterprise takes care to find projects that make use of the "employees' attention to detail and rhythmic structure" as well as provide a platform to improve their motor and social skills and stamina. The first of its micro-businesses is FSE Office Solutions.
"Our first employee, Justin, has been hard at work since June, shredding documents, stuffing envelopes, and packaging t-shirts for various customers of FSE Office Solutions," says Brittany Collins, managing director of Flutie Spectrum Enterprises. "For the first time in his life, he is receiving a paycheck for his work."