About Focus on Freedom
Empowering independence. Enabling freedom. Transforming lives.
Who We Are & Who We Serve
Focus on Freedom LLC provides support and guidance for children and adults with disabilities (ages 8+) and their families. We offer a variety of customized disability-focused services, including:
Daily Living Skills Training
Personal Futures Planning
Respite Care
Caregiver Seminars
Through personalized, one-on-one training, we focus on building self-confidence and empowering individuals with disabilities to reach their goals and live as independently as possible.
Headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Focus on Freedom serves residents throughout Winnebago County, including Oshkosh, Omro, Neenah, Winneconne, and parts of Appleton.
How We Got Started
Throughout 20 years of working with people with disabilities in various settings, founder Marla Kopecky Penney saw a missing link in the system between community, home, and school support systems. For families with disabilities, this meant limited time, resources, and understanding resulted in the need for additional support.
In an effort to help bridge that gap, Marla started Focus on Freedom LLC in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Marla and her team members have worked to empower clients and set them on a path toward long-term success.
Company Mission
Empower people with disabilities to lead independent lives to the degree with which they are able.
Our Values
At Focus on Freedom, we believe all people:
Are valuable
Can contribute
Can live as independently as possible
With guided training, anyone can become successful citizens in their community.
Meet Founder Marla Kopecky Penney
Marla Kopecky Penney has been working with children and adults with disabilities for more than two decades. She’s done and seen it all as an in-home therapist, respite care provider, special education teacher, evaluator, and founder of a disabilities services and skills training organization.
Marla’s career began in college working as an in-home therapist for children with autism.
“Through this experience, I learned the value of understanding a family’s perspective and their desires when developing life-long independent living skills for their child or care-dependent adult with disabilities,” she said.
For the last 17 years, Marla has worked as an in-home therapist for Autism. She also began her teaching career, specializing in intellectual disabilities. She has advocated for students of all abilities as a special education teacher with the Oshkosh Area School District for the 15 years.
“I have worked with children with significant disabilities across all spectrums. This dual-path journey has taught me valuable skills that our children and care dependent adults with significant disabilities need for life-long success.”
Marla Kopecky Penney, Focus on Freedom Founder
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any questions about Focus on Freedom and the services we offer, check out our FAQs. Find answers to common inquiries and learn more about our approach to supporting families and individuals with disabilities.
