History

Coleman Professional Services was founded in 1978 and was originally named the Kevin Coleman Center in honor of a noble young man and friend of the Portage County community, Father Kevin Coleman. Please view this PDF for a further glimpse into the life of Fr. Coleman, told through friends and co-workers.

The Kevin Coleman Center began work in 1978 with 35 employees and an annual budget of less than one million dollars and the initial mission to provide counseling services for residents of Portage County, Ohio. In order to supplement the budget, a Silk Screen Task Force was created that same year as an enterprise to generate funding for the company. This was the beginning of Coleman’s entrepreneurial spirit and creative development of funding.

In its past 29 years, Coleman has had two leaders: Bob Walker (1978-1985), and Nelson W. Burns (1985-present). To maintain and provide affordable, high-quality services to its customers and employees, these men stood as the catalysts behind the development of Coleman Professional Services through its additions of diversified services and enterprises.

In 1984, Coleman merged with Portage Area Senior Services (PASS), an affordable daytime program designed for adults whose lives are challenged because of limited or diminishing physical, social or cognitive abilities, to begin offering a variety of services tailored to adult customers’ needs. PASS, now known as Coleman Adult Day Services, grew steadily and was in need of a new facility to allow more space and accessibility. In 2004, a new facility was built and named The Burbick at Coleman in honor of Ron Burbick, long-time friend of Coleman and president of The Burbick Foundation. 

Coleman added employment services in 1986 to provide vocational and supported training for individuals struggling with behavioral health issues. These services were designed to facilitate maximum independence and reintegration into the community. Skill training and job coaching were set up to assist people in their employment search.

In order to offer immediate assistance to customers, a 24-hour crisis and pre-screening was set up in 1987 to provide around-the-clock adult and youth behavioral health crisis intervention services on a walk-in or telephone basis to persons in Portage County. These services, now offered through Coleman Access Services, have since expanded to Stark, Trumbull and Medina Counties.

Coleman continued its growth by adding one of its four enterprises in 1989. Coleman Data Solutions, formerly SAGE Computer Services, provides persons recovering from mental illness opportunities for job training and employment. It is currently the largest data management service in Ohio.

Another enterprise, Coleman Wellness Solutions, has been providing superior employee assistance and wellness services to companies since 1989. Initially established as a resource for behavioral health consultation and intervention, Coleman Wellness Solutions has since expanded into a single-source, cost effective partner for a myriad of productivity and performance solutions in the workplace.

Throughout the early nineties, Coleman constructed and offered new residential group homes and supportive living facilities to provide safe and affordable community housing across Portage and Medina Counties through Coleman Residential Services.

In 1996, Kevin Coleman Center officially changed its name to Coleman Professional Services to highlight the variety of professional services available to the community. Coleman Professional Services (CPS) strives to uphold the caring and compassionate nature that Fr. Coleman possessed for both customers and employees.

Coleman Consultation Services was established in 2003 as an enterprise, which began with a focus on housing and residential treatment development as well as grant writing, billing administration and strategic planning. The business now offers professional consultation on more than fifteen different areas of expertise that serve a wide variety of industries. 

The Sue Hetrick Building, located in Ravenna, was built in 2004 to house behavioral health services such as case management and psychiatry, as well as an evaluation and crisis department for Coleman Access Services. The facility was named in honor of Dr. Sue Hetrick, former Executive Director of the Portage County Mental Health and Rehabilitation Board.

The fourth and final enterprise, Coleman Travel Services, formerly Portage Travel Service, was added in 2005 and offers convenient and affordable travel services to business and leisure travelers.  

Since its inception, Coleman Professional Services has grown to more than 450 employees and now has an annual budget of more than twenty million dollars. CPS exists today as a nationally recognized not-for-profit provider of behavioral health and rehabilitation programs. 

 For a detailed overview of Coleman's history, please select the year below in which you'd like to review.

1973 Review
1979-80 Review
1983 Review
1984 Review
1985 Review
1986 Review
1987 Review
1988 Review
1989 Review
1990 Review
1991 Review
1992 Review
1993 Review
1994 Review
1995 Review
1996 Review
1997 Review
1998 Review
1999 Review
2000 Review
2001 Review
2002 Review
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2004 Review
2005 Review
2006 Review
2007 Review
2008 Review